Best HF Receiver

[ratboy]

The R70 I had was an awesome receiver but that hiss just drove me to sell it. Would those R71A mods work for the R70? Do you remember what you did?

I found some sort of audio improvement for the R7a that wasn't the usual cap change. It was changing the bias on the detector, a lot of the problems with the R71A's (I don't remember the R70 all that much as I only played with one at Universal a couple of times) audio was the diode wasnt getting enough current to fully turn on, and that caused a distortion that made AM sound pretty rough. It was a real hassle to do the mod, lots of the wire harnesses had to be moved, if I remember correctly to clear space so you could replace one of the resistors going to it, and I just jumped the other one. The improvement was huge, and the S-Meter didn't act like it had Parkinson's anymore (pumping up and down excessively with the audio.

The mod was in some file I downloaded, it had some other tips and stuff, but it was a long time ago, so memories might be wrong.

 

[ratboy]

I liked the R8 series, but hated the menu setup, and really hated the display. I never owned any Drake equipment. I've had Hallicrafters, Allied, Trio/Kenwood, Hammarlund, Icom, Yaesu, JRC, and a bunch of oddballs. When I played with the Drakes they did a decent job. I would have bought an R7A, but it was one of the worst ergonomically designed receivers I've ever used. I don't think it was much better than the NRD-515, one of the most pleasant to run radios I've ever used.

 

[kc2asb]

I liked the R8 series, but hated the menu setup, and really hated the display. I never owned any Drake equipment. I've had Hallicrafters, Allied, Trio/Kenwood, Hammarlund, Icom, Yaesu, JRC, and a bunch of oddballs. When I played with the Drakes they did a decent job. I would have bought an R7A, but it was one of the worst ergonomically designed receivers I've ever used. I don't think it was much better than the NRD-515, one of the most pleasant to run radios I've ever used.

Owning both an R8 and R8B, I agree about the display. The backlit green just does not work, poor contrast. The circular menu made selecting the filters and modes on the original R8 a pain, but the R8A and R8B had separate buttons for each mode/filter. However, the R8 series receivers were very good performers, and hot on mediumwave.

JRC, by contrast, always had great ergonomics. I agree about the 515 being very pleasant to run.

 

[ratboy]

The only thing the 515 missed was direct entry and 10HZ steps.

 

[kc2asb]

The only thing the 515 missed was direct entry and 10HZ steps.

Yep, but the MHz dial is easy to get used to. Finer tuning steps would have been great, but it is a receiver introduced in 1980.

 

[RufusDawes]

I found some sort of audio improvement for the R7a that wasn't the usual cap change. It was changing the bias on the detector, a lot of the problems with the R71A's (I don't remember the R70 all that much as I only played with one at Universal a couple of times) audio was the diode wasnt getting enough current to fully turn on, and that caused a distortion that made AM sound pretty rough. It was a real hassle to do the mod, lots of the wire harnesses had to be moved, if I remember correctly to clear space so you could replace one of the resistors going to it, and I just jumped the other one. The improvement was huge, and the S-Meter didn't act like it had Parkinson's anymore (pumping up and down excessively with the audio.

The mod was in some file I downloaded, it had some other tips and stuff, but it was a long time ago, so memories might be wrong.

I have read mixed reviews on the R71A, its on my receiver bucket list and some give it high marks others more in the middle... from what I gather is was a really good receiver in the 1980s, and could be readily modded. That is one thing I really like about the Yaesu FRG-7, good solid performer and it could be modded fairly easily and there were a lot of mods out there for it, alignment wasnt that difficult either.... is this what the R71A is like?

 

[K0WWX]

This is a great thread, so many informative comments.

Have any of you owned a Collins 51S-1? I've owned or used most of the "vintage" HF receivers I wanted to try, except for that one. Any comments on the performance of the Collins compared to the more recent JRC, Drake, Icom, Kenwood, etc. receivers discussed in this thread would be appreciated.

 

[ratboy]

Yep, but the MHz dial is easy to get used to. Finer tuning steps would have been great, but it is a receiver introduced in 1980.

And the worst thing, IMHO on the 515 was the delta tune knob's detent. It was just a huge mistake. I had the delta tune changed to the bourns knobpot almost immediately.

 

[ratboy]

I have read mixed reviews on the R71A, its on my receiver bucket list and some give it high marks others more in the middle... from what I gather is was a really good receiver in the 1980s, and could be readily modded. That is one thing I really like about the Yaesu FRG-7, good solid performer and it could be modded fairly easily and there were a lot of mods out there for it, alignment wasnt that difficult either.... is this what the R71A is like?

The R71A is a much better receiver than the FRG-7, I have a very nice FRG-7 and it's a decent receiver, it did overload at my old address, as did my FRG-7700, 7000, and 8800. The R71a's only overloaded on my slinky antenna, which had a huge output from about 500KHZ to around 7 or 8 MHZ. I built an AM BC killer filter that took under 2MHZ freqs down about 40 DB, which solved a lot of issues. For the price, the R71a was a pretty hard to beat radio, the modded one was pretty fantastic. One of the ones "that got away". Quieter than even my 515, which was pretty quiet, and the improved audio over the 515 made weak AM voice much easier to understand, out of speaker or headphones. The JRC rigs tend to have kind of bad AM audio, "wooly" is a pretty accurate term for it.

A stock R71a is a very decent receiver, with the FL44 filter added, it makes SSB and data modes better, and if you mod the audio and improve it, even if you don't make the detector changes, it's pretty great, especially when they are as cheap as they are now. The filter isn't cheap and never was, but you can't imagine the joy of taking the cover off and seeing the FL44 filter or the "clone", whoever made it, in there.

 

[ratboy]

This is a great thread, so many informative comments.

Have any of you owned a Collins 51S-1? I've owned or used most of the "vintage" HF receivers I wanted to try, except for that one. Any comments on the performance of the Collins compared to the more recent JRC, Drake, Icom, Kenwood, etc. receivers discussed in this thread would be appreciated.

I played with one a couple of times, it was really nice, but I don't think it was much better than a decent consumer receiver with filters.

 

[RufusDawes]

I put the newly acquired Drake R8A though the ringer and I am in love, what a great DX machine.... only thing I can compare it to are my other desktops: Yaesu FRG-7, KW R5000, Alinco DXR8, Hammarlund HQ-180AC, and the R8A is an order of magnitude better in terms of sensitivity, lower noise, and selectivity.

Previously the KW R5000 was my best overall SWL receiver, the R8A picks up the same signals but the noise is easily S2 lower. In addition all the selectivity controls work very well: passband offset, notch, 5 bandwidths, noise blanker. Played some with the synch detector but honestly don't notice what it really does LOL

I was very fortunate as this used unit came in great condition, and the only issue I had was a heavy main tuning knob that took too much force to rotate... some work with contact cleaner made it all better and it is easy to spin now... I am a main dial snob, and the stock knob is just OK and somewhat disappointing for the caliber of this receiver, it has a finger dimple and works fine. I really like the Yaesu main tuning knobs with the separate rotating finger dimple and rubber tread around the outside of the dial, so I ordered one and will install it. It would be nice if the receiver had a carry strap on the side, perhaps I will add one as they are nice to have.

I have noticed the prices on ePay have come down over the last 6 months for the Drake R8 series, I see them now in the $400 range and IMO that is a screaming bargain, I tossed out a $375 offer thinking it would get rejected but the seller jumped on it. Issues with this unit as a vintage receiver are power supplies and displays going dead... you can mitigate this somewhat by running the unit on DC and not storing the unit powered, and adjusting the display brightness to the dimmest level. I run this receiver off a 12v battery and disconnect when I am done.

Some don't like the green digital display, and at first I wasn't thrilled with it... but I now I think it's pretty cool and somewhat reminds me of the green half moon dial lights on the Hallicrafters SX-42. I don't find the green gives eye fatigue.

 

[2000mudbuggy]

That NRD-505 kept calling to me so I looked online at the user manual. It says that the bandwidth for SSB is fixed (AM and CW can be wide or narrow). That's a deal breaker for me. Even the much maligned Bearcat DX-1000 let's you use any of the three bandwidths in any mode.

BigApple59 Randy has an NRD-515 listed now with the Dallas Lankford mod that bypasses the BC control on MW. Supposed to be a vasf improvement for medium wave DXing.

Were is the store located and number

 

[pjxii]

BigApple59 is a seller on eBay but it looks like that particular receiver has been sold. Are you looking for that modification?

 

[2000mudbuggy]

BigApple59 is a seller on eBay but it looks like that particular receiver has been sold. Are you looking for that modification?

Yes I'd love to have one

 

[pjxii]

Here is the modification.

https://www.dxinfo.se/NRD515_eng.pdf

 

[n2pqq]

The kiwisdr2 is the best you will do for the $500 price range .
Yes it is a SDR and you need a computer .

Performance wise it is excellent and the software has many modes built into it .
You can actual try it at

http://kiwisdr.com/.public/

 

[RufusDawes]

the JRC NRD 505/515/535/545 seem to be hard to find at reasonable prices, the 525 you see much more common and can be had for $500, I just picked one up for $360 from an old ham thinning out his herd... it's a top shelf receiver right up there with the best of them

 

[kc2asb]

the JRC NRD 505/515/535/545 seem to be hard to find at reasonable prices, the 525 you see much more common and can be had for $500, I just picked one up for $360 from an old ham thinning out his herd... it's a top shelf receiver right up there with the best of them

+1. I have both a 515 and 525. The 515 has a certain mystique/ "cool" factor, but the 525 is easily its equal in performance. The 525 was the choice of many top DX'ers in the late 80's/early 90's. The build quality is superb, as with any JRC receiver.

 

[pjxii]

The 525 I have now was bought to basically replace a Drake R7A that I sold to help pay moving expenses last year. It's early but so far I'm preferring the JRC. The R7A was loaded with filters and eventually I will fit my preferred bandwidths into the 525 which should make me perfectly content.

 

[kc2asb]

The 525 I have now was bought to basically replace a Drake R7A that I sold to help pay moving expenses last year. It's early but so far I'm preferring the JRC. The R7A was loaded with filters and eventually I will fit my preferred bandwidths into the 525 which should make me perfectly content.

Nice! Does the R7A live up to its mystique? I'll never own one, as I have way too many receivers and prices are certainly up there. I have the stock filters in my 525 and they seem to be fine.

I also don't mind the audio from the 525's built-in speaker - it was a frequent complaint from reviewers and owners. It seems to be well-suited for making sense of weak, barely audible signals.