[ICOM] IC-7100

Tue Jul 30 21:34:26 EDT 2013

On 7/30/2013 8:20 PM, bonddaleena at aol.com wrote:
> Thank you Roger. Excellent discussion.
> The Drake SPR-4 is considered to be a solid state R-4B. It is a nice radio, but the AGC action is terrible. Static crashes capture it (in SSB) and the very slow decay
de-sensitizes the radio. There are 'fixes', but just no time to mess 
with it. The AGC is set at different fixed values for the different 
modes. This is a collectable
radio and not only is it 100% mint, it is fully loaded with all the 
options...

I don't remember that one but I was inactive  from 80 to the mid 90s.
Quit work after 26 years, went to college to earn a degree and then 
started a new job.

> My only real interest anymore is 6M weak signal and 2M and 432.

My favorite band is 6. I have a 7L C3io on a boom just shy of 30 feet.
Unfortunately it's down at the moment but was at 115 feet.
http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/Tower29.htm

I have a lot of radios as I mentioned and I have a LOT of 6, 2, and 432 
converters and preamps.
> Listening to very weak signals on 6M scatter, I have never found a combo yet that can beat the 'ole 756PRO. I had an Icom 575H and it was as close as these 2 old
(too old??) ears could call. Believe it or not, just for weak signal 
reception, my 706g hangs right in there as well.

I liked working AU where the signals were just a change in the noise.

> Here in the Florida woods, I have no close by stations and don't do HF contesting.
> My personal favorite from both a nostalgic / performance point of view, is my Drake TR6/RV6  with modern JFETs in the front end.

There are a couple around 5 or 6 miles from me that operate 6, but I 
only hear them on rare occasions.  There must be a dozen or more that 
close on Hf, but I hardly ever hear them.
>

> If I thought any of the new radios could hear weak 6M signals clearly that my PRO couldn't hear, I'd start savin'! ha ha
When I get the C3i back up I want to run that A/B test against the 
5000MP which is quite different than 160, 75, or 40.
I could hear the band noise on 6 with the 756 Pro as well.  I wonder how 
the 5000MP will fare?
>
> On 6M, I have a long 7 el antenna at 105' , fed with 7/8" hardline. Since I can 'hear' my antenna when it's connected, I feel that I'm at my practical limit on receive sensitivity.
> Of course, living 100+ miles from the 'lightning capitol of the USA', limits my weak signal work a LOT more than it did when I lived in Ky.....
>

I had and will have LMR-600 to the beam on 6.
Speaking of lightening, that antenna array shown in the link was hit 
about 3 times a year for the first 6 years it was up. Those were 
visually verified strokes. How many it actually took? I don't know, but 
its remained untouched for the last 5 years.

> Your thoughts???

So far I'm impressed with the FTDX5000MP and it did win in the A/B test, 
but the margin was pretty small and I never noticed it until I was able 
to do a very careful comparison.  Now on to 6 meters<:-))

73,

Roger (K8RI)

>
> ron
> N4UE
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roger (K8RI) <k8ri at rogerhalstead.com>
> To: icom <icom at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Mon, Jul 29, 2013 12:41 am
> Subject: Re: [ICOM] IC-7100
>
>
> On 7/28/2013 6:30 PM, bonddaleena at aol.com wrote:
>> OK, you said you did an A/B test, but you never mentioned what you compared
> the 756PRO to.....
>>
>> I have compared my PRO to:
>
> With an A/B test?
>
> Well, I've owned most of what you mentioned and have fond memories of my
> 75A4/KWS1 heating the shack, but regrettably I only did the A/B
> comparison on the FTDX5000MP .As I said, The 756 Pro that appears to
> check out with the spectrum analyzer. is still a good rig, but the
> 5000MP beat it out for selectivity, dynamic range and sensitivity.   It
> heard stations the 756 Pro didn't know were there, copied stations that
> were covered up by adjacent QRM and let me talk to stations on a band
> filled with QRN from storm just a few hundred miles away that made copy
> on the 756 Pro difficult.
>
> OTOH the 756 Pro is light, and goes portable quite easily.
>
> But for normal use, without the A/B comparison it seems to be pretty
> good and I like it.
>>
>> 75A-4 (recapped, aligned, etc)
>> 745 (purchased new)
>> 761 (serviced by Scott)
>> Drake R-4B (3 of them)
>> Drake R-4C (with all the Sherwood mods)
>> R-390A (well tuned)
>> R-388 (6 of these)
>> 51J-3
>> SPR-4
>> R-71A
>> Drake 2-B
>> Drake 2-C
>> Drake TR-4 (5 of these)
>> Halli 117 (modded by the ER articles)
>> R-1051B
>> SX-101A (recapped, etc)
>>
>
> The only ones I've not had are the 388, 51J, SPR4 (don't even recognize
> that one, and the R71.
>
> I rebuilt a lot of 101As and a MK-III, but they got too heavey for a guy
> my age.  I still have a 33B with the ceramic 8295A. Sold the HT32Bs so
> have nothing to match it.
>
> OTOH I had several S-lINES AND kWM2S AND 2AS.  I'd like to pick up a 2A
> (same rig, just more crystals) and PS for my shop.
> Those old Collins rigs put out cleaner signals than all but a few of
> today's rigs.
>
>> dozens of others, etc, etc
>>
>> The PRO is still the receiver to beat. Maybe 'cause it was a JA radio that I
> hand carried back from Tokyo???
>>
>
> As I said, I still like and use the original 756 Pro, not a II, or III.
>
>> For many years, the receiver has been limited by noise, either man made or
> atmospheric.
>> The point of diminishing returns was reached a loooong time ago.
>
> Agreed and with the top end rigs with those fantastic specs, the average
> ham would never be able to tell the difference.
>
> I'd like to see them clean up the signals.  Most SS rigs are running a
> 3rd order IM in the low to mid 30s while the old Collins was close to 50db.
>
> I think most hams don't realize that super selectivity and dynamic range
> does nothing to help when the station 10 KHz +/- is splattering or buck
> shoting right in your bandpass.
>
> That's why I'd like them to concentrate on finals instead of a
> sensitivity that is way below the band noise. What good does a 0.1 uv
> sensitivity do on 160, 75, and 40?  The dynamic range does sometimes
> make life livable when a really big signal comes on within 10-20 KHz.
>
> Selectivity?  A good filter, IF shift, and a good notch can work wonders
> that a fantastic selectivity figure will fail to do and there the old
> 756 Pro does pretty well on CW.
>
> 73,
>
> Roger, (K8RI)
>>
>> ron
>> N4UE
>>
>
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> ----
> Your Moderator: Dick Flanagan K7VC: icom-owner at mailman.qth.net
> Icom Users Net: Sundays, 1700Z, 14.316 MHz
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