AOR 7030+ vs JRC NRD 545 D
 

Need some advice from someone who has used either/both of these
receivers. I am about to buy one of the two radios and am having a
hard time deciding. The radio's I am comparing are in the following
configuration:

JRC NRD 545 D - Stock - ~ $1800.00

AOR 7030+ (Standard Filters 2.4, 4, 5.5, 9.5)
+ Noise Blanker and Notch Upgrade
+ 500hz Collins Mechanical filter
+ 1.0Khz Murata Data Filter
~ $1815

Opinions?

On 18 Aug 2005 16:29:23 -0700, "consigliori"
wrote:

Need some advice from someone who has used either/both of these
receivers. I am about to buy one of the two radios and am having a
hard time deciding. The radio's I am comparing are in the following
configuration:

JRC NRD 545 D - Stock - ~ $1800.00

AOR 7030+ (Standard Filters 2.4, 4, 5.5, 9.5)
+ Noise Blanker and Notch Upgrade
+ 500hz Collins Mechanical filter
+ 1.0Khz Murata Data Filter
~ $1815

Opinions?

The AOR is a better radio, according to everything I've read.

Hello,

I cannot comment on the Japan Radio NRD-545D, never having operated
one, only reading about it in PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO and WRTH.
(WRTH is much more positive about this radio than is PASSPORT.)

But I do own an AOR AR7030 Plus receiver which has the NB/Notch option
(the notch filter is excellent, the noise blanker less so), the
daughter board on which I have mounted a 2.4 kHz (nominal) crystal
filter (it's just great!) and the 6.5 kHz (nominal) filter which was
used in the original AR7030. (I am basically a program listener.)

I highly recommend this receiver as it is very sensitive, very
selective, very stable, VERY quiet, and VERY flexible in its operating
parameters. It is the finest receiver I have ever owned in well-over
forty years of shortwave listening. I like the fact that nothing is
"mode-dependent;" in other words any function is available with any
operating parameter. (For example, according to PASSPORT's review, the
AGC action CANNOT be adjusted on the NRD-545D when in AM or Sync mode.
This is certainly not the case with the AR7030 Plus.)

There is a "learning curve" for both radios; the AR7030 Plus' operating
manual can be downloaded (free) from http://www.aoruk.com/Default.htm
so you can see its operation for yourself. Unfortunately there is no
downloadable manual for the NRD-545D of which I am aware.

I personally found the AR7030 Plus quite easy to operate, "mastering"
its most common functions in about a half-hour.

Unlike PASSPORT, I like the fact that the AC power supply is external
on the AR7030 Plus; should it be necessary for you to perform any
internal adjustments, you can do so while the radio is powered - there
is only 15 Volts inside! (I had to adjust the Sync circuit for my
climate which is much different than that of England; the whole process
took about fifteen minutes.)

Note that the entire service manual and procedures are available online
and can, in fact, be downloaded and kept on your computer for
reference.

Should you have any specific questions about the radio that cannot be
answered by your dealer or AOR UK's website, feel free to ask me or you
can also telephone (or e-mail) Richard Hillier at AOR UK. His telephone
number is on the website. (Remember the time difference.)

By the way, there is a FREE computer control program available called
RxWings should you desire to go that route. It is superb. This program
can operate either of your two prospective radios. Thus there is no
need to buy the manufacturers' proprietary (and expensive) computer
programs. It is available at http://home.wxs.nl/~jarkest/swl/swl.html

Best of luck with whichever radio you purchase. I know you will derive
many, many hours of pleasure from either.

Joe

Joe,
Thanks for the detailed reply. What type of antenna(s) do you use?

david
Joe Analssandrini wrote:
Hello,

I cannot comment on the Japan Radio NRD-545D, never having operated
one, only reading about it in PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO and WRTH.
(WRTH is much more positive about this radio than is PASSPORT.)

But I do own an AOR AR7030 Plus receiver which has the NB/Notch option
(the notch filter is excellent, the noise blanker less so), the
daughter board on which I have mounted a 2.4 kHz (nominal) crystal
filter (it's just great!) and the 6.5 kHz (nominal) filter which was
used in the original AR7030. (I am basically a program listener.)

I highly recommend this receiver as it is very sensitive, very
selective, very stable, VERY quiet, and VERY flexible in its operating
parameters. It is the finest receiver I have ever owned in well-over
forty years of shortwave listening. I like the fact that nothing is
"mode-dependent;" in other words any function is available with any
operating parameter. (For example, according to PASSPORT's review, the
AGC action CANNOT be adjusted on the NRD-545D when in AM or Sync mode.
This is certainly not the case with the AR7030 Plus.)

There is a "learning curve" for both radios; the AR7030 Plus' operating
manual can be downloaded (free) from http://www.aoruk.com/Default.htm
so you can see its operation for yourself. Unfortunately there is no
downloadable manual for the NRD-545D of which I am aware.

I personally found the AR7030 Plus quite easy to operate, "mastering"
its most common functions in about a half-hour.

Unlike PASSPORT, I like the fact that the AC power supply is external
on the AR7030 Plus; should it be necessary for you to perform any
internal adjustments, you can do so while the radio is powered - there
is only 15 Volts inside! (I had to adjust the Sync circuit for my
climate which is much different than that of England; the whole process
took about fifteen minutes.)

Note that the entire service manual and procedures are available online
and can, in fact, be downloaded and kept on your computer for
reference.

Should you have any specific questions about the radio that cannot be
answered by your dealer or AOR UK's website, feel free to ask me or you
can also telephone (or e-mail) Richard Hillier at AOR UK. His telephone
number is on the website. (Remember the time difference.)

By the way, there is a FREE computer control program available called
RxWings should you desire to go that route. It is superb. This program
can operate either of your two prospective radios. Thus there is no
need to buy the manufacturers' proprietary (and expensive) computer
programs. It is available at http://home.wxs.nl/~jarkest/swl/swl.html

Best of luck with whichever radio you purchase. I know you will derive
many, many hours of pleasure from either.

Joe

consigliori wrote:

Need some advice from someone who has used either/both of these
receivers. I am about to buy one of the two radios and am having a
hard time deciding. The radio's I am comparing are in the following
configuration:

JRC NRD 545 D - Stock - ~ $1800.00

AOR 7030+ (Standard Filters 2.4, 4, 5.5, 9.5)
+ Noise Blanker and Notch Upgrade
+ 500hz Collins Mechanical filter
+ 1.0Khz Murata Data Filter
~ $1815

Opinions?


I've got a 7030+

I added milspec crystal filters that read 2.9 and 6.1khz. With them,
the audio quality is quite nice.

One of the reasons I decided to try it was a few years back, on the
premium-rx list, they did a poll of what folks were using for
"portables". About half of them (including me) were using the Racal
6790/gm on dxpeditions, and about half were using the 7030+.

Since the 7030+ was highly regarded, considerably smaller, and more
practical to run on batteries I decided to give it a shot. Frankly,
even if I wasn't using it as a portable, I'd like it better than the
6790/gm.

It's very easy on the ears, and has scads of dynamic range.

Mine is installed in a slightly larger case that holds two sets of 14.4v
nimh battery packs, a rapid charger, and an avantek 30db preamp. I use
it with a 3 meter whip antenna, and it performs almost as well as my
Harris on the 65' "Doty style" antenna at home.

I second Joe's recommendation of the 7030+. Excellent performance. The
menu system isn't complicated, but you have to pay attention to what
you're doing. If I'm sitting in front of the Drake receiver I have, my
fingers can just sort of do their own thing, turning knobs and pushing
buttons, and everything comes off without a hitch. With the 7030+, if
my fingers begin to do their own thing and I'm in the wrong menu, it's
going to cause a problem. So you have to stay alert to where you are in
the menu system. It's not something you can ignore. That said, I don't
mind it. Very rarely is it a problem, and it makes possible a sparse
looking, very sharp-looking receiver.

I wish a little more power was going to the external speaker jack. It
can't power an external speaker anywhere near as well as my Drake
receiver. The sync detector is good. Not the best in my opinion, but
it's very good.

If you get a 7030+ I recommend that you never, ever use headphones with
it. There's a mixer inside that's very delicate, and easily blown from
static electricity. I speak from experience on this one, and the AOR
website will tell you that problems with this mixer are not uncommon.

Joe touched on what is probably my favorite thing about the 7030+: It's
extremely quiet, with audio having a sort of 'transparent' quality
about it.

I've never used the NRD-545D, but it looks very interesting to me. If
you end up buying it, please post a review.

Steve

Just curious: Where'd you get the whip? Is it military surplus?

Steve

wrote:

Just curious: Where'd you get the whip? Is it military surplus?

Steve


Yes, I got it from

http://www.american-milspec.com

They don't seem to have the same model now. It's a "folding" antenna
with shock cord holding the elements together for travel- kind of like
the poles for "dome tents". It was made for the PRC-25 and PRC-77.

I made a base out of some PVC plumbing parts, and put an impedance
matching transformer in it, and a BNC connector sticks out the side.
The bottom of the base is threaded with a 1/4-20 thread so I can put it
on one of my tripods.

I have a 30 foot run of RG-316e to connect the radio and antenna.

It takes about 2 minutes to set up or take down.

"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

Yes, I got it from

http://www.american-milspec.com

They don't seem to have the same model now. It's a "folding" antenna
with shock cord holding the elements together for travel- kind of like
the poles for "dome tents". It was made for the PRC-25 and PRC-77.


PRC-77? That is one radio I never want to see again. I did QA on
them at Cincinnati Electronics. It was an early '60s design finally
being built in the late '70s with specially made runs of obsolete
Motorola RF transistors. We would order 10,000 parts and they would
ship 12,500 and tell use to test and use the best ones. It was a real
PITA germanium front end to try to get through the module
interchangability tests.

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

An interesting portable whip for the AOR 7030, Icom R75 and Drake SW8 is
http://www.miracleantenna.com/MiracleWhip.html
It's also sold by Universal
--
John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
RX Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
Drake SW8 & ERGO software
Sony 7600D GE SRIII
BW XCR 30, Braun T1000, Sangean 818 & 803A.
Hallicrafters SX-100, Eddystone 940
GE circa 50's radiogram
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message
...
wrote:

Just curious: Where'd you get the whip? Is it military surplus?

Steve


Yes, I got it from

http://www.american-milspec.com

They don't seem to have the same model now. It's a "folding" antenna with
shock cord holding the elements together for travel- kind of like the
poles for "dome tents". It was made for the PRC-25 and PRC-77.

I made a base out of some PVC plumbing parts, and put an impedance
matching transformer in it, and a BNC connector sticks out the side. The
bottom of the base is threaded with a 1/4-20 thread so I can put it on one
of my tripods.

I have a 30 foot run of RG-316e to connect the radio and antenna.

It takes about 2 minutes to set up or take down.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...
"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

Yes, I got it from

http://www.american-milspec.com

They don't seem to have the same model now. It's a "folding"
antenna
with shock cord holding the elements together for travel- kind of
like
the poles for "dome tents". It was made for the PRC-25 and
PRC-77.


PRC-77? That is one radio I never want to see again. I did QA
on
them at Cincinnati Electronics. It was an early '60s design finally
being built in the late '70s with specially made runs of obsolete
Motorola RF transistors. We would order 10,000 parts and they would
ship 12,500 and tell use to test and use the best ones. It was a
real
PITA germanium front end to try to get through the module
interchangability tests.

Cincinnati Electronics?? A forerunner to Cincinnati Microwave??

--Mike L.

Michael Lawson wrote:

Cincinnati Electronics?? A forerunner to Cincinnati Microwave??

--Mike L.


No, it is a defense contractor: http://www.cinele.com/index2.htm and
I see that it was just bought by the company that bought Microdyne in
Ocala and put a couple hundred people out of work.

--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

consigliori wrote:
Need some advice from someone who has used either/both of these
receivers. I am about to buy one of the two radios and am having a
hard time deciding. The radio's I am comparing are in the following
configuration:

JRC NRD 545 D - Stock - ~ $1800.00

AOR 7030+ (Standard Filters 2.4, 4, 5.5, 9.5)
+ Noise Blanker and Notch Upgrade
+ 500hz Collins Mechanical filter
+ 1.0Khz Murata Data Filter
~ $1815

Opinions?

In either case that is a LOT of money for a shortwave receiver. Are
you really sure your listening habits require you to spend almost
$2,000 on one HF radio? Given that there are many high-end used radios
selling for a fraction of those prices, why not go that way. Chances
are you will hear exactly the same stations.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...
Michael Lawson wrote:

Cincinnati Electronics?? A forerunner to Cincinnati Microwave??

--Mike L.


No, it is a defense contractor: http://www.cinele.com/index2.htm
and
I see that it was just bought by the company that bought Microdyne
in
Ocala and put a couple hundred people out of work.

EO solutions, eh? I wonder if they've worked with the
Electro Optics Dept. at the University of Dayton, or
worked with people from Wright Patt.

--Mike L.

I have a 545 and I've been disappointed with it overall. I use my R8B
almost exclusively these days. I can't even remember the last time I
had the 545 on.

Michael Lawson wrote:

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...
Michael Lawson wrote:

Cincinnati Electronics?? A forerunner to Cincinnati Microwave??

--Mike L.


No, it is a defense contractor: http://www.cinele.com/index2.htm
and
I see that it was just bought by the company that bought Microdyne
in
Ocala and put a couple hundred people out of work.

EO solutions, eh? I wonder if they've worked with the
Electro Optics Dept. at the University of Dayton, or
worked with people from Wright Patt.

--Mike L.


I have no idea. I worked there a long time ago, during the mid '70s.
The place was a Crosley machine shop during WWII. The facilities and
most of the office equipment was still owned by the US government and
leased to Crosley. After that, Avco (The Aviation Company) which is now
Avco Financial services took over from Crosley. When AVCO got out of
the defense business Cincinnati Electronics was formed. They didn't own
anything except parts left over from the Crosley days. They did
subcontract work for other companies who fought for, and won the
contracts. It was a hot, nasty place to work. I did my eight hours in
either a screened booth full of hot test equipment and no AC, or in the
SATE booth which was "Semi-Automated Test Equipment" that told you where
to set the controls as it ran test after test with a noisy high speed
drum printer that literally shook the aluminum computer room. I was
surprised to hear that they were still in business because of the way
they used to treat the employees. You weren't hired long term, you were
hired to work on one product, or contract. When it ended you had to wait
to see if you would be rehired for the next product or contract. The
only way to describe it? It was a lousy sweat shop.



--
Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
after threats were telephoned to my church.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

In article ,
"Mark S. Holden" wrote:

wrote:

Just curious: Where'd you get the whip? Is it military surplus?

Steve


Yes, I got it from

http://www.american-milspec.com

They don't seem to have the same model now. It's a "folding" antenna
with shock cord holding the elements together for travel- kind of like
the poles for "dome tents". It was made for the PRC-25 and PRC-77.

I made a base out of some PVC plumbing parts, and put an impedance
matching transformer in it, and a BNC connector sticks out the side.
The bottom of the base is threaded with a 1/4-20 thread so I can put it
on one of my tripods.

I have a 30 foot run of RG-316e to connect the radio and antenna.

It takes about 2 minutes to set up or take down.

Mark do you have the + version. Mine has a three position antenna switch
on the back with a whip amplifier as one position so no transformer
needed. Maybe you found the whip still works better with the transformer?

1. SO-239 socket 50 ohms.
2. SO-239 socket whip amp.
3. connect to the high impedance terminals.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

Telamon wrote:
snip

Mark do you have the + version. Mine has a three position antenna switch
on the back with a whip amplifier as one position so no transformer
needed. Maybe you found the whip still works better with the transformer?

1. SO-239 socket 50 ohms.
2. SO-239 socket whip amp.
3. connect to the high impedance terminals.


Hi

I have the plus version with the noise blanker and notch filter.

I have my radio set for the normal 50 ohm input because I've also added
the Avantek 30db amp. Frankly, if I find a nice quiet 15-20db amp
that'll fit I may switch it out, as I end up dialing in some attenuation
below 5mhz.

I didn't try the antenna without the transformer because I bought a box
of 100 ferrite cores a while back, and given how much they've helped
with my home antennas, I just automatically include one on every antenna
I make.

In any event, the whip works incredibly well, so there's not much
incentive to change it.

I've done a fair amount of experimenting with portable antennas, as
vacations and camping trips are a great time for me to listen to
shortwave - and this one outperforms everything else I've tried, and
it's at least as portable as the LF engineering Skymatch it replaced.