RadioBanter - Next Step Up ?

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Hi,

Just curious re your opinions.

What would be the next step up for a table top receiver over the
JRC NRD 545 ?

Should include the vhf/uhf mil air, PD, etc. bands as well as HF.

What would it offer better than the 545: sensitivity, or...?
When was it first on the market ?

Assume a $3,500 limit. Should be new, not used.

Not interested in a SDR receiver; tried one but returned it due to all
the software glitches.

Thanks,
Bob

dave wrote:

dxAce wrote:

Yeah, plenty of decent stuff out there. I'd never get a 'full spectrum' RX. To
many compromises.

Get basic dedicated units.

The 545 should certainly be able to handle HF, though I've never been a fan of
the JVC offerings.

The American made Elecraft K3 is the best HF receiver ever. Period.

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

I'll stick with my outdated Drake R7 and its siblings.

dxAce wrote:

dave wrote:

dxAce wrote:

Yeah, plenty of decent stuff out there. I'd never get a 'full spectrum' RX. To
many compromises.

Get basic dedicated units.

The 545 should certainly be able to handle HF, though I've never been a fan of
the JVC offerings.

The American made Elecraft K3 is the best HF receiver ever. Period.

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

I'll stick with my outdated Drake R7 and its siblings.

And if one has one in good shape, with the crystals or having the FS-4 synthesizer for
SWBC, one cant go wrong with a Drake R-4B.

dave wrote:

dxAce wrote:

dave wrote:

dxAce wrote:

Yeah, plenty of decent stuff out there. I'd never get a 'full spectrum' RX. To
many compromises.

Get basic dedicated units.

The 545 should certainly be able to handle HF, though I've never been a fan of
the JVC offerings.

The American made Elecraft K3 is the best HF receiver ever. Period.

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

I'll stick with my outdated Drake R7 and its siblings.

I'm sure it picks up WLS real good.

Dave, you stupid slut, it picks up everything real good.

On Aug 1, 9:02*am, dxAce wrote:
Drifter wrote:
On 7/31/2010 7:56 PM, Bob wrote:
Hi,

Just curious re your opinions.

What would be the next step up for a table top receiver over the
JRC NRD 545 ?

Should include the vhf/uhf mil air, PD, etc. bands as well as HF.

What would it offer better than the 545: sensitivity, or...?
When was it first on the market ?

Assume a $3,500 limit. Should be new, not used.

Not interested in a SDR receiver; tried one but returned it due to all
the software glitches.

Thanks,
Bob

Hi Bob.

* * *Your asking a lot from a single receiver. from the lists i have
followed, over the years, there is really no one best receiver. some
like the Icoms- R-9000 and the 8500. myself, i didn't care for the
R-9K. runs way too hot, just fries itself over a short time. you
need the double fan rear panel from Sherwood to help it live. i
like the 8500, works well on HF, and just OK on the higher bands.
the real stand-out is the AOR R-5000 +3. it handles most of the
spectrum well. some don't like it because of the small front panel
and knobs. i run it with the SDU, or a computer set-up. for me it's
a keeper, can be had for not too bad prices. my opinions here.
* * you are better off with a good HF receiver, and a second for the
higher bands. no one receiver, does it all, well. there are a few
Gov/Mil receivers coming on the markets, as they are replaced by
SDR types. *ebay is not a good rule of thumb. you might want to
read the EHam listings for some ideas. another good place to watch
are the Canadian salvage listing's. use a good search engine. just
watch out for the DE-mils, some Gov's remove parts before they put
them up for sale. a lot of these receivers are one-off's, meaning
repair and parts are hard to find. and keep away from the so called
spy receivers, mostly crap, some one puts a radio in a suite-case
and rips off a buyer. YMMV.

Yeah, plenty of decent stuff out there. I'd never get a 'full spectrum' RX. To
many compromises.

Get basic dedicated units.

The 545 should certainly be able to handle HF, though I've never been a fan of
the JVC offerings.

Agreed. IMO keep your 545 for HF, it's a great rx. Get a decent
SCANNER and antenna for receiving above 30 mhz. Most of those Jap full-
spectrum radios fall short as far as scanning options go and can be a
real pain in the ass to program, especially the AORs.

On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:56:00 -0400, Bob wrote:

Hi,

Just curious re your opinions.

What would be the next step up for a table top receiver over the
JRC NRD 545 ?

Should include the vhf/uhf mil air, PD, etc. bands as well as HF.

What would it offer better than the 545: sensitivity, or...?
When was it first on the market ?

Assume a $3,500 limit. Should be new, not used.

Not interested in a SDR receiver; tried one but returned it due to all
the software glitches.

Thanks,
Bob

I think an SDR still delivers the best bang for the buck. What type of
computer were you using with your SDR? I have a Perseus SDR and I
can't remember the last time I had a "glitch" or any other problem
with it. It always outperforms my amateur transceiver on the MW band
and any AM signals using the sych detector. Plus the noise blanker is
more effective and the filters are really "brick wall".
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/7227

Jim

On Jul 31, 7:56*pm, Bob wrote:
Hi,

Just curious re your opinions.

What would be the next step up for a table top receiver over the
JRC NRD 545 ?

Should include the vhf/uhf mil air, PD, etc. bands as well as HF.

What would it offer better than the 545: sensitivity, or...?
When was it first on the market ?

Assume a $3,500 limit. Should be new, not used.

Not interested in a SDR receiver; tried one but returned it due to all
the software glitches.

Thanks,
Bob

As I said in my previous post, the 545 is no slouch and you'd be
better off getting a good quality scanner for above 30 mhz. But if
you're itching to replace your 545 for LW/MW/SW, IMO the next step up
has to be a Ten-Tec RX340. I replaced my 545 with an RX340, not
because I was unhappy with the 545, but because I got a huge bonus at
work and figured what the heck, go for it. The RX340 is absolutely
superb and outperforms every rx I ever had.

But as nice as multi-kilobuck radios are, the performance improvement
is not as dramatic as, say, upgrading to a NRD-545 from a portable. If
you already have a great radio like a Drake R7A, JRC NRD-515, JRC
NRD-545, AOR 7030, etc., you may find it's not really worth the
expense to upgrade, as your current radio will hear at least 90% of
what a multi-kilobuck radio will.

On 8/2/10 14:48 , DEFCON 88 wrote:
On Jul 31, 7:56 pm, wrote:
Hi,

Just curious re your opinions.

What would be the next step up for a table top receiver over the
JRC NRD 545 ?

Should include the vhf/uhf mil air, PD, etc. bands as well as HF.

What would it offer better than the 545: sensitivity, or...?
When was it first on the market ?

Assume a $3,500 limit. Should be new, not used.

Not interested in a SDR receiver; tried one but returned it due to all
the software glitches.

Thanks,
Bob

As I said in my previous post, the 545 is no slouch and you'd be
better off getting a good quality scanner for above 30 mhz. But if
you're itching to replace your 545 for LW/MW/SW, IMO the next step up
has to be a Ten-Tec RX340. I replaced my 545 with an RX340, not
because I was unhappy with the 545, but because I got a huge bonus at
work and figured what the heck, go for it. The RX340 is absolutely
superb and outperforms every rx I ever had.

But as nice as multi-kilobuck radios are, the performance improvement
is not as dramatic as, say, upgrading to a NRD-545 from a portable. If
you already have a great radio like a Drake R7A, JRC NRD-515, JRC
NRD-545, AOR 7030, etc., you may find it's not really worth the
expense to upgrade, as your current radio will hear at least 90% of
what a multi-kilobuck radio will.

A couple of points.

You already have a tremendous HF receiver. Not the most pleasant
audio, but a great radio.

Rather than move to an all-in-one, which may not be as efficient
on the HF bands, keep the radio you've got, spend a couple of
hundred improving your antenna, and put your money into a V/UHF
radio. AOR makes a nice one, which should becoming to the US soon.
Yeasu makes one, but HF isn't quite what you're used to.

An all-in-one that meets the same standard of HF performance
you're used to, will cost far more than your $3500. And new ones are
getting hard to find. ICOM discontinued the R8500 for consumer
service, which was one of the few good widebands (though HF
performance may still not have improved over your 545). And the 8500
was affordable, given your budget. AOR's R5000 was likewise
affordable and performed well. No longer available. The R5001 will
replace it.

Today a high performance wideband (new, not used) can top $14,000.

And truth be told, your HF performance with the 545 is within
striking distance of Ten-Tec's RX3400, which is pushing $4000.
Whereas, an improvement in your antenna will yield dramatic
improvements at far less cost.

Keep your 545. Improve your antenna. Buy a decent V/UHF rig.

And put the rest into your VHF antenna.

Toxic wrote:
On Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:51:37 -0400, Drifter wrote:

and, as always, a good antenna can make all the difference.

With enough signal you could get by with a mediocre rig,
but without a signal, no radio can do you any good.

I think the 3.5K$ upper limit for a 'new' wide coveraged rcvr
might be a bit low, unless it's an in the box deal from a hijacked
shipment somewhere. Like you find around xmas time in the far corner of a
Mall parking lot at night.

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html