Japan Radio Co. NRD545DSP vs. Icom R1500 on HF

[Shortwavewave]

Ok im thinking of getting a new radio just to add to my collection.

I know the 545 is quite expensive for a reciver but is it worth the money?
pro: has the ablity to have more Freqs
con: $$$$$

The R1500 with the control head I have found very little information on this on HF wise
pro: both computer, mobile, and desktop
con: only BNC connection

Can anybody tell me anything more about these two?

 

[k9rzz]

Is this for general poking around "Oh, let's see what's comming in today", or hardcore: "Gotta log and QSL that pirate broadcaster in Ougadougou on 3216khz!" ?

The 545 is more of a meat and potatoes DXer table top radio, R1500 the typical broadband 'do everything okay' kind of rig.

Depends upon what your goals are, I guess.

 

[ka3jjz]

I'm pretty sure a past issue of QST (publication of the ARRL) covered the 1500, and I would be quite surprised if Larry Magne didn't test it for Passport to World Band Radio. I don't know if he published the review online on his website , but I would be willing to bet it would be in either the 2007 or 2008 edition.

K9RZZ is quite right - keep in mind that the 545 (which I think I saw just recently on the Passport website that JRC is discontinuing) is built by a firm that specilizes in marine band radios and technology. Consequently, being built for a totally different market, it operates at a totally different level than a 1500.

73s Mike

 

[gcgrotz]

Yes Mike, I checked "passport" 2007 and they give the standard (non-sherwood moded) model 4-1/2 stars. "Superior build quality" as you would expect.

 

[key2_altfire]

I bought an R1500 a few months ago and the latest versions are shipping with better PC software. It allows you to decode fax, RTTY, etc. through the USB connector. It comes with a lame antenna, but I was still "on the air" and decoding marine weather faxes with this radio inside of 30 minutes, which includes fumbling around installing the software. The software also allows you to vary the bandwidth of the IF... overall a really decent package for the money.

However the R1500 only has a six-character display for your frequency memory names, which I find to be quite lame. If you use only the PC control mode, this won't be an issue.

As for the single BNC connector, I agree this is a drawback of the radio. I had to build an antenna patch panel (based on advice in this forum) to switch between the discone and long-wire. No big deal I guess if you don't mind investing the time in building a neat patch panel and spending another thirty bucks on LMR-400 and BNC connectors.