It is a sweet radio. The small screen was killing my eyes. My old eyes needs a bigger screen.
Looking for a good HF rig
- Thread starter bearcatrp
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I have an Astron RS-35M that has been running almost continuously since about 1995. I bought it USED and it's moved to three different houses over the years.
Bigapple59 is a vendor I've purchased several radios from, and would do so again if I was in the market to do so. But, there is no room on the table at the moment.Another receiver I'd be looking for is the Icom IC-R75. Had one, foolishly sold it and bought a second one (from Bigapple59) and very glad I did. This second one was an earlier model with the Synchronous AM and I had to add the DSP unit. It's been to Kiwa for the SAM upgrade. I've seen prices on the R75 anywhere from $550.00 to $650.00.
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Mike
The 746 Pro was great sure wish I had not sold mine.
A big plus for listening: It had Synchronous AM Detector! (Seems like not many noticed that)
Just peaking at a Icom 7100. I like how the desktop portion sits nice and angled. But it’s priced close to the 7300 that not sure it’s worth it. Watched a few videos and read reviews. Got an offer on a R75. Only thing I don’t like about the 718 is no FM. Am thinking hard on the R75. But newer tech may be better. Comments?
ka3jjz
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Most likely because many hams (new or old) didn't know for what a Sync Detector is used. I think that's a rather rare feature on any ham transceiver.
Mike
Mike
The R75 has FM, but the only frequency range it covers where FM is used is 30 to 60 Mhz. In my area there's no activity at all between 30 and 50 (VHF low band), and likewise on the 6-meter ham band between 54 and 60. There was a time when I heard transmissions from public services all over the U.S. up to about 45 Mhz, but that conditions were good back then, and I suppose most of those services are now using much higher frequencies. Some older cordless phones in my vicinity used to show up between 49 and 50, but those frequencies were abandoned by the newer phones due to privacy issues.
As for newer technology, it depends on what extras you're looking for, like waterfall displays, etc., but I doubt whether the overall reception of HF will be much better. That's more dependent on your antenna and the propagation conditions. I have an old Sony ICF-2002 portable from 1986 that can pick up most of what I hear on my other radios, and with just its whip antenna. The only reason I stopped using it is that its only tuning step on HF is 5 kHz, and the fine tuning control is a tiny thumbwheel that makes tuning in SSB signals very tricky. For 8843 kHz, for example, I'd have to key in either 8845 or 8840 and try to find the signal with the thumbwheel.
There is a fair amount of traffic on those bands, even if not like 40+ years ago. Look at the logs submitted in this thread.
2021 VHF Low Band Logs
Here's to hoping that 2021 is a better year for VHF Low Band propagation than 2020 was! My first log of the new year (all of my radio logs are in UTC): 40.670 - SNOTEL with very strong signal -- San Antonio TX BCD996XT Scanner with 10 Meter Dipole
Right now the 718 and R75 are my top contenders. Both are close in price. Going to keep looking around some more as I still have time before I decide. Want whatever I get before the snow flies. Not ruling out the 7300 though.
The last time I heard DX on VHF low band was in 2000, when I lived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, with its nice flat terrain. I heard fire departments, dispatchers for school buses and taxis, and also caught some kind of war game, which sounded like a simulation of Operation Desert Storm. I wasn't sure where that was coming from, but it was very realistic. It could have been from the training base in Cold Lake, Alberta, or somewhere stateside. At any rate, there was activity on the band from as far away as Mexico all day long.There is a fair amount of traffic on those bands, even if not like 40+ years ago. Look at the logs submitted in this thread.
2021 VHF Low Band Logs
Here's to hoping that 2021 is a better year for VHF Low Band propagation than 2020 was! My first log of the new year (all of my radio logs are in UTC): 40.670 - SNOTEL with very strong signal -- San Antonio TX BCD996XT Scanner with 10 Meter Dipoleforums.radioreference.com
I used to hear VHF Low Band skip using a quad loop antenna cut for 27 mhz CB, on my Patrolman SW60. Heard Louisiana oil riggers talking, and other transmissions, presumably from the same region. That was in 1990 or so, when sunspots were peaking.
When I heard it in 2000 I was using the R75 with a Sony AN-1 active antenna mounted outside on the roof of a mobile home. The amplifier in the active antenna was probably overkill, and low VHF was beyond the antenna's designed range, anyway. It now occurs to me that the metal roof of the mobile home must have been very effective as a counterpoise.
As for that skip during the 1990s, I had a CB rig in 1993, and was able to make contacts all over North America running the rig stock on LSB, with just a fiberglass marine whip mounted 10 ft. above the ground. This was from a little rural village in Saskatchewan, where I had a wood frame house with a shake roof (hence no counterpoise). The mobile home came later.
While they look similar, the IC718 and R75 have quite different receiver performance.
Having owned both and much side by side comparison, in my experience the R75 is significantly better.
I assume to accommodate the components and facilities required for transmitting, some corners needed to be cut receiver-wise with the IC718. There is no manual AGC adjustment, a value being fixed circuit-wise for each mode, and for SSB it was a little fast for my liking. You can get around this to some degree by manipulating the RF and AF gain controls. The IC718 also seemed to suffer when strong signals were close in frequency, more so than the R75.
I kept the R75 and moved on the near new IC718.
Having owned both and much side by side comparison, in my experience the R75 is significantly better.
I assume to accommodate the components and facilities required for transmitting, some corners needed to be cut receiver-wise with the IC718. There is no manual AGC adjustment, a value being fixed circuit-wise for each mode, and for SSB it was a little fast for my liking. You can get around this to some degree by manipulating the RF and AF gain controls. The IC718 also seemed to suffer when strong signals were close in frequency, more so than the R75.
I kept the R75 and moved on the near new IC718.
With the IC-7300, Win4IcomSuite make a nice control program to use with it and it is maintained well.
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Mike
HUH? Waterfall display on the computer?
Thanks for the pictures. Hmmm. Now to rethink my options.
I'll pass on the PRC-138. Those things have changed since my time in the military. Think we were using PRC-77's back then.
I'll pass on the PRC-138. Those things have changed since my time in the military. Think we were using PRC-77's back then.
Decided to go with the 7300. Hope to order next month.
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