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"Michael" wrote:

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Lucky wrote:
"Eric F. Richards" wrote in message
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"Lucky" wrote:


"Eric F. Richards" wrote in
message
m...

"Michael" wrote:


I find that there isn't anything that I can hear with
the R-75 that I can hear with more expensive radios.

That's true. Images, birdies, artifacts, intermodulation
products --
it's all there.

The R-75 is dumpster fodder. Value? yep. Value for
money?
yep.
Absolutely a good value? Not even close.

You need to experience a truly good radio. See
http://www.sherweng.com for some guidelines.



I personally think you made a fool out of yourself with your
drivel
and
that's about it.

Lucky


You can believe that all you want. I owned an R75 for years.
When
I
was selling it at a hamfest, Bob Sherwood came by and I
offered
it
to
him, and he just laughed.

I'll say it again: It *is* value for the money, but it is
*not*
an
absolute value.

For me, the issue that is important is front-end overload.
There
are
several flamethrowers that put millivolts worth of signal on
my
antennas. I don't have problems with close-in dynamic
range...
no
one
should really have problems with sensitivity on HF.

The R75 was nothing but images below 10 MHz without both
preamps
off
and the attenuator on.

--
Eric F. Richards

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


Hi

I have about 10 radios. For $425, the R75 is my best rig. I
have
no
problem with images here in Miami. There are many Hams down
here
and
lots
of the time the bands are terrible. But, with my R75, I can
clean
the
signal up very well and enjoy the conversations. I can't do
this
with
my
other rigs. Here they. They are not all very good but I
started
out
as
a
novice.

1] Kenwood 5000
2] Lowe HF-150
3] JVC NRD 525
4] Yaesu FRG-7
5] TenTec 320-D for DRM
6] Yaesu FRG-7700
7] Nasa Target HF3
8] Kenwood QR-666 {really the R300}
9] Degen 1103
10] Icom R75

I would say the next best rig is the HF-150 then the 5000 and
525
are
about equal with the 525 giving you a few more options. If I
mean
business I use the R75. All I know is that I bought a brand
NEW
radio
with **DSP and **dual PBT plus easy computer control for
$425.
Just
being
able to mix and match filters is superb. The built in 2 level
pre-amp
works great.

How in the freaken world can you argue this point? How? Point
me
to
a
decent receiver for $425. Please, show me so I can buy it.



Not to state the obvious, but he did concede that, for the
money,
R-75
is a value. What he's saying, what I've said, and what has
been
repeated
here over the last few years, is that R-75 is not an absolute
value.
For
$425, yes, it's a good deal. But as an absolute value, it's
like
most
ICOM's (of which I've owned several and loved every one of
them):
It's
potential is not realized until it's been modified. No one is
saying
that
it's a bad radio. No one is saying that it's not worth having,
and
that
it's not a strong player, and to reiterate for those in Rio
Linda,
FOR
THE
MONEY, it's a good value.

It's just not all it can be.

As much as I loved my R-71, I was very much looking forward
to
R-75's
release. And was ready to close a deal with Universal as soon
as
it
was
available. But after playing with one for the better part of a
day,
I
was
less than impressed. And went in another direction. A
direction
I've
been
very pleased with. In fact, I've not bought a new radio since.

I liken ICOM's to cars at the drag strip. Do you know why
there
are
so
many Fords and Chevy's are used as racing platforms? Ånd you
don't
see
so
many Lincoln's and Cadillacs? Not because the Fords and
Chevy's
are
superior, but because they're a good buy for the money. For an
economical
outlay, you can buy a platform, that when modified to taste
becomes
precisely the car you want. Exactly built and tuned to the
application
you've chosen for it. A Lincoln would be a better platform.
Sturdier,
more
finely tuned suspension. But with fewer mods available, and at
dramatically higher cost.

I"ve seen Lincoln's at the race track. And I watched one mop
up
a
Taurus
in the quarter mile, but at 20 times the outlay for a
dragstrip
car.

ICOMs are solidly built, and decent performers. Like entry
level
domestic cars, their design has great potential for
performance.
But
production cost shortcuts and economies produce a product that
could
be
far more than it is. Requiring modification to extract the
performance
built into the design. When you're finished, add up price of
the
radio,
the cost of the mods, shipping, old battery and recappable
tires,
and
you've got a radio that's actually more expensive than it
would
have
been
had they not cut the production corners in the first place.

But then, at least, the absolute value of the radio would be
established.

There's nothing wrong with you loving your R-75. And as Eric
has
said
more than once, it IS a good value for the money.

It's just that as it comes out of the box, it's potential is
not
realized. And for many users, that's a deterrent to ownership.


Not only is the R-75 a good value for dollar, it is a good
absolute
value
as
well. Price aside, it is a good radio period. It is well
built,
sensitive,
selective, has a good user interface, is adequate for program
listening,
can
be very good for program listening with simple mods, and it is
outstanding
for utility and DX'ing. For me, it doesn't make the sense god
gave
a
mule
to
malign the R-75 because after market mods can improve the
performance
of
the
audio definition and the function of the sync detector should
you
decide
to
do so. The R-5000 is a great radio and it doesn't even have a
sync
detector.
The NRD 545 is a good radio and to my ear, even through an
external
speaker
the audio is hollow and tinny for any radio, let alone one with
a
price
tag
that is so high.

I have used the R-75, R-5000, R8, R8b and have some time on an
NRD-545.
Going by actual usage, I can honestly say that NONE of those
radios
are
"WONDER RADIOS" in comparison with the others. The all have
their
strengths,
but none of them will work miracles in comparison to other ones.
They
are
all capable radios. Of all of those radios, the one that I'd
prefer
to
have
for DX'ing and or utility would be the R-75. For program
listening,
I'd
take
the R8b. The audio quality itself is not all that much better
then
my
Kiwa
modified R-75, but the ssb selectable AM sync on the R8b can be
a
marvel
for
cutting out not just fade distortion but cutting out QRM
completely
from
a
signal above or below. I can also do the same thing with QRM
using
my
Sony
7600gr too !!!!

So.... Those are facts. The R-75 is a good performer in some
categories
and
an OUTSTANDING performer in most others. How can you say it is
not
an
absolute value ???

In reading posts from people that COMPULSIVELY malign the R-75
and
obsess
over the perceived AM sync deficiency ad nausium, it seems like
it
is
the
self justification of a person who spent way more money then the
R-75
costs
on their rig.

Or is it self justification on your part because you either don't
have
or
don't
want to spend the money for a better rig?

No... Not true at all. I'd spend more money on a better rig. I
was
going
to buy an NRD-545 not too long ago. I tried one out on loan from a
friend.
Although I loved the way it looked and I loved the way the controls
were
set
up, I thought the weak audio was a serious distraction. Still...
That
is
not why I didn't get one. I was primarily looking for a better
DX'ing
radio. I'd deal with lesser audio if the DX'ing abilities were
better
then
my R-75. I came to the realization after testing out the NRD-545
that
noting could help me DX' any better due to the high noise floor
here
in
north NJ. I dont need a new rig, I need to move to another area.

I always did want to see the American southwest. May be Arizona
:-)

Yes, it's an OK radio, but come on...

OK.. I know you like your R8 series, but do you really think the R8
series
is better then the R-75 for DX'ing. ???

Absolutely. If they weren't I'd have been one of the first to get
R75

The R8 series is only WAY better
then the R-75 for one thing and one thing only. And not... not
program
listening. With my Kiwa mods and external speaker, it does well
for
program
listening. Although not too many people mention it when comparing
the
R8
with the R-75 because everyone is pointing out the synch thing, the
R-75
SUCKS ON ICE for medium wave DX'ing. It's way too noisy. I loved
using
all
of the R8 series for MW, especially the R8b. I thought the R8b's
AM
synch
was the cats ass.

Regardless, you cant tell me the R8 or R8a or R8b is better at SW
DX'ing
then the R-75.

I believe I already did. Several times!


Tell me again and tell me why.

Haven't I wasted enough time on you already? You really need to learn
how
to pay
attention.

Start off by gazing at that front panel and try to commit to memory the
fact
that you're using a R75 vs. an R-75.


Oh... the front panel. I see it... Your wrong again... It reads
"IC-R75".

I wasn't wrong at all, 'tard boy... PLEASE try to pay attention. It DOES
NOT say
R-75 does it, 'tard boy?


It doesn't read R75, nimrod. If you insist on mocking people for a petty
oversight, I suggest that you should take more care not to make any
oversights yourself as you have just done. It reads IC-R75. Now be
reasonable and stop casting stones from your glass house.

Simply put to your stone casting frustration... The IC-R75 is a better
radio for DX'ing and SSB/utility then the R8 series.

Yield to the facts. I promise you'll feel better once you do so.

Your facts have no basis in reality. Feel better?

--
Telamon
Ventura, California