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Which radio is better
In your opinion which radio is better?
The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. -- Have a day, Keep your radio on www.activesignals.com for all listeners |
I wish I had both in my possession to compare. :)
BTW, I'm really happy with the R8B I bought a few months ago. "www.activesignals.com" wrote in message ... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. -- Have a day, Keep your radio on www.activesignals.com for all listeners |
I am pleased with JRC NRD-545,don't have a Drake R8B to compare to.
"www.activesignals.com" wrote in message ... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. -- Have a day, Keep your radio on www.activesignals.com for all listeners |
Both are very good. But I would go with the Drake. Better performance.
Better quality control. Bill, N5NOB |
i have an r8b and it is an excellent radio, the tech support (here in
canada) is great. i have never had to get mine fixed but i know of other older models like r8 and r8a needing fixed, and the service was great! never used a JRC NRD-545 but i have heard that they are great as well. the only way to decide might be the price :) chuck "Bill Hennessy" wrote in message m... Both are very good. But I would go with the Drake. Better performance. Better quality control. Bill, N5NOB |
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That's easy.
The Drake "www.activesignals.com" wrote in message ... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. -- Have a day, Keep your radio on www.activesignals.com for all listeners |
In article , hennessy@
281.com says... Both are very good. But I would go with the Drake. Better performance. Better quality control. Bill, N5NOB Better quality control??? In what universe?? BDK |
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Drake has better quality control than JRC? Heresy!
"Bill Hennessy" wrote in message m... Both are very good. But I would go with the Drake. Better performance. Better quality control. Bill, N5NOB |
I remember the 545 as having ultimate rejection problems, and JRC not having
any intention to fix them. This was a few years back. Did they resolve that issue? My favorite JRC radio was the NRD515. Too bad the used price shot up so high. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article , says... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. The 545. The Drake isn't bad, but it's very cheap feeling, and looking too, IMO. JRC has the best ergonomics of about any company out there, you will be using the radio you buy many hours, and that's where JRC has a huge edge, and the Drake loses here big time. The controls are badly (again, my opinion) laid out, the display is "plain" at best, actually I think it's really ugly. The case and front panel are very cheap looking, the JRC is built like a tank, with excellent fit and finish. And once you get the hang of it, it's a pleasure to use, even with all the extra features. Is it perfect? No, but it's about as right, looks and layout wise as you could ask for in a non Govt bought radio. As far as performance goes, if you listen to AM programs, the Drake does sound better. I dont listen to them much, I mostly listen to Ute's and the 545 is the king. If only I could afford one. I have spent a lot of hours playing with a friend's 545, and have spent a lot of time with another friend's R8A and R8B. I was never tempted to buy either one. The 545 is something I want, and want badly. For digital and SSB modes, the 545 is the way to go, especially the later production ones. You owe yourself a trip to Universal to play with both. BDK |
In article FwtIb.261170$Ec1.9025498@bgtnsc05-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says... I remember the 545 as having ultimate rejection problems, and JRC not having any intention to fix them. This was a few years back. Did they resolve that issue? My favorite JRC radio was the NRD515. Too bad the used price shot up so high. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article , says... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. The 545. The Drake isn't bad, but it's very cheap feeling, and looking too, IMO. JRC has the best ergonomics of about any company out there, you will be using the radio you buy many hours, and that's where JRC has a huge edge, and the Drake loses here big time. The controls are badly (again, my opinion) laid out, the display is "plain" at best, actually I think it's really ugly. The case and front panel are very cheap looking, the JRC is built like a tank, with excellent fit and finish. And once you get the hang of it, it's a pleasure to use, even with all the extra features. Is it perfect? No, but it's about as right, looks and layout wise as you could ask for in a non Govt bought radio. As far as performance goes, if you listen to AM programs, the Drake does sound better. I dont listen to them much, I mostly listen to Ute's and the 545 is the king. If only I could afford one. I have spent a lot of hours playing with a friend's 545, and have spent a lot of time with another friend's R8A and R8B. I was never tempted to buy either one. The 545 is something I want, and want badly. For digital and SSB modes, the 545 is the way to go, especially the later production ones. You owe yourself a trip to Universal to play with both. BDK There's a nice one on ebay right now... BDK |
In article FwtIb.261170$Ec1.9025498@bgtnsc05-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says... I remember the 545 as having ultimate rejection problems, and JRC not having any intention to fix them. This was a few years back. Did they resolve that issue? My favorite JRC radio was the NRD515. Too bad the used price shot up so high. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article , says... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. The 545. The Drake isn't bad, but it's very cheap feeling, and looking too, IMO. JRC has the best ergonomics of about any company out there, you will be using the radio you buy many hours, and that's where JRC has a huge edge, and the Drake loses here big time. The controls are badly (again, my opinion) laid out, the display is "plain" at best, actually I think it's really ugly. The case and front panel are very cheap looking, the JRC is built like a tank, with excellent fit and finish. And once you get the hang of it, it's a pleasure to use, even with all the extra features. Is it perfect? No, but it's about as right, looks and layout wise as you could ask for in a non Govt bought radio. As far as performance goes, if you listen to AM programs, the Drake does sound better. I dont listen to them much, I mostly listen to Ute's and the 545 is the king. If only I could afford one. I have spent a lot of hours playing with a friend's 545, and have spent a lot of time with another friend's R8A and R8B. I was never tempted to buy either one. The 545 is something I want, and want badly. For digital and SSB modes, the 545 is the way to go, especially the later production ones. You owe yourself a trip to Universal to play with both. BDK I know there is is a mod to the 545 that minimizes the "Monkey Chatter", I think that FL2 (A sugar cube sized "filter") is replaced, if I remember right. It's supposed to help a lot. I dont really care what it does on AM, I used it in the SSB/Rtty/Fax modes for a long time before I ever noticed it. I love my 515, I will keep it till I die.... BDK |
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Bill Hennessy wrote:
Both are very good. But I would go with the Drake. Better performance. Better quality control. Bill, N5NOB I own a Drake and an NRD and I have never heard anything negative about Japan Radio's quality control. They build their radios like tanks! -- Brian Denley http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html |
I don't know about now but, 25 years ago, Japan manufacturers tested evey
single component individually, using mom and pop test shops. Each shop would test a certain item, thus adding to the efficiency and reliability of the testing. U.S. mfrs, though, only spot checked stuff -- one out of 100, or 1000, etc. U.S. mfrs had also run into trouble using lab-precision parts instead of production tolerance parts when a device was designed. Bill, K5BY |
BH [N5NOB],
Here we go again "Quality Control" The JRC NRD-545 -=V=- The Drake R8B Quality Control {Process Control} is based upon Statistical Evidence [.] ? ? ? DO YOU HAVE ANY ? ? ? Please Respond with 'your' "Facts". I Want To Know - Please Enlighten Me ! oind... ~ RHF = = = Old Inspectors Never Die... They Simply Check-Out ! .. .. = = = "Bill Hennessy" = = = wrote in message om... Both are very good. But I would go with the Drake. Better performance. Better quality control. Bill, N5NOB .. |
That's good that they fixed it...........from your description, it sounds
like something similar to a Murata CFU-455 4-element filter was originally used. It looks like a pretty cool radio. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article FwtIb.261170$Ec1.9025498@bgtnsc05- news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says... I remember the 545 as having ultimate rejection problems, and JRC not having any intention to fix them. This was a few years back. Did they resolve that issue? My favorite JRC radio was the NRD515. Too bad the used price shot up so high. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article , says... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. The 545. The Drake isn't bad, but it's very cheap feeling, and looking too, IMO. JRC has the best ergonomics of about any company out there, you will be using the radio you buy many hours, and that's where JRC has a huge edge, and the Drake loses here big time. The controls are badly (again, my opinion) laid out, the display is "plain" at best, actually I think it's really ugly. The case and front panel are very cheap looking, the JRC is built like a tank, with excellent fit and finish. And once you get the hang of it, it's a pleasure to use, even with all the extra features. Is it perfect? No, but it's about as right, looks and layout wise as you could ask for in a non Govt bought radio. As far as performance goes, if you listen to AM programs, the Drake does sound better. I dont listen to them much, I mostly listen to Ute's and the 545 is the king. If only I could afford one. I have spent a lot of hours playing with a friend's 545, and have spent a lot of time with another friend's R8A and R8B. I was never tempted to buy either one. The 545 is something I want, and want badly. For digital and SSB modes, the 545 is the way to go, especially the later production ones. You owe yourself a trip to Universal to play with both. BDK I know there is is a mod to the 545 that minimizes the "Monkey Chatter", I think that FL2 (A sugar cube sized "filter") is replaced, if I remember right. It's supposed to help a lot. I dont really care what it does on AM, I used it in the SSB/Rtty/Fax modes for a long time before I ever noticed it. I love my 515, I will keep it till I die.... BDK |
In article FfPJb.277967$Ec1.9549073@bgtnsc05-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says... That's good that they fixed it...........from your description, it sounds like something similar to a Murata CFU-455 4-element filter was originally used. It looks like a pretty cool radio. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article FwtIb.261170$Ec1.9025498@bgtnsc05- news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says... I remember the 545 as having ultimate rejection problems, and JRC not having any intention to fix them. This was a few years back. Did they resolve that issue? My favorite JRC radio was the NRD515. Too bad the used price shot up so high. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article , says... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. The 545. The Drake isn't bad, but it's very cheap feeling, and looking too, IMO. JRC has the best ergonomics of about any company out there, you will be using the radio you buy many hours, and that's where JRC has a huge edge, and the Drake loses here big time. The controls are badly (again, my opinion) laid out, the display is "plain" at best, actually I think it's really ugly. The case and front panel are very cheap looking, the JRC is built like a tank, with excellent fit and finish. And once you get the hang of it, it's a pleasure to use, even with all the extra features. Is it perfect? No, but it's about as right, looks and layout wise as you could ask for in a non Govt bought radio. As far as performance goes, if you listen to AM programs, the Drake does sound better. I dont listen to them much, I mostly listen to Ute's and the 545 is the king. If only I could afford one. I have spent a lot of hours playing with a friend's 545, and have spent a lot of time with another friend's R8A and R8B. I was never tempted to buy either one. The 545 is something I want, and want badly. For digital and SSB modes, the 545 is the way to go, especially the later production ones. You owe yourself a trip to Universal to play with both. BDK I know there is is a mod to the 545 that minimizes the "Monkey Chatter", I think that FL2 (A sugar cube sized "filter") is replaced, if I remember right. It's supposed to help a lot. I dont really care what it does on AM, I used it in the SSB/Rtty/Fax modes for a long time before I ever noticed it. I love my 515, I will keep it till I die.... BDK I think, but I'm not positive that you are correct, the 525, 535, and 545 all used a tiny Murata 3/8" cube for the second filter. I know my 525 is a lot better when listening to something close to another freq since I did the Kiwa upgrade. I didn't really like the doublestick tape that came with it to mount the replacement, it seemed inferior to the tape I had so I went and used it instead. I had always wondered if FL2 was worth replacing, and it was.. BDK |
Well, as far as QC in manufacturing goes, it is undeniable that
Japan went to the extreme . Exported products (electric and electronic) manufactured and shipped to the USA were tested so thoroughly I never saw a defective one (other than dropped or crushed ) while doing QC in a distribution and repair facility here. Warranty repair is another story- practicaly ALL (!) Japanese- consumer products went bad after 2-3 years of normal use (we are talkng about 25 years ago). Reasons are many, but usually because the components were underrated and eventually their products failed ,sometimes catastrophically... As far as JRC goes, it is a maritime radio manufacturer, and as such it designs its products to work very reliably and to last a long time. My NRD 505 (amateur grade) is some radio , though it sounds muffled when compared to Drake R 7 ( audio is supreme on a wide bandwith, especially 8KHz). R 8 is no match to either one ,though. NRD 515--------545 are good ,but audio is only telephone grade. Their last 3 models have plastic front panels- get scratched easy and lettering disappears rather quickly. Excellent RF circuitry ,tough designs. |
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Arthur Pozner schrieb: NRD 515--------545 are good ,but audio is only telephone grade. Just add a (stereo)amplifier or an 'active speakerbox' connected to the line-out and you will be satisfied very much... I use my 525 with an kenwood stereoamp (2nd hand buy) with integrated equalizer and it sounds _g_r_e_a_t_ :-) This solution is cheaper and more effective than the external speaker made by JRC. odo |
Yes, plastic front panels do wear out from normal daily use. Even
metal front panels show "high mileage " similarly- practically all unrestored R-390 and R-390As have big circles around MHz and KHz knobs... BTW, NRD-505 is a solid state replica ( same topology ) of R-390 ! The VFO is copied quite well - same orange color sticker is present . On the subject of good audio, recently I discovered that Sony 7600 has incredible sound when fed through a good stereo (plus its synchronous detection makes it even better). Each radio has its own unique charismatic appeal. |
That sounds like a good deal..............from your description, it sounds
like it might even be the CFWS-XXX 6-element series. That is used in quite a few radios. I am using that filter in the MW receiver design right now, and it does a good job. I might go along with the CFWS (now CFLW) 455I, which is a 4kHz filter, especially with the sync detection mode. I always wanted to get one of the 525s; they are cool receivers. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article FfPJb.277967$Ec1.9549073@bgtnsc05- news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says... That's good that they fixed it...........from your description, it sounds like something similar to a Murata CFU-455 4-element filter was originally used. It looks like a pretty cool radio. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article FwtIb.261170$Ec1.9025498@bgtnsc05- news.ops.worldnet.att.net, says... I remember the 545 as having ultimate rejection problems, and JRC not having any intention to fix them. This was a few years back. Did they resolve that issue? My favorite JRC radio was the NRD515. Too bad the used price shot up so high. Pete BDK wrote in message ... In article , says... In your opinion which radio is better? The JRC NRD-545 or the Drake R8B? Please explain why you think it is better. It is a tuff decission deciding which to purchase. The 545. The Drake isn't bad, but it's very cheap feeling, and looking too, IMO. JRC has the best ergonomics of about any company out there, you will be using the radio you buy many hours, and that's where JRC has a huge edge, and the Drake loses here big time. The controls are badly (again, my opinion) laid out, the display is "plain" at best, actually I think it's really ugly. The case and front panel are very cheap looking, the JRC is built like a tank, with excellent fit and finish. And once you get the hang of it, it's a pleasure to use, even with all the extra features. Is it perfect? No, but it's about as right, looks and layout wise as you could ask for in a non Govt bought radio. As far as performance goes, if you listen to AM programs, the Drake does sound better. I dont listen to them much, I mostly listen to Ute's and the 545 is the king. If only I could afford one. I have spent a lot of hours playing with a friend's 545, and have spent a lot of time with another friend's R8A and R8B. I was never tempted to buy either one. The 545 is something I want, and want badly. For digital and SSB modes, the 545 is the way to go, especially the later production ones. You owe yourself a trip to Universal to play with both. BDK I know there is is a mod to the 545 that minimizes the "Monkey Chatter", I think that FL2 (A sugar cube sized "filter") is replaced, if I remember right. It's supposed to help a lot. I dont really care what it does on AM, I used it in the SSB/Rtty/Fax modes for a long time before I ever noticed it. I love my 515, I will keep it till I die.... BDK I think, but I'm not positive that you are correct, the 525, 535, and 545 all used a tiny Murata 3/8" cube for the second filter. I know my 525 is a lot better when listening to something close to another freq since I did the Kiwa upgrade. I didn't really like the doublestick tape that came with it to mount the replacement, it seemed inferior to the tape I had so I went and used it instead. I had always wondered if FL2 was worth replacing, and it was.. BDK |
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