Just bought an R71a/e

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k9rzz

k9rzz

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Saw this ebay ad where this guy has a pallet load of Icom's forsale: Icom IC R71A E Communications Receiver | eBay

Someone on Facebook emailed him and he said they were from some Chinese military training center. His reviews are good and people have gotten good, working units .... so I bought one.

When I get it, I'm thinking of making an 'unboxing' video for Youtube.

Even if it doesn't work, I'm not afraid to dig in there with my soldering iron, so it should be a fun experience either way. :^]
 
A

aggie72

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One word of caution - if the RAM battery is dead then the radio is also dead. I installed the "ICOMPROM ICOM Non-Volatile RAM Module" from Piexx and you never have to worry about the battery going dead. You also get LF coverage with this option.
 
k9rzz

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Yes, I've owned 2 R71a's in the past. No worries. Looking forward to doing a side by side comparison with the R75.
 
ratboy

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Those radios do seem to work ok, but the two I've seen have serious cosmetic issues. One came with about half the knobs missing. The other one had a scratched display glass. The glass was easily polished out, but the knobs were only found on a dead parts radio on Ebay.

Good Luck.
 
Jimru

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I would love to see a video like that! I have the R-75, as well as the sister to the R-71; the
IC R-7000 VHF/UHF receiver.
 
k9rzz

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Update:
Hi John - Your order has shipped
ICOM IC-R71A/E COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER
Estimated delivery : Thu. Aug. 6 - Thu. Sep. 10
Tracking Number :
Shipping service : Economy Shipping from outside US
 
ratboy

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Hope it looks as good as the ones on Ebay now do. A little cleanup and maybe some washing of it, and you might have a real nice looking R71a. I got the PS I bought for my dead R71a a couple of days ago and I guess I will find out tonight if it was the cure. It appeared to be the cause as it would work normally for a few minutes then it would die and the PS was red hot. A cooldown would bring it back for a while. We will see..
 
W8WCA

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k9rzz said:
Yes, I've owned 2 R71a's in the past. No worries. Looking forward to doing a side by side comparison with the R75.
Click to expand...


IMHO The R71 is a better overall Rx

For one Thing the R71's had a brick wall for front end.

They really were/are great Receivers
 
EricCottrell

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Hello,

This page has manuals and mods for the R71
Icom receivers

China is 220 Volts so I suspect the Power Supply problem is related. The fuse on the back panel is 0.5A for 220V and 1A for 120V. They likely did not change the fuse.

Unlike newer radios that have universal 100V to 240V supplies, the power supply wiring has to be changed to go between 110V and 220V. See Page 3 in the User Manual. The Power Supply schematic is on Page 8-11 in the Service Manual.

73 Eric
 
k9rzz

k9rzz

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^^^ Thanks!

That makes perfect sense.

That possibility did actually cross my mind at one point, but then I forgot about it.

I will check that out and report!
icon10.gif


Good link on the manuals. There is also the Don Moman performance manual available elsewhere. Lot's of
good on-line info on this rig.
 
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ratboy

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Congrats, it looks pretty good, and it does work on 12V. I would bet there's a good chance it just needs to be switched over to 120V.

My dead R71A has a blown rectifier "cube" and it appears a poor attempt at a repair was done and the new rectifier got blown up too, I bought a good PS and I think tonight will be the night I finally give it a PS transplant. I sure hope that's all it is, but it was doing some very odd things, so I wouldn't be shocked if it has other issues. It's in nearly perfect shape, looks wise.

I miss the last good R71a I had, it was in fantastic shape and with some mods, it sounded great. But, I needed $$, so off it went.
 
k9rzz

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I will convert it over to 110 VAC but may run it off 12 vdc anyway because I've been running my R75 off a solar charged car battery and I kind of like being 'off the grid' radio wise. I can let the thing run all day and not have to pay for the juice. LOL
 
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