Dude! Because of you I bought the tecsun 990. I absolutely love it. Been dreaming about the ic r8500 or 8600. I really appreciate you man. Thanks for your absolutely honest reviews/ opinions.
I prefer my R8500 over the R8600. This week I bought another R8500 for use as a spare. My main use for portable radios like the Tecsun PL-390 is to track down and measure RFI in the house or yard. The Tecsun one decimal place digital signal strength meters are highly useful for determining lower RF noise areas for potential antenna mounting. I keep all my HF and low VHF antennas well removed from the house. The RFI decrease is dramatic when the antennas are sufficiently removed from the house RF noise field. The portable radios are a compromise in receiver design. Because of limited internal physical spacing of components, the noise floor is increased due general hash radiated from the digital display. Birdies / spurious carriers are another feature of certain portable radios, which includes my Tecsun PL-390. For MW, the Sangean PR-D3 is an excellent performer with no birdies, IMD, or digital display hash. This is partly because it is a large size portable radio.
You are right, the new rigs are much smaller and more capable. I collect these old radios because they have great audio and the older ones are repairable at home and last but not least when I was young I always wanted to get them. Now I have the opportunity to buy some. (I have the Kenwood R1000, Yaesu FRG-100, Commradio CR1a, AOR AR3000a, Yaesu FT-817ND). I have an IC-705 too, which is the all-in-one needed radio, but I'm afraid after a few years if something goes wrong, I will have to pay a lot to get it to work again.
I like your comment about the value of portability. I live in an apartment and am into amateur radio. It is almost a different world when I pack up my radio, drive out to a park, and get away from all the electronic noise. That's worth more than all the filters money could buy.
That’s a very interesting view on what we have available these days compared to the desktop units. I’m kinda on the fence since I am considering purchasing a desktop receiver, but I am leaning towards an Icom ICR-8600 or the AOR DV10…. I can see where your going on this. Thank you Gilles.
Wow, I have to disagree here. Yes the D808 is decent value as a shortwave portable but the Kenwood R5000 blows it away performance wise. The bandwidths on the 808 are not what they seem either. Try switching to the 1 khz bandwith on a decent AM station and listen to the audio, that filter is WAY wider than 1khz So many of the newer portables are awful to tune, particularly on SSB due to the soft muting or "Chuffing" effect. SDR's yes they offer a new way of listening but your are dependent on running them with a computer which can have its own issues. Also many of us that work with screens in the day are glad of a traditional SW receiver to tune that doesn't involve a screen and keyboard/mouse. As for build quality I can only speak for the modern Chinese SW receivers I own, The D808, Tecsun PL 330 and Tecsun S 8800 and none of them is even close to the build quality of the R5000 or any Icom or Kenwood receiver.
The R5000 and Icom R8500 are modern receivers. Both are excellent and the Icom was heavily purchased for sigint use by spooks. Desktop receivers from even the mid 1980's blow away modern disposable portables. The JRC NRD-515 sold in 1985. I bought one for about the same price as the big Tecsun portable. I was sure it was over hyped. I was wrong. It turned out to be one of the best SSB receivers I have ever used. It is wonderful. Look...don't be mislead. Expensive old desktops can frequently be scored for pennies on the dollar. And if you are a tech or lucky you are in for a treat. I have SDR radios, portables, and desktops. The desktops are just fantastic. The SDR radios are also good...but not as good as the best table tops. I heard Bulgaria tonight on 7164kc LSB on my RSPDX. The stations were decent copy. I then talked to them using a Yaesu FTDX5000MP and on that radio they sounded like they were transmitting from my garage. I got a 5x9 from both Bulgarians over 5000 miles away using only 100 watts. The big Yaesu has an incredible receiver. It is ridiculous how selective and good it is for hearing weak stuff. My Drake R8A, JRC NRD-515, and Icom R-8500 are sufficient for most hard core DXers. And MUCH better than any Tecsun portable. They work great with my longwire antenna. The Tecsuns just explode into images and noise. Start with a good antenna. Then you will quickly discover what separates a ok receiver from a legendary receiver. I have a 660 and 990 tecsun. They are ok for portable use. Not so hot with a good antenna.
I kicked myself in the past for not purchasing an IC-R8500 before they were discontinued. Just saw one available brand new, unopened on ebay for $1,800 (originally listed for $2,000 but he lowered the price) and so snapped it up. Looking forward to getting my paws on it.😁 73s
Small portables: frequency range, modes, performance. Choose 2 out of the 3. There is no single radio that can do all 3 (that matches the R8500 (which I just bought and am waiting for the shipment) as an example here). Full frequency radios like the ICOM R20 don't perform as well on HF and below. Good portable SW RXR like the D808 (which I recently bought) don't have the full VHF range and nothing above. So you need both at the very least just to make this part somewhat comparable. And the R20 isn't as cheap as the ones you mentioned. I bought these just in 2022: Belka DX, R-108, D-808, RSP1a, and waiting for my R8500. I don't see a problem. Just like I watch your RU-vid video on my 50 inch TV at home, but then I also sometimes watch it on my phone. But when I am out, I will watch it on the phone, or a tablet or a laptop. Is my 50" plasma TV obsolete? Maybe, but I still watch it everyday. The same reasoning applies to radio.
hello, but on the ic-r8500 there are 3 attacks for the antennas, but can I use only one (the uhf-vhf one) and put an antenna that starts from 30 KHz and reaches 2GHz and listen to the whole band?
no one is for 30 MHz and above and the other is for 30 KHz to 30 MHz .. there is no choice, no antenna covers all if it well , you need two separate antennas
If you can afford one of these rigs purely for eye candy and their commanding presence, then why not. Also the formula for the right amount of radios is the number you have +1. maybe its better to invest in a general coverage amateur radio that you can transmit on too.
See if any of the modern receivers any of them, will still have a fan base, and be held in esteem, in 20 years. Your comparison of old base technology to modern portable technology is not good commentary. Normally I find your comments interesting and informative but today you let me down.
they will...if Shortwave is important enough and a new base of listeners is there. These are old obsolete receivers that were prime in their days...today's receivers will still be there in 20 or 30 years
The old receivers are cool and were great in their day but I don't think I would get one now. Like Gilles said SDRs and modern portable are just as capable or better. Not to mention that older radio gear is susceptible to failing components, I believe the Kenwood in this video has been repaired at least once. Granted the older radios would be easier to repair but I ain't got time for that.
I hold you could have considered comparing modern portables to old portables. That would have validity least drag the real boat anchors 😝 I like your channel btw.
@@YOURA6ULDV8 Apples and oranges. For instance, I love the sensitivity and ergonomics of my Tecsun 990x but it lacks the "feel" of my Yaesu FRG 7700 that still performs admirably. Plus, there is something rewarding about pulling in a distant station on a 1940 Mantola tuber (not to mention the wonderful scent of the warmup!).
I have been sitting on the fence for a while about table top HF receivers and yes they have an appeal - they look good and have all the bells and whistles - that said when one of them sits down... who are where can you get it repaired etc - its all full of risk - I still get great value our of my Tecsun PL880 and I am seriously considering jumping into the SDR world --- mind you I was looking at a very nice JRC345 -- I think they are a collectors item now but with an asking price of €695 - I cant justify that money -- 73s from Ireland IE1748
I used to have a Kenwood R5000. It cost $NZ2500 in 1992. It was a great radio but is now in a radio musuem in NZ. I use a PL600 for SWL, and an incredible Pl330 for Ham/Ute dxing with the total cost of the rxers being $NZ320 in 2021. The age of desktops is well and trully over. Moore's law has wiped them out.
