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RACAL RA 6790 GM Receiver
One's up for auction on Ebay right now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW Has anyone owned one of these receivers? I'm not bidding on it, but I'm curious about how it would stack up against one of the better commercial receivers, like an R8B or 7030+. Steve |
On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 20:49:48 GMT, David wrote:
On 23 Apr 2005 13:22:06 -0700, wrote: One's up for auction on Ebay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW Has anyone owned one of these receivers? I'm not bidding on it, but I'm curious about how it would stack up against one of the better commercial receivers, like an R8B or 7030+. Steve Per Bob, better than the AOR, not as good as an R8. http://www.sherweng.com/table.html Misread the chart. Both radis are rated above the Racal. |
On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 21:13:49 GMT, David wrote:
On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 20:49:48 GMT, David wrote: On 23 Apr 2005 13:22:06 -0700, wrote: One's up for auction on Ebay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW Has anyone owned one of these receivers? I'm not bidding on it, but I'm curious about how it would stack up against one of the better commercial receivers, like an R8B or 7030+. Steve Per Bob, better than the AOR, not as good as an R8. http://www.sherweng.com/table.html Misread the chart. Both radis are rated above the Racal. Here's a more complete review: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/488 |
There is no shortage of people who get some exotic widget then drone on
about how good it is. I heard the keyboards wear out on those Racals. Just image the hassle getting parts. Pass. In fact, I passed on that radio years ago when some Russian was peddling them at Livermore. Something like $600 and he didn't even throw in some vodka for contract cleaning. |
dxAce wrote: wrote: One's up for auction on Ebay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3D576 83= 29816&rd=3D1&ssPageName=3DWDVW Has anyone owned one of these receivers? I'm not bidding on it, but I'm curious about how it would stack up against one of the better commercial receivers, like an R8B or 7030+. Never had one, never will. Not even necessary for DX'ing... dxAce Michigan USA I swear by, not at, Drake receivers.=A9 Drake R7, R8, R8A and R8B http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm I had one several years ago, worked ok, nothing to write home about. I agree, the Drake R8 series is better as are many other receivers. Guy Atkins, a well known mw dx'er sold his and kept a Kiwa modified Icom R75. Les |
Les is correct. After much comparison on the tropical bands and foreign MW
DXing, I found the modded R-75 essentially equal to a fine example of a RA6790GM (with various new parts, and tweaked, serviced, and refurbished by the Racal guru Gary Wingerd). At one point I installed a very desireable upgrade to the front end roofing filters, by changing them from a 20 kHz bandwidth to a 10 kHz bandwidth, using two 40.455 MHz modules from a Cubic R-3030 RF board. This made the Racal better at tough MW split-frequency DXing with strong signals nearby in frequency. Still, the R-75 was so much easier to operate-- smaller, lighter, cooler running, and has the advantage of working off 12vdc for power when needed at DXpeditions. In addition, the Twin PBT control in the R-75 is a great tool for DXing-- a feature sorely missing in the Racal. The RA6790GM model fit its commercial/military monitoring purpose well, at a reasonable cost in its day for organizations and governments. It was never intended to meet the specific needs of DXers. One example of the awkwardness of the RA6790GM for DXing is in the choice of filters for SSB. To use anything other than the default SSB filter (normally 3.0 kHz), you need to switch to CW mode, adjust the BFO offset to achieve natural speech, and then choose one of the other installed bandwidths. This is VERY inconvenient during changing DX reception conditions, particularly during dawn enhancement of signals when you need a flexible, quick-to-adjust receiver. My R-75 has these Kiwa mods: Synchronous AM module, Kiwa CLF-D2K filter (no longer made), and the Kiwa audio upgrade. I also have two 1.8 kHz INRAD filters in the 2nd IF , ECSS volume mod, Dr. Phil's high fidelity audio upgrade, and a number of other smaller mods. The radio doesn't need these mods to perform very well, but I to tinker with my gear... The R-75 is now my secondary radio. The main and best performing rig in the shack now is a ICOM IC-756Pro transceiver. In all but one DXing situation over the last 4 or 5 months, the 756Pro has noticeably outperformed the R-75. There is not a huge difference, but big enough that I can often times make out more words and IDs in a foreign language on a static-riddled, weak station on the 756Pro compared to the R-75. However, the R-75 is the best value in a new receiver these days (while they last...I wonder how many R-75's Universal Radio still has in their dwindling stock?) Guy Atkins Puyallup, WA USA "Les" wrote in message ups.com... SNIP I had one several years ago, worked ok, nothing to write home about. I agree, the Drake R8 series is better as are many other receivers. Guy Atkins, a well known mw dx'er sold his and kept a Kiwa modified Icom R75. Les |
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"Has anyone owned one of these receivers? I'm not bidding on it, but
I'm curious about how it would stack up against one of the better commercial receivers, like an R8B or 7030+." Well, remember the Racal is a commercial grade receiver designed for specific applications ranging from laboratory work to fixed frequency monitoring, etc. It was not built as a hobbyist radio. There are several interesting reviews that go into detail about it's strong points and several limitations: http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/488 On the other hand, the R8B and 7030, R75, etc., are consumer grade receivers for serious hobbyists. All three are known for for having numerous very useful features that allow the user to manipulate the signal in a variety of ways. Unlike the Racal they all have memories, a feature that is basic to swling. Fully expect that you would hear the same signals on the Racal as you would with the three consumer receivers. The Racal does look the serious receiver with the rack mount case, handles and austere design. |
Pete G on this group raves about how great it is.
however it does not mean it is fun to use. commercial receivers are not always fun to use. I have a Drake maritime 5000 dollar receiver, I find it no fun at all to use compared to the satellit 800 or a modded DX-394 or similar fun to use receiver. wrote in message ups.com... One's up for auction on Ebay right now: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW Has anyone owned one of these receivers? I'm not bidding on it, but I'm curious about how it would stack up against one of the better commercial receivers, like an R8B or 7030+. Steve |
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