I want to buy a icom-r-8500

[Dougie]

does anyone know how good this radio is on picking up distant stations. Is this radio worth the $$$ is there any sales going on with this rig???????

 

[K2KOH]

I hear this radio is pretty damned good on VHF/UHF, but only "okay" on HF. You might be better off searching ebay for a used Icom IC-R7100, which is 25-2000 MHz, unblocked (this radio was built before ECPA). If you're looking for HF, check out the Icom R75. I own both of these radios, and I'm glad I have separate radios. Somehow, to me, I don't think these DC to daylight radios are all that, plus the R8500 doesn't have DSP, which is pretty much essential for HF monitoring.

 

[KC1UA]

I had an 8500 and agree with the above post. The best consumer grade "DC to Daylight" radio available currently, IMHO, is the AOR AR5000. It is an absolutely superb radio. I found one on eBay for just under $1000. It is by far the best radio I've ever used. It hears signals that nothing else in my shack does.

Another surprising but very effective option, if you don't mind being stuck to a computer, is the Icom IC-PCR1000 receiver.

 

[Medscan]

As our friend above i also thinking of buying this unit.How much worth is spending all that money?is there anything better for less price,or this is the maximum one can get? :? My Interest is HF/VHF and UHF Airband and anything which have to do with Aircraft

Also whish to thank this forum as i found lot of usefull links and information

 

[Terry1810]

As our friend above i also thinking of buying this unit.How much worth is spending all that money?is there anything better for less price,or this is the maximum one can get? :? My Interest is HF/VHF and UHF Airband and anything which have to do with Aircraft

Also whish to thank this forum as i found lot of usefull links and information

I own an R8500 that works very well on VHF/UHF and okay for HF. I also own a Fairhaven RD500vx that works better than the R8500 especially on HF. They are both keepers.

I have them both connected to an AOR SA7000 for VHF/UHF via a Stridsberg MC204. For HF they are connected to an Alpha Delta DX-SWL via a Stridsberg MC104.

Check out the RD500vx at www.fair-radio.demon.co.uk/
Read a review on the RD500 at www.strongsignals.net/

 

[K2KOH]

I dunno...for the price of an 8500, you can get the R75 and R7100, probably wind up paying less if you search on ebay for the R7100...

 

[woody_461]

I have both the R75& the R8500.The difference on HF between the two is minimal to me..Sensitivity on the R8500 is noticeably lower on MW up to approx 2Mhz,but was designed that way.The DSP unit on the R75 doesn't help much IMHO.Most AF DSP's are the same.Only ANF is desirable for me.

Back to the R8500,if you can get one used,at a good price,I would recommend it.It is less prone to overload than the dedicated scanners on the market like Uniden or GRE.You can easily use a good outdoor antenna with it.One big drawback is VHF to UHF scanning.Putting both UHF &VHF in one bank will cause relay clicking that will drive you up the wall.Scan speed is much slower than a conventional scanner too.

If your main interest is VHF/UHF scanning,finding a good conventional scanner is the way to go as mentioned.You can always get an R75 at a later date for HF.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Hamradiostuffing]

going bye bye

ICOM R8500 apparently is going bye bye.