R8600

[GaRebel]

With the Uniden 200 I pick up about 3 of the weather channels where I live. With the Icom R8600 I can receive all the weather channels clear with the same antenna. But then your looking at a 3 to 4 times price difference.

 

[iMONITOR]

With the Uniden 200 I pick up about 3 of the weather channels where I live. With the Icom R8600 I can receive all the weather channels clear with the same antenna. But then your looking at a 3 to 4 times price difference.

For sure that would make for a very expensive weather radio! Besides you only need one channel.

 

[GaRebel]

Just posting the difference in sensitivity, using those channels as a reference.

 

[batdude]

for comparison, my AirSpy SDR beats my Icom 8600 on the same antenna in just about everything above 118MHz....

while I really like the 8600, and i certainly wouldn't sell mine, the price vs. performance ratio is incredibly poor compared to any high(er) end SDR.


is what it is.


doug

 

[prcguy]

I'm sitting right now using an 85 watt 440 repeater in my garage while listening to another distant 440 repeater on my R8600 2MHz from my repeater transmit frequency and its working just fine. My UHF repeater antenna is about 10ft away from the receive antenna for the 8600. There is no other tunable consumer receiver that can do this and many repeater receivers can't even do this without lots of narrow band pass filtering in front of them. If an Airspy didn't go up in smoke from being that close to an 85 watt transmitter, it would not receive anything and probably not on any band let alone 2MHz away in the same band.

I have various SDRs here including an RSP2pro and they are cracker jack toys compared to the R8600 in every way.

for comparison, my AirSpy SDR beats my Icom 8600 on the same antenna in just about everything above 118MHz....

while I really like the 8600, and i certainly wouldn't sell mine, the price vs. performance ratio is incredibly poor compared to any high(er) end SDR.


is what it is.


doug

 

[batdude]

most of us are not sitting 10ft away from an 85w transmitter with our gear, either.

i will agree that your application requires specialized hardware. I never said an SDR would work for what you are doing w/ your 8600.

in addition, while I am not in a high intermod/cell tower every 30 feet area; my words, especially in my case, are completely accurate.



doug

 

[kruser]

compared to any high(er) end SDR.

Out of curiosity, what SDR(s) devices or stick(s) would be considered high or higher end?
I've dabbled with several different SDR sticks claiming to be from different makers but can't say I ever knew if there was really a difference between any of them.

I'm not talking about high dollar devices like the FLEX radio products etc. Rather just the typical low cost USB SDR sticks that people are buying in droves.

Do you have any opinions or advice as to what a high end USB based SDR is considered in your eyes? Or are they all the SDR tuners used in the higher cost devices like the FLEX radio products and probably some of the Winradio products made today. Does Winradio even have an SDR based receiver?

Thanks for anything you can offer!

 

[Ubbe]

If an Airspy didn't go up in smoke from being that close to an 85 watt transmitter, it would not receive anything and probably not on any band let alone 2MHz away in the same band.
I have various SDRs here including an RSP2pro and they are cracker jack toys compared to the R8600 in every way.

Most normal users would probably want other receivers to actually go silent while you transmit, but not to burn up of course. You do not want other audio sources going into the mic while your are talking, that's just rude and unpolite to those who listen to your transmission. The 8600 are a good specification receiver so no argue about that.

10ft free space at 440Mhz attenuates 35dB. If you have 6dB gain antennas at both transmit and receive that points into each other you have 23dB attenuation. That's 0,5W left from a 85W source that goes into a receiver. The RSP series have protection diods at the antenna inputs, two big double diods.

/Ubbe

 

[DeepBlue]

There is no other tunable consumer receiver that can do this and many repeater receivers can't even do this...

Totally agree with prcguy. Many people do not know the difference or even consider the ability to pull in a signal vs the ability to separate signals that are close to each other. Sensitivity vs Selectivity. Sensitivity is important but in a metro area, that will hurt you vs selectivity. I used to want all the gain I could get. I know better now.

Sean
KB8JNE

 

[MrThompson]

The R8600 is on my short list, I like old school dials, especially with a Waterfield display.

I do want to step in and defend Airspy. A HF+ Discovery with their YouLoop should be in everyone's tool box. I've been fortunate to compete with the best folks on the planet DXing HF over the last 35 years. There is nothing in the HF world that comes close to this combo in performance for the dollar.

 

[batdude]

Thanks for anything you can offer!

This really depends on the listening you want to do. If it's HF, I would look at the SDRPlay products: Products – SDRplay

The Airspy HF+ is a really good HF SDR as well - a little cheaper than the SDRPlay products. airspy.com

if it's VHF/UHF stuff, I would go with an Airspy R2. Hands down. SDR# with it's plug ins (scanner, P25, etc.) are amazing --- and compatibility with DSD+ is "built in" so to speak (with the DSD+ Fastlane version) I use 3 Airspy R2s... every. day. 2 running DSD+ and one running SDR# with the fast scanner plug in.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again - my Airspy R2 hears signals that my R8600 doesn't. Don't get me wrong - the R8600 is an amazing radio... is it a $2000 amazing radio? Sort of.


doug

 

[jazzboypro]

This really depends on the listening you want to do. If it's HF, I would look at the SDRPlay products: Products – SDRplay

The Airspy HF+ is a really good HF SDR as well - a little cheaper than the SDRPlay products. airspy.com

if it's VHF/UHF stuff, I would go with an Airspy R2. Hands down. SDR# with it's plug ins (scanner, P25, etc.) are amazing --- and compatibility with DSD+ is "built in" so to speak (with the DSD+ Fastlane version) I use 3 Airspy R2s... every. day. 2 running DSD+ and one running SDR# with the fast scanner plug in.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again - my Airspy R2 hears signals that my R8600 doesn't. Don't get me wrong - the R8600 is an amazing radio... is it a $2000 amazing radio? Sort of.


doug

I'm Just starting to experiment. I have my R8600 hooked to a long wire antenna, an IC-R30 with the stock antenna and an RSPDUO connected to a youloop antenna. All three receivers and the loop are installed in the basement. So far all three receivers seems to be picking up the same signals. The signals do not have the same strength but are clear enough on all three receivers. I also tried the long wire antenna on the SDRPLAY and honestly i did not notice any difference when compared to the loop antenna....I will experiment some more....

 

[prcguy]

Tune around the HF ham bands and find a really weak hard to copy SSB signal right up against a huge fire breathing station a few KHz away. I would start with the R8600 as you might not find these weak signals on a cheaper receiver. Then using the same antenna connect up the other receivers and see what you get. This is one area where a high end radio can hear things a cheaper receiver cannot.

I'm Just starting to experiment. I have my R8600 hooked to a long wire antenna, an IC-R30 with the stock antenna and an RSPDUO connected to a youloop antenna. All three receivers and the loop are installed in the basement. So far all three receivers seems to be picking up the same signals. The signals do not have the same strength but are clear enough on all three receivers. I also tried the long wire antenna on the SDRPLAY and honestly i did not notice any difference when compared to the loop antenna....I will experiment some more....