WetOne wrote:

Contemplating possible purchase of this unit. Been SWL'ing 35 plus
years and currently use as my main receiver a Lowe HF-150, which I
will never part with. Of course there are some things I don't like
about it. I have researched the R8-B over the years, and I may me
ready to strike. Tell me owners, what are your gripes and dilikes with
it? I pretty much listen to programs (love the 150's audio) but I also
do a lot of utility stuff. I am kinda interested in loading up the
Drake with a boat load of usb utility freq.'s and scanning. I would
like to pump the audio into a 900Mhz. transmitter, pull it up on my
scanner (icom R-2) and go about my work. I do this with the 150 when
more than SWL'ing needs to get done. Of course there nothing like
sittin down and twiddlin knobs.(What do I know about knob twiddlin, I
have a 150). looking foward to your comments.

John

I didn't like the display too much so I changed it. Now it looks blue
with white characters. This is not a mod' that most owners should
attempt.

I recently added an audio mute switch so I don't have to turn down the
volume to turn off the sound.

I didn't care for how warm (not hot) it ran on AC power so I use a
12-VDC power supply. It's not really necessary, just a matter of
preference.

My first R8B had more 'birdies' than I found acceptable. I now have a
newer one which has much fewer synthesizer artifacts.

I didn't care for the feel of the main tuning knob. I filled it with a
mixture of steel BB's and slow set epoxy which gives it a heavier feel.

The rotary encoder (on the tuning knob) failed on my first R8B. I took
it apart, cleaned it and replaced the lube with a synthetic grease which
makes it turn much smoother. I didn't have any further problems with
that encoder nor any on the newer R8B.

That's the extent of my 'don't likes' for the R8B. Anything else I could
mention is just nitpicking.


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