K0WWX
Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2023
- Messages
- 22
To amuse myself, I did an informal shootout a few nights ago between eight HF receivers with SSB capability. I was listening from my location in Colorado to a lengthy conversation between three hams on 7208 kHz LSB. I don't want to to give out their call signs but one was in Maine, one in Ohio, and one in Pennsylvania. All had very strong signals, all 59s when listening on my ham transceivers.
For the shootout, I had four of the receivers sharing a long random outdoor wire antenna with a coax switch. Those receivers were a Kenwood R-820, a Kenwood R-5000, a Realistic DX-160, and a Drake 2-B.
Another receiver, a Kenwood R-1000, was connected to a long indoor wire antenna in the basement.
The other three portable receivers were using their built-in telescopic whip antennas. These receivers were my old Sony ICF-2003, a Tecsun PL-990X, and a Tecsun PL-330.
Here's my informal ranking, from last to first, 8th place to 1st place.
8) Realistic DX-160 - I played around with the bandspread tuning and BFO for a long time but couldn't find the signal on 7208 kHz. The radio is in good condition, it's just a very poor radio for listening to SSB. It's just too unstable, and anyone who has had one knows how hard they are to tune. But I like it for some reason and keep it around.
7) Sony ICF-2003 - I could hear the conversation, but just barely. The Sony has good audio, and is fine for listening to SW broadcast stations, but it is barely usable on SSB. It only has 5 kHz tuning resolution and no USB and LSB buttons, just a rotary SSB switch. I've had this radio since it was new and its held up well, but the frequency accuracy and stability just aren't good enough to listen to hams with any consistent success.
6) Tecsun PL-990X - This radio is superior to the old Sony in every way, but the audio on SSB is not great. Even so, it was very easy to copy the conversation.
5) Kenwood R-1000 - I've always found the R-1000 to be very sensitive with good audio, and it was fine for listening to the hams talk. Not the greatest SSB radio, however, because it only has 1 kHz resolution, and stability is only fair.
4) Tecsun PL-330 - This little radio works great on SSB, even with its tiny 19" whip. It has 10 Hz tuning resolution, which is remarkable. I've posted about it before, and to me its only real shortcomings are its flimsy construction quality. Tecsun should reissue it with a sturdier case, and some knobs that are easier to turn and they'd have an all-time great little portable.
3) Kenwood R-5000 - It's a high quality receiver that does everything pretty well, and it easily tuned in to this conversation. The audio quality is fine, but just a tad worse than the R-1000.
2) Drake 2-B - This old tube receiver is incredible, especially when you consider it is more than 60 years old. I believe mine was built in 1962. Unlike the newer receivers, you have to know something about the controls before you can use it, the passband and the preselector have to be properly adjusted. However, once she is tuned in it sounds like the hams are sitting in the room next to you.
1) Kenwood R-820 - Even better audio than the Drake 2-B, an outstanding SSB receiver, made way back in 1978. It has all kinds of controls to peak up the signal, including an IF shift and receiver incremental tuning (RIT), plus the optional 2.4 kHz SSB filter. It does a terrific job overall and was the winner of the shootout.
Obviously, this was a very informal test and it wasn't a very fair comparison. The three top finishers were on an outdoor antenna, which was a huge advantage, but even that didn't help the last place DX-160. Also, the top two were designed as amateur radio receivers, made specifically to listen to hams, which wasn't a top design priority with the other six receivers. Therefore, don't read too much into any of this, but hopefully some of you find it interesting.
For the shootout, I had four of the receivers sharing a long random outdoor wire antenna with a coax switch. Those receivers were a Kenwood R-820, a Kenwood R-5000, a Realistic DX-160, and a Drake 2-B.
Another receiver, a Kenwood R-1000, was connected to a long indoor wire antenna in the basement.
The other three portable receivers were using their built-in telescopic whip antennas. These receivers were my old Sony ICF-2003, a Tecsun PL-990X, and a Tecsun PL-330.
Here's my informal ranking, from last to first, 8th place to 1st place.
8) Realistic DX-160 - I played around with the bandspread tuning and BFO for a long time but couldn't find the signal on 7208 kHz. The radio is in good condition, it's just a very poor radio for listening to SSB. It's just too unstable, and anyone who has had one knows how hard they are to tune. But I like it for some reason and keep it around.
7) Sony ICF-2003 - I could hear the conversation, but just barely. The Sony has good audio, and is fine for listening to SW broadcast stations, but it is barely usable on SSB. It only has 5 kHz tuning resolution and no USB and LSB buttons, just a rotary SSB switch. I've had this radio since it was new and its held up well, but the frequency accuracy and stability just aren't good enough to listen to hams with any consistent success.
6) Tecsun PL-990X - This radio is superior to the old Sony in every way, but the audio on SSB is not great. Even so, it was very easy to copy the conversation.
5) Kenwood R-1000 - I've always found the R-1000 to be very sensitive with good audio, and it was fine for listening to the hams talk. Not the greatest SSB radio, however, because it only has 1 kHz resolution, and stability is only fair.
4) Tecsun PL-330 - This little radio works great on SSB, even with its tiny 19" whip. It has 10 Hz tuning resolution, which is remarkable. I've posted about it before, and to me its only real shortcomings are its flimsy construction quality. Tecsun should reissue it with a sturdier case, and some knobs that are easier to turn and they'd have an all-time great little portable.
3) Kenwood R-5000 - It's a high quality receiver that does everything pretty well, and it easily tuned in to this conversation. The audio quality is fine, but just a tad worse than the R-1000.
2) Drake 2-B - This old tube receiver is incredible, especially when you consider it is more than 60 years old. I believe mine was built in 1962. Unlike the newer receivers, you have to know something about the controls before you can use it, the passband and the preselector have to be properly adjusted. However, once she is tuned in it sounds like the hams are sitting in the room next to you.
1) Kenwood R-820 - Even better audio than the Drake 2-B, an outstanding SSB receiver, made way back in 1978. It has all kinds of controls to peak up the signal, including an IF shift and receiver incremental tuning (RIT), plus the optional 2.4 kHz SSB filter. It does a terrific job overall and was the winner of the shootout.
Obviously, this was a very informal test and it wasn't a very fair comparison. The three top finishers were on an outdoor antenna, which was a huge advantage, but even that didn't help the last place DX-160. Also, the top two were designed as amateur radio receivers, made specifically to listen to hams, which wasn't a top design priority with the other six receivers. Therefore, don't read too much into any of this, but hopefully some of you find it interesting.
