Icom R75 vs the Drake R8a
 

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

Lucky wrote:

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.

The R8A has AM synch, but not sideband selectable synch. That was not
incorporated into the design until the R8B.

dxAce
Michigan

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

"dxAce" wrote in message
...


Lucky wrote:

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.

The R8A has AM synch, but not sideband selectable synch. That was not
incorporated into the design until the R8B.

dxAce
Michigan

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm



Oh I didn't know that. Heck I thought that was in the R8a too. That changes
things quite a bit. Thank you dxAce.

Lucky

Actually, I must add to that - the AM sync on the R8A is most mediocre, not
the sort of thing I would write home to my mother about. The later R8B on
the other hand is SUPERB!
However, the R8A will deliver great sound, especially if driven through a
good outboard speaker or if linked to your stereo system. Also, the SSB ham
reception will be very good.

OTOH the R75 is coming into greater favour with the serious DX veterans if
upgraded with the Kiwa mods, something you could do later. It will never
match the nice audio of the Drake though for AM BCB.
--
John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 540 s, East 20 d 07 m 541 s.
RX Drake R8B, SW8
BW XCR 30, Braun T1000, Sangean 818 & 803A.
Hallicrafters SX-100, Eddystone 940
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop

"dxAce" wrote in message
...


Lucky wrote:

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.

The R8A has AM synch, but not sideband selectable synch. That was not
incorporated into the design until the R8B.

dxAce
Michigan

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

"Lucky" wrote in message ...
"dxAce" wrote in message
...


Lucky wrote:

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.

The R8A has AM synch, but not sideband selectable synch. That was not
incorporated into the design until the R8B.

dxAce
Michigan

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm



Oh I didn't know that. Heck I thought that was in the R8a too. That changes
things quite a bit. Thank you dxAce.

Lucky

Lucky - The R-75 is a great rig for its price, but it does have some
of the problems you mention (AM sound) plus a weak Synch Detector if
you use it stock. Mods you can do yourself if you're handy, or Kiwa
mods, help a great deal, and the lack of selectable sideband on AM can
largely be overcome by either (1) using SSB for AM broadcasts, which
does work well, or (2) with the modded Synch Detector, using the
passband tuning to full advantage. The dual passband tuning is very
handy on SSB in particular, mostly as a result of the choice of
filters provided.

However, if at the same price, the R8A also has one passband tuning
(enough for the large majority of applications on AM), a better array
of filters, and a good working synch detector, then it is likely a
better buy. The R-75 gives you the DSP option, which is helpful but
not crucial, and a better tuning knob - but these are probably not
enough to tip the scale. They both have noise blankers and notches, I
believe (R75 with DSP provides this) - if the R8A's work well, then
those two matters are an even draw, because these both shine on the
R75.

DXAce knows I am an R75 fan, and we know he is a Drake man all the
way, but *all* things being equal, I'd try the Drake first. If you
don't like it for some reason, it should hold its resale value very
well, and then you can try the Icom.

Too bad you missed the Harris - reports from others on this group
indicate that it is a knockout piece of equipment.

Bruce Jensen

bpnjensen wrote:

"Lucky" wrote in message ...
"dxAce" wrote in message
...


Lucky wrote:

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.

The R8A has AM synch, but not sideband selectable synch. That was not
incorporated into the design until the R8B.

dxAce
Michigan

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm



Oh I didn't know that. Heck I thought that was in the R8a too. That changes
things quite a bit. Thank you dxAce.

Lucky

Lucky - The R-75 is a great rig for its price, but it does have some
of the problems you mention (AM sound) plus a weak Synch Detector if
you use it stock. Mods you can do yourself if you're handy, or Kiwa
mods, help a great deal, and the lack of selectable sideband on AM can
largely be overcome by either (1) using SSB for AM broadcasts, which
does work well, or (2) with the modded Synch Detector, using the
passband tuning to full advantage. The dual passband tuning is very
handy on SSB in particular, mostly as a result of the choice of
filters provided.

However, if at the same price, the R8A also has one passband tuning
(enough for the large majority of applications on AM), a better array
of filters, and a good working synch detector, then it is likely a
better buy. The R-75 gives you the DSP option, which is helpful but
not crucial, and a better tuning knob - but these are probably not
enough to tip the scale. They both have noise blankers and notches, I
believe (R75 with DSP provides this) - if the R8A's work well, then
those two matters are an even draw, because these both shine on the
R75.

DXAce knows I am an R75 fan, and we know he is a Drake man all the
way, but *all* things being equal, I'd try the Drake first. If you
don't like it for some reason, it should hold its resale value very
well, and then you can try the Icom.

That is true Bruce. Even when I've used ICOM transceivers in the past I've always configured them so
I could use a Drake receiver vs. the receiver in the ICOM.

dxAce
Michigan

I swear by, not at, Drake receivers.©

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

"bpnjensen" wrote in message
om...
"Lucky" wrote in message
...
"dxAce" wrote in message
...


Lucky wrote:

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.

The R8A has AM synch, but not sideband selectable synch. That was not
incorporated into the design until the R8B.

dxAce
Michigan

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm



Oh I didn't know that. Heck I thought that was in the R8a too. That
changes
things quite a bit. Thank you dxAce.

Lucky

Lucky - The R-75 is a great rig for its price, but it does have some
of the problems you mention (AM sound) plus a weak Synch Detector if
you use it stock. Mods you can do yourself if you're handy, or Kiwa
mods, help a great deal, and the lack of selectable sideband on AM can
largely be overcome by either (1) using SSB for AM broadcasts, which
does work well, or (2) with the modded Synch Detector, using the
passband tuning to full advantage. The dual passband tuning is very
handy on SSB in particular, mostly as a result of the choice of
filters provided.

However, if at the same price, the R8A also has one passband tuning
(enough for the large majority of applications on AM), a better array
of filters, and a good working synch detector, then it is likely a
better buy. The R-75 gives you the DSP option, which is helpful but
not crucial, and a better tuning knob - but these are probably not
enough to tip the scale. They both have noise blankers and notches, I
believe (R75 with DSP provides this) - if the R8A's work well, then
those two matters are an even draw, because these both shine on the
R75.

DXAce knows I am an R75 fan, and we know he is a Drake man all the
way, but *all* things being equal, I'd try the Drake first. If you
don't like it for some reason, it should hold its resale value very
well, and then you can try the Icom.

Too bad you missed the Harris - reports from others on this group
indicate that it is a knockout piece of equipment.

Bruce Jensen


Yes I'm sorry I missed the Harris too. I just keep my cool and don't
overbid. Still, a bid of $606 was not light at all. Seems the other bidder
really wanted it bad. Yes, the R75 is sure getting high marks with people
all over.

Lucky

Lucky wrote:
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

The R8A is the better receiver. You can get a DSP unit for it. There are
several available

--
Brian Denley
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html

Have you owned both Brian??

Lucky

"Brian Denley" wrote in message
news:u839d.213823$3l3.159710@attbi_s03...
Lucky wrote:
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

The R8A is the better receiver. You can get a DSP unit for it. There are
several available

--
Brian Denley
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html

"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

Location: New Jersey
Primary Receiver: R-75 with full Kiwa mods
Antennas: G5RV, 200ft "Frankenstein" roof wire
Additional Radios: 7600GR,KA-1101,KA-1102
PL-550, KA-989, Info-Mate 837, GE-SR III
Westinghouse H-104 (seven tube)
Web Site: http://md_dxing.tripod.com