Looking to get into Shortwave

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millrad

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I've had an R-75 for about five years and love it. It covers to 60 MHz, so you can listen to VHF low band and also six meters.
 

w2xq

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"Getting into shortwave" unfortunately is too broad to answer many questions. What are you interested in listening to? Broadcasters, utilities, aero, ships, amateurs? What kinds of or restrictions on antennas can you install? There are some speciality clubs, such as NASWA, that may be of interest.

I hope you have read through the RR Wiki as there is a ton of information in there. And the many q&a's in the forum should provide answers to your questions.

I've played with more than a few receivers over the decades. Unfortunately the new tabletop models are disappearing from the marketplace. The R75 is among the few tabletop receivers still available on the market. That said, with the right filters it is a good receiver. Good luck.
 

shawnr0007

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Sorry for the broad question I am fairly new to shortwave I am really asking what kind of radio people are using and how they perform. sorry again for not being more exact on what I was wondering
 

MrThompson

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The Icom is a nice radio. I have always preferred British radios for their audio quality, Lowe's HF150 being the best followed by AOR's 7030. I've never heard an Asian sourced radio that comes close. So if you're going to drop that must coin on a rig you may want to consider a Palstar which is similar to the HF-150. I also find the simple controls and heavy weighted tuning knobs of this style of receiver to be more enjoyable to use than the Asian rigs.
 

w2xq

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Sorry for the broad question I am fairly new to shortwave I am really asking what kind of radio people are using and how they perform. sorry again for not being more exact on what I was wondering
Hey Shawn, nothing wrong with asking questions. Really. Everyone starts at the beginning. I am only suggesting some reading in the wiki and the forums that may help you to focus on what may interest you. There is a whole big world out there that has seen changes since I started shortwave listening in 1952. Carry on. :)
 

ridgescan

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Get that R75 Shawn. I've had mine since I bought it new in 2008. Highly reliable rig. Highly regarded among us in radio world. Extremely versatile and user-friendly. I view this rig as the "Crown Vic" of receivers in reliability and utility. Think about it-they wanted Crown Vics not only for cops, but for 3-letter guys, taxis, etc.
The R75 is that kind of tool and you need it:)
 

w2xq

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wondering what is a good starting receiver have my eye on a Icom-IC-R75-Communications-Receiver-w-Power-Sup-UT106-DSP-Module-3. Any thoughts
I reviewed the IC-R75 for Radio Netherlands' Media Network, published on the radio show's webpages on February 28, 2000. The Medium Wave Circle - Receiver Review: ICOM IC-R75 review now appears on their website, home to many RNMN webpages. Hope it helps.
 

kmi8dy

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wondering what is a good starting receiver have my eye on a Icom IC-R75 any thoughts
thats what i suggest. bought a new one about 15 years ago, give or take. i still turn it on now and then. the new price of mine was $624.00 or so. i bought from a ham outlet that is now out of busness a hand full of years ago . oldtimers would know the name. they had a store in vegas, millwaukee, and cleveland.
 

ka3jjz

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perhaps Ham Radio Outlet?

The R75 is a workhorse, no doubt about it. Sadly recently discontinued by Icom, and there is a dedicated Yahoo group for it. Looks like activity is disappearing quickly but you might find files on this group that are hard to find anywhere else...

Yahoo! Groups

Now that the radio has been addressed, don't forget about the antenna. We have a separate forum for it. A good rule of thumb is to say that if you connect a very good radio to a crummy antenna, the results will similarly be crummy. With propagation the way it is, the antenna is going to be a pretty important piece of equipment

https://forums.radioreference.com/forums/receive-antennas-below-30mhz.213/

Mike
 

Boombox

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I do well with my Sangeans… DX-398 (ATS909) and ATS505 clone. A lot of it is the antenna, anyway. I've read good things about R75's, they're sort of the standard in tabletops still. Good choice, undoubtedly.
 

TailGator911

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Yup, did my fair share of hanging out at the AES in Orlando, FL there by the Executive Airport. Sad to see it closed down. That was my home-away-from-home when I lived in St Cloud area.

To the OP, the Icom R75 is my workhorse HF receiver, and I would highly recommend it. Great HF receiver!!

JD
kf4anc
 

ka3jjz

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Right you are Larry. I did a little business at AES before they closed up shop. Quite a loss to the hobby, really. Mike
 

DeepBlue

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If you can go older, from a trusted source, you cannot go wrong with an Icom IC-R71a. FYI. The R75 is good as a starter unit. You will have a lot of fun with it, and it's fairly easy to use. Enjoy.

Sean
 

frankdrebbin

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I have the Radio Shack DX-398, and the Sangean ATS-909X. I have had trouble with both of them. The tuner on the 909X jumping a few Kz at a time when trying to tune in SSB is very frustrating for what it costs. I use my R-75 mostly. Have not one bad thing to say about it. It was a good investment years ago when I bought it. Too bad they decided to discontinue it.
 

ridgescan

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I'd be wary of the Icom R71a unless you can verify that the RAM board has been replaced. If the memory battery goes flat, the whole radio operating system has gone down the gurgler.... :) Stick with the R75.

ICOMPROM ICOM Non-Volatile RAM Module - $69.00 : Piexx Company, Computers & Electronics
True Martin. Also my R71A has been shelved since last year due to a -10v DC-DC converter gone bad. At least the R75 will get you into the 2000s-2010s far as newer tech and less aged components.
Also someone here coined the R75 as "a great entry level receiver". I suppose you could call it entry level, but I'll tell you, with as many signal-refining attributes as the R75 has, it almost shoulders-up with my R8600 in many ways in the HF bands. It's no slouch.
 

redbeard

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Nobody has mentioned SDR options, you can get a Spyverter and an RTL SDR for around $75. I use a Spyverter R2 and a Nooelec NESDR SMArtee. An Airspy mini or R2 would be a nice upgrade from there.
 
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