Telamon wrote in message ...
The Icom R75 does not have QC problems I'm aware of. It does
have design problems and is the reason people have the units
modified.

For example a ten-tec RX-340? This one have some flaws too and cost
$3,950.The sync selectable sideband lose look relatively
easily,Passport recomend an external Sherwood SE-3 [500.00],poor
dynamic range,static crashes sound harsher than on analog
receivers.Spurious signal noted around 6MHZ segment,notch filter does
not work in AM,Sync selectable sideband or ISB modes,Noise blanker
not effective ect, ect, ect,.What about a Drake R8B? Cost $1,495,
This one have a lot of flaws too,for example the power supply run
very hot,[a remedy is to use an external power supply],bassy sound
"virtually requieres a outboard speaker" [Passport],a cheap
mechanical encoder used to have an above -average failure rate [Why
not an optical one like in the AOR 7030+],a lot of birdies and
background hiss [from the synthesizer board and some poor shielding
and grounding techniques ect ect ect.....My R75 cost only $450.00
with free DSP included.It have installed 2.4khz,3.3khz,6khz filters,
Pete's sensitivity mod,339 comparator sync mod,Phidelity mod all this
mods for less than $50.00 and not only "work as advertised" but work
better than a R8B [and others expensive receivers] for hard core dxing.



The Ten Tec RX340, Drake R8B and AOR 7030 perform to their
specifications and function as expected based on the literature that
describe them. ICOM made the decision not to fix the R75 design problems
so people that want it to work right have to modify it. I consider the
R75 as described to be false advertising. Cost has nothing to do with
the issue of whether the radio performs as advertised.
But what about companies like Ten-tec and drake .Ten tec owners are
still waiting for the RX-350 sync det fixing and others flaws
fixing[check the complains in the RX-350 yahoo group].What about the
Ten Tec flaws that you can read in passport to world band? Why they
don't fix then? An now we are talking about a $3,999 receiver.What
about Drake R8b encoders,birdies,synthesizer circuit noise ect
ect,?All companies including Icom make excuses and try to compensate
with more advertizings in shortwave radio guides.But the difference
with Icom is that they decrease the R-75 price form $1,100 to $450.00
or $525.00 and are including a free DSP but Drake and others are
increasing the price of their receiver but they are not raising the
quality standards,.
I use all three radios with external bookshelf speakers or headphones
because they sound better than the internal ones. The internal speakers
are OK on all three radios.
In the R-75 too.But I agree with you that ext speakers sound a lot
better.
The improvement an SE-3 would bring to the RX340 would not be worth the
money to me. I don¹t know where you got the information on static
crashes sounding worse than on other receivers. I have had no sign
spurious signals around 6 MHz either. I get the information from passport. All of the radios functions are
not available or even make sense in all modes of operation. All
functions are available and work as advertised. The noise blanker works
against some noise types and not others just like any other radio I¹ve
used.
I agree
The Drake R8B does not run hot. Warm would be the best description. I
have measured the case temperature to be just a few degrees above room,
which is perfectly normal for a unit with an internal power supply. It
is my understanding that ICOM has made several radios that you can¹t
keep your hand on however.
A lot of R8B owners are using an external power supply now.The
internal "international voltage transformer" and internal power supply
circuit keep generating a lot of heat even if you turn off the
receiver.[I don't read this anywhere I had a R8B sometime ago.]
I¹m not going to drop $450 - $500 bucks on a radio that I need to hack
for the AGC and sync to work right and I disagree that even after doing
so the radio ³is better² than the Ten-Tec, Drake or AOR receivers that
is just your opinion not based on fact.
That's your privilege.My oppinion is based in the fact that I tested
both receivers for months and read almost all the reviews available
but I'm not expecting that you like my facts.
These days I¹m surprised someone has not sued ICOM.
If the price increase more than $700.00 in the next months I will be
the first.