Michael Lawson wrote:
"D Peter Maus" wrote in message
...

Michael Lawson wrote:



I keep telling myself that an

R-5000 is just as good.




More or less, it is.


Okay, Peter, I'm curious. What do you think of the
R71A vs. the R-5000?? Some year I'm going to spring
for one of them or one of the R8/R8A/R8B's (depending on
price point used). Since you were in lurk mode when
the last discussion on that happened, what's your
opinion??

--Mike L.




When I made my choice, I played with each for more than a day,
and did all the reading I could on each model. What I found was that
it's a virtual dead heat between the two. Performance differences
are insignificant, and pretty evenly balanced between the two. Build
quality is nearly the same. Ergonomics for each are uneven. I
preferred the keypad of R-71 over R-5000 for it's more standard
layout, but the buttons on R-71 are smaller. In the dark, one is as
easy/difficult to use as the other. Audio quality is better on the
Kenwood. Prices on the used market are about the same. And both
have excellent pedigrees. The RAM battery on the ICOM is only as
much of an issue as you want to make it. Mine was still the original
battery, and the guy who bought mine is still using it as it was
sold to him. The WillCo board eliminates that issue entirely. But
diligent preventative attention prevents calamatous loss of
function, too.

Now, looking at each as an aging example of a long discontinued
product, R-71 seems to have fewer debilitating foibles than R-5000.
Seems to be more readily repaired or reconditioned than R-5000.
R-5000 displays are tough to come by, encoders are starting to fail.
Then again, the DC-DC converters for R-71's display are starting
to need rebuilding, the trimmers on the PLL unit need to be
replaced, and the heat around the regulator is causing solder joints
to fail.

What it really comes down to is how much you want to screw with
one, today, and which one you personally prefer. In real world
usage, what you would gain by switching from one to the other is a
matter of taste, not hard performance.