Really hard to decide

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Deboradio

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Oct 5, 2015
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Gentlemen,

I would like to get me a receiver and I am between the ICOM IC R75 and the ALINCO DX SR8...

Although the Alinco is quite a bit cheaper I am aware that the Icom is a better rig. My budget could handle both but the Icom is going to cost me 40% more.

What should I go for, given that I mainly would want to listen to shortwave broadcasts and ham operators? I also like to get a rig that would give me several years of enjoyment and possibly expand my horizons in the hobby.

I have also looked at various SDR s such as Peresus, but I wouldn't like to fire up the laptop each time I wanted to turn the radio on.

Another point is that I know not much about antennas, so a simple all round indoor antenna recommendation would be appreciated.

Thanks
 

Turbo68

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Dec 12, 2005
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878
Location
East Devonport,Tasmania,Australia
Hi i got 2 of each and there both excellent hf receivers main intrest for me is receiving aircraft on hf and as for antenna i highly recomand a wellbrook active loop which you can also buy the indoor version and it doesnt matter which one you buy if you havent got a decent antenna youre not going to get any where on hf more noise then staions.

Regards Lino.
 

prcguy

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Jun 30, 2006
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So Cal - Richardson, TX - Tewksbury, MA
Do you have any desire to get a ham license and talk on HF? For the price of a new R-75 you can probably get a nice used 100w HF transceiver with a receiver thats similar or maybe better than an R-75.

An indoor antenna will seriously limit what you can hear, partially due to noise from things in your house and some from being shielded by building materials, wiring, etc. As carmelof mentioned, a good active loop will work better than most HF antennas indoors because you can turn it and null out some interference, but at considerable cost compared to a simple outdoor wire antenna.
prcguy
 

gcopter1

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Mar 1, 2014
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Winter Park, Florida
I used to own the Alinco and now have the Icom. Myself, got tired of the ergonomics of the Alinco. Nice weighed knob, but, too close to the keypad for my taste. Plus, many operations are built into not enough buttons, requiring more button presses that I cared for. On the Icom, everything is spread out, way better ergonomics IMO.
 

Deboradio

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Oct 5, 2015
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Location
Middle East
I downloaded Perseus SDR Demo and played a bit with some sample files.

Although the Perseus software is very impressive I still am tied to the laptop when I would like to use it. I don't own it yet, I am just using the software and it is quite amazing.

The price is even a bit more than the R75.

The thing that bothers me is that if I get the Perseus I don't really feel like getting a device. With the R75 I get a stand alone device.

However, the Perseus can handle so many frequencies simultaneously. It is really hard to decide again.

It is evident that SDR is the future of radios. But I keep coming back to the R75.
 
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