Michael Lawson wrote:

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

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


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...17592 25&rd=1

Should I?



If you can find the auction where he bought it, it would
probably
give
you a more reliable indication of it's performance and
condition.

I consider the sellers reputation when deciding what I'm willing
to
bid.

Lately it seems $400 is a pretty good price for an R8. If I
wanted
it,
I'd go maybe $250 for this one.

Okay, I know the differences between the R8/R8A/R8B, but
are the differences enough to make it worth the differences
in price used?? I've seen ~$400 for an R8, ~$650 for an R8A,
and ~$800+ for an R8B. I know that the R8 had it's flaws,
but enough for a $400 difference?? Heck, Universal has an
Icom R-71A for ~$500, and that's only $100 less than what it
was about 10 years ago on the used market.

--Mike L.

This web page has basic information about lots of radios,
including all of the R8 series radios.

http://www.dxing.com/rx/rxindex.htm

The two biggest differences to me are the original R8 has
the nice metal tuning knob, and the R8b has sideband
selectable sync detection.

They do hold their value pretty well.

I had an original R8, and kept it for quite a while after I
stopped using it because every time I'd fire it up to take a
picture to sell it, I decided I just wasn't ready to get rid of
it yet.

It was the first radio I had that lived up to my expectations
for the hobby, and I thought it did well in terms of
providing bang for the buck.

So Mark, was the extra for the R8B worth it, in your opinion??
Or maybe a better way of looking at it is the following: if a
person has a Sat 800 already, is it worth it to get an R8 or
R8B along with it, or is the money better spent on a
radio that does something else really well, like dxing with
an Icom R71A??


I've never had an R8b. Other than the 7030+, and a Sony Sw-07 I didn't like, everything since the R8 has been a rack mount.

Out of the box, I liked the R8 better than the 7030+. But the 7030+ could take extra filters so I added ones I liked. It was also a more practical radio to adapt into a portable because it draws less power than the R8's.

For program listening, I'd expect the major difference between the R8b and the Sat 800 to be build quality, and size. Both are Drake designs. For utility work and chasing DX, I'd expect the R8b to have a meaningful edge.

Rack mount radios I'd consider include the Harris RF-550 (my favorite radio), the WJ-8716 or 8718, and possibly the Racal 6790/gm, though personally I didn't think it had much of a performance edge over the R8. The Harris is a bit tougher to find, but
all of them usually sell for under $1000.

Harris also has a 590 and a 590a that are more modern, but I've yet to try one, and they don't seem to have the sideband selectable sync detection I get on my 550. The 590 usually sells for under $2k and the 590a brings a little more.

Yeah, I've just finished putting a new PC together for
the family, and I've got that ichy feeling again that
I need to play with more electronics.

(Bad Mike!! Stay in budget!!)


Just remember, a great computer you buy today will be nearly useless in six years, but a great radio will still be fun to use in ten or twenty years.

--Mike L.