|
Michael wrote:
"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... I'd feel better about the R75 if the factory incorporated the sync mod into future production. That would never happen. There is some hope. They did fix a design flaw in the PCR-1000. The standard filter for sideband is narrow for my tastes at 2.1khz. The Drake is slightly better at 2.3. Wider filters can give improved fidelity, although if they don't have steep enough skirts, you won't like them. My Harris RF-550 and AOR 7030+ have 3.2khz filters. They sound beautiful without adjacent channel problems. Don't know the shape factor on the Harris filter, but the 7030 one is 1.33. (It's a crystal filter, made for the Racal 6790/gm) Icom does sell a 2.8khz filter for $140 and a 3.3khz filter for $160. It's not practical to change filters on the Drake. Yes.. For program listening, the optional 2.8 and 3.3 would be ideal. It isn't needed I dont think, but if you were an audio quality oriented listener, you could shell out some loot for a new filter. And... there is always a compromise with filter values. I dont think you need any additional filters on the R-75 to get audio that could be regarded as quite good. The improved fidelity of a wider, but steeper filter can be appreciated in ham or utility listening too. When you have good dynamic range, and good fidelity, you don't get as much listener fatigue. But an R75 with the Kiwa mods and an extra filter will cost more than Lucky bid on the Harris. The advantage is he could do it in stages. He won't need an additional filter... But he might want it. Realistically, almost all of us buy whatever we buy for enjoyment. If I'm dealing with a reputable person, I'm not afraid of used radios. How used ??? Hours of usage takes its toll on any machine. The most honest fellow in the world would still be selling a used item with a diminished life time left before some kind of failure takes place. Not to mention, the satisfaction and excitement you get by taking a brand new item out of a box :-) Most of my radios have been military or commercial marine radios. I imagine they've been on 24/7 for a decade or longer before I bought them. Granted, they start out with better build quality, and they're well maintained, but they've been very reliable. It's not uncommon to find a used consumer radio that got limited use. Perhaps they never got around to putting up an antenna that allowed the hobby to live up to their expectations. For me, the excitement doesn't start until I fire it up and start tuning things in. Also... The whole crux for buying a new R-75 is that it is a tremendous value for what you pay. It is acceptable as a program listening radio, can be improved quite a bit for little money and no risk. Add to that, IMHO, it also happens to be the best ssb/utility/dx'ing radio you can buy until you get into radios that cost literally three to four times as much money. If you limit yourself to new radios, perhaps. You can't go wrong with a new R-75 if your goal is to buy a tabletop receiver to use for program listening and ham and utility and DX'ing. That is why it is so popular. Yes, other radios are better for some things then others, but the R-75 is clearly a great value. If I want to get a radio that is markedly better for program listening then the R-75, I need to get an R8b or a Sat 800. The R8b is still not an advance on the R-75 for DX'ing or utility and it cost way more. The Sat 800 is a sw boom box and forget about utility or DX'ing as you could do with the R-75 If I want to get a markedly better DX'ing radio then the R-75, you need to think about 32 bit DSP transceivers, also for way more money. Some time, you might want to check out a 20-25 year old Harris or Watkins Johnson, or a Standard, or Mackay. They won't have as many convenience features, or knobs to twiddle, but they were designed to provide a useful signal under rough conditions, and they perform quite well. |
"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... Michael wrote: "Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... I'd feel better about the R75 if the factory incorporated the sync mod into future production. That would never happen. There is some hope. They did fix a design flaw in the PCR-1000. Icom doesn't consider/admit the sync to be flawed. Interesting though, that 2004 Passport did use a modded R-75 in their review :-) The standard filter for sideband is narrow for my tastes at 2.1khz. The Drake is slightly better at 2.3. Wider filters can give improved fidelity, although if they don't have steep enough skirts, you won't like them. My Harris RF-550 and AOR 7030+ have 3.2khz filters. They sound beautiful without adjacent channel problems. Don't know the shape factor on the Harris filter, but the 7030 one is 1.33. (It's a crystal filter, made for the Racal 6790/gm) Icom does sell a 2.8khz filter for $140 and a 3.3khz filter for $160. It's not practical to change filters on the Drake. Yes.. For program listening, the optional 2.8 and 3.3 would be ideal. It isn't needed I dont think, but if you were an audio quality oriented listener, you could shell out some loot for a new filter. And... there is always a compromise with filter values. I dont think you need any additional filters on the R-75 to get audio that could be regarded as quite good. The improved fidelity of a wider, but steeper filter can be appreciated in ham or utility listening too. When you have good dynamic range, and good fidelity, you don't get as much listener fatigue. But an R75 with the Kiwa mods and an extra filter will cost more than Lucky bid on the Harris. The advantage is he could do it in stages. He won't need an additional filter... But he might want it. Realistically, almost all of us buy whatever we buy for enjoyment. Once again, we come back to money/budget. On a budget, it probably isn't best cost to buy an optional filter for the R-75 when the stock filters are adequate. If budget was not an important option, Id say get the R-75 and the R8b and all the extras that you can squeeze into them. And while your at it, may be a WJ-8711A too. And toss in a few tube sets for kicks. If I'm dealing with a reputable person, I'm not afraid of used radios. How used ??? Hours of usage takes its toll on any machine. The most honest fellow in the world would still be selling a used item with a diminished life time left before some kind of failure takes place. Not to mention, the satisfaction and excitement you get by taking a brand new item out of a box :-) Most of my radios have been military or commercial marine radios. I imagine they've been on 24/7 for a decade or longer before I bought them. Granted, they start out with better build quality, and they're well maintained, but they've been very reliable. It's not uncommon to find a used consumer radio that got limited use. Perhaps they never got around to putting up an antenna that allowed the hobby to live up to their expectations. For me, the excitement doesn't start until I fire it up and start tuning things in. Usage is the reason for having a radio, but there is still something to be said about getting a new item that has never been owned or used, unless of course, you are talking about classic/antique items. No question, you can get a used radio in great shape with plenty of miles left on it. If you had a choice though, would you prefer a new unit or a used one if the price was the same ??? You see ??? A brand new item is better :-) I'm not trying to say that having something new is the be all and end all of benefits. I'm just saying that it is one extra added benefit to buying the R-75 new vs. getting a used R8a. Also... The whole crux for buying a new R-75 is that it is a tremendous value for what you pay. It is acceptable as a program listening radio, can be improved quite a bit for little money and no risk. Add to that, IMHO, it also happens to be the best ssb/utility/dx'ing radio you can buy until you get into radios that cost literally three to four times as much money. If you limit yourself to new radios, perhaps. No question, you can scrounge up a very capable used radio for less or equal the money. But, going back to the original post. What is better, used R8a or R-75. I say new R-75 for all the reasons listed above. Also.. how many radios, even any used radios that you can get for say... $400 to $600 are that much better then the R-75 ??? You can't go wrong with a new R-75 if your goal is to buy a tabletop receiver to use for program listening and ham and utility and DX'ing. That is why it is so popular. Yes, other radios are better for some things then others, but the R-75 is clearly a great value. If I want to get a radio that is markedly better for program listening then the R-75, I need to get an R8b or a Sat 800. The R8b is still not an advance on the R-75 for DX'ing or utility and it cost way more. The Sat 800 is a sw boom box and forget about utility or DX'ing as you could do with the R-75 If I want to get a markedly better DX'ing radio then the R-75, you need to think about 32 bit DSP transceivers, also for way more money. Some time, you might want to check out a 20-25 year old Harris or Watkins Johnson, or a Standard, or Mackay. They won't have as many convenience features, or knobs to twiddle, but they were designed to provide a useful signal under rough conditions, and they perform quite well. I've always wanted to get myself an older radio. I have a Westinghouse H-104 AM/SW tube radio from the 1940's and I love it. I have a recently reconed speaker in it as well as all new caps. It is the most amazingly warm sounding radio I have ever heard. I'd love to get myself an old tube set that was specifically meant for sw. I see lots of old military sets on e-bay, but I have no idea of what is what with those things. I dont even know if you can plug them into a wall :-) The more recent sets like the ones you mentioned above are also interesting. Still.. I have no idea what is what about those radios. I wouldn't even know what might need to be done to one if I decided to purchase it. I'd probably wind up buying a lemon. Michael |
snip
I'd LOVE to hear how the R8b's sync works. I bet it is sweet !!! I'd say I'd consider buying one, but I'm also considering buying an ICOM-746 pro to use as a DSP DX'ing rig. Now I dont know what to do again :-) Michael I don't have the experience with high-end tabletop receivers that some of you guys have, but I've been spending quite a bit of time for the last few months with an R8B and it's sync detector is awesome. Very, very good. On some signals it makes an enormous difference. I have no experience with the R8A or R8, so I can't make any comparisons there. Also, I'm amazed by how good SSB sounds on the Drake. This must be due to the filters that come with the Drake, but it impressed the heck out of me. I suppose an R75 could sound just as good with the right filters, but there are other folks here who are better situated to comment on that. Steve |
"Mark S. Holden" wrote:
Icom does sell a 2.8khz filter for $140 and a 3.3khz filter for $160. As a follow up, I found a page listing shape factors for Icom filters: http://www.qsl.net/icom/filters.html The shape factor on the 2.8khz filters is 1.8 and the 3.3khz one is 1.9 The premium kiwa filters cost less than the Icom ones, and are supposed to have a shape factor of about 1.65. The crystal filters I installed on my 7030+ have a shape factor of 1.33 So if I was going to add a filter to an R75, I don't think I'd buy it from Icom. |
Michael wrote:
"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... Michael wrote: "Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... I'd feel better about the R75 if the factory incorporated the sync mod into future production. That would never happen. There is some hope. They did fix a design flaw in the PCR-1000. Icom doesn't consider/admit the sync to be flawed. Interesting though, that 2004 Passport did use a modded R-75 in their review :-) The standard filter for sideband is narrow for my tastes at 2.1khz. The Drake is slightly better at 2.3. Wider filters can give improved fidelity, although if they don't have steep enough skirts, you won't like them. My Harris RF-550 and AOR 7030+ have 3.2khz filters. They sound beautiful without adjacent channel problems. Don't know the shape factor on the Harris filter, but the 7030 one is 1.33. (It's a crystal filter, made for the Racal 6790/gm) Icom does sell a 2.8khz filter for $140 and a 3.3khz filter for $160. It's not practical to change filters on the Drake. Yes.. For program listening, the optional 2.8 and 3.3 would be ideal. It isn't needed I dont think, but if you were an audio quality oriented listener, you could shell out some loot for a new filter. And... there is always a compromise with filter values. I dont think you need any additional filters on the R-75 to get audio that could be regarded as quite good. The improved fidelity of a wider, but steeper filter can be appreciated in ham or utility listening too. When you have good dynamic range, and good fidelity, you don't get as much listener fatigue. But an R75 with the Kiwa mods and an extra filter will cost more than Lucky bid on the Harris. The advantage is he could do it in stages. He won't need an additional filter... But he might want it. Realistically, almost all of us buy whatever we buy for enjoyment. Once again, we come back to money/budget. On a budget, it probably isn't best cost to buy an optional filter for the R-75 when the stock filters are adequate. If budget was not an important option, Id say get the R-75 and the R8b and all the extras that you can squeeze into them. And while your at it, may be a WJ-8711A too. And toss in a few tube sets for kicks. I guess it depends on personal tastes. I think the money I spent on extra filters for my 7030+ was a serious bargain, because the ones that came with it were too wide or too narrow - and actually, I think the sideband one was 2.1khz. The audio went from nasty to beautiful. I think I'd pass on the WJ 8711 - someone tipped me off that with WJ's you want to buy them by the pound. He had an HF-1000 and felt it was poorly shielded. The ones that are over 30 pounds are all well shielded. If I'm dealing with a reputable person, I'm not afraid of used radios. How used ??? Hours of usage takes its toll on any machine. The most honest fellow in the world would still be selling a used item with a diminished life time left before some kind of failure takes place. Not to mention, the satisfaction and excitement you get by taking a brand new item out of a box :-) Most of my radios have been military or commercial marine radios. I imagine they've been on 24/7 for a decade or longer before I bought them. Granted, they start out with better build quality, and they're well maintained, but they've been very reliable. It's not uncommon to find a used consumer radio that got limited use. Perhaps they never got around to putting up an antenna that allowed the hobby to live up to their expectations. For me, the excitement doesn't start until I fire it up and start tuning things in. Usage is the reason for having a radio, but there is still something to be said about getting a new item that has never been owned or used, unless of course, you are talking about classic/antique items. No question, you can get a used radio in great shape with plenty of miles left on it. If you had a choice though, would you prefer a new unit or a used one if the price was the same ??? You see ??? A brand new item is better :-) I'm not trying to say that having something new is the be all and end all of benefits. I'm just saying that it is one extra added benefit to buying the R-75 new vs. getting a used R8a. Also... The whole crux for buying a new R-75 is that it is a tremendous value for what you pay. It is acceptable as a program listening radio, can be improved quite a bit for little money and no risk. Add to that, IMHO, it also happens to be the best ssb/utility/dx'ing radio you can buy until you get into radios that cost literally three to four times as much money. If you limit yourself to new radios, perhaps. No question, you can scrounge up a very capable used radio for less or equal the money. But, going back to the original post. What is better, used R8a or R-75. I say new R-75 for all the reasons listed above. Also.. how many radios, even any used radios that you can get for say... $400 to $600 are that much better then the R-75 ??? You can't go wrong with a new R-75 if your goal is to buy a tabletop receiver to use for program listening and ham and utility and DX'ing. That is why it is so popular. Yes, other radios are better for some things then others, but the R-75 is clearly a great value. If I want to get a radio that is markedly better for program listening then the R-75, I need to get an R8b or a Sat 800. The R8b is still not an advance on the R-75 for DX'ing or utility and it cost way more. The Sat 800 is a sw boom box and forget about utility or DX'ing as you could do with the R-75 If I want to get a markedly better DX'ing radio then the R-75, you need to think about 32 bit DSP transceivers, also for way more money. Some time, you might want to check out a 20-25 year old Harris or Watkins Johnson, or a Standard, or Mackay. They won't have as many convenience features, or knobs to twiddle, but they were designed to provide a useful signal under rough conditions, and they perform quite well. I've always wanted to get myself an older radio. I have a Westinghouse H-104 AM/SW tube radio from the 1940's and I love it. I have a recently reconed speaker in it as well as all new caps. It is the most amazingly warm sounding radio I have ever heard. I'd love to get myself an old tube set that was specifically meant for sw. I see lots of old military sets on e-bay, but I have no idea of what is what with those things. I dont even know if you can plug them into a wall :-) The more recent sets like the ones you mentioned above are also interesting. Still.. I have no idea what is what about those radios. I wouldn't even know what might need to be done to one if I decided to purchase it. I'd probably wind up buying a lemon. Michael |
Michael wrote:
I have those upgrades done on my R-75. I also use an external speaker wich is a must on both the R8a and the R-75. I can say that my R-75 sounds VERY good for program listening. The R8a may still have a bit more rich and defined audio, but not by much !!!! Sheesh. Stick a wire in the phono input of a $2,000 McIntosh amplifier connected to $3,000 Klipschorn speakers. Who cares if the receiver needs to be within fifty feet of the transmitting antenna, the audio will be terrific! If you're *that* worried about pure audio, reach into a *good* receiver and tap off a low-level audio feed for your expensive stereo. These audio rants always remind me of the ads for Magnavox televisions in the sixties. They'd spend three seconds on the quality of the TV and the rest of the commercial on the fine cabinetry and many different styles to suit all decors. Their motto could have been stated as, "Magnavox: an okay TV in really, really fine furniture." People bought them because they matched their other furniture, then cried because the picture on their brand new TV looked about like the neighbor's three-year-old set. Then again, people would buy $800 Grundig receivers in fine cabinetry and then wonder why Radio Moscow was so weak. And all this time, the guys at the transmitters are distorting the audio input to get higher modulation indices. -- It just goes to show ya; never have a heart valve replaced by Dr. Vinnie Boom Box. See ya, Rodney. |
"clifto" wrote in message ... Michael wrote: I have those upgrades done on my R-75. I also use an external speaker wich is a must on both the R8a and the R-75. I can say that my R-75 sounds VERY good for program listening. The R8a may still have a bit more rich and defined audio, but not by much !!!! Sheesh. Stick a wire in the phono input of a $2,000 McIntosh amplifier connected to $3,000 Klipschorn speakers. Who cares if the receiver needs to be within fifty feet of the transmitting antenna, the audio will be terrific! If you're *that* worried about pure audio, reach into a *good* receiver and tap off a low-level audio feed for your expensive stereo. Who's worried ??? Michael |
Ok Mark
I asked a owner of the R75 what the narrow SSB filter is and he told me 2.4. Maybe you should get this reciever now :) The stock SSB filter is 2,4 kHz in the 9 MHz IF and 2,4 kHz in the 455 kHz IF. You can choose any filter combination you want in the SSB Narrow position depending on the filters you have installed in your receiver. Ref: Page 18 and page 19 in the manual. "Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... Michael wrote: "Lucky" wrote in message ... Hi gentlemen It looks like I've narrowed my next radio down to these two. I did bid on a Harris RF-550 last week but my $606 bid got taken out. I'll be using the receiver for AM BC during the day, and local Hams and DX'ing at night into the wee hours. I know the R8a has selectable sideband and AM sync if I'm correct. But the R75 is supposed to be extremely well built and I can get free DSP and a rebate for $50 coming out to a $475 final price. I think I can pick up a R8A for about $500 to $600. So the price difference may not be that huge at all. The only thing is that the R75 will be brand new and the R8a used. So what do you guys think? What bothers me about the R75 is I hear the AM audio is just not too great and you need to work around it. Some people say the AM sound is not that bad at all, but most others say it needs help. I need your experience and opinions please? Thank you Lucky Hiya, Lucky I think you should go with the shiny new out of the box R-75 instead of the used R8a. First off, it is always nice to have a brand new radio vs. one that has been used. Along with that, I think you will get more out of the R-75. I use an R-75 as my primary radio, and I have also had my friends R8a here for several weeks, so I know how both radios sound and perform. When the R-75 is in its stock form with no mods, it has two shortcomings when compared to the Drake R8a. The first being, that the R-75 does not have the fantastic audio quality of the Drake R8a. This is true, but the audio quality of the R-75 is not bad. It is just not as defined and rich as the R8a's audio. If you want the audio definition on the R-75 to be enhanced, you can do so by sending it to Kiwa to have a very simple, inexpensive and fully reversible mod done on it. They offer a mod for $ 35.00 and they will have your radio back to you in less then two weeks. I had this mod done to my R-75 and it was back to me in a week. The second shortcoming of the R-75 is that it has an am sycn detector that isn't very effective in its stock form. Once again, you can improve this quite a bit by sending it off to Kiwa for yet another simple, inexpensive and reversible mod. The offer the sync detector upgrade for $45.00. I also had this done to my R-75 and it improves program listening under conditions of fade quite a bit. The sync now holds its lock quite well and it really helps keep distortion in check. See Kiwas R-75 web page: http://kiwa.com/R75.html I have those upgrades done on my R-75. I also use an external speaker wich is a must on both the R8a and the R-75. I can say that my R-75 sounds VERY good for program listening. The R8a may still have a bit more rich and defined audio, but not by much !!!! Also... No am synch detector will help you if you are listening to a signal that is extremely weak and messy. You can expect a good am synch detector to help you with a signal that is slightly or moderately messy. The modded R-75 am synch will do exactly just that for you. If you really want to dress up your audio, you can run your line out audio into your PC sound card and then into a software driven mixer. I do that from time to time when I have a signal that is really muffled or has way too much base or is too tinny. Then, I can use the EQ and really dress it up. You can do that with any radio :-) So... There you have the shortcomings of the R-75 compared to the R8a, and how to fix then for little cost should you decide to. Now... Here is where the R-75 really shines :-) If you like to listen to hams, or utility, the R-75 is the radio to do it with !!!. I think the R-75 is probably the best ssb rig you can get without having to spend about $2,000.00. You've probably heard already about the twin PBT :-) No question here... You can tweak and resolve signals with this in ways that you cant do on the R8a. No mod to the R8a will enable it to do what the R-75 can. Also... With the superior ssb function/capabilities of the R-75, you can also use it to listen to really weak and messy sw broadcasts signals using ecss tuning, and then use the twin pbt to tweak it up and get it to sound good enough for your ear to make out what is being said. That is what makes it such a great DX rig. It is rock solid stable and it has the tools to really dig out and resolve the weakest of signals. For anything to do with ssb, or DX'ing, I'd take a used R-75 over a brand new R8a... LOL :-) And.. Lets not forget, with a few mods, you can have quality program listening too. Hope that helps.... -- Respectfully, Michael I'd feel better about the R75 if the factory incorporated the sync mod into future production. The standard filter for sideband is narrow for my tastes at 2.1khz. The Drake is slightly better at 2.3. Wider filters can give improved fidelity, although if they don't have steep enough skirts, you won't like them. My Harris RF-550 and AOR 7030+ have 3.2khz filters. They sound beautiful without adjacent channel problems. Don't know the shape factor on the Harris filter, but the 7030 one is 1.33. (It's a crystal filter, made for the Racal 6790/gm) Icom does sell a 2.8khz filter for $140 and a 3.3khz filter for $160. It's not practical to change filters on the Drake. But an R75 with the Kiwa mods and an extra filter will cost more than Lucky bid on the Harris. The advantage is he could do it in stages. If I'm dealing with a reputable person, I'm not afraid of used radios. |
Another owner told me you can make the SSB wider then 2.4 also.
The narrowest stock filter in the R75 is 2.4 kHz. This doesn't mean you have to set up your Narrow SSB to 2.4 on both IFs. Each of the two IFs (455 kHz and 9 mHz) has a set of filters to choose from, so you can select a wider combination in the setup mode, if you prefer. Gerry " "Lucky" wrote in message ... Ok Mark I asked a owner of the R75 what the narrow SSB filter is and he told me 2.4. Maybe you should get this reciever now :) The stock SSB filter is 2,4 kHz in the 9 MHz IF and 2,4 kHz in the 455 kHz IF. You can choose any filter combination you want in the SSB Narrow position depending on the filters you have installed in your receiver. Ref: Page 18 and page 19 in the manual. "Mark S. Holden" wrote in message ... Michael wrote: "Lucky" wrote in message ... Hi gentlemen It looks like I've narrowed my next radio down to these two. I did bid on a Harris RF-550 last week but my $606 bid got taken out. I'll be using the receiver for AM BC during the day, and local Hams and DX'ing at night into the wee hours. I know the R8a has selectable sideband and AM sync if I'm correct. But the R75 is supposed to be extremely well built and I can get free DSP and a rebate for $50 coming out to a $475 final price. I think I can pick up a R8A for about $500 to $600. So the price difference may not be that huge at all. The only thing is that the R75 will be brand new and the R8a used. So what do you guys think? What bothers me about the R75 is I hear the AM audio is just not too great and you need to work around it. Some people say the AM sound is not that bad at all, but most others say it needs help. I need your experience and opinions please? Thank you Lucky Hiya, Lucky I think you should go with the shiny new out of the box R-75 instead of the used R8a. First off, it is always nice to have a brand new radio vs. one that has been used. Along with that, I think you will get more out of the R-75. I use an R-75 as my primary radio, and I have also had my friends R8a here for several weeks, so I know how both radios sound and perform. When the R-75 is in its stock form with no mods, it has two shortcomings when compared to the Drake R8a. The first being, that the R-75 does not have the fantastic audio quality of the Drake R8a. This is true, but the audio quality of the R-75 is not bad. It is just not as defined and rich as the R8a's audio. If you want the audio definition on the R-75 to be enhanced, you can do so by sending it to Kiwa to have a very simple, inexpensive and fully reversible mod done on it. They offer a mod for $ 35.00 and they will have your radio back to you in less then two weeks. I had this mod done to my R-75 and it was back to me in a week. The second shortcoming of the R-75 is that it has an am sycn detector that isn't very effective in its stock form. Once again, you can improve this quite a bit by sending it off to Kiwa for yet another simple, inexpensive and reversible mod. The offer the sync detector upgrade for $45.00. I also had this done to my R-75 and it improves program listening under conditions of fade quite a bit. The sync now holds its lock quite well and it really helps keep distortion in check. See Kiwas R-75 web page: http://kiwa.com/R75.html I have those upgrades done on my R-75. I also use an external speaker wich is a must on both the R8a and the R-75. I can say that my R-75 sounds VERY good for program listening. The R8a may still have a bit more rich and defined audio, but not by much !!!! Also... No am synch detector will help you if you are listening to a signal that is extremely weak and messy. You can expect a good am synch detector to help you with a signal that is slightly or moderately messy. The modded R-75 am synch will do exactly just that for you. If you really want to dress up your audio, you can run your line out audio into your PC sound card and then into a software driven mixer. I do that from time to time when I have a signal that is really muffled or has way too much base or is too tinny. Then, I can use the EQ and really dress it up. You can do that with any radio :-) So... There you have the shortcomings of the R-75 compared to the R8a, and how to fix then for little cost should you decide to. Now... Here is where the R-75 really shines :-) If you like to listen to hams, or utility, the R-75 is the radio to do it with !!!. I think the R-75 is probably the best ssb rig you can get without having to spend about $2,000.00. You've probably heard already about the twin PBT :-) No question here... You can tweak and resolve signals with this in ways that you cant do on the R8a. No mod to the R8a will enable it to do what the R-75 can. Also... With the superior ssb function/capabilities of the R-75, you can also use it to listen to really weak and messy sw broadcasts signals using ecss tuning, and then use the twin pbt to tweak it up and get it to sound good enough for your ear to make out what is being said. That is what makes it such a great DX rig. It is rock solid stable and it has the tools to really dig out and resolve the weakest of signals. For anything to do with ssb, or DX'ing, I'd take a used R-75 over a brand new R8a... LOL :-) And.. Lets not forget, with a few mods, you can have quality program listening too. Hope that helps.... -- Respectfully, Michael I'd feel better about the R75 if the factory incorporated the sync mod into future production. The standard filter for sideband is narrow for my tastes at 2.1khz. The Drake is slightly better at 2.3. Wider filters can give improved fidelity, although if they don't have steep enough skirts, you won't like them. My Harris RF-550 and AOR 7030+ have 3.2khz filters. They sound beautiful without adjacent channel problems. Don't know the shape factor on the Harris filter, but the 7030 one is 1.33. (It's a crystal filter, made for the Racal 6790/gm) Icom does sell a 2.8khz filter for $140 and a 3.3khz filter for $160. It's not practical to change filters on the Drake. But an R75 with the Kiwa mods and an extra filter will cost more than Lucky bid on the Harris. The advantage is he could do it in stages. If I'm dealing with a reputable person, I'm not afraid of used radios. |
Hello Lucky.
You know, you can go so "crazy" on this subject that you lose sight of your real objectives. In your original message you stated: "I'll be using the receiver for AM BC during the day, and local Hams and DX'ing at night into the wee hours." Regarding the two receivers in which you are interested, it is my opinion that it is always better to buy something new rather than some dude's cast-off finery. (Why is he selling? No one gets rid of something they like!) You could call Universal and speak to a technician there who could give you some advice on configuring an ICOM and then you could have (after one year and the warranty is expired) the Kiwa modifications effected. However, for the type of listening you do (AM BC, Hams, SW broadcasters), the Grundig Satellit 800 would be almost ideal. Order one from Universal and ask them to test the particular unit you will be getting prior to shipment. You will get a fine receiver in perfect condition which will suit you very well. You will not need any modifications to it, you will have very fine sound and excellent performance for the type of listening you do, and the price will be right. Want better sound? Run the Grundig through your stereo system. Cost is the cost of connectors at the Radio Shack. Want better performance? Buy a better antenna. You know that the antenna is far more important than the receiver. I know that the Sat800 doesn't have the "prestige" or "professional" styling of some of the more esoteric receivers, but the performance is there! Also you would have FM and some limited portability to boot. FYI: I own a Sat800 and use it for most "casual" (BBC, VOR, R.Nederland, etc.) listening. I also own an AOR AR7030 Plus (modified by the factory) Receiver, which is the finest radio with which I have ever had experience, bar none. (Note to the gentleman who wrote post #26: when listening to music over the shortwaves, I DO run my AR7030 Plus through Klipschorn speakers [the cost of which is now over $6000 per pair] using a Hafler DH-101 Preamplifier and a Hafler DH-200 Power Amplifier. The sound quality must be heard to be believed!) My antennas a Wellbrook ALA 330S Active Loop Antenna (for the AOR and sometimes for the Grundig) and AOR WL-500 Active Window Loop Antenna (mostly for the Grundig). Given the fact that my AOR cost almost four times the price of the Sat800, and given that your budget appears to be in the $400-600 range, and also noting that if you were to buy a Sat800 you will still be able to avail yourself of that fine Drake service (I've had experience with it), I feel that the Sat800 would be the best "real-world" option for you. Consider it carefully. All the best, Joe |
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