dxAce wrote:
Fresh from the Universal site:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...rxvr/0082.html

Scroll down and read the sorry news.

This is a sad day indeed.

dxAce
Michigan
USA


Indeed it is Steve. Having owned the R8 and R8B (I passed on the R8A)
and having owned an SPR-4, 2B, R4, R4A, R4B, R4C and R7 over the years,
I can say without a doubt, R. L. Drake was a leader in manufacturing
excellent receivers. I do think however, the R8B was the best of the
line with reservations. That tuning knob and the lousy mechanical
encoder turned me off. Of course, that didn't preclude me from many
pleasurable hours sitting in front of that otherwise fine receiver.
Having said that, it is a sad day for shortwave enthusiasts when you
think that the Japanese manufacturers haven't ever produced one that
didn't need agc, filter, synchronous detector and audio modifications
to make it perform. I realize that we all had to modify our beloved
hollow state receivers over the years, but the Japanese have led the
free world in crappy audio, filters and agc's for decades. Shortwave
receivers are but a minute drop in the bucket of electronics. If and
when a manufacturer can sell shortwave receivers in the numbers such as
dvd players, tv's etc., we will see this sort of thing happen.

Just my 2 cents.

Les Locklear
Monitoring since ' 57
Monitoring from the Gulf of Mexico
Hammarlund R-274C/FRR (SP-600JX-14)
R-1051B/URR
Ten Tec RX-340
Alpha Delta Sloper
Quantum QX Loop
Various Longwires
CU-2279/BRC Multicoupler
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

I wish MFJ Enterprises www.MFJEnterprises.com would start building
shortwave radios and other kinds of radios too.I would certainly buy one
or two,if I could afford it.I can't speak for the performance of their
products because I don't own any of their products,,, yet.I am going to
MFJ Enterprises in a couple of months (they are just up the road from
me,so to speak) and buy one of their antennas.I think their products do
look great though.
cuhulin

wrote in message
...
I wish MFJ Enterprises www.MFJEnterprises.com would start building
shortwave radios and other kinds of radios too.I would certainly buy one
or two,if I could afford it.I can't speak for the performance of their
products because I don't own any of their products,,, yet.I am going to
MFJ Enterprises in a couple of months (they are just up the road from
me,so to speak) and buy one of their antennas.I think their products do
look great though.
cuhulin


There is a reason they are known as Mighty Fine Junk.

"Dave Stadt" wrote
wrote in message
I wish MFJ Enterprises www.MFJEnterprises.com would start building
shortwave radios and other kinds of radios too.I would certainly buy one
or two,if I could afford it.I can't speak for the performance of their
products because I don't own any of their products,,, yet.I am going to
MFJ Enterprises in a couple of months (they are just up the road from
me,so to speak) and buy one of their antennas.I think their products do
look great though.
cuhulin


There is a reason they are known as Mighty Fine Junk.


Look at eHam reviews on various MFJ products. Seems folks either love them
or hate them. I use two of their tuners, an MFJ-962D (1.5kw) manual tuner
and MFJ-994 (600w) ATU "IntelliTuner". I like them both, and have no
complaints about their performance.

Jack Painter
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Les wrote:

dxAce wrote:
Fresh from the Universal site:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...rxvr/0082.html

Scroll down and read the sorry news.

This is a sad day indeed.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

Indeed it is Steve. Having owned the R8 and R8B (I passed on the R8A)
and having owned an SPR-4, 2B, R4, R4A, R4B, R4C and R7 over the years,
I can say without a doubt, R. L. Drake was a leader in manufacturing
excellent receivers. I do think however, the R8B was the best of the
line with reservations. That tuning knob and the lousy mechanical
encoder turned me off. Of course, that didn't preclude me from many
pleasurable hours sitting in front of that otherwise fine receiver.
Having said that, it is a sad day for shortwave enthusiasts when you
think that the Japanese manufacturers haven't ever produced one that
didn't need agc, filter, synchronous detector and audio modifications
to make it perform. I realize that we all had to modify our beloved
hollow state receivers over the years, but the Japanese have led the
free world in crappy audio, filters and agc's for decades. Shortwave
receivers are but a minute drop in the bucket of electronics. If and
when a manufacturer can sell shortwave receivers in the numbers such as
dvd players, tv's etc., we will see this sort of thing happen.

For whatever reason I skipped out on the R8A as well. The only one of the other
above receivers I never owned was the R-4C which I don't think was noted as
being a good SWL receiver.

I also have had a few SW-4A's.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

"dxAce" wrote

For whatever reason I skipped out on the R8A as well. The only one of the
other
above receivers I never owned was the R-4C which I don't think was noted
as
being a good SWL receiver.


Are you kidding, Steve? Out of all the receivers I have owned the R-4C was
"the best."
A Sherwood modified R-4C is still considered THE best "ham" SW receiver of
all time.
Even unmodified it was a treasure to many, including me. But alas I
unwisely sold her
when the new fangled digital displays hit the scene - sigh.

Li Changchun wrote:

"dxAce" wrote

For whatever reason I skipped out on the R8A as well. The only one of the
other
above receivers I never owned was the R-4C which I don't think was noted
as
being a good SWL receiver.


Are you kidding, Steve? Out of all the receivers I have owned the R-4C was
"the best."
A Sherwood modified R-4C is still considered THE best "ham" SW receiver of
all time.

Read it again comrade. I said I didn't think it was noted as a good SWL
receiver.

Frickin 'tards... they're everywhere.

dxAce
Michigan
USA

Fred Osterman's 3rd Ed. of "Shortwave Receivers Past & Present" rates
the R-4C as five stars new and four stars used. He also calls it, "An
outstanding amateur receiver."

"mike0219116" wrote in message
oups.com...
Fred Osterman's 3rd Ed. of "Shortwave Receivers Past & Present"
rates
the R-4C as five stars new and four stars used. He also calls it,
"An
outstanding amateur receiver."

Yeah, it seems to be a good amateur receiver, but a
general coverage shortwave receiver it ain't.

--Mike L.

Michael Lawson wrote:

"mike0219116" wrote in message
oups.com...
Fred Osterman's 3rd Ed. of "Shortwave Receivers Past & Present"
rates
the R-4C as five stars new and four stars used. He also calls it,
"An
outstanding amateur receiver."

Yeah, it seems to be a good amateur receiver, but a
general coverage shortwave receiver it ain't.

The R-4B with a bunch of extra crystals or coupled with the FS-4 synthesizer was
much better for SW dx'ing.

The R-4C was indeed (and may still be) a better ham radio receiver.

dxAce
Michigan
USA