[Premium-Rx] WJ-8716 vs WJ-8718 Receivers

[John Hafele]

Greetings to all - 
I am a new member to the group and have had an interest in premium quality
receivers since the 60s when in the service. I worked on the best of them at
several major U.S.Army signal depots during that time and have possessed
countless numbers of prime goodies over the years. I presently own a Mackay
RF-5050A and a Racal RA-6790/GM, along with, a WJ-9040 Rack Frame unit with
a WJ-8626A-4 HF Receiver. That is just about enough of an introduction that
I am sure that you all want to know. Therefore, I will now pose a question
that I have been unable to answer even though I have researched this subject
for a while now. I am sure that a large number of members  more
knowledgeable than me can provide an answer to my inquiry.
I read or hear that the WJ-8718 receiver is more desirable than the WJ-8716
because it is newer. I have read where the WJ-8716 was the old workhorse and
it`s offspring was the WJ-8718. After a lot of research, I came upon a
Watkins Johnson manual supplement that states the following :
The WJ-8716 HF receiver is a modified version of the WJ-8718 HF receiver.
The modifications mainly involve EMI filtering and screening of the front
panel meter, etc. If this is the case ­ then ­ which model was the latest
production version ­ the 8716 or the 8718 ? Am I missing something here ­ or
what ?  Maybe it`s old age setting in !
Many thanks for any replies to my inquiry as they will be appreciated.
Best regards, John.