I am interested in getting back into SWL (This is what lead me into ham
radio back in 1963.) I have narrowed my selection to four receivers over a
rather large price difference. My choices were the result of reading many
conflicting reviews, along with some bias from my days as a ham. I was
hoping that some of you may have owned various combinations of these over
the years, that could result in a first hand opinion.

The choices I have made are, in no particular order a
Drake R8B
Icom R8500
Ten Tec RX-350D
Icom R75

I was also considering getting back into ham radio (my license is still
active and I retire in about 18 months) and would like an opinion as to how
the general coverage reception in most of today's ham transcievers compares
to the dedicated radios listed above.

I started in SWL in 1961 with a Hallicrafters S-120. Later moved to a
Lafayette HE-80 when I got the ham license. Then had things like a Drake
2-B, a Hallicrafters SX-117, and finally a Kenwood TS-820S (None of which I
have today.)

Thanks in advance......
Bob -- wa3cuj

wrote:



I am interested in getting back into SWL (This is what lead me into ham
radio back in 1963.) I have narrowed my selection to four receivers over a
rather large price difference. My choices were the result of reading many
conflicting reviews, along with some bias from my days as a ham. I was
hoping that some of you may have owned various combinations of these over
the years, that could result in a first hand opinion.

The choices I have made are, in no particular order a
Drake R8B
Icom R8500
Ten Tec RX-350D
Icom R75


No contest, go with the Drake R8B.


I was also considering getting back into ham radio (my license is still
active and I retire in about 18 months) and would like an opinion as to how
the general coverage reception in most of today's ham transcievers compares
to the dedicated radios listed above.



I think some general coverage ham transceivers do a good job, but NONE have the
Drake's excellent AM SYNCHRONOUS DETECTOR. Once you've experienced a good
synchronous detector, you'll wonder how you ever did without it.

Bob Bonneville wrote:
I am interested in getting back into SWL (This is what lead me into
ham radio back in 1963.) I have narrowed my selection to four
receivers over a rather large price difference. My choices were the
result of reading many conflicting reviews, along with some bias from
my days as a ham. I was hoping that some of you may have owned
various combinations of these over the years, that could result in a
first hand opinion.

The choices I have made are, in no particular order a
Drake R8B
Icom R8500
Ten Tec RX-350D
Icom R75


The Drake's a top gun HF receiver wit all the tools with all filters
included. The Ten-Tec is all DSP, also with a great set of DX tools and
about 34 filters included. The R75 is a good dx receiver but apparently
need several mods in order to work well and the other filters are optional.
The R8500 is an excellent wideband receiver but will not keep up with the
others on HF.

--
Brian Denley
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html

"Bob Bonneville" wrote in message ...
I am interested in getting back into SWL (This is what lead me into ham
radio back in 1963.) I have narrowed my selection to four receivers over a
rather large price difference. My choices were the result of reading many
conflicting reviews, along with some bias from my days as a ham. I was
hoping that some of you may have owned various combinations of these over
the years, that could result in a first hand opinion.

The choices I have made are, in no particular order a
Drake R8B
Icom R8500
Ten Tec RX-350D
Icom R75

I was also considering getting back into ham radio (my license is still
active and I retire in about 18 months) and would like an opinion as to how
the general coverage reception in most of today's ham transcievers compares
to the dedicated radios listed above.

I started in SWL in 1961 with a Hallicrafters S-120. Later moved to a
Lafayette HE-80 when I got the ham license. Then had things like a Drake
2-B, a Hallicrafters SX-117, and finally a Kenwood TS-820S (None of which I
have today.)

Thanks in advance......
Bob -- wa3cuj

Oh oh, get out your asbestos suits boys!

Grumpus

Brian Denley wrote:

Bob Bonneville wrote:
I am interested in getting back into SWL (This is what lead me into
ham radio back in 1963.) I have narrowed my selection to four
receivers over a rather large price difference. My choices were the
result of reading many conflicting reviews, along with some bias from
my days as a ham. I was hoping that some of you may have owned
various combinations of these over the years, that could result in a
first hand opinion.

The choices I have made are, in no particular order a
Drake R8B
Icom R8500
Ten Tec RX-350D
Icom R75

The Drake's a top gun HF receiver wit all the tools with all filters
included. The Ten-Tec is all DSP, also with a great set of DX tools and
about 34 filters included. The R75 is a good dx receiver but apparently
need several mods in order to work well and the other filters are optional.
The R8500 is an excellent wideband receiver but will not keep up with the
others on HF.

--
Brian Denley



Brian's advice is solid. It's best to ask yourself what
features/capabilities are really important to you, and which are "window
dressing", if any. If you want it all - top drawer - no matter what
your DX interests are, the Drake is leader of the pack (with a price tag
to match). The Icom R-75's biggest liability is the synchronous AM
which is best described with a "shrug". On the Drake, it's excellent.
The Icom can be modded for much better synch AM performance, but that's
hassle, money, and time with the receiver away from you, if you have it
done by a pro. Aside from that, for straight SW DX, the Icom R-75 and
the Drake are very, very close in performance, all other things being
equal. Brian nailed it on the R8500. I have no experience with the
Ten-Tec, so I'll remain mute on that.

Basically, it comes down to this: ANY of those you have listed will
give good performance, period. The Drake is the best of the lot, but
you are paying mucho more for perhaps 10-15% better performance,
head-to-head - that is typical of most things in the "next-to-highest"
vs. "highest" price range. The point of diminishing returns, as they
say. The good news is that there isn't a "loser" among the receivers
you have named. If possible, try to get hands-on with all four of them
- the ergonomics is no small part of it. Good luck, and enjoy your
ultimate purchase!

Tony


----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups
---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

In replying, Brian Denley stated:

The Drake's a top gun HF receiver wit all the tools with all filters
included. The Ten-Tec is all DSP, also with a great set of DX tools and
about 34 filters included. The R75 is a good dx receiver but apparently
need several mods in order to work well and the other filters are optional.
The R8500 is an excellent wideband receiver but will not keep up with the
others on HF.


I would not disagree except to amplify his remarks on the R75's virtues (and
especially one big shortcoming.)

After more than a year's use I am beginning to become very annoyed with the
R75's AGC/Squelch "threshold" problem, which I haven't seen discussed anywhere
else.

Even with the AGC off, in envelope detection mode (or with the S-AM mode turned
on), one cannot really eliminate *another* gain control function: a sloping knee
in the transfer curve between "max RF gain" mode, and squelch mode. So, under
certain conditions of carrier level pulsing (due to propagation), very short,
sudden pulses of carrier level seem to exceed the attack time of the AGC circuit,
overshoot, and reach the sloping threshold of the squelching region, causing
very irritating jerks in volume level. Beyond that threshold, the quieting
squelch sets in and the audio level is first rapidly attenuated, and then shut
off altogether.

Now, I intuit that this is done to prevent severe overload of the IF system and
clipping. When the RF carrier level exceeds a pre-determined ceiling, the
squelch effect starts to activate. The automatic volume control circuit ahead
of it -- and indeed, any feedback AGC circuit in such a radio -- has both an
attack time, and a release time (very sophisticated circuit designs have complex
'simultaneous' multiple time constants, but the Icom doesn't seem to be one of
them; it has only two fixed release time constants.) In my Sony 7600 receiver,
for example, quick sharp positive carrier pulses during propagation
reinforcements cause very noticeable, irritating, sudden distortion bursts --
especially in SSB mode. Horrible! But on the Icom, instead of getting those
blasts of distortion, you get jerky, pulsing audio levels. To eliminate that,
you must turn the RF gain WAY down during some types of propagation disturbances.
The strange Icom design of the combined RF gain/Squelch control works this
way: RF gain increases rapidly up to about 10AM, and then flattens off to 12
o'clock; above that the squelch sets in. If the RF gain level is set from, say,
11 to 12, the jerky/slight squelch effect is prone to occur under some
fade/blast conditions. It does not matter much if the AGC time constant is set
to fast or normal, or even if the AGC is totally off; *or* if the S-AM (sync
mode) is on.

The solution is extremely careful fine-tuning of the RF gain control during some
broadcasts affected by such propagation-induced carrier level pulsing, or
turning the RF gain to 10 AM and losing much of the AGC effectiveness at evening
out differences of carrier when tuning the bands (and making very weak signals
too soft in volume.)

(Now: may we get a very critical, expert analysis of the Kiwa mods with respect
to this problem? I have not had them done to this unit yet.)

With steady internal carrier supplied by the receiver when in ECSS mode, the
problem goes away ENTIRELY. Then, under the worst fades/boosts of carrier, the
volume may indeed occasionally change but it does not severely jerk and nearly
squelch on the first few tens of milliseconds of a sudden carrier level peak.
So, I use ECSS mode most of the time, though this necessitates pretty critical
adjustment of the frequency offset to avoid pitch shift, and often a careful
setting of the IF passband tuning to maximize clarity by moving around the very
distinctive region of frequency/phase ringing at the sharp filter cutoff.

(I am an expert in designing feedback networks, integrators, and time constants
for AGC circuits used for electronic servo control systems, but since my R75 has
been in warranty until recently, and has delicate surface-mount components, I
haven't been willing to delve into modification experiments.)

FWIW, with extremely careful operation, the R75 is an extraordinary DX machine.
But obtaining its full potential of performance requires diligence.

Yours,
AUTEUR
--
Ce message a ete poste via la plateforme Web club-Internet.fr
This message has been posted by the Web platform club-Internet.fr

http://forums.club-internet.fr/

If you haven't listened to HF in a few years, depending on where you
listen- before you spend all that money- you may want to listen first to
the current RF noise swamp under which all those exotic dx signals are now
buried. It sure ain't what it used to be.
Pete KQ5I

In article 01c3b325$243327c0$471388cf@verrando, spiffy12348
@hotmail.com says...
If you haven't listened to HF in a few years, depending on where you
listen- before you spend all that money- you may want to listen first to
the current RF noise swamp under which all those exotic dx signals are now
buried. It sure ain't what it used to be.
Pete KQ5I




?????

BDK

BB,

All of the replys to your original post; have given you some
very valid information on the receivers that your have asked
about. I am sure either the Drake R8B or the Icom R75 (with
the Kiwa Mods) will fullfill your Listening Needs. Before you
buy either, try and get to a store (or a friends HAM/SWL Club)
and test drive the ergonomics to get the feel of the radio.

But Remember One Thing: The Antenna is 55.5% of the
Radio/Receiver and Antenna/Ground Reception Equation.

TBL: Whatever you finally spend on your new Pride & Joy
(radio/receiver).
$=INVEST=$ 25% or more in a quality Antenna and Ground System
to maximize the potential of these high tech radios/receives.

FWIW: I own and used the Icom R75 with the complete set of the
Kiwa Mods plus an External Speaker and it is GREAT Receiver IMHO !

iane ~ RHF
..
..
= = = "Bob Bonneville"
= = = wrote in message ...
I am interested in getting back into SWL (This is what lead me into ham
radio back in 1963.) I have narrowed my selection to four receivers over a
rather large price difference. My choices were the result of reading many
conflicting reviews, along with some bias from my days as a ham. I was
hoping that some of you may have owned various combinations of these over
the years, that could result in a first hand opinion.

The choices I have made are, in no particular order a
Drake R8B
Icom R8500
Ten Tec RX-350D
Icom R75

I was also considering getting back into ham radio (my license is still
active and I retire in about 18 months) and would like an opinion as to how
the general coverage reception in most of today's ham transcievers compares
to the dedicated radios listed above.

I started in SWL in 1961 with a Hallicrafters S-120. Later moved to a
Lafayette HE-80 when I got the ham license. Then had things like a Drake
2-B, a Hallicrafters SX-117, and finally a Kenwood TS-820S (None of which I
have today.)

Thanks in advance......
Bob -- wa3cuj

Hi Bob, I use my kenwood ts-570 for short-wave receiving.

Why buy what you already have unless your interested in monitoring
several frequencies at the same time.

Bob Bonneville wrote:

I am interested in getting back into SWL (This is what lead me into ham
radio back in 1963.) I have narrowed my selection to four receivers over a
rather large price difference. My choices were the result of reading many
conflicting reviews, along with some bias from my days as a ham. I was
hoping that some of you may have owned various combinations of these over
the years, that could result in a first hand opinion.

The choices I have made are, in no particular order a
Drake R8B
Icom R8500
Ten Tec RX-350D
Icom R75

I was also considering getting back into ham radio (my license is still
active and I retire in about 18 months) and would like an opinion as to how
the general coverage reception in most of today's ham transcievers compares
to the dedicated radios listed above.

I started in SWL in 1961 with a Hallicrafters S-120. Later moved to a
Lafayette HE-80 when I got the ham license. Then had things like a Drake
2-B, a Hallicrafters SX-117, and finally a Kenwood TS-820S (None of which I
have today.)

Thanks in advance......
Bob -- wa3cuj