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| Reviews Summary for Collins 75A-4 |
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Reviews: 21
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Average rating: 4.1/5
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MSRP: $695
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Description: 10-160 meter AM/SSB/CW Receiver
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Product is not in production.
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write your own review of the Collins 75A-4.
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KB2FCV
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 6, 2012 09:20
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Stable, it holds its own
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I've owned my 75A-4 for a few months now. So far I am very happy with it. I've owned hallicrafters, heathkit and hammarlund receivers before, but so far I think this receiver is far superior. Once it's warmed up, the receiver is absolutely stable. If listening to a net that runs for an hour or several, I never have to touch the dial. I think the PTO was definitely ahead of it's time and was leaps and bounds better than any other manufactured ham gear (not counting the R-390, which was not manufactured as ham gear)
I decided to do some comparisons with my IC-746pro. While yes, the IC-746 pro does hear a little better, the 75A-4 did a very respectable job at pulling weak signals out. It's not fair to expect it to receive just like your modern DSP transceiver, but I was impressed that it held it's own when I copied stations that were weak on both radios.
The receiver does ok with filtering out nearby ssb or cw stations. My Icom was the clear winner but for what it was able to do, it did ok. I'm not expecting modern contest grade performance out of a 50+ year old receiver. I can imagine back in the day, it did a fantastic job compared to what else was available.
I haven't done much receiving on AM, but then again I've heard that if you want to use AM, get a 75A-1 (which I have.. under restoration), A-2 or A-3. AM sounds ok on the receiver so far, but I suppose I'd like to hear it against my A-1 before I can really give a good review.
Bottom line, I've owned alot of boatanchor receivers over the last 20+ years from the 1940's - early 60's. This is by far the best perfoming I have owned and it's a joy to operate.
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KG8LB
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Rating: 2/5
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Feb 8, 2011 04:01
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OK just OK
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Another of the "trophy" boutique offerings from the St James Grey folks. The receive audio is lack luster with more than a fair amount of distortion. The mechanical filters color that already poor audio . There are many receivers that will outperform the 75-A$ quite easily. Smaller packages and lower prices to boot. A very business looking box, it really fails to deliver up to the expectations . The Harley Davidson of radio, the Collins 75-A4 is overweight, overpriced and under-performing.
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WN3R
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 28, 2010 15:28
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Memories
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I never had any Collins gear when I was first licensed, but my elmer did. I just hooked up a borrowed 75A-4 with a sweet sounds speaker and it felt like the late 1950's again. Even the AM stations sounded good. CW was a bit of a challenge with the 3KHz filter. My new Ranger is now plugged in and all tuned up into a dummy load. It has a slight chirp but sounded sweet anyway. There's somethng to be said for the days when radios were not as good as they are today. Next week I'll add the coax relay and make a contact or two. I encourage the youngsters in the hobby to visit your local old timer and listen a bit to the older gear. It was fun then and nothing has changed.
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KC2NYQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 3, 2008 07:49
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Great receiver for it's time
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I bought this receiver last summer from a local Collins collector. It
was restored by Howard Mills. This receiver for it's time and even today is one of the best I've owned. I've read that people state that
it's not a very good receiver need to keep in mind the time it was made and what it was made for.
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WB6YZZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 10, 2007 15:28
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Better than expected!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I'd been missing the old BIG receivers with BIG knobs, space between them and linear slide rule dials, analgous to an analog watch. You can "see" where you are in the band without having to calculate how far you are from one end of the band or the other. So I decided to get an old receiver with that in mind. The best receiver out there seemed to be the 75A-4.
First I bought the "Modification Compendium" to see just how much it could be improved so that it was actually usable. I was impressed with the implied results, so I nabbed a 75A-4 off eBay with the vernier dial, the 3 standard filters and NO RUST for just under $1100! It performed and sounded better than I expected. I almost decided not to modify it, but I just don't feel right unless I get inside my gear and do SOMETHING to it ;-) So I made the AVC and the front end mods to improve gain distribution and IM response.
The receiver sounds great, with an old Radio Shack Minimus 7 "stereo" speaker. The tuning is smooth and easy. After a complete alignment, I compared it to my FT-920 and was amazed to find that it was as sensitive, but better sounding. I think the wider mechanical filter contributes to better fidelity, depending upon the transmitting station. AM, of course sounds terrific, with the 6KHz filter.
I'm not a DXer, but a casual listener and occasional rag chewer. I am very happy with the 75A-4, my now prefered radio.
I will now pair it up with either another boat anchor transmitter or maybe a homebrew job, and really enjoy ham radio, the way it was back when I first got my ticket!
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WY6K
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 9, 2007 20:11
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Best of its era
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I am fortunate enough to have two fully restored 75A-4s, both of which were restored by Howard Mills, who did an exceptional job. I was a ham when this radio ruled the airwaves and was in awe of it after I was able to compare it to my SX101 - there was no comparison. It is still head and shoulders above the other receivers of that era - the SX101, HQ170, NC303, etc.
But you must remember that the design goals were stability, sensitivity, and selectivity - roughly in that order. The 75A-4 was the first truly stable receiver I ever experienced, it was, and is, amazingly stable for a non-synthesized rig. It made all the other recievers of that era look like toys. You could actually depend on the markings on the dial to be correct and repeatable. On most other rigs, the markings were just approximate and not necessarily the same from day to day.
It is still one of the most sensitive radios I have. Only the R390A seems better. It consistently hears everything my IC756PRO hears.
The selectivity is clearly not what you get with a modern rig but is more than adequate for everything but serious contesting or the most difficult dxing conditions. Of course, you don't get effective noise reduction or bells and whistles.
The audio is fine in both my rigs, although some manual gain distribution management is required (sometimes you have to turn the RF gain down a bit) and you don't want to drive the audio stage too hard. I use a 312B-4 speaker. I can also tell some difference between the two rigs.
The 75A4 was really made to introduce SSB to the amateur community. While many improvements were made in later rigs, especially in the S-line (which are surely better SSB rigs), the 75A-4 performs well enough on SSB. Correctly setting the Passband Tuning yields excellent results, even on weak signals.
This receiver is great fun and one of my favorites. If I'm serious about DXing, I turn on the 756PRO. But if I just feel like listening to see what's going on, I turn on either a 75A'4 or a 75S-3. Get one of these radios if you want a wonderful nostalgic experience, or if you just like the sound of tube radios of this era (especially Collins). Don't get one thinking it is going to beat your ICOM or Ten Tec. But if you are considering radios from that era, there is no way to go wrong with the 75A-4. It's the Rolls Royce of that era.
I would happily pay $3000 (in 2007) for a Howard Mills restored 75A-4. I'd pay $1500 for one in excellent, but not restored, condition. And maybe $1000 for one that needs work.
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K6JPA
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 22, 2006 21:47
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Elegant Classy Lady
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I was fortunate enough to find a fully restored example for sale several years ago and purchased to to complete a full "Gold Dust" set. Although not used as much as my newer rigs, it still brings a smile to my face to watch this old girl light up and bring the airwaves to life. It's not really fair to compare her to my newer receivers. Frankly, even with their computer controlled, digitally processed DSP wizardry, they simply lack the kick in the rear fun factor of pulling in and listening to a weak station using skill, and not simply relying on microprocessors.
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N4KH
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 16, 2006 19:45
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Great vintage receiver
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This is a great vintage receiver, but they sure are big. Mine had the optional noise blanker module in the back. I don't understand some of the negative comments from other reviewers. I can only conclude that their receiver had some problems that needed correcting. Yes, there are some good mods that improve performance and you do have to nurse these things on a little like any vintage rig. Unfortunately, I sold mine to help fund other equipment purchases.
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G8AQN
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 20, 2005 08:19
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Great quality & performance
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have read a number of reviews regarding the 75A-4 some good to excellent & some bad, however I would like to add my bit regarding this great receiver.
I bought mine on the German Ebay site, with caution I might add, due to the fact that it had been modified somewhat,the seller stated that he had modified it with SSB as his main interest, he had replaced the mixer stages with 7360 balanced mixer/modulator valves which were popular back in the 60/70's, as per W2QWS's suggestions in QST dated July 1964, plus he had changed the AGC for fast attack & slow decay times, he also relaced L27 IF tuned cicuit with a 3.1KHz. Collins mechanical filter for use as a noise roofing filter, the same type as is used in the receiver selectivity stages.
When it arrived the 75A-4 was in very good clean condition, with no signs of black staining under the chassis as is evident with a lot of use, I was very surprised at the quality of the workmanship done during the modifcations & replacement of parts obviously done by a professional wireman, after the usual visual & safty checks I switched the radio on, & "WOW" what a performer, there were no cross mod. & blocking problems as some of the reviews suggest even on 80Mtrs in the evening when the band is crowded, & good sensitivity with low noise level, the stability of the oscillator is superb, I measured 200c/s drift from switch on in the first quarter of an hour, with minimal drift of 150c/s during the day.
I promptly ordered a 6 & 9KHz. filter from Electric Radio for AM use, these arrived a few days latter & were fitted, the 9Khz. filter replaced the 3.1 KHz filter that was fitted in place of L27, the 6Khz. filter was installed in it's usual holder.
I must admit that the audio on the 75A-4 did sound a bit strange, it had very "edgy" sort of sound, I tried a number of metal cased speakers of all sizes with no difference in sound, I was beginning to get a bit frusterated so I decided to tackle the audio stages, this turned out to be a red herring & a waste of time, in desperation I tried a 1930's extension speaker which was fitted in a wooden cabinet, & beleive it or not, the 75A now sounds great, so try it!!
As regards to SSB performance, it is not fair to compare it to the modern receivers, after all the 75A-4 was produced in the early days of SSB , so come on, I don't know of any other receiver as good as this from this era.
I know that the purist & collector ( I am one of them) believe in the original design, but my 75A-4 is superb & I have no intentions at this stage to reverse the modifications, I use mine regulaly on the 40 & 80Mtrs AM nets.it's a great receiver as it is. If one comes along at the right price in original condition then I may buy it if only to compare it with my modified one.
I would not part with my 75A-4 for anything.
73's
Tony G8AQN
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K1YPB
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 2, 2004 13:25
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Excellent Receiver - Keeping in mind what it is and its vintage
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I am a proud owner of a 74A4 manufactured in March 1955. It is in excellent shape with all the filters, and works pretty good.
In reading all the reports I can agree with a lot of the opinions offered. I think that considering what this receiver is, and when it was designed and the technology at the time, this receiver is pretty much (or was) "state of the art" Ever since I was a kid (got my ticket in 1962) I desired to own one of these extraordinary receivers. I was finally able to obtain an excellent condition unit a few years back.
It really is not fair to compare this to say... a TS2000 (which I also have). The new digital DSP rigs run circles around these old boat anchors. But... out of respect of what these receivers represent, they still do a very respectable job receiving signals through the QRM. Good filters in combination of a properly operating PBT, along with knowing how to set the other controls in conjunction to what you are receiving renders some still pretty respectable performance. And it is still kind of nice (nostalgic) to see the tubes glow, and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of a tube powered radio. In our modern adjustment free radio environment of today we are pretty used to pushing a function button and having the DSP or whatever so to speak automatically take care of the function. These older rigs took a little "balancing of the controls" to make the difference between exceptional performance and marginal performance. Quite often that performance was resultant of the operator's skills in that regard, rather than the rig not working properly (ie complaining about crowded band performance while the RF gain control is set at full gain, or maybe the wrong agc time constant selected.
In fairness, I give the 75A4 a "5" from a 1950's 60's evaluation vantage point. From todays vantage point... maybe a "4". I think it all needs to be kept in perspective.
Dan
K1YPB
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