Buying a used Kenwood R-5000
denny
if anyone has an R-5000 and how they like it (both pros and cons). I
was also thinking of either an Icom IC-R71 or Drake R8B as well. Any
thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated. Denny Dollahon.
Telamon
<e169f7f5-1519-4a23...@s12g2000prg.googlegroups.com>,
denny <ddol...@yahoo.com> wrote:
It depends on what you want to do. If you are a program listener like me
then it would be the Drake. The other two radios do not have sync
detection, which is a great aid in AM broadcast reception.
The R5000 is an OK radio for SSB and I think likewise for the ICOM but I
have no experience with that radio.
All three radios need a good outdoor antenna and outboard speaker to
work and sound good so budget for those items.
--
Telamon
Ventura, California
Drifter
Denny, you may want to join the yahoo R5K group before you buy.
it's a great radio, but has age trouble. the read-out can go
south on some. i have one here wit all the bells and such. i
enjoy it sometimes. it's a great broadcast rig, not so much
a DXer radio. i would go with the Drake, if you want a do-it
all receiver. the R8B is a great workhorse, that won't cost
you an arm and a leg for repairs. myself, before i buy a used
radio, i read the yahoo group. one of the best places for info
on the web. YMMV.
Drifter...
--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists,
and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service."
- former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman,
unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!)
dxAce
Drifter wrote:
> denny wrote:
> > I have a chance to buy a used Kenwood R-5000 receiver. I wanted to ask
> > if anyone has an R-5000 and how they like it (both pros and cons). I
> > was also thinking of either an Icom IC-R71 or Drake R8B as well. Any
> > thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated. Denny Dollahon.
>
> Denny, you may want to join the yahoo R5K group before you buy.
> it's a great radio, but has age trouble. the read-out can go
> south on some. i have one here wit all the bells and such. i
> enjoy it sometimes. it's a great broadcast rig, not so much
> a DXer radio. i would go with the Drake, if you want a do-it
> all receiver. the R8B is a great workhorse, that won't cost
> you an arm and a leg for repairs. myself, before i buy a used
> radio, i read the yahoo group. one of the best places for info
> on the web. YMMV.
Had one for a few years. Nice audio. The stock 6 kHz filter had to be replaced
due to poor shape factor. As you say, they apparently suffer with age, keypad
problems are one of them.
Radioguy
Does it have the optional AM filter and any others installed?
The keypad may develop "bounce" in that it becomes difficult to enter
just one number. Be sure to ask about that.
If the radio has the optional VHF convertor there's an excellent
chance the seller will want at least $300 more than a reasonable
price. The VHF convertor has very limited coverage and is not worth
the trouble.
If it is in good condition you will get a receiver capable of
delivering performance on a par with other high-end receivers of that
era such as Icom R71a and Japan Radio 525. I favor the R5000 because
it's audio is noticable cleaner and the receiver footprint is smaller
than the other two.
3D
Denny,
I own both the R-5000 and the R8A. The R-5000 is a nice radio that is
very good for SSB and good for all around listening. If the radio you
are looking at is in good shape at a good price, it may be an
excellent value. The R-5000 can be had for a couple hundred less than
a straight R8. The R8B model will run you about 3 times the price of
the R-5000. That said, in my opinion, any of the R8 series are better
for program (AM) listening. I bought my R8A specifically for this
purpose. The R8 series also has a better feature set, and are usually
more reliable. The prices on the R8 right now are on the high side,
but they will fluctuate and you can get a good deal if you are
patient. There is a lot of information on both radios on the internet,
and I recommend you do some homework before making your purchase.
Enjoy the hunt!
3D
Kenwoods: 950sdx, 2000LE, R-5000
Drakes: R-4C, TR7, R8A
Others: Eton E1, HQ-180A
RHF
-
- I have a chance to buy a used Kenwood R-5000 receiver.
The Kenwood R-5000 is a Very Good Radio / Receiver IMHO.
- I wanted to ask if anyone has an R-5000 and how they like
- it (both pros and cons).
I like mine works well + Sounds Good - Runs a little Hot.
READ - The # 1 'Most' "Reported Problem" with the
Kenwood R-5000 Receiver and How-To-Fix-It !
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/6421ac8ab1578fba
- I was also thinking of either an Icom IC-R71 or Drake R8B
- as well.
-IF- You can Find and Afford the Drake R8B at Two to Three
Times (2X$$~3X$$$) the Price =IMHO= Buy-It ;-}
- Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated.
- Denny Dollahon.
-
READ - New Kenwood R-5000 Receiver Owner
- Asks What Antenna Do You Use ?
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/a57711375bb4d0bb
"DD"
Buying a Used Kenwood R-5000 Shortwave Receiver ?
- The Pros and The Cons
READ - Here are My Three Reasons to Own a Kenwood R-5000 Receiver
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.radio.shortwave/msg/4f4e1530bb40a2c8
For 'other' Messages Post by Me "RHF" here on the
Rec.Radio.Shortwave Radio Newsgroup "Search" for :
[RHF+groups+yahoo+com+kenwood+r5000]
KENWOOD R-5000 RECEIVER => http://tinyurl.com/2x9t7x
some say - i would if i could . . .
-while- i simply say 'kenwood' ~ RHF
.
The Kenwood R-5000 Receiver Owners & User's Group
KENWOOD R-5000 RECEIVER => http://tinyurl.com/2o4z8k
Is your place on the WEB to use as a "Resource" for
General and Technical Information about the Kenwood
R-5000 Receiver and to Identifying Common Problems
and Simple Practical Solutions. http://tinyurl.com/2o4z8k
KWR5K => http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kenwood-r5000/
Antennas "The Other" 55.5% of SWL => http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
.
- = 2O4Z8K = -
.
BDK
803c6f...@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, hjs...@cs.com says...
I have had all of the above receivers over the years, and I have a
couple of comments..
I like the size of the NRD's, they are a good balance between size and
usability. The R5000 and R71A are both a little too small, IMO. The R8
series scream "cheap" to me, and I really hate the looks of them, and
the display is shameful in a radio that costs as much as the R8's did.
I still regret passing up the R7A I did a few years back, that's the
only Drake receiver I ever really wanted.
The R5000 has the best AM audio of any of them, the R71 is by far the
worst. The R8/A/B is pretty close to the R5000, and is better for
program listening. The NRD-525 isn't bad with the right speaker, and if
you get a later production one, the famous hiss is greatly reduced. My
first one, one of the very first ones sold here, hissed very badly, but
the one I have now has only a slight hiss that disappears when the
speaker is turned off axis slightly. The old one I had went in for
repairs and a board was replaced, and the hiss was reduced about 80%.
The internal speaker on an NRD-525 is a joke. Almost useless, except to
use to make sure the radio works.
Without the optional AM filter, the R5000 is a little deficient compared
to an out of the box R71, R8X or NRD-525. It's not a cheap item to add,
even the Inrad one is pretty expensive. And the Kenwood filter seems to
be almost impossible to find, except for the one on Ebay a while back. I
can't remember what it went for, but it was more than it was new.
The VHF converter for the R5000 isn't really worth it, but the NRD's
UHF/VHF converter is useful, but coverage is oddly limited in the UHF
area for some reason only JRC knows.
The R5000 runs very hot on AC power. There is a mod to move two
regulator ICs to the rear heat sink. One of the ones I had was modded,
and it was done very well by whoever did it, and he braided the wires
that went through the rear panel and ran them through two rectangular
holes he cut perfectly though the back. It looked almost like it was
done by the factory. I kind of hated to sell it, but I had too many
radios, and too little money, so off it went. Other than the heat, the
R5000's weakness seems to be the keypad bounce issue.
In SSB mode, the rankings change a bit. With the speaker I found in my
basement, the 525 is the best, the R5000 and R8s are close behind, with
the 71A not doing too bad, if it's on a decent speaker. Mods can help
the R71A, but it's still nasty on AM. I heard one with a lot of mods
that had an audio out jack added to the back panel and fed into a small
car amp/EQ and a decent speaker, it sounded almost as good as the R5000,
but it cost a lot of money to do it, and ECSS tuning made it kind of
pointless.
After all was said and done, I kept only a few of my many HF receivers,
the newer NRD-525, my now almost 30 year old NRD-515, still the king on
SSB, and my modded to insane levels Hammarlund HQ-100. I have a Kenwood
TS-850 that I got pretty cheap, and after replacing a lot of caps, works
perfectly. I also have an old Allied SX-190 that is a work in progress.
Almost works 100% now, after changing all the electrolytics in it, along
with a bunch of other caps and a cracked resistor. A lot of cracked
solder joints were found too. Just something to play with...
BDK
Radioguy
> In article <efa375fa-210f-4c2d-99b2-
> 803c6f5ce...@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>, hjs...@cs.com says...
>
> - Show quoted text -
Yeah, I tried like crazy to like the Drake R8 and R8a but found the
ergonomics were cheap feeling and the audio was somewhat better than
the NRD radios but not close to the R5000.
RHF
>
> - Show quoted text -
RadioGuy - TEHO ;-} ~ RHF
.
Radioguy
>
> - Show quoted text -
Haven't had a cup of coffee yet...TEHO??
Justis
out. Kenwood wanted $200 for the repair(they are the only ones with the
chips). On top of the $200 that I paid for the trash, repair was out of the
question. It's now stored away in a dark corner of the basement never to
see daylight again, unless I win the Lotto and have the money to "squander".
"RHF" <rhf-new...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:bd1da50e-8fcf-42fd...@s13g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
BDK
334014...@d21g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, rhf-new...@pacbell.net
says...
That's right, if everyone liked the same radios, only one company would
stay in business. I've wanted an R7 or R7A since I saw one for the first
time at a friend's dad's place, but I never really was even slightly
interested in buying an R8X, they never "grabbed me" in the slightest. I
only bought the R8A I did to help a friend out who needed money, with
the agreement he could buy it back later on for the price he sold it to
me for. I got to use it for a year and a half for free, and got a $50
gift card for Red Lobster as a bonus. I actually liked the R71a better
than the R8A. I don't think the R8X deserves to be mentioned along with
the R7s, it's not in the same class.
In the ergonomics race, JRC leaves everyone in the dust.
BDK
BDK
RHF
- - - Yeah, I tried like crazy to like the Drake R8 and R8a
- - - but found the ergonomics were cheap feeling and the
- - - audio was somewhat better than the NRD radios but
- - - not close to the R5000.
- -
- - RadioGuy - TEHO ;-} ~ RHF
-
- Haven't had a cup of coffee yet...TEHO??
-
RadioGuy - Come-on you know TEHO !
TEHO = To Each His Own ! ;-}
Radios and Receivers they are a Personal 'Choice' Item
and they are all about : How they 'Feel' to Us and
How they 'Sound' to Us as Individuals : Because we
Use them One-on-One as Individuals : We have a
Relationship with Our "Own Radios" :
Sometimes It's Love and Sometimes It's Hate.
radioguy - enjoy your radios ~ RHF
.