"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

Joe Analssandrini wrote:

Here's a *possible* solution: buy an AOR AR7030 Plus receiver from one
of the shops in England in conjunction with Richard Hillier at AOR UK
(he can make recommendations to you based on your requirements and
will contact the shop of your choice to have the radio specially made
up and shipped to you). Then contact Jan Arkesteijn and download
RxWings (you can e-mail him and get the latest version). You will then
have a superlative receiver which can be used as a stand-alone radio,
a radio controlled by a remote-control device, and a
computer-controlled radio. Should computer standards change in a
number of years, well, you'll still have the stand-alone radio. You
can have your cake and eat it too! (The AR7030 is AT LEAST as good as
the Drake; frankly, I think it's much more versatile and better.) By
the way, Jan's computer control program RxWings is totally FREE!

Joe

P.S. You can tell your wife that this will be the VERY LAST short-wave
radio you'll ever need to buy. If you're lucky, she MAY even believe
you!


The 7030+ is a nice radio, but it's also likely to be several hundred dollars higher than an R8b when equipped with a noise blanker and a couple of high end filters.

On the winradio - my greatest concern is the internal ones.

There are a fair number of people using classic radios that were state of the art 30-50 years ago, and they still work well.

But odds are 30 years from now you won't want to be using the same computer, and newer ones aren't likely to be using PCI cards.

But odds are, no matter what happens with the design of internal cards on a PC, there will be some way of hooking up an RS232 port, so if you have an external winradio, you'll probably still be able to control it.

Software should be less of a problem - I'm pretty sure you can still get emulator software to allow your windoze PC to run 25 year old CP/M software.

Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

dxAce wrote:
snip
Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

The radio hasn't been discontinued, but they've stopped importing them to the USA.

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:
snip
Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

The radio hasn't been discontinued, but they've stopped importing them to the USA.

I wonder what the reasoning for that was? Universal still carries other AOR products,
at least according to their catalog.

dxAce

dxAce wrote:

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:
snip
Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

The radio hasn't been discontinued, but they've stopped importing them to the USA.

I wonder what the reasoning for that was? Universal still carries other AOR products,
at least according to their catalog.

dxAce

I'm guessing they weren't selling many of them.

I love the 7030+ I set up as a "portable", but if I was buying new and
paying retail, it would cost about $2300 for the radio with the options and milspec filters before I added the stuff that made it a "portable".

Without the filters, I didn't like the 7030 as much as my original R8.

What made it worthwhile is the 7030+ is a little smaller, and it draws considerably less power.

My guess is most people who are willing to spend more than the price of the Drake will go for something with a dsp IF, or they'll buy something like a used military radio - for $2k you can buy a used Harris 590.

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:
snip
Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

The radio hasn't been discontinued, but they've stopped importing them to the USA.

I wonder what the reasoning for that was? Universal still carries other AOR products,
at least according to their catalog.

dxAce

I'm guessing they weren't selling many of them.

Here is what I pulled off Passport's site:

Last AOR AR7030 Sold in North America

AOR’s AR7030 tabletop receiver offers outstanding
performance, and for that reason gets high marks in
PASSPORT REPORTS. However, its complex tree-logic
operation has made it unpopular within North America.
The only American dealer distributing the ‘7030 in 2004
(see below) now reports that its last new unit has been
sold, and no more will be stocked.

The receiver continues to be available worldwide from
AOR and AOR dealers within the United Kingdom,
where it is manufactured.

Universal Radio reports that the AOR AR7030 series of
tabletop receivers, reviewed on pages 140-142 of
PASSPORT 2004, is being dropped by AOR USA.
Universal, the '7030's only direct dealer in North
America, indicates they will make a final order shortly.
After those receivers have been sold, the only way
Americans will be able to obtain the '7030 is to order it
from the United Kingdom, where it is manufactured, or
from dealers in Europe. This is the latest manifestation
of a years-long shift in the world band receiver market
from pricey tabletop models to relatively affordable
portables.

dxAce

dxAce wrote:

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:
snip
Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

The radio hasn't been discontinued, but they've stopped importing them to the USA.

I wonder what the reasoning for that was? Universal still carries other AOR products,
at least according to their catalog.

dxAce

I'm guessing they weren't selling many of them.

Here is what I pulled off Passport's site:

Last AOR AR7030 Sold in North America

AOR’s AR7030 tabletop receiver offers outstanding
performance, and for that reason gets high marks in
PASSPORT REPORTS. However, its complex tree-logic
operation has made it unpopular within North America.
The only American dealer distributing the ‘7030 in 2004
(see below) now reports that its last new unit has been
sold, and no more will be stocked.

The receiver continues to be available worldwide from
AOR and AOR dealers within the United Kingdom,
where it is manufactured.

Universal Radio reports that the AOR AR7030 series of
tabletop receivers, reviewed on pages 140-142 of
PASSPORT 2004, is being dropped by AOR USA.
Universal, the '7030's only direct dealer in North
America, indicates they will make a final order shortly.
After those receivers have been sold, the only way
Americans will be able to obtain the '7030 is to order it
from the United Kingdom, where it is manufactured, or
from dealers in Europe. This is the latest manifestation
of a years-long shift in the world band receiver market
from pricey tabletop models to relatively affordable
portables.

dxAce

Lots of people have crabbed about the nested menu system, but I'd think anyone who had some experience with using computers would find it simple.

The remote makes it even easier, though I usually leave it home.

I had a cordless phone that was tougher to figure out.

In article , says...
dxAce wrote:
=20
"Mark S. Holden" wrote:
=20
dxAce wrote:

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:
snip
Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

The radio hasn't been discontinued, but they've stopped importing=
them to the USA.

I wonder what the reasoning for that was? Universal still carries o=
ther AOR products,
at least according to their catalog.

dxAce

I'm guessing they weren't selling many of them.
=20
Here is what I pulled off Passport's site:
=20
Last AOR AR7030 Sold in North America
=20
AOR=92s AR7030 tabletop receiver offers outstanding
performance, and for that reason gets high marks in
PASSPORT REPORTS. However, its complex tree-logic
operation has made it unpopular within North America.
The only American dealer distributing the =917030 in 2=
004
(see below) now reports that its last new unit has bee=
n
sold, and no more will be stocked.
=20
The receiver continues to be available worldwide from
AOR and AOR dealers within the United Kingdom,
where it is manufactured.
=20
Universal Radio reports that the AOR AR7030 series of
tabletop receivers, reviewed on pages 140-142 of
PASSPORT 2004, is being dropped by AOR USA.
Universal, the '7030's only direct dealer in North
America, indicates they will make a final order shortl=
y.
After those receivers have been sold, the only way
Americans will be able to obtain the '7030 is to order=
it
from the United Kingdom, where it is manufactured, or
from dealers in Europe. This is the latest manifestati=
on
of a years-long shift in the world band receiver marke=
t
from pricey tabletop models to relatively affordable
portables.
=20
dxAce
=20
Lots of people have crabbed about the nested menu system, but I'd think a=
nyone who had some experience with using computers would find it simple. =
=20
=20
The remote makes it even easier, though I usually leave it home. =20
=20
I had a cordless phone that was tougher to figure out.
=20

It's not that it's hard to figure out, but if I'm listening to something=20
and I want to change filters, for example, a button or knob is light=20
years ahead of treeing through a menu. They make this stuff too small,=20
so they can save money on one hand, plus small sells to a point better=20
than a "Normal" sized SW reciever, such as a JRC NRD-535.

Right now, I have an Icom R71A, a NRD-515, a 525, and a insanely=20
modified Hammarlund HQ-100.

I mostly use two of them, the 515 for SSB, and the HQ-100 for AM sound=20
quality. but they have one thing in common, they have the best=20
ergonomics of any radios I have ever owned. Ease of use is a nice thing=20
to have...

=20

BDK

It's wasn't Universal's decision. AOR just isn't selling in the US
anymore via AOR USA. If you want to buy a 7030+, and there are many
excellent reasons to do so, you'll have to buy it from AOR UK.

Steve

dxAce wrote in message ...
"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

dxAce wrote:
snip
Isn't the 7030+ discontinued? Universal shows it to be so.

dxAce

The radio hasn't been discontinued, but they've stopped importing them to the USA.

I wonder what the reasoning for that was? Universal still carries other AOR products,
at least according to their catalog.

dxAce

Steve wrote:

It's wasn't Universal's decision. AOR just isn't selling in the US
anymore via AOR USA. If you want to buy a 7030+, and there are many
excellent reasons to do so, you'll have to buy it from AOR UK.

Yep, we already figured that out days ago.

dxAce