"D Peter Maus" wrote in message
...
Henry Kolesnik wrote:
Anyone out there still using this 20 some year old radio and is
it good
enough for serious SWLing. If so what are they going for in good
shape?
The reason I ask is for a short time I used a borrowed about 20
years ago
and kind of liked it but my memory isn't that good.
tnx



R-70, and it's later sibling, R-71, are getting a bit long in the
tooth. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The technology still
performs, and can still hold its own among some, but not all, of
today's
offerings.

R-70 is not exactly feature rich. It's basic performance. With
more
than a few bugs that were worked out for the release of R-71. I'd
Recommend R-71 over R-70...R-70 being a good 'first draft.'

I've never used an IC-R71A, but I have used an R70
in the past. It's a nice radio that's a step up from
the portables (the 2010 being the exception), but
it's rather idiocyncratic in some ways. Tuning
using the knob used to drive me nuts after a while
because you'd be constantly switching between
step size. Dual VFO's helped a bit, but after having
had a keypad to move around or an old style band
switch and dial on a tube radio, it's a bit harder to
get used to.

That said, the performance was rather nice. Not
as good as a tabletop of today, mind you, but it
probably fits in line with the Kenwood R-2000
and the Yaesu FRG-7700 and FRG-8800. Audio
wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't bad either.

Being of it's age, components have begun to drift, caps have
begun to
deform. As a result, any R-70 you may encounter may be in need of
attention to restore it to performance. Bellevue can help you with
that.
Figure at least a couple hundred bucks for this service. This is one
time that factory service is the wiser choice. They know more about
the
radio than aftermarket service sources, and their expertise can save
a
LOT of time. Time is money, here, and irrespective of rates, you
want
this work done right.

I've seen R-70 go for as low as $250, and as high as $450 in the
last
year, so if you're determined to go in this direction, shop
carefully.

The main drawback of ebay is that you don't get a chance
to actually listen to the radio, like at a hamfest. If you
find one at a hamfest, make sure you bring along a
piece of wire and an extension cord so that you can
try out the radio before you buy.

--Mike L.