I like listening to shortwave radio on my Tecsun pl-600. Since this radio has SSB it will pick up some ham radio. I have been thinking about getting a table top radio for listening and I have come across the Icom R75. The price of this is (from what I can see) about the same as for a low level transceiver. So I am wondering what the Icom R75 does that, for example, an Icom 718 doesn't. The Icom 718 (I assume) will also listen to shortwave signals, so:
What is the purpose of receiver only radios?
Does, for example, the R75 do as well listening to SSB?
There have always been receive (RX) only radios available. As a very general statement the RX only radios have allowed equal or better performance for lower cost than a transceiver.
Look at it this way, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Assuming we are excluding price gouging, performance cost money and you generally get what you pay for. Of course, you can get overcharged for something, but superior performance does not come at the lowest price points.
So if the company can make a receiver at X performance and Y price, the inclusion of a transmitter in the same box with the same receiver would cost Y+the cost of the transmitter.
What does it mean in this particular case? On paper there are minor differences between the two radios. They use the same DSP unit. The default filters are similar, with the R-75 having a slightly narrower "wide" filter. The R-75 has slightly better sensitivity specifications in most modes. The R-75 uses less energy (current draw) under all conditions. And that is about it...on paper. And yes the R-75 will do everything the IC-718 will do, except transmit.
Less tangible. I have used both radios side-by-side. The R-75 always seemed to perform better than the IC-718. It was lower noise and it dug weak signals out just a bit better. The stability specifications on the two radios are essentially the same, but the R-75 always seemed a bit closer to on frequency. However don't read too much into that, I often measure things down to the Hz or less, and that is not really typical, most people are not going to see any difference between the two radios in this regard.
So, in my opinion, the R-75 is the better of the two radios, detectably so when I tried it. However, unless you are in a low noise location you might not even notice the difference. And if the two radios are not side by side you will not really notice.
If you think you might ever be interested in transmitting, getting the ham license and going for it, then the IC-718 is the obvious choice. And since the R-75 is discontinued and pretty much unavailable the -718 is pretty much the way to go...in an Icom. The Alinco DX-R8T, however, would be my choice if I was looking at those kinds of radios right now. While I always thought the Alinco was not quite up to the R-75, it was probably at about the same level as the -718, and the DX-R8T is $170 less than the -718.
Personally, I think the day of the tabletop receivers is pretty much gone. SDRs are the way to go, and I think the number of traditional superhet tabletop receivers, at the lower cost hobby level, will be down to zero in the next couple of years.
T!
