Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On 3/8/10 08:20 , Clive wrote:
You believe because you've dropped the big bucks and WANT to believe.
But most of it is hype and the EIA has done a superb job of convincing
consumers how badly they need the new whistles and bells. There is
very little difference between the propaganda used today by the drug
companies to sell
their nonsense snake oil ("restless legs syndrome," etc) and that which
the has come
from manufacturers of modern day radios.

Save your money, pick up a cheap older rig and you'll enjoy it as much
as (if not more than)
the rigs filled with rarely used features and performance specifications
that are
patently unnecessary.

And while I am at it, my quote was that "MOST" can discern the difference
in 100 cycles. I didn't say ALL. This group seems include many Doberman
pinschers
with keen hearing.

What a bunch of nitpicky old ladies
are on here.



Yes. We've noticed that.

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On Mar 8, 4:32*am, dave wrote:
Bob Dobbs wrote:
Clive wrote:
Even on CW or
SSB I doubt most listeners can even detect 100 cycles of instability.

I can definitely tell when some station is ten or more kcs off where I'm tuned,
and go to the RIT automatically. If they continue to drift, I might chase them
awhile, but usually move on, suggesting they sober up and quit leaning on the
VFO knob.

My receiver is stable to less than a twentieth of a cycle over several months.
(Using WWV as a reference)

100 Hz is a noticeable change in pitch. *A 50 Hz step makes listening to
music on SSB very difficult. *I do my major DXing through a 250 Hz
filter, so if you drift you go bye-bye.

No kidding. I find even 10 Hz offset uncomfortable to listen to in
music.

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

And why shouldn't people be picky about their Radios? Ticky Butt!
cuhulin

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On Mar 8, 6:20*am, "Clive" wrote:
You believe because you've dropped the big bucks and WANT to believe.
But most of it is hype and the *EIA has done a superb job of convincing
consumers how badly they need the new whistles and bells. There is
very little difference between the propaganda used today by the drug
companies to sell
their nonsense snake oil *("restless legs syndrome," etc) and that which the
has come
from manufacturers of modern day radios.

Save your money, pick up a cheap older rig and you'll enjoy it as much as
(if not more than)
the rigs filled with rarely used features and performance specifications
that are
patently unnecessary.

And while I am at it, my quote was that "MOST" can discern the difference
in 100 cycles. I didn't say ALL. This group seems include many Doberman
pinschers
with keen hearing.

What a *bunch of nitpicky old ladies
are on here.

Clive, I have an Icom R75, and although some will diss this radio, I
can tell I enjoy the "bells and whistles" a great deal. The stability
and crispness of the signal (both driftwise and in terms of AGC and S-
AM) that can be achieved with this radio is quite nice. The S-AM on
this set is only so-so, from what I understand - I would love to hear
what the really good S-AM (on a more recent Drake, for example) sounds
like.

Bruce

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On 3/8/10 09:20 , bpnjensen wrote:
On Mar 8, 6:20 am, wrote:
You believe because you've dropped the big bucks and WANT to believe.
But most of it is hype and the EIA has done a superb job of convincing
consumers how badly they need the new whistles and bells. There is
very little difference between the propaganda used today by the drug
companies to sell
their nonsense snake oil ("restless legs syndrome," etc) and that which the
has come
from manufacturers of modern day radios.

Save your money, pick up a cheap older rig and you'll enjoy it as much as
(if not more than)
the rigs filled with rarely used features and performance specifications
that are
patently unnecessary.

And while I am at it, my quote was that "MOST" can discern the difference
in 100 cycles. I didn't say ALL. This group seems include many Doberman
pinschers
with keen hearing.

What a bunch of nitpicky old ladies
are on here.

Clive, I have an Icom R75, and although some will diss this radio, I
can tell I enjoy the "bells and whistles" a great deal. The stability
and crispness of the signal (both driftwise and in terms of AGC and S-
AM) that can be achieved with this radio is quite nice.


Did you get the crystal oven on that one?


The S-AM on
this set is only so-so, from what I understand - I would love to hear
what the really good S-AM (on a more recent Drake, for example) sounds
like.


I've got sync on my Drakes, Lowe Ten-Tec and AOR. The difference
is in the distortion during fades. There's less of it. The fades are
still there, but the audio doesn't shatter.

If you know what you're listening for, it's a big difference. If
not, it's not that big a deal.

I use my rigs without sync more than with.

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On Mar 8, 7:48*am, "D. Peter Maus"
wrote:
On 3/8/10 09:20 , bpnjensen wrote:





On Mar 8, 6:20 am, *wrote:
You believe because you've dropped the big bucks and WANT to believe.
But most of it is hype and the *EIA has done a superb job of convincing
consumers how badly they need the new whistles and bells. There is
very little difference between the propaganda used today by the drug
companies to sell
their nonsense snake oil *("restless legs syndrome," etc) and that which the
has come
from manufacturers of modern day radios.

Save your money, pick up a cheap older rig and you'll enjoy it as much as
(if not more than)
the rigs filled with rarely used features and performance specifications
that are
patently unnecessary.

And while I am at it, my quote was that "MOST" can discern the difference
in 100 cycles. I didn't say ALL. This group seems include many Doberman
pinschers
with keen hearing.

What a *bunch of nitpicky old ladies
are on here.

Clive, I have an Icom R75, and although some will diss this radio, I
can tell I enjoy the "bells and whistles" a great deal. *The stability
and crispness of the signal (both driftwise and in terms of AGC and S-
AM) that can be achieved with this radio is quite nice.

* *Did you get the crystal oven on that one?

The S-AM on
this set is only so-so, from what I understand - I would love to hear
what the really good S-AM (on a more recent Drake, for example) sounds
like.

* *I've got sync on my Drakes, Lowe Ten-Tec and AOR. The difference
is in the distortion during fades. There's less of it. The fades are
still there, but the audio doesn't shatter.

* *If you know what you're listening for, it's a big difference. If
not, it's not that big a deal.

* *I use my rigs without sync more than with.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks, Peter - well, that's about what I thought - the Kiwa-modified
S-AM on the R75 definitely helps soften the blow of the fades (the
distortion disappears for all practical purposes), and the AGC when
the RF Gain is turned back a wee bit fills in and remedies all but the
deepest fades. I just figured the Drake/AOR/etc. did it better. Not
having ever heard one in person (NOBODY sells or demos them around
this metropolis), I just don't know for sure. In fact, you can't find
any shortwave receiver sales at all anymore except the usual lowball
Etons at RS. HRO has nothing but tranceivers anymore.

Bruce

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

bpnjensen wrote:


Clive, I have an Icom R75, and although some will diss this radio, I
can tell I enjoy the "bells and whistles" a great deal. The stability
and crispness of the signal (both driftwise and in terms of AGC and S-
AM) that can be achieved with this radio is quite nice. The S-AM on
this set is only so-so, from what I understand - I would love to hear
what the really good S-AM (on a more recent Drake, for example) sounds
like.

Bruce

When I used my R75 for program listening I used the SSB mode. The SAM
is useless without the Kiwa mods, which I don't have.

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On 3/8/10 10:07 , bpnjensen wrote:
On Mar 8, 7:48 am, "D. Peter
wrote:
On 3/8/10 09:20 , bpnjensen wrote:





On Mar 8, 6:20 am, wrote:
You believe because you've dropped the big bucks and WANT to believe.
But most of it is hype and the EIA has done a superb job of convincing
consumers how badly they need the new whistles and bells. There is
very little difference between the propaganda used today by the drug
companies to sell
their nonsense snake oil ("restless legs syndrome," etc) and that which the
has come
from manufacturers of modern day radios.

Save your money, pick up a cheap older rig and you'll enjoy it as much as
(if not more than)
the rigs filled with rarely used features and performance specifications
that are
patently unnecessary.

And while I am at it, my quote was that "MOST" can discern the difference
in 100 cycles. I didn't say ALL. This group seems include many Doberman
pinschers
with keen hearing.

What a bunch of nitpicky old ladies
are on here.

Clive, I have an Icom R75, and although some will diss this radio, I
can tell I enjoy the "bells and whistles" a great deal. The stability
and crispness of the signal (both driftwise and in terms of AGC and S-
AM) that can be achieved with this radio is quite nice.

Did you get the crystal oven on that one?

The S-AM on
this set is only so-so, from what I understand - I would love to hear
what the really good S-AM (on a more recent Drake, for example) sounds
like.

I've got sync on my Drakes, Lowe Ten-Tec and AOR. The difference
is in the distortion during fades. There's less of it. The fades are
still there, but the audio doesn't shatter.

If you know what you're listening for, it's a big difference. If
not, it's not that big a deal.

I use my rigs without sync more than with.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks, Peter - well, that's about what I thought - the Kiwa-modified
S-AM on the R75 definitely helps soften the blow of the fades (the
distortion disappears for all practical purposes), and the AGC when
the RF Gain is turned back a wee bit fills in and remedies all but the
deepest fades. I just figured the Drake/AOR/etc. did it better. Not
having ever heard one in person (NOBODY sells or demos them around
this metropolis), I just don't know for sure. In fact, you can't find
any shortwave receiver sales at all anymore except the usual lowball
Etons at RS. HRO has nothing but tranceivers anymore.

Bruce


It's no better, here. I have to go to a hamfest and look at mfr's
rep booths to see, or to play with anything new. I bought my more
recent receivers unheard, based on recommendations of users, and
reviewers at RNW.

Although the R8A I bought at a model train show. It was in like
new condition. Not a mark on it. It still smelled like fresh circuit
boards when I opened the box.

That was a good day.

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On Mar 8, 8:26*am, "D. Peter Maus"
wrote:
On 3/8/10 10:07 , bpnjensen wrote:





On Mar 8, 7:48 am, "D. Peter
wrote:
On 3/8/10 09:20 , bpnjensen wrote:

On Mar 8, 6:20 am, * *wrote:
You believe because you've dropped the big bucks and WANT to believe..
But most of it is hype and the *EIA has done a superb job of convincing
consumers how badly they need the new whistles and bells. There is
very little difference between the propaganda used today by the drug
companies to sell
their nonsense snake oil *("restless legs syndrome," etc) and that which the
has come
from manufacturers of modern day radios.

Save your money, pick up a cheap older rig and you'll enjoy it as much as
(if not more than)
the rigs filled with rarely used features and performance specifications
that are
patently unnecessary.

And while I am at it, my quote was that "MOST" can discern the difference
in 100 cycles. I didn't say ALL. This group seems include many Doberman
pinschers
with keen hearing.

What a *bunch of nitpicky old ladies
are on here.

Clive, I have an Icom R75, and although some will diss this radio, I
can tell I enjoy the "bells and whistles" a great deal. *The stability
and crispness of the signal (both driftwise and in terms of AGC and S-
AM) that can be achieved with this radio is quite nice.

* * Did you get the crystal oven on that one?

The S-AM on
this set is only so-so, from what I understand - I would love to hear
what the really good S-AM (on a more recent Drake, for example) sounds
like.

* * I've got sync on my Drakes, Lowe Ten-Tec and AOR. The difference
is in the distortion during fades. There's less of it. The fades are
still there, but the audio doesn't shatter.

* * If you know what you're listening for, it's a big difference. If
not, it's not that big a deal.

* * I use my rigs without sync more than with.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks, Peter - well, that's about what I thought - the Kiwa-modified
S-AM on the R75 definitely helps soften the blow of the fades (the
distortion disappears for all practical purposes), and the AGC when
the RF Gain is turned back a wee bit fills in and remedies all but the
deepest fades. *I just figured the Drake/AOR/etc. did it better. *Not
having ever heard one in person (NOBODY sells or demos them around
this metropolis), I just don't know for sure. *In fact, you can't find
any shortwave receiver sales at all anymore except the usual lowball
Etons at RS. *HRO has nothing but tranceivers anymore.

Bruce

* *It's no better, here. I have to go to a hamfest and look at mfr's
rep booths to see, or to play with anything new. I bought my more
recent receivers unheard, based on recommendations of users, and
reviewers at RNW.

* *Although the R8A I bought at a model train show. It was in like
new condition. Not a mark on it. It still smelled like fresh circuit
boards when I opened the box.

* *That was a good day.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Model trains! Me too! :-D All I need is room for a RR...enough for a
Challenger to hi-ball across the Utah desert...

Old "Boat Anchor" tube receivers vs. Solid State receivers?
 

On 3/8/10 10:07 , bpnjensen wrote:
the Kiwa-modified
S-AM on the R75 definitely helps soften the blow of the fades (the
distortion disappears for all practical purposes), and the AGC when
the RF Gain is turned back a wee bit fills in and remedies all but the
deepest fades.


The sync on R75 was not well implemented. It worked. And it
worked according to factory specs. But it was what the techs at Lowe
call 'fiddly' dialing it in was a job. And often more trouble than
it was worth. I played with R75 at the ICOM booth at the local
hamfest. Sync worked as described. But it took a lot of attention to
keep it in place.

The complaints did not go unheard. The rep I spoke to several
months after the release of R75 told me that ICOM had heard the
complaints, were very uhappy, and had made reimplementing the sync a
priority. Trouble was, that the firmware for the rig wasn't readily
upgradeable, and hardware modifications were going to be time
consuming and expensive. R&D costs would have been a significant
issue. And considering what ICOM went through with PBT on R71, they
were not eager to step on technology that may produce another
expensive and damaging legal skirmish.

This at a time when SW was in sharp decline among broadcasters,
and most users applying sync for broadcast listening, ICOM put the
reimplementation of the sync on a back burner.

I spoke to the same ICOM factory rep a couple of years later, and
when asked about the sync on R75, shook his head and changed the
subject pretty quickly. With KIWA doing the job, there was no
motivation for ICOM to reengineer the sync, themselves, and with
broadcasters abandoning SW, there was no reason to continue
development of receive-only general coverage SW radios.