My first week with the ICOM IC-R75
Bartdxr5000
I always enjoy reading reviews that are posted on this newsgroup. I am by no
means a technical expert but I will post my early impressions of the R-75.
The receiver is a bit bigger than I had imagined it would be. It is a very
attractive receiver and it seems to have the commercial build as advertised.
The knobs have a solid feel and the buttons don't rock on their center like the
Drake SW8. Entering a frequency is quick and easy. I don't like the fact you
have to enter the frequency in MHz format with a decimal or trailing zeros but
I am so delighted in the fact I don't have to press the buttons twice (or
correct the double digit entry) as with the Drake, this inconvenience doesn't
bother me. I really like the LARGE function display which indicates all
functions and modes in operation. You can manually adjust the brightness of the
display in increments from 1 to 10.
I won't go into great detail but all the functions work well. The preamp which
toggles between 1,2 or off, works very well to magnify weak signals. You can
amplify signals that can't even be heard otherwise. I've already heard stations
that I've never heard before and any of my previously owned receivers and by
using the Twin PBT controls, you can tweak very weak signals to where they are
legible. I love the optional UT-106 DSP noise reduction function. It really
helps clean and quieten down the background noise. I really like the AGC fast,
slow, off, control and I have tried the AGC off position with the RF gain
control on medium wave signals. This technique does work very well as described
by Thomas R. Sundstrom in the Radio Netherlands review. I also use the RF gain
to quiet down background noise.
The RF gain control on the R-75 is combined with the squelch control. This is
as Passport mentioned "weird" or unconventional but it works out very good. I
only use the squelch when I scan frequencies that are set between the two scan
edge memory channels. The level of squelch is indicated on your signal strength
meter with a little marker. You can scan with the squelch turned down or you
can set the squelched level and the receiver will temporarily stop scanning
when a signal rises above the set level.
The clear down side of this receiver is the AM synchronous detection. I've seen
this mentioned in nearly every review I've read and it is absolutely true. I
really like the audio in the AM mode and I plan on purchasing the Kiwa
modification. Kiwa addresses the shortcoming of the AM and AMS mode of the R-75
which in my opinion is the only shortcoming of this receiver. The SSB on the
R-75 with the dual passband tuning, DSP variable notch filter, and the optional
FL-257 455Khz filter (a middle bandwidth) performs better than any receiver
I've ever owned.
Passport refers to the tweaking or "ECSS" technique as being painstaking.
With the Drake SW8, I sorely missed having this painstaking ability to clean a
signal to legibility. It's true, you don't have a knob that's labeled "tone"
but with the variable bandwidth and IF shift who needs a tone control? The
audio quality of the R-75 surprised me the most. It may be a matter of taste
but I like the audio better than the SW8. Though good, the audio on the Drake
was a little bass heavy for my taste.
This is my first ICOM unit and I am very impressed with the receiver.
I purchased this receiver with the DSP option installed for $535.00
I added the optional FL-257 455kHz SSB wide filter. $160.00
I'm going to get the Kiwa modification. Approx. $200.00
When I'm finished with my R-75 I will have nearly $900.00 invested in this
receiver.
From what I've seen the used R-75s selling for on Ebay and this newsgroup, I
don't know if I'll be able to recover my total investment in this unit. This
fact doesn't include the R-75 exclusively as I've seen brands of nice receivers
sell on Ebay for less than their worth. Ebay is definitely a buyers market at
the current time. I believe that after the Kiwa mod. is completed, I would have
a hard time finding a receiver around the $1000 price range that could offer as
much performance.
Bart
Diverd4777
re:
<<The preamp which
toggles between 1,2 or off, works very well to magnify weak signals. You can
amplify signals that can't even be heard otherwise. I've already heard stations
that I've never heard before and any of my previously owned receivers and by
using the Twin PBT controls, you can tweak very weak signals to where they are
legible. >>
Icom that you can't with the other one
just 3-4 stations, antenna used & UTC
that would be a great help
Thanks
Dan
Bartdxr5000
I wish I could give a side by side comparison of the R-75 with my previously
owned receivers but I can't. There are several stations that I tried to
receiver numerous times with the SW8 and though I received a signal, I couldn't
clean it enough to make it legible. I had better luck with the R-75. The SW8
has a wonderful SSB selectable synchronous detector and the AM sync. mode was
my mode of choice. The upper and lower SSB performance on the SW8 was really
hurt by the fact that it tunes in 50 Hz increments and many of the received
stations on SSB are slightly out of phase. This fact plus the fact you don't
have passband tuning makes the AM sync. mode preferable on the SW8. I really
liked the SW8 for program listening but for digging out weak signals, the R-75
has a few more digging tools.
I have made a few side by side comparisons with the Radio Shack DX 394 and the
R75. I am using the same 100 foot longwire antenna on both receivers.
I was amazed at the sensitivity of the 394. There wasn't one weak station that
I heard on the R75 that couldn't be heard on the 394. The problem with the RS
394 was the poor dynamic range and lack of bandwidth filters. You could hear
the station along with three others with no way to separate them. Well, I've
ran my mouth (keyboard) long enough. Thanks for your response.
Bart