On 4 Oct 2009 at 10:18, Loren Moline WA7SKT wrote:
Date sent: Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:18:37 -0700 From: Loren Moline WA7SKT [email protected] Subject: [Hearsat] Opinions on receivers To: [email protected]
Hello,
I am looking for opinions on wideband receivers for the like of Icom , AOR or others. Interested in things like sensitivity, stability, and birdies comparisons. Also whether they have a 10.7MHz output jack. Thanks!
Loren WA7SKT
Member: ARRL and Pacific Northwest VHF Society Member: Hearsat Satellite Monitoring Group Location: CN86cx
I have a PCR-1000 and i'm very satisfied with it. The only one drawbacks I got a lot of intermod on 137mhz from the paging system making NOAA weather pictures hard to decoded.
"-"
Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe DSTAR urcall VE2DWE WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE
Hi Loren,
I have an old ICOM R-7000 "Communications Receiver". It covers 25mhz to 2 ghz with a small gap from 999mhz to 1.025 ghz. The old "cell" band is *not* excluded, not that you can hear anything there anymore. It covers all modes - narrow, medium, and wide-band FM, AM, and SSB/CW.
I use the rig mostly as my S-band IF receiver, and for in-shack coverage of scanner stuff (police/fire/etc.) outside the ham bands (my other non-HT radios are ham-bands only). As an IF receiver it does work pretty well, and it does have a 10.7mhz IF output in the back. Be careful, there is a 9v DC bias on the connector (used for powering external equipment). It's also got ICOM's computer control (CI-V) interface, for computer-driven Doppler tracking and such. Drift has not been a problem at all, and I haven't had any trouble with birdies, at least nowhere of any interest that I can remember.
But, as a general coverage receiver or scanner, it's 20-year age clearly shows. First of all, it's a bit deaf by modern standards. The local NWS weather channel is an S6 or S7, being fed by a very large TV antenna, with Preamp, in the attic. It's full scale on my HT with its rubber duck antenna in the shack. My S-band equipment (Drake 2880, and all that) barely gets above S1 or S2. You get the idea. The "scanner" is also pretty limited (i.e. slow), and it has no concept of trunking or any of that sort of stuff. The front panel controls are also a bit of a puzzle, in that one of the most important controls is on the BACK: You choose from wide or narrow FM on the front, but your choices are 6/15 khz or 15/150 khz, and the group is chosen by a tiny slide switch on the back of the unit. I have no significant use for 15 khz, and you can't pick 6/150 as a combination. USB/LSB is also a back panel switch, but nothing much is ever LSB above 25 mhz so that's not a big deal.
It does have a significant role in my shack, and I wouldn't trade it for anything except maybe the R7100. Prices now are quite reasonable, if you can find one.
Good luck in your hunt,
Greg KO6TH
From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 02:25:41 -0400 Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: [Hearsat] Opinions on receivers
On 4 Oct 2009 at 10:18, Loren Moline WA7SKT wrote:
Date sent: Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:18:37 -0700 From: Loren Moline WA7SKT [email protected] Subject: [Hearsat] Opinions on receivers To: [email protected]
Hello,
I am looking for opinions on wideband receivers for the like of Icom , AOR or others. Interested in things like sensitivity, stability, and birdies comparisons. Also whether they have a 10.7MHz output jack. Thanks!
Loren WA7SKT
Member: ARRL and Pacific Northwest VHF Society Member: Hearsat Satellite Monitoring Group Location: CN86cx
I have a PCR-1000 and i'm very satisfied with it. The only one drawbacks I got a lot of intermod on 137mhz from the paging system making NOAA weather pictures hard to decoded.
"-"
Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe DSTAR urcall VE2DWE WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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Greg D. expunged ([email protected]):
But, as a general coverage receiver or scanner, it's 20-year age clearly shows. First of all, it's a bit deaf by modern standards. The local NWS weather channel is an S6 or S7, being fed by a very large TV antenna, with Preamp, in the attic. It's full scale on my HT with its rubber duck antenna in the shack. My S-band equipment (Drake 2880, and all that) barely gets above S1 or S2. You get the idea.
Keep in mind that the lack of receive sensitivity in the R7000 most likely is due to old leaking electrolytic caps. Specifically, there is a DC-DC converter board on the underside of the receiver that ends up generating broadband noise as the caps fail over time. I recently rebuilt this board and have regained nearly all of the sensitivity that I've lost. I suspect that if I replaced more electrolytics I could have it back to factory specs.
-Steve
N1JFU - http://n1jfu.blogspot.com - smeuse@twitter
REALLY? Great tip! It's never been a great receiver, but anything will help.
I'll do some Googling around, but would you happen to have a pointer to more detailed information on the repair?
Thanks,
Greg.
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 23:24:49 -0400 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] CC: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: [Hearsat] Opinions on receivers
Greg D. expunged ([email protected]):
But, as a general coverage receiver or scanner, it's 20-year age clearly shows. First of all, it's a bit deaf by modern standards. The local NWS weather channel is an S6 or S7, being fed by a very large TV antenna, with Preamp, in the attic. It's full scale on my HT with its rubber duck antenna in the shack. My S-band equipment (Drake 2880, and all that) barely gets above S1 or S2. You get the idea.
Keep in mind that the lack of receive sensitivity in the R7000 most likely is due to old leaking electrolytic caps. Specifically, there is a DC-DC converter board on the underside of the receiver that ends up generating broadband noise as the caps fail over time. I recently rebuilt this board and have regained nearly all of the sensitivity that I've lost. I suspect that if I replaced more electrolytics I could have it back to factory specs.
-Steve
N1JFU - http://n1jfu.blogspot.com - smeuse@twitter
_________________________________________________________________ Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/
Hello guys,
One other thing I have found is that the tracking of the varactor tuning may not be as good as it once was. As far as the capacitors I looked at my receiver and being a newer production it does not have the same DC board as the older serial numbers. My DC board looks good and I scoped the DC lines and they are clean..
I have more testing and possibly a re-align of the bandpass filters to do but for now the receiver is ok...
I want a second receiver and thats why I asked about receivers.
Loren WA7SKT
Member: ARRL and Pacific Northwest VHF Society Member: Hearsat Satellite Monitoring Group Location: CN86cx
From: [email protected] To: [email protected] CC: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Re: [Hearsat] Opinions on receivers Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 20:41:20 -0700
REALLY? Great tip! It's never been a great receiver, but anything will help.
I'll do some Googling around, but would you happen to have a pointer to more detailed information on the repair?
Thanks,
Greg.
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 23:24:49 -0400 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] CC: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: [Hearsat] Opinions on receivers
Greg D. expunged ([email protected]):
But, as a general coverage receiver or scanner, it's 20-year age clearly shows. First of all, it's a bit deaf by modern standards. The local NWS weather channel is an S6 or S7, being fed by a very large TV antenna, with Preamp, in the attic. It's full scale on my HT with its rubber duck antenna in the shack. My S-band equipment (Drake 2880, and all that) barely gets above S1 or S2. You get the idea.
Keep in mind that the lack of receive sensitivity in the R7000 most likely is due to old leaking electrolytic caps. Specifically, there is a DC-DC converter board on the underside of the receiver that ends up generating broadband noise as the caps fail over time. I recently rebuilt this board and have regained nearly all of the sensitivity that I've lost. I suspect that if I replaced more electrolytics I could have it back to factory specs.
-Steve
N1JFU - http://n1jfu.blogspot.com - smeuse@twitter
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There's quite a list of things for the R7000 on the mods.dk website. Jim KQ6EA
--- On Tue, 10/6/09, Greg D. [email protected] wrote:
From: Greg D. [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: [Hearsat] Opinions on receivers To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected], [email protected] Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 8:41 PM
REALLY? Great tip! It's never been a great receiver, but anything will help.
I'll do some Googling around, but would you happen to have a pointer to more detailed information on the repair?
Thanks,
Greg.
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 23:24:49 -0400 From: [email protected] To: [email protected] CC: [email protected];
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: [Hearsat] Opinions on
receivers
Greg D. expunged ([email protected]):
But, as a general coverage receiver or scanner,
it's 20-year age clearly shows. First of all, it's a bit deaf by modern standards. The local NWS weather channel is an S6 or S7, being fed by a very large TV antenna, with Preamp, in the attic. It's full scale on my HT with its rubber duck antenna in the shack. My S-band equipment (Drake 2880, and all that) barely gets above S1 or S2. You get the idea.
Keep in mind that the lack of receive sensitivity in
the R7000 most likely is due to old leaking electrolytic caps. Specifically, there is a DC-DC converter board on the underside of the receiver that ends up generating broadband noise as the caps fail over time. I recently rebuilt this board and have regained nearly all of the sensitivity that I've lost. I suspect that if I replaced more electrolytics I could have it back to factory specs.
-Steve
N1JFU - http://n1jfu.blogspot.com -
smeuse@twitter
_________________________________________________________________ Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
participants (5)
-
Greg D. -
Jim Jerzycke -
Loren Moline WA7SKT -
Luc Leblanc -
Steve Meuse