Narrowing down but still torn...

[ridgescan]

Glad you were able to come to your decision so you can start getting into DXing now you are going to love the r75 and from my experience, the more you use it, the more it grows on you. So many happy r75 owners out there-it's just one of those great ones. Just one word of advise from my experince on MW DXing the r75-cut the filters and the preamps and just run it that way on MW. Those things IMO just add noise and adjacent station interference you don't want in MW. Let the signals and the loop do the work.
I never saw that Q loop it is really cool
RadioIntel.com - Reviews QUANTUM LOOP V2.0
I would love to see it in action when you get things going or at least tell us about it in your DX logs

[corbintechboy]

Originally Posted by ridgescan

I would love to see it in action when you get things going or at least tell us about it in your DX logs

After I get it all figured out I will post some youtube videos. I am really wanting to do A/B comparisons with the E1 and the R75. The E1 has some nice MW stats and would not mind if it won. I do think the the R75 might have a couple more tricks to dig out the really tough ones. All in all I think I will have a really strong setup.

I know the R75 will claim the fame on HF for certain. This is going to be a lot of fun . Not so excited about getting a new radio, more excited about exploring new things and learning the pluses and minuses of my "shack". Phil has said the E1 and unmodded R75 is a top combo (if you ever read his "cookbooks").

Thanks for the help Ridge, this will indeed be alot of fun .

EDIT: Here is a link to his writings:
http://home.comcast.net/~phils_radio_designs/

[ridgescan]

You are welcome CTB looking foreward to your loggings.
Thanks for Phil's link I will nose around in there.

[a29zuk]

Congrats on getting your new receiver!

Happy DXing,
Jim

[corbintechboy]

Thought I would give an update.

I seen a deal I couldn't pass up and bought this fine rig:
Kenwood R-5000 Demo - YouTube

I am going to get the R75 after I get my QX loop (on order). If I get really good results with the Kenwood and the E1, I may buy an SDR instead to have a different kind of radio.

I was going to order the R75. I called Universal and they had none in stock. So I passed at the time and caught the Kenwood instead. Really hard to ignore the reviews on the Kenwood .

Just thought I would give an update.

[nickcarr]

The R-5000 is a good rig and in some ways better than the R75. The two radios are very nearly identical in terms of performance. Kenwood radios always have excellent audio output too. Very warm audio.

I almost bought one a few years ago. I'm pretty sure there are a ton of upgrades/mods you can perform as well.

You can easily find the service manual on the web for it. I would go thru the calibration process to make sure your R5000 is tuned accurately.

The generally accepted website with accurate test data for HF receivers:

http://www.sherweng.com/table.html

[majoco]

..but it seems strange to me that Sherwood sorted receiver performance in the order of Dynamic Range. May be of deep significance if you live in central Europe with their megawatt flamethrowers on HF but out in the wops where my strongest signal is a BC band 100kW station about 10miles away - nah!

[corbintechboy]

Originally Posted by nickcarr

The R-5000 is a good rig and in some ways better than the R75. The two radios are very nearly identical in terms of performance. Kenwood radios always have excellent audio output too. Very warm audio.

I almost bought one a few years ago. I'm pretty sure there are a ton of upgrades/mods you can perform as well.

You can easily find the service manual on the web for it. I would go thru the calibration process to make sure your R5000 is tuned accurately.

The generally accepted website with accurate test data for HF receivers:

Receiver Test Data

When I got the radio I did that video. So basically I showed the world my first power on.

I noticed that zero beat is slightly off for about 30 minutes then it syncs right up. The radio seems right to me after a warmup.

[woebbers]

Corbintechboy

good luck with the new radio...I just sold mine and loved using it...what antenna are you using to get so low of a noise level on LW? im waiting for a quatum loop as well...im a big fan of loops...i use the Pixel tech RF1A now....

Sal

[nickcarr]

Sal, you should call PixelSat and see if they'll upgrade your loop to their "B" version.

Answer: The RF PRO-1A is no longer available. The RF PRO-1B has a preamp with a lower noise floor and better matching to the loop. We also added a few things to the power inserter/ T/R switching module to improve its switching speed for CW users that were involved with full-break-in (QSK) mode CW at 60 WPM. We also changed the power supply so it would run cooler. We made several mechanical changes that lowered the loop inductance and fixed a problem we initially had with moisture ingress in some extreme environmental conditions.

[corbintechboy]

Originally Posted by woebbers

Corbintechboy

good luck with the new radio...I just sold mine and loved using it...what antenna are you using to get so low of a noise level on LW? im waiting for a quatum loop as well...im a big fan of loops...i use the Pixel tech RF1A now....

Sal

Actually using a 100 foot balanced wire with a ground. Seems to hear well on LW with this setup .

[woebbers]

Hi Nick

I called Doug over at Pixelsat today and asked them about the upgrade. I bought the antenna 10 months ago and it would cost me $200.00 to upgrade the loop itself. He said that the amp I have now is the same as the new one. He isn't sure if it would make that much of a difference in my noise floor. He also said if it didn't improve to send it back for a full refund of the $200.00.

It seems on my Sat 800 portable the noise is shockingly gone when i unplug the power inverter to the antenna. Im wondering if it can be a noisy supply.

Originally Posted by nickcarr

Sal, you should call PixelSat and see if they'll upgrade your loop to their "B" version.

Answer: The RF PRO-1A is no longer available. The RF PRO-1B has a preamp with a lower noise floor and better matching to the loop. We also added a few things to the power inserter/ T/R switching module to improve its switching speed for CW users that were involved with full-break-in (QSK) mode CW at 60 WPM. We also changed the power supply so it would run cooler. We made several mechanical changes that lowered the loop inductance and fixed a problem we initially had with moisture ingress in some extreme environmental conditions.

[nickcarr]

Hmm, that's a bummer. Considering you bought it less than a year ago, I'm surprised they wouldn't upgrade you for free. Ah well.

I'm not sure it'd be worth it for $200.

[nickcarr]

Originally Posted by woebbers

It seems on my Sat 800 portable the noise is shockingly gone when i unplug the power inverter to the antenna. Im wondering if it can be a noisy supply.

Removing power turns off the preamp so that will cut out the noise.

[ka3jjz]

Please if you wish to discuss antennas, start a thread in the Receiver Antennas forum. It's beginning to wander OT. Thanks

Mike

[edit] We now have a thread there that is discussing the Pixel loop antennas

PixelSat and Clifton Labs

[k9rzz]

Please let threads evolve naturally. Don't force split them up all over the place.

[ka3jjz]

I will when the post stays on-topic. This started as a thread about selecting a receiver - discussing antennas is not on-topic.

If someone wants to post something about selecting a receiver, that's fine. 'nuff said

Mike

[k9rzz]

I'm not looking to argue, but when discussing which receiver is better, invariably the discussion will turn to antennas since a radio is no good without one or may not handle the performance of a good antenna.

"My car handles like crap." "Oh, what kind of tires does it have?"

RZedZed out.