[Collins] 51J4 vs 75A3?

[Joe Eide]

Well Eugene, I can give you a few differences and opinions that probably 
don't mean much, but will give you something to think about anyway:

51J-4:

General coverage, harder to move to different bands, harder to repair 
(especially to remove PTO),  need external power to mute receiver,  no 
pretty winged emblem, meter reads dB instead of S-units, slightly 
heavier, higher value.

75A-3:

Ham bands only (WARC?), faster band changing, easier to reach components 
during repair,  PTO not as problematic, simple contact closure for 
muting, pretty winged emblem, conventional S meter, at least 1 tube less 
and slightly lighter in weight, lower value.

75A-4:

Dream receiver, Collins designed ssb (vs after thought), light weight 
(20 lbs less), much more valuable, did I mention dream receiver???    :  )
(I know you didn't ask, but if you've never tried an A4, you may be 
missing something.  People seem to covet the late serial numbers, but 
ANY 75A-4 is a wonderful radio to own if working properly)

Just my opinions,

Joe - KB9R





Eugene Hertz wrote:
> 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
>
>
>
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