An R-71A on the way....

[MOTORHEAD3902]

Hey RR-Folks,

I held my breath and pushed the button on an Icom R71A today. Never having owned a SW rig of this caliber before, I expect good things, but not really sure HOW good...

What do you folks have to say about this unit. BTW, I will be feeding it with a random length wire of about 60-75 feet.

Ta
B A

 

[ka3jjz]

We have extensive links for receiver reviews in our wiki - however, that radio is a good one, provided the backup battery for the memory doesn't die out. If it does, you will need to send it back to Icom for replacement - assuming they still have them in stock.

A company called Willco used to sell replacement boards for this very problem, but due to the old hardware, I kinda doubt they're still doing it, although last I looked their web page was still up (it's in our R71 wiki...)

73 Mike

 

[MOTORHEAD3902]

Thanks!!
I had checked out the Wiki on this unit, but I was interested in some opinions of folks I "know"...so to speak.
I fear the SW habit has manifest itself in my life once again!

 

[Shortwavewave]

The R71A is "I think" the first shortwave radio Icom made. I wouldnt mind having one because of the analog S-meter, be from what I have read its a good radio.

People just get picky because it old.
I bet the R75 isnt any better than your R71A.

 

[runslow]

You won't be disappointed .... the R71A is an outstanding receiver. I traded mine a few years ago and I'm sorry I did. I currently use the R75 and R8500 for HF, but the R71A and I spent many happy hours together.

Have fun........

 

[W4KRR]

The R71A is "I think" the first shortwave radio Icom made. I wouldnt mind having one because of the analog S-meter, be from what I have read its a good radio.

People just get picky because it old.
I bet the R75 isnt any better than your R71A.

The R-70 came just before the R-71A. The R-70 was more or less the same design, but it had no keypad for direct frequency entry, instead the speaker was mounted where the keypad is on the R-71.

I had an R-71A a few years back, it was a fine radio, no complaints with it.

 

[Shortwavewave]

Ok I looked up the R70, thank you for correcting me I wasnt sure, either way it still is
good.

I like the look of the R70 though, looks like something that should be in a submarine, or high intelligence area:lol:

Cant wait to see what shortwave radio Icom comes out with next, "if they make one"

 

[ka3jjz]

Shortwave, there's one alternative I know of for the EEPROM battery replacement - Kiwa is selling a higher-capacity battery, which might be an alternative if you don't put the Willco board in (and from someone I know who has done it, it's not a simple plug in procedure). In addition, Kiwa has a couple of other mods, including one for the audio chain to partially address the distortion if you listen in AM mode. For utes/hams, you may not notice it quite so much. The link is in the R71 wiki.

Kiwa has a generally very good rep in these mods - and it tends to increase their resale value, should you ever decide to upgrade.

73 Mike

 

[somme1916]

Hey RR-Folks,

I held my breath and pushed the button on an Icom R71A today. Never having owned a SW rig of this caliber before, I expect good things, but not really sure HOW good...

What do you folks have to say about this unit. BTW, I will be feeding it with a random length wire of about 60-75 feet.

Ta
B A

First thing you need to do is find out if you are lucky enough to have the optional FL44A (crystal ssb 2.4 b/w) filter installed. The stock ceramic is ok but the R71 really hits its stride with the FL44 filter. They are hard to find anymore. I have one in my R70 (the best tank/hf radio ever made!) but I think International Radio sells equaling filters.

 

[somme1916]

I checked Inrad's site & they do indeed have the FL44A's equal (#109). Here's the link re their R71 crystals.

http://www.inrad.net/home.php?cat=129

 

[k9rzz]

The R-71a is a rock solid DX machine (I have TWO

)

The Yahoo email group as listed in the Wiki is a good one.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ICOMR71A/

A friendly group, and if you join, you can search the archives of old posts.

That rig works just a well at 28 mhz as it does at 200khz. Feed it DX with some good antennas and you'll never regret your purchase.

 

[MOTORHEAD3902]

UPDATE:
Took delivery today and it sat for a couple of hours while I decided what sort of antenna to feed it with..."What the Hell," said I, "Plug in this old K40 CB antenna and lay the radiator down on the back of the sofa and see if it'll hear any MW stuff..."

I was floored when that half-baked antenna started pulling in all kinds of stuff from all over! Not just MW, but SW stuff in excelsis!

This weekend, up goes a longwire, and the R71 will be hitting its' stride. Most excellent!

 

[gcgrotz]

Hey Motorhead, good to see you over here in HF land! That R-71 should provide many hours of good listening. Any old piece of wire should pull in all kinds of stuff. Throw it up in a tree and close the window down on it for now. Grounding it will help too. If you start looking for a good antenna, I can highly recommend the PAR Electronics EF-SWL end fed antenna. Put it outside and feed it with a little coax and it gets it away from noise coming from the shack/house electrical stuff. It's a good investment. Or throw up a dipole if you've got some properly spaced trees.

Give me a PM if you've got more questions, or I could help you out on the phone one day. See you back over in VA.