[Premium-Rx] WJ-8711A or WJ-8712P

Sat Jan 5 10:31:10 EST 2013

The WJ-8712P receiver is in a package with a front panel that is approx.  8-1/2 wide by 3-1/2 high.  The depth is a desk-challenging 20 inches, but the small front panel footprint and light weight make that an acceptable trade-off.  The WJ-8712P will do everything a WJ-8711/HF-1000 will do spare two notable things.  The front panel volume control adjusts the headphones only and not the speaker output, through a simple three wire jumper job reverses that.  The second thing is that the analog meter has been replaced by an LED bar-graph.  After a short period of adjustment, I actually *like* the bar graph as it is located directly below the least significant digits of the frequency display allowing easy tuning for maximum signal strength vs. frequency at a glance.  Operation is so similar to the 8711A/1000 receivers that there is virtually no learning curve.

I have all three receivers side-by-side, and the superior performance of the 8712P is very evident.  The (expensive) push-buttons on the front panel are all back-lighted a cool green matching the displays.  This is a *beautiful* receiver!  The shielding does its job as there is no detectable spare/strange noises.  Internally, the 8712P has the same boards as the latest 8711A receivers.  Only the front panel and package are different.  The standard 8711A preselector option may be used, though mine has an enhanced two-board preselector in it, presumably intended as a "special" unit for a government agency.  It was originally purchased directly from DRS/WJ by a person who made the short drive from his office to the company to pick it up in person.  Fortunately, I was able to make a deal to buy it from the original owner!  Yes, it was expensive, but it is at times my favorite receiver so well worth it!

The shortcomings of the 8711/8711A/1000/1000A have been well noted.  As others point out, a late 8711A/1000A is certainly better than an early 8711/1000.  There are some steps detailed here by Steve and others to mitigate the shortcomings somewhat.  Even so, I just cannot help myself, and really like operating all of these receivers.  They are really a lot of fun in a lightweight package!  BTW: there is an interesting story of these "reduced cost" receivers (including the Ten-Tec RX-340) that was told here some time back by our friend Dr. Jim Garland, W8ZR.

In short, the WJ-8712P is one of the few radios on my permanent "never sell" list.  IMO, it is *that* good!

Vy 73 de Paul  W8ZO

On Jan 5, 2013, at 5:53 AM, Michael O'Beirne <michaelob666 at ntlworld.com> wrote:

> 
> Gents
> 
> Steve's recent posting on the shortcomings of the HF1000 and 8711 brought a smile to my face.  I also have to endorse many of Richard's comments on the continued excellence of the RA1772, albeit that it has none of the frills of a modern receiver, but is it significantly worse for that?
> 
> Many years ago I was excited to see an early HF1000 on display at a radio show in London, but far less enthused when I got to handling it.  The word "cheap" sprang at me.  The knobs, buttons and meter, the flimsy case and lack of screening and general build quality were yukkkk when compared with what I had seen of the gorgeous WJ-8888 and their VHF & UHF models and from experience of the similar superb build quality one expects from Collins, Racal, Siemens and R&S, not to mention the UK's military Clansman's innards and the other "usual suspects".
> 
> The distributors thoughtfully provided reasonable headphones for the punters but did themselves no favours by using an antenna of about 6 metres of wire dangling from the rear which picked up all the nasty crud from a large public hall lit by fluorescent tubes. (I think it was the sports venue at Pickett's Lock in NE London if those with long memories can recall).  The Wellbrook Loop was not then in existance.
> 
> The operation of the panel was a complete dream (ignoring the tacky knobs and buttons) but the audio - of a mass of buzzes and crud - was abysmal compared with the experiences of my lovely RA1772 and my earlier RA17L plus SSB adaptors (all in super condition BTW).
> 
> I appreciate that there have been many software and some physical improvements and that many members treasure their newer versions, and I might well do as well after an updated experience.  However, to outpace my RA1772, the audio's THD on a single tone at 1,000 Hz will have to be less than 0.75%.
> 
> I have always wondered why WJ did not repackage the 8711 with proper screening and robustness and keep the RF and audio physically well separated from the data and power sides, as is done for example in the Racal RA3701 and Plessey PR2280 where the robust screened modules plug into a well-screened backplane to pick up the data and DC and the RF is applied via miniature coax jumpers on SMBs plugging into the rear of the modules.  Such a receiver should not have been vastly more expensive and would have been a dream to use.  [I appreciate that a solid die cast chassis may have been very expensive but surely after the master die has been created the subsequent castings can't be that costly.].  However, given that WJ's market seems to have been mainly specific contracts for Government bodies and that they tended to build one-offs as and when required, I can see that they were not much interested in a receiver for general use costing perhaps US$10k. Perhaps Terry can add something to this.
> 
> The WJ-8712P presumably does this but does it have the same 19 inch front panel and operating convenience of the 8711?  Or does it have to be used with a PC?
> 
> 73s
> Michael
> G8MOB
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: <richardreich at aol.com>
> To: "Steve Pappin" <pappy92651 at yahoo.com>; <premium-rx-bounces at mailman.qth.net>; <premium-rx at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 3:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [Premium-Rx] WJ-8711A or WJ-8712P
> 
> 
> Hello Steve.
> 
> I'm not going to blast you.
> On the contrary, I like to hear those snippets of privileged information that normally only come by as rumours.
> I could tell you a few eyebrow raising stories about Marconi before they faded away.
> 
> Although my 8711 (on the front panel and labelled HF1000 on the back) has given problems, I am still very happy with it. Its great to use - especially when compared to the modern trend of having one knob or button having several functions - soooo irritating when trying to do something in a hurry.
> The 8711 doesn't perform quite as well in the reception stakes as a recently aligned Racal RA1772 - but then few receivers do.
> 
> Happy New Year
> 
> Richard
> 
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