[Collins] 51J4 vs 75A3?

[Eugene Hertz]

Hello All,

I have been using a 51J4 with the dallas lankford product detector mod as my ham station receiver and it has been working great (with the exception of a recent total failure of the bandswitch/vfo gearing!-that will be a later post).  

I had asked the list their opinion of using a 51J4 as a ham receiver (with the ssb mod) prior to purchasing it, and as everyone predicted, switching from 80m to 40 or 20 or (God forbid)10m was a REAL chore.

So I've begun to think about replacing the 51J4 with an amateur band receiver such as the 75A3.  Why not the A4 you might ask? Well, I really prefer the cabinet arrangement and style of the J4/A3 models better. For me its strictly an asthetics issue.

So I was wondering what folks on the list thought of using a 74A3 with a product detector mod? I know one main difference (besides the general/ham bands) is that the A3 has only 2 mech filters, whereas the J4 has 3. I should point out that I only own 2 filters for my J4 so in a strict comparison, I wouldn't be losing anything on that front.

Any other major/important/minor difference I could expect between these radios in my ham station?

Thanks!
Eugene