wrote:


Eric F. Richards wrote:

I had an SMC HF-150, which wasn't very good, but wasn't too terribly
bad, either.

Eric F. Richards

"Nature abhors a vacuum tube." -- Myron Glass,
often attributed to J. R. Pierce, Bell Labs, c. 1940

Hmmm. I must have lucked out. I have one of the SMC models and it works
great.


Mine had a tuning knob that felt like I was grinding up sand. I've
not read a single comment about a genuine Lowe that had anything
negative to say about the knob "feel." Also, there was the debacle of
Lowe having to rebuild/refurb SMC's because SMC plainly botched the
job.

Mine also drifted for about an hour after turning it on, something
else I've not heard anyone say about a "genuine Lowe."

By the way, if you or anyone else knows how to deduce the age of a Lowe
receiver from its serial number, please let me know.

Sorry, can't help you there.

Thanks,

Steve

--
Eric F. Richards

"Nature abhors a vacuum tube." -- Myron Glass,
often attributed to J. R. Pierce, Bell Labs, c. 1940

Daniel J. Morlan schrieb:

I have a Grundig Satellit 800 coming my way, and some of my fellow ham radio
friends are trying to convince me that I've made some kind of mistake.

Oh, it's not that bad (its internals are based on the Drake SW8). It's
just rather big and bulky and used to have its share of QC issues (maybe
buying refurb'd from Universal is still better today, haven't kept track
of that).

The AOR 7030 is darnedably expensive, but I did have a question as to
performance characteristics and enhancements. Is there a shortwave radio
superior to the AOR 7030? Just for curiositie's sake, is there such a radio
that IS more superior, if money were no object?

Oh yes, there is. It might set you back by a couple 10000 bucks though.
(I'm thinking of equipment like a DASA E1800A.) A R&S EK895 (maybe
EB200) or WJ HF-1000 (still not cheap) would probably also do,
particularly when we're talking about digital modes and real tough DX.

Or is there one superior in
quality that is actually less expensive?

Good q. Its main competitor in the US is likely to be the Drake R8B,
which uses a fairly different concept (triple IF with low 3rd IF to
employ high-quality LC filters, of which the thing has quite a complete
set stock). An NRD-545 is a good bit dearer still, but features IF-level
DSP.
The strong points of the '7030 are its strong-signal handling (it's not
hyper-sensitive in return), the good audio and synch detector and the
flexibility in terms of filters. (Phase noise is very low, too.)
Additionally its fairly small size makes it attractive for DXpedition
use. As for minuses, its operation, while quite well thought out within
its limits, is nothing for you if you prefer "one button, one function"
layouts à la JRC. You see, the best receiver can only be the best
receiver *for YOU*; it certainly doesn't hurt to try a few before
buying.

BTW, as a ham you might also be interested in various transceivers.

Is there perhaps a website that has a fairly independent review of these
radios, and makes comparisons?

In terms of strong signal handling and phase noise, this might be
helpful:
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

Stephan

PS: What about your antenna situation? I had to find out the hard way
that the best receiver is of limited use without a good antenna.
Actually a good antenna and listening experience tend to be more
important in catching good DX than the receiver itself. (Primitive
example: A $150 portable can beat a $1000 tabletop hands down in AMBCB
reception just because of its easily rotatable built-in ferrit rod when
the tabletop uses a fixed and possibly even rather omnidirectional wire
antenna which as an E-field antenna would also catch more local noise.
Add a tunable AM loop to the game, and things start looking entirely
different.)
--
Home: http://stephan.win31.de/
PC#6: i440BX, 2xP3-500E, 704 MiB, 18+80 GB, R9k AGP 64 MiB, 110W

You can pay all the money in the World for the best Radio in the World
but the most important thing is a decent Antenna.
cuhulin

Daniel J. Morlan wrote:
I have a Grundig Satellit 800 coming my way, and some of my fellow ham radio
friends are trying to convince me that I've made some kind of mistake.

The AOR 7030 is darnedably expensive, but I did have a question as to
performance characteristics and enhancements. Is there a shortwave radio
superior to the AOR 7030? Just for curiositie's sake, is there such a radio
that IS more superior, if money were no object? Or is there one superior in
quality that is actually less expensive?

Is there perhaps a website that has a fairly independent review of these
radios, and makes comparisons?

Any help greatly appreciated.

(I do know of radio netherlands, and universal radio.)

73, WW6DJM

Daniel



When you get to the range of the 7030+ or the Drake R8b or the JRC NRD
545d, it's mostly a case of personal preference.

I owned one of the original Drake R8's and I liked it better than an out
of the box 7030+. Add some great filters and the 7030+ has an edge.

While some swear by the JRC's I've seen way too many comments about the
audio quality being poor. That's a big issue for me.

The only radio I've had that I like better than the 7030+ is a Harris
RF-550. It's an older military radio with nothing to speak of in the
way of convenience features, but it's got the nicest build quality I've
ever seen, and if there's a signal to be found, the Harris seems to make
it enjoyable to listen to. They generally sell for considerably less
than a new 7030+.

Other respected military radios include models by Watkins Johnson and
Racal. Personally, I like the older digital WJ's better than the newer
ones. I had a Racal 6790/gm and while it was a good radio, it just
didn't seem to have an advantage over anything else I was using.

On tube era radios, the Collins designed R-390 and R-388 are quite good.

On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 22:34:03 GMT, "Daniel J. Morlan"
wrote:

I have a Grundig Satellit 800 coming my way, and some of my fellow ham radio
friends are trying to convince me that I've made some kind of mistake.

The AOR 7030 is darnedably expensive, but I did have a question as to
performance characteristics and enhancements. Is there a shortwave radio
superior to the AOR 7030? Just for curiositie's sake, is there such a radio
that IS more superior, if money were no object? Or is there one superior in
quality that is actually less expensive?

Is there perhaps a website that has a fairly independent review of these
radios, and makes comparisons?

Any help greatly appreciated.

(I do know of radio netherlands, and universal radio.)

73, WW6DJM

Daniel

http://radio.tentec.com/Commercial/RX340

the Ten-Tec RX-340 is one of the best all around receivers available at a
price of $4000

if you only do SWL listening, the Sat800 is the BEST FOR THE MONEY

if you do a lot of utility listening, then the 800 is a bad choice since it
has only a 2.3 as its narrowest filter,

anyone who gives advice without asking what you will do with it and what
antenna you can put up and what your budget is can NOT give you good advice.





"Daniel J. Morlan" wrote in message
. com...
I have a Grundig Satellit 800 coming my way, and some of my fellow ham
radio friends are trying to convince me that I've made some kind of
mistake.

The AOR 7030 is darnedably expensive, but I did have a question as to
performance characteristics and enhancements. Is there a shortwave radio
superior to the AOR 7030? Just for curiositie's sake, is there such a
radio that IS more superior, if money were no object? Or is there one
superior in quality that is actually less expensive?

Is there perhaps a website that has a fairly independent review of these
radios, and makes comparisons?

Any help greatly appreciated.

(I do know of radio netherlands, and universal radio.)

73, WW6DJM

Daniel

mike maghakian wrote:
the Ten-Tec RX-340 is one of the best all around receivers available
at a
price of $4000

if you only do SWL listening, the Sat800 is the BEST FOR THE MONEY

if you do a lot of utility listening, then the 800 is a bad choice
since it
has only a 2.3 as its narrowest filter,

anyone who gives advice without asking what you will do with it and
what
antenna you can put up and what your budget is can NOT give you good
advice.





"Daniel J. Morlan" wrote in
message
. com...
I have a Grundig Satellit 800 coming my way, and some of my fellow
ham
radio friends are trying to convince me that I've made some kind of
mistake.

The AOR 7030 is darnedably expensive, but I did have a question as
to
performance characteristics and enhancements. Is there a shortwave
radio
superior to the AOR 7030? Just for curiositie's sake, is there
such a
radio that IS more superior, if money were no object? Or is there
one
superior in quality that is actually less expensive?

Is there perhaps a website that has a fairly independent review of
these
radios, and makes comparisons?

Any help greatly appreciated.

(I do know of radio netherlands, and universal radio.)

73, WW6DJM

Daniel


Having owned most of the premium receivers, I can say that there isn't
a lot of difference once you spend a few thousand.

The R8B has the most mellow audio and best synchronous detector imho.
The R-75 isn't bad, better with the Kiwa mods. The 525, 535 and 545 JRC
receivers are ok too. I have sold off just about all of my tube stuff
and have been using a RX-340 for the last 1-1/2 months. Great receiver!
I think I'll keep it and forget about the search for the "Holy Grail"
of receivers.

Les Locklear
Monitoring since ' 57
Monitoring from the Gulf of Mexico
Bendix R-1015B/URR
Hammarlund R-274C/FRR (SP-600JX-14)
Ten Tec RX-340
Alpha Delta Sloper
Quantum QX Loop
Various Longwires
CU-2279/BRC Multicoupler
http://www.hammarlund.info/homepage.html

Dear Daniel,

I have both a Satellit 800 and an AOR 7030 Plus (which I had
custom-made by the factory when I ordered it).

I have been a short wave listener for well over forty years. In my
opinion, the AOR AR7030 Plus is the finest short wave receiver being
made today. If you know precisely what you want, you can have the
factory make up a unit exactly to your requirements. That is what I
did. Naturally, each person's receiver would then be different from
someone else's as no two people are going to want exactly the same
thing.

Should you just wish to buy a "stock" AR7030 Plus, you can always have
it suitably modified "after the fact" as you gain experience with it
both by the factory or by "third-party" companies, such as Kiwa. The
radio can also always be "upgraded" to current standards. (This,
incidentally, seems to be a "British-thing." Have you ever heard of the
Linn Sondek LP-12 turntable - made in Scotland, not quite "British,"
but close? Even if you have the earliest model - made in 1972 - you can
have it upgraded so that it is no different than one that just came off
the line. The same thing applies to the AR7030.) I believe that this is
spectacularly good engineering. (For example, you cannot upgrade a
Drake R8 to an R8B, nor can you really "upgrade" any other receiver of
which I am aware to the same standards as a new sample.)

The AR7030 Plus can be operated from its front panel, via its remote
control, or totally by computer (the free RxWings program is absolutely
superb).

The build quality, the reception quality, the operation flexibility of
the AR7030 Plus are, again in my opinion, matched by no other receiver
currently being made.

That said, when used with the same antenna, I estimate that the Grundig
Satellit 800 gives about 95% of the performance of the AOR at about
one-fourth the price. I hope you ordered your '800 from a company which
offers to bench-test your particular unit prior to shipment because, as
is well-known, the Grundig's build-quality is not the best nor is its
construction consistency. When and if you do get a good one, you will
have a very good radio which is extremely cost-effective.

If your radio is one of the ones which is made properly, you will have
a short wave radio about which you need not "apologize" to anyone! (I
must state, however, that I do not believe the Satellit will last
anywhere nearly as long as an AR7030 will and I have major questions
about the Satellit's "repairability" in the future - Drake seems to be
exiting the short wave field.)

Make certain that you do use a suitable antenna with whatever radio you
buy. It is absolutely true that the antenna is more important than the
receiver. The Grundig Satellit 800 can handle any fine antenna as can
the AR7030. I personally use a Wellbrook ALA 330S with my AR7030 and an
AOR WL500 Window Loop antenna with my Satellit 800. (Covenants prohibit
outdoor antennas here, except for TV Satellite dishes -- do you think
$$$ had anything to do with that decision of our HOA?)

I wish you the very best of luck with whichever receiver you buy.

Joe
__________________________________________________ ________

I have a Grundig Satellit 800 coming my way, and some of my fellow ham
radio
friends are trying to convince me that I've made some kind of mistake.

The AOR 7030 is darnedably expensive, but I did have a question as to
performance characteristics and enhancements. Is there a shortwave
radio
superior to the AOR 7030? Just for curiositie's sake, is there such a
radio
that IS more superior, if money were no object? Or is there one
superior in
quality that is actually less expensive?

Is there perhaps a website that has a fairly independent review of
these
radios, and makes comparisons?

Any help greatly appreciated.

(I do know of radio netherlands, and universal radio.)

73, WW6DJM

Daniel

say Joe.Linn Sondek LP-12 Turntable,made in Scotland? I have never heard
of that one before.It it also a Shortwave or AM/FM Radio? Is there a
website for that? More information please?
cuhulin

If it's on the internet, (there are over a million URL's that even
search engines do not list) www.devilfinder.com will find it.
cuhulin