YAESU FRG-100 versus ICOM R71??

[loss1234]

Anyone have any thoughts on which of these would make a good second sw radio? I have been using a grundig g4000 for about a year and have not been happy with the quality.


any comments appreciated.


my price range is about 200-400.

thanks!

[ka3jjz]

I have never seen a side by side comparison of these 2 radios. However, that being said, there's one issue that many folks have run into with the R71. The operating system on this radio is kept on an EEPROM - meaning without battery backup, it can get erased.

Guess what? After all these years, that's exactly what is happening in many cases. There is, I believe, still one organization that sells replacement boards (that don't use an EEPROM to store the operating system), One individual I know who has installed an older version of these boards told me that it isn't a trivial matter.

I have never heard of that happening on the FRG100, although given its age, it certainly is a possibility. On the flip side, the R71 would be the clear winner in terms of selectivity (if the bandpass tuning is available - on later models, it wasn't, then it was brought back). The audio on the 100 would be better (to my ear, the R71 is muffled - I've played with a couple of them, and really didn't like it).

We have some links for receiver reviews in our wiki - I heartily recommend reading them and educating yourself. They can be found amongst the links in our receiver reviews category here...

Category:Receiver Reviews - The RadioReference Wiki

It also depends on what you want to hear with it - the R71 (with the ROM board) would be an excellent receiver for hams and utilities - the FRG100 would have an edge if you were using it for casual listening and SW broadcasters. Of course if either receiver had any additional accessories, they would cost more.

I would also say your price range is just a little low - looking at the Universal Radio used list, I see a couple of R71s and a FRG100 for around USD460- but at that price, you could nab an used R75 (which is a real workhorse for many folks around here). You'd be wise to save up some cash

HTH...Mike

[kruser]

I'd personally take the IC-R71A over the Yaesu.
The IC-R71A does have poor filters for AM Broadcast reception though as ka3jjz pointed out so keep that in mind if AM reception is your primary interest.
It can be modded fairly simple but a proper filter can cost a bit. The stock R71 is great for SSB and CW modes though. Mine does not have the FM board so I can't comment on that. When fitted with a decent filter for AM reception, the R71A is an excellent radio. They are getting dated these days so expect capacitor problems mainly in the power and display areas.
Electrolytic caps dry out. The R71’s can be modded fairly easy to run from an external 12 VDC supply and I'd advise doing that to prolong the life of the radio if you will use it a lot. Some install a cooling fan if they keep using the internal supply. Some install a cooling fan even if they are using an external supply!
My R71A had the 12 VDC wires and connector laying inside the radio. I just needed to be creative and bring the connector out the back and mount it on the chassis and find a mating connector. My R9000 uses the same connector and also did not have the power connector mounted on the rear chassis.
I run both from an external supply. The R9000 can produce some heat mainly from the CRT display tube and power transformer. Some day I'll install the LCD display I'd bought.

For a radio that is what, 30+ years old now, they work fantastic if you can find one that is clean and maybe even has the AM filter mod already. Many may have the ram memory board mod done but there are still some running with the original lithium coin cell in place and still working!
It was found that the lithium cells actually get a very small charge from the protection diode leakage. A radio that has spent much of its life powered on, will often still have a stock ram board that is still working due to that small amount of leakage back through the diode. It kept the battery charged!
Those that have sat in a closet with no power may be dead though and need a new ram board. This may be a way to pick one up really cheap if the owner is not aware of the ram problem and thinks they have a dead radio.

There is a lot to be read on the R71A from the internet. Lots of mods and tips and common repairs for common failures can all be found.
There are at least two places that do sell the ram module that also contains the firmware for the radio. The 3rd party ram boards also open up a broader tuning range over what was offered as the stock range.
And the expanded range does work unlike some range extending mods that do not work in other radios. I think PIEXX is one of the companies that still sell the ram board. The same board fits several Icom models and you usually need to solder a jumper on the board so the ram knows which radio you have as the 3rd party boards have the code for all the Icom models stored within their eprom data. Soldering the pads for your model tells it which part of the code to use.
I'm sure sensitivity drops off some in the extended ranges though. My R71 tunes down to 0.007.0 and up to 31.000.1. It's useable from about 0.055.0 up to the upper limit of 31.000.
The sensitivity falls off the charts below 55 kHz or so.

There were several Icom amateur radios made in the same era that had the radios software held in the ram module. Lose the backup battery and bye bye radio! One can change the battery while the radio is powered on or you can supply 3 volts with an external battery to the ram module while swapping the original.
It is easy to knock the temp power away though while doing the onboard battery swap.
The original ram can be reprogrammed also but that requires some knowledge to build the programming interface. The code can be found on the internet. Even the modified code that extends the receive range can be loaded onto the original ram board.

I'd just purchase one of the newer ram boards though so you never need to worry about it again. It just plugs in but I think you needed to trim some of the pins down as the board was maybe taller than the original or something. It has been a while since I did mine. Someone also sells a ram board that will give you more memory channels but I think you could still only get 32 channels per bank and needed to switch banks with a separate switch that you added.

If you are primarily interested in AM reception, the FRG-100 may be the better choice unless you can find an IC-R71A that has had the AM filter changed. The IC-R71A AM reception is not totally horrible but I did not like it compared to all the other receivers I own. I installed a new filter within a few days of buying the radio but I had a filter lying around so it was no cost.
The stock AM filter in the IC-R71 produces a more muffled or muddy sound to my ears and I hated it. I do mostly SSB and CW though so it was not that big a deal but I still changed it for those cold winter nights when I do AM DX!

And like ka3jjz pointed out, some models of the IC-R71A did not have PBT. If it does, the PBT/Notch control knob at the lowermost front right corner will be a dual control with PBT and Notch markings around the control.
I'd advise getting the model that offers that as it is handy.

I never owned an FRG-100 and was only able to play with one for about a week. And not side by side with my R71A so I can't say for sure how the two compare for sensitivity and selectivity and other features.

[loss1234]

Thanks!!!!


I got an r71a on ebay for 300 so we shall see!!!


Thanks a million for all the info about battery backup, etc


I might have more questions when it arrives


I hope it runs circles around my grundig g4000a

[kruser]

Originally Posted by loss1234

Thanks!!!!


I got an r71a on ebay for 300 so we shall see!!!


Thanks a million for all the info about battery backup, etc


I might have more questions when it arrives


I hope it runs circles around my grundig g4000a

If it works like it should, I think you will have a lot of fun with it!
Congrats!

[Fast1eddie]

Love my 71A, bought it used several years ago. Sent it in to Hal at LandAirComm for a go over; I had initially replaced the lithium cell (CR 2032) with a dual AAA alkaline cells. Radio don't know where the back up voltage is coming from nor does it really care. It just wants to be fed. He installed the Piexx board, radio sings like a champ. I am more into utility comms and actually welcome the blocked MW capability. The R71A loves big antennas, just get the ground good and it will come to life. I would like to add the memory expansion mod sometime. Thirty two memories in this era is old school! I also use a Kenwood R2000, also a nice radio. As with the Icom, go with a large as possible antenna. The R2K does exhibit slight overloading but adjusting the set's built-in RF attenuator down 10db works very well.

Enjoy your R71A!

[ka3jjz]

Here's the link to the Piexx board Ed mentioned - keep it handy, chances are you're going to need it...

ICOMPROM ICOM Non-Volatile RAM Module - $69.00 : Piexx Company, Computers & Electronics

GL with your R71A...Mike