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write your own review of the JRC NRD-525.
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M0TWA
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 2, 2007 16:50
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new owner..and impressed
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Well I have only had this radio for 5 days.. bought it second hand from a very nice gentleman here in the uk...'thankyou brian!'@ a very reasonable price and first impressions are very good... Some years ago I owned the R5000 and traded in for a tx/rx when I got my ham ticket. Big mistake..I have on many occasions missed it and have always longed for another good example to listen to at night while in the sack.. yep the radio hobby even follows me to the horizontal sleeping machine!!... The problem has been that the R5000 is becoming a much sort after radio and the prices for them have rocketed here in the uk.. so while searching for one I came across an advert for this nrd-525...I very quickly did my home work before contacting brian the seller.. read the reviews here on e-ham and was so convinced that it was a good purchase..I went for it! It was a 200 mile round trip to go and get it...but hell its was worth it!... the radio has come to me in mint condition and by that I mean I cannot find a single scratch, prang,or dint on the set anywhere..and it has the original box, manual..accessories etc.. the over-all feel of the 525 is one of a professional grade coms receiver and the lay out of the controls is logical... everything seems to be in just the right place...within a very short space of time I was finding my way around and enjoying some great listening with the 525 connected up to my g5rv that is generally used here in the shack.
Can confirm that the internal speaker is a pointless exercise being fitted in a radio of this quality... in fact it is so poor compared to the performance of the radio its a wonder why they bothered with it at all...however if you really want the audio to shine...plug a good set of head phones into it..perhaps what the designers of the radio wanted you to do all along... using some kenwood hs-5's on mine and they marry well to the radio.
Another point I picked up on from another reviewer... the S-meter...the single increment that flicks across the meter...yep a bit strange at first I thought..but I think the idea is to simulate the needle of a moving coil meter...and if you look at it in those terms you quickly become accustomed to it..in fact I quite like it.
The first thing noticable while listening about on the ham bands and also the broadcast bands was the very low noise floor...this makes for very easy, comfortable listening..havent heard any hissing of the amp or psu in this puppy!!.. then the selectable band widths...love this...only have the stock filters in but I feel that there is enough range between the three options to get by in any situation... I like listening to morse code.. the 'inter'3khz filter ( while a bit too wide for the mode) I find is very sharp and used in conjunction with the pass band tuning and the bfo control gives very good results on crowded bands. SSB receiption is excellent.. currently listening to LZ129LO.. a special event station on 80 meters and there is another station up 2 MHZ with a non linear amp spattering.. the 525 is coping fantastically!!
There are radios out there with Syncronous detect.. but reading through the reviews the success of this facility is implemented with mixed results...mostly it comes as a disappointment to the reveiwer... the fact that the 525 doesnt have it isnt of great concern to me.. what makes the radio hobby for me is the fact the signals 'do' shift around and fade... its a good excuse to twiddle with the knobs on the radio to improve matters!!! I thought doing a spot of twiddling was the whole point of the hobby!?
The three settings of the AGC work very well..the notch filter also works extremely well and I haven't (as yet ) found a hetrodyne that it cannot filter out... the NB ( noise blanker ) havent had reason to use it yet as things at this qth have been quiet with localised pulse noise.
I just love the RIT control.. fantastic when listening to radioamateurs in conversation..all too often one or the other is slightly higher or lower in frequency... being able to tune across to one station with the RIT knob is brilliant and then you are able to hit the RIT button as the conversation passes back and forth.. great weapon to have in the arsenal!!... The 200 memory channels are great..and make up for the lack of a second vfo....and this is just the tip of the ice burg... havent had time to use the other features of the set as I have been having such a great time listening around.... which must call for another review in the not too distant future... watch this space.
In conclusion for this first look at the NRD-525... every thing that has been written here by other radio enthusiasts is completely true.. really nice radio... how does it compare to the
kenwood R-5000?... from my memory of the r-5000 I would say the RX performance is about the same.. however I would love to have both radios here in the shack to go head to head... if you take into account the 525's very well thought through layout and design..then the 525 wins...
I am overjoyed with this radio.. and if I never manage to get my hands on a R-5000 I dont think I will be missing out on anything..I have found a radio just as good...if not just a bit better!!
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WA4053SWL
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 29, 2006 22:21
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Excellent Receiver!!!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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This receiver is fantastic in all the aspects, the first thing is to put a good external speaker, I put the speaker RCA Pro-X33AV..wow!!! professional sounds! hi, hi..any speaker minimus pro 7, pro 77, Realistic, Optimus pro X33 or pro X44AV, they sound fantasticly, or other of good quality, this one is a tremendous receiver, PBT, RIT, good selectivity and sensivity, 200 memory, 2 clock, 2 antenna, 20db ATT, fantastic AGC, and a classic and impressive look, I recommend it, I have the R-5000 and IC-R71A and it is top.
73 all and good DX
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SWL1984
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 1, 2006 10:46
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Great audio - with external speaker
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I wanted JRC NRD 525 from late 1980s, I remember. At the time it used to be one of the best receiver on the market. Problem was it was just too expensive. I recall that it was somewhere over 1000 - 1500 uk pounds new. This used to be a lot of money at the time, and still is, for a working class guy like me.
As I never like new radios ?I don’t know, but I just cannot trust a new radios with a lot if bells and whistles and with DSPs ..etc ?I just cannot justify their price tag, or trust their performance. I always prefer older classics, which have been tried and tested.
Recently I was able to pick one up from a shop, and it was going for price I could not resist. Only thing was it was well used condition cosmetically. I mean the previous owner must have been some sort of weirdo treating a radio like that. This NRD 525 had 3 holes on the top casing, which I could not understand why?? - anyone would drill 3 holes into the top casing. Apart from that, it was in good nick.
I hooked it up to my trusty 160m longwire, and used to listen to Amateur SSB and some of my favorite Broadcast stations on SW.
The 525 is the top class receiver in every way. I read some people moan about the 525's audio quality poor, but it can be cured by connecting a good quality external speaker –simple solution. I use one of the 4 ohm speaker from old Sony HiFi, and it sounds fantastic.
The in-built speaker is not something to be relied upon, as it is slightly larger than 50 pence coin, and it is just to check if audio is coming out ok ?I would think.
The radio has following distinct strong points.
1. Well built ?solidly built, and heavy and looks great.
2. Tuning wheel is fly-wheel type, and it is one of the smoothest I have found, and it is a joy to use.
3. Super sensitive and stable in frequency. Rock solid. No drift from the moment it is switched on.
4. Runs cool and you can feel that it is reliable and will last forever.
5. Quiet receive ?noise will only come in, if the radio is placed in poor location with poor antenna system.
6. All mode ?CW, RTTY, FAX, SSB, AM, FM.
If I were to find any fault in this receiver, then it has optional VHF and UHF modules slot. I could not find anyone selling these modules in anywhere, and it is a bit frustrating, as these band, I guess will perform fantastically with these modules.
It is one of my favorite HF radio that I will keep for long time.
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OZ4KID
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 3, 2006 02:37
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A timeless classic for connoisseurs!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Once you've been bitten by a product from JRC your listening experiences will *never* be the same again. You'll pickier and your standards for how reception should be will be raised. Why? Well - you've got to have one, and have several other radios to know and appreciate the difference.
I had my very first experience with the NRD-525 for about 15 years ago, one of my ham-radio friends have bought this incredibly expensive SW receiver and wanted to brag about it. I immedately fell in love with it the more he used it - and eventually for some reason I managed to convince him to "swap" it to me for a "lot" of cool gear. I just had to have it.
And that was a nice decition, because as it is - it was the BEST shortwave radio I´ve ever had. And I´ve had many expensive SW radios...Grundig Satellite 650 being one of them, several Kenwood ones to...that doesn´t even come close to the NRD-525.
The thing that struck me with the NRD-525 was the ability it had to filter noise, especially computer-noise. Back then I used a Commodore-64 to decode RTTY and I was amazed how well the NRD tackled noise - even with very bad antennas and antenna conditions. No radio I´ve had since ever came close.
Unfortunately - GREED - convinced me to swap this wonderful radio back to my ham-friend because I wanted to try other stuff and was a bit bored, bad mistake! This radio was a class-act. No matter what radios I got later on - no one could outclass the NRD-525. And it was no secret how expensive such a radio was - so it was kind of out-of-my-reach at the time.
Many years later - I got lucky and got one for an amazing 400 dollars on an online-forum for radioamateurs. And it was and IS in MINT condition. I can´t belive how mint it is after 15-20 years, it looks brand new - and came in the original box that also looked brand new.
The radio is exactly as I remembered it, perfect reception, even for me who lives in a appartment complex with 300 other people living alongside each other, no one of my other SW-radios can receive and filter the 300 appartment-noises such as this receiver.
I won't make the same mistake twice and let this one go. And I suggest if you're lucky enough to get one, keep it forever! It's a gem!
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KA2SHU
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 26, 2005 08:35
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One Terrific Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have owned many general coverage HF receivers over the years. Recently, on e-bay I purchased a nice clean NRD 525. I have carefully compared this radio with several others in my collection. My present collection consists of a Drake R8, Collins R390-A, Yaesu FRG-7, and a Kenwood R-5000. As a ham radio receiver, I have compared it to a R-599A, TS-690S, and a Racal RA329B. I believe I know what to expect from a quality receiver when it comes to reception and quality of constuction. My experience tells me that the NRD 525 stand tall in all respects when compared to the ALL of the above. When it comes to reception of SSB utility or ham radio signals, this radio is excellent. It's ergonomics are superior to all of the radios mentioned above. Much has been written about its "wooley" audio. My experience tells me otherwise. With a good external speaker, the audio is excellent and if you want to hear real clean AM on the MW band, the AUX filter position when not filled with an optional filter actually comes close to supplying AM Hi Fi with a bandwidth of 12KHz.
The radio's vacuum fluorescent display is beautiful when compared to the Drake's R8 green back lit energy consuming display. The lack of sync detection on this radio is not a draw back and will not be missed. There is one things that could have make this radio better that must be mentioned. Recalling memory assignments must be done with the keypad or UP/DN buttons. The main tuning knob cannot do this like the Drake's. After all is said, this is one superior HF receiver that can be reasonably had in the used market. If you are looking for something really good in the $400-$500 price range, this radio is your best choice! Forget the Yaesu FRG-7, it's way over rated and no where near this radio if it's real tough signal reception you're after.
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SIERRAHOTEL
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 16, 2002 23:23
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Another JRC hit!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had a Icom R70, not a bad radio, when it worked, but that's another review, and I had finally gotten fed up with it's problems, and started looking for a new receiver. I went to EEB during a Washington trip, and played with the Kenwood R5000, and the Icom R-71A, and was leaning towards the 5000, but wasn't crazy about the keypad and it ran really hot too. I had to go to the Columbus area for a work project/meeting, and went to Universal in Reynoldsburg to see the (then) new JRC NRD-525. I was impressed right away, JRC seems to have the ergonomics thing figured out better than anyone else does. Icom should hire some of these people and let them do the front panel on their rigs.
After a half hour of playing with it, I bought a 525, the NVA-88 matching speaker (Don't bother!), a couple of antennas, coax, and some books. I also made the huge mistake of playing with the display 525 and the "M600a" Rtty decoder, and that would cost me big later on.
I played with it at the motel that night, I ran a hunk of wire out into the parking lot, and was getting all kinds of stuff. The guy I was sharing the room with about passed out when I told him how much it was! I spent most of the next couple of days in the hotel room (sat and Sun) playing with it! On Sunday night, I called home and had my brother pack up my R70, and Fed-ex it to me ASAP, it was getting traded in! On Tuesday afternoon, I went back to Universal, and bought the M600, a monitor for it, and the just traded in NRD 515 they had sitting there on the counter! I got a fairly decent price for my R-70, BTW, good riddance!
I still have both radios, the 525 has been flawless for over 15 years, and the 515 has performed very well, but had to be repaired a couple of times for bad solder joints.
The positive things about the 525:
Very good build quality, most of it is SMD.
Super Stable, never seems to drift at all. ever!
Nice smooth, well spaced controls, with good sized knobs, and a decent sized front panel.
Great display, except the S-Meter.
Decent audio with the right external speaker.
Bad points:
S-Meter is spastic! A friend's later 525 is much better.
Hissy amp/IF amp, not as bad in mine as some others, but noticable all the time, unless you have some kind high end roll of filter in line.
Internal speaker is a joke, matching one isn't very good either, a $25.00 cheap bookshelf speaker sounds much better!
PBT not as good as the 515's, and odd clicks are heard when you use it.
Keypad switches are a joke, quality wise, and they are supposed to be a real horror to change, since the traces come off the PC board easily due to the flexing of it from the use of the keypad!
Since I bought the NRDs, I have bought or tried other receivers, including the Drake R-8A, and the Icom R71A. They are gone now, but the 515, and 525 are still here, joined by a NRD-535D. All three are used everyday. If my 525 would die for some reason, I would probably call Universal or look on Ebay, and get another one!
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KC0EKQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 12, 2002 15:12
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Surprisingly good!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I had the chance to pick up a JRC525 last month, and thought what the heck, it's a classic and a good performer (based on what I'd read, anyway!).
Well, I am VERY impressed!
Having used a Drake R8B for the last few years, I was expecting to be disappointed with the lack of sideband selectable synchronous detection, and a passband tuning which doesn't cover as full a range as the R8B. Plus, I'd read nothing but complaints about the audio, some minor, some pure JRC-bashing.
Well, in MY experience, the lack of the synch. detector can be a little daunting if you're used to one, but in ECSS mode, the '525 does about as well in killing distortion. The passband tuning also performs comparably to the R8B, and if it's not as wide a shift on the spec sheets, it does do the job with aplomb, given the right filter settings.
As for the audio, I cannot now see WHAT the complaints are about. Let's face it, top-firing speakers are never that hot, and the addition of almost any kind of external speaker to most receivers are a good idea. But even through headphones, straight from the phone jack, I could not detect the 'hiss' or otherwise poor audio noises that I'd read about in other reviews. I have been a musician/engineer since a very young man, and my ear simply does not hear the intrusive kind of hissing about which others have complained. Maybe unit-to-unit variance is to blame here, but JRC is not known for poor quality control or other inconsistencies. The 'bad audio' reports remain a mystery to me (my Yaesu FRG7 exhibits more hiss and warbling than the '525, and it too is a fine receiver!).
Another point, the tuning resolution, while not as fine as the R8B, does still perform perfectly for all but the most sticky of 'tweaking' jobs. When tuning AM stations using the ECSS method to kill fade distortion, being off by 3 to 5 Hz can get a little annoying, but I've found that most of the stations I monitor via ECSS are actually transmitting right on frequency, and this factor eliminates the 3-5 Hz offset annoyance. In either of the SSB modes, you can really fine tune, with no perceptible difference in performance versus the R8B or the FRG7.
I also found the 'above HF' coverage from 30 to 34 MHz to be a neat expansion. In my area, I hear a lot of low VHF skip in the mornings, and the FM mode scanning of these freq's adds a nice dimension to what is usually a dedicated HF receiver. A bonus for my tastes!
For receiving amateur traffic, I've not encountered a better radio. It's on par with the Drake, and it does fight noise and adjacent frequency interference quite admirably.
It's not the be all and end all of SW rigs I've owned, and it won't be my last.
But I wouldn't mind if it was the only one I could ever use... pleasant audio, sleek looks, easy tuning (200 memories, easy to add/remove/alter settings, a nice scan and sweep feature, etc.), and rock-solid stability combine to make this a very worthy performer.
Given it's average market value of around $500 to $600, one could say it's one of the more attractive buys on the used market.
Go JRC!
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KB3GJL
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Rating: 5/5
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May 10, 2001 11:30
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Wonderful Comm Receiver
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I got this rig used, and it was my first communications receiver with a digital readout. Let me tell you, this is an easy radio to fall in love with! All the knobs and dials have a good solid feel to them, and the controls are all neatly laid out on the front panel. Best of all, they work like they should too! CFRX out of Toronto, usually covered by Deutsche Velle in the evenings, was a notch and a filter adjustment away. With a crude piece of speaker wire antenna strung across the roof of a basement apartment, I logged Radio St. Helena, All India Radio, and plenty of pirates on 6955. The only knock I can make on this radio is the audio. JRC receivers always seem to be lacking in audio quality, and this one is no exception. A good external speaker will do wonders for this ill though. One other thing that should be mentioned though is the scarcity of replacement parts. Unlike Drake that is still making parts for radios made 20+ years ago, JRC is NOT, to the best of my knowledge, making parts for the 525, which disappeared from their catalog in the early 90s. On the other hand, my JRC runs circles around my R8. I will take the performance thank you.
Conclusion: Someone described their relationship with the 525 as where he "got that JRC feeling." I know exactly what he means. This dawg will hunt!
-Tim
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