In article .com,
"mike0219116" wrote:

Telamon wrote:
In article .com,
"mike0219116" wrote:

My first "real" radio was an R75. Even with the Kiwa mods and the DSP
unit I found it to de disappointing. I eventually sold it and bought a
Drake R8B.

I think the Palstar would be a good "starter" tabletop. If you decide
to get an even more high-end rig later, the Palstar would be great for
DXpeditions or other semi-poriable use. I've even considered getting
one just for the portability, but I've heard that Palstar might come
out with a new receiver this year so I'm holding off.

I haven't had my hands on a R75 in any condition but you would think
that with the mods and DSP it would be a decent radio.

Out of the table top radios this is the only one that "appears" to me
that people would possibly have a problem operating. With a non-standard
AGC control setup on small concentric knobs I could see people turning
the wrong control by mistake. That together with the dual bandpass
control you could have the radio sounding very poor in short order.

With the mods the AGC and sync are supposed to be working with a visual
indication of when the sync is trying to lock and that should have been
a help and the audio is supposed to be improved.

What disappointed you about the R75? Was it that the audio was still
sub-par even with the mods and DSP? To tricky to operate?

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

My disappointment with the R75 probably had more to do with my
unrealistic expectations about the receiver than anything else. First
of all, I got into shortwave largely for broadcasting listening, which
is something that the R75 is simply not well suited for, especially out
of the box with its narrow filters and practically non-existent synch
detector. I had all of the Kiwa mods done and I did not find them to
make that much of a difference in terms of improving broadcast
listening. The synch, in particular, was barely better after the mod.
However, this was a few years ago and I think that there is a new
version of the synch mod available from Kiwa that is much better than
the one performed on my rig. I didn't find the audio to be much
improved, even with an outboard speaker. I thought the manual was
poorly written, but I got a much better grasp of the functions after
reading Harry Helm's shortwave handbook. I bought the R75 when the
R8B was still on the market, and I thought long and hard about what I
should buy. In the end, I tried to save some money by choosing the R75
with the knowledge that I would probably have to put out some more cash
for the mods. For my taste, the money I saved wasn't worth the
diminished experience. I sold my modded R75 on eBay for a good price
and bought a R8B about a year before it was discontinued. It was
everything I wanted in a receiver and more. I was worth every penny.
I thought it was so much better than the R75 in every possible way,
except for maybe the tuning knob.

In today's market, with the R8B long gone (except for used units),
the R75 is much more attractive IMO. If the mods have improved, as
they seem to have been, then that makes the R75 an even better option.
I should say that I also have an NRD 545, and that I have not found it
that much better than my R75 was, especially for $1,000+ more. I know
that the R8B vs. R75 debate has been well-played out here (I've read
all of the old threads that Google has archived) and that the debate is
often emotional. For my own tastes/preferences the Drake is far
superior to the R75. On the other hand, I can see why so many people
hold the R75 in such high much esteem, especially considering its
price-point. Its strengths are even more amplified in today's
tabletop market. In the end, the R75 just wasn't for me.

Thanks for writing about your experience with the R75.

The Drake R8B certainly a great rig and I enjoyed the R8 also when I
owned it previous to the R8B.

It's such a shame the R8B is not in production as it has most features
that people want for any kind of short wave listening. The Drake
equipment lives up to its specifications and works as you expect it too
out of the box.

Currently there is a used Drake R8 and also a R8A that is under $500 on
Ebay. The R8A is more money than the R8 but it has an improved sync and
ergonomics over the R8. The R8 delivers solid performance though.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

Before I bought a R8B, I suspected that Passports claim that, "...the
R8B is the only non-professional receiver tested that gets everything
right...," was hyperbole. It turns out they were dead on with that
statement. I agree with your assessment about the R8B. I don't know
if there has ever been a more well-rounded receiver. I've told my
wife that if the house catches on fire, I'm saving (1) the R8B, (2)
her, and (3) the cats, in that order. I'll go back and get the 545
if it's convenient to do so. I should really qualify my
disappointment with the 545. Compared to the R8B, it not a good
broadcast rig. It's main problem is that there is only one AGC speed
(unless you're in SSB mode) and it's much too fast. The DSP
features like the fully adjustable filter, automatic notch, digital NR,
etc... are nice, but I've never picked up a station on my 545 that I
couldn't get on my R8B sans all the bells and whistles. I think that
if I did some more utility/SSB stuff, the 545 might pull ahead there
because the DSP can really clean-up those kinds of signals. One of the
major reasons I haven't sold it is that I have the wideband board
installed, and it's a surprisingly sensitive wideband rig. I have an
AOR discone up on the roof and the two play well together. The major
drawback is that the 545 wideband option suffers from a TON of birdies.
Oh...it's also a damn good looking rig and its silky-smooth tuning
knob is a joy to use, but it ain't a Drake by any stretch.

How about a Grundig Satellit 800 Refurb at Universal for $399? Gone over by
Drake and has a sync detector. Big easy to read dial, real S meter, large
logical controls.