[Drake] Opinion on Drake receivers

[Chris Pedder]

Hi,

As a lifelong Drake fan and having, at the time owned TR3, Tr4, R4B + T4XB 
etc. I was delighted when the R4C was announced and promptly ordered and 
purchased one.

Alas, what a disappointment. Being an early production model it was one 
with the four position selectivity switch and the performance of these 
under close by strong signal conditions was dreadful. I ended up, as I 
recall, changing the second mixer from a transistor to a tube and 
rebuilding the AGC strip totally. This was all corrected in the later model 
with the five position selectivity switch.

Doing Drake's design work as a customer did not make me very happy and, by 
the time the TR7 was introduced I had learned my lesson and kept my pocket 
book firmly in its place. Just as well from what I heard.

This is all along time ago and in spite of these experiences, they are 
still the greatest Radios! A few years back, just before Drake stopped 
supplying spare parts for the old radios, they supplied me with new front 
panels for a T4X, R4B and L7. Close on 30 years after they stopped 
producing them... what Japanese supplier can provide those parts even for 
current production models!

Wish they still made them!

Chris G3VBL

T4X - R4B - MS4
C4 - L7 - MN2700 - WH7