Kenneth wrote:
snip
hi Starman:

I've never heard of any failure of the transformer or
associated AC power supply components.

strawman argument? there are no failures, there are alignments.
Yes expensive friendly [$$$$$] aligments from Mr Drake an his nice
service guys.Any 101 course electronic technician knows that extreme
heat near delicated component can change its critical tolerance and
with that the need for aligments.Why do you think the drake service
dept is so famous?.

Extreme heat? My R8 ran warm enough that the cats liked to snuggle up to it.

Ever compare the case of an R8 series radio with a similar sized set that uses tubes?

I suspect the reason the Drake service department is famous is if you call them up with a question, they treat you like a valued customer. They sent me an owners manual for the R8 I bought used for free.

The R75 sounds much better with an external
speaker but it's
still not as good as an R8, particularly for program listening.

the modded R75 has fidelity, working SAM, and a better filter for SAM
sideband selection.
With an external speaker and the Phidelity mod the sound is much
better and clear with its quiet circuitry .
There is no sync' mod for the R75 that makes it
work as
well as the sync' on an R8B.

says who? the guy who in 2002 said the R75 had "no synchronous selectable
sideband" then in 2004 said DUH "synchronous selectable sideband actually
being somewhat functional". the guy who in 2003 could not get a Kiwa modded
R75 to review but in 2004 sited "exceptionally fast turnaround"? the guy
who stated "added crispness marginally improves audio" but got the wrong
audio mod? the guy who "forgot" the "1/2" on the Kiwa modded R75's rating?
Just wondering, are you insinuating that this "guy" FORGOT the 1/2
start in the R75 rating [see passport site]only by a "coincidence"?
NAHHHHHH we all are too mature to believe in silly "coincidences" like
that.Like einstein said God don't play dice.This guy was the same that
said in a Grundig advertisement "the sat 800 is the most powerfull
radio in the world" and about the R8B "it get everything right".
I prefer to pay more for a receiver that doesn't need many
(if any) mod's, than to pay less up front and then spend
more time and money to get it working acceptably.

spend time doing what? the work has already been done. you send Kiwa a
radio and an $80 check. who knows, maybe 2004 will be the year you fix the
R8B's synthesizer with encoder lubricant.
A lot of radio enthusiastics know how to solder and with some care
they are working in their radios having fun and saving some service
money.If you know how to solder and have a good magnifier your
sync/agc mod cost can be less than $10.00.

Since these mods are well known, simple and inexpensive, why hasn't the factory hasn't gotten around to incorporating them into the design?

It would eliminate almost every complaint people have about the radio.

I think the answer is not enough owners have complained.