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| Reviews Summary for Collins 75S-1 |
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Reviews: 5
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Average rating: 4.8/5
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MSRP: $495
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Description: 10-80 meter AM/SSB/CW Receiver
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Product is not in production.
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More info: http://
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STEVEQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 18, 2010 06:13
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Solid Vintage Rig
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I cut my radio teeth on the Collins R390A while in the US Navy. Remember those boxes were outstanding back in those days.
I am back in radio as a avid SWL and compiled a number of Drake receivers. I work mostly in CW and am very pleased with the Drakes but the tug to acquire a Collins bit me.
Since I work mostly CW the 75S-1 with the Walters Q-Multi is a great fit. But the one I got also has a variable BFO switch installed. Can not find too much info on this but whoever did the mod did a good job.
Ok enough, my review: solid, solid, solid, well made, nice spacing of the knobs and dials and a rich audio as I remember from my R390A days. Sensitive to signals and the ability to dig out weak ones is a piece of cake for this Collins.
What did Collins know about receivers that no one else knew at the time. Even if a CW signal fades a bit the tone and clarity remains can not say that about the Drakes.
The S meter sortof works, I understand the Walters mod could, did effect the S meter, well that is fine with me it is the signal I want to hear.
Other reviews about this rig describe the more technical aspects so I will not repeat that. What I will say is I am now convinced the vintage Collins receivers are the best. Drake is good, don't get me wrong but Collins shine.
Oh yes, did not pay a great deal of money for this classic rig
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W7MBR
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 19, 2010 18:37
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A real classy radio
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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It's like driving a 1959 Caddy. Not high-tec but oh how nice she looks and feels! I actually prefer it over my 75S-3B and my Drake R-4B which have a few more bells and whistles. With the added 500hz mechanical filter and bfo crystal it is an extremely good CW receiver. No other controls to mess with like VBT, bfo pitch, passband tuning etc. Just good crisp easy to tune and copy CW. Radio at it's basic best with solid mil-spec construction and great looks. If you want to be picky it may stumble a bit on SSB under crowded band conditions but not that often. I love my Drake B-line but to say it performs better on CW than the Collins well, I just don't find that to be the case. With fewer controls to play with it just adds to how well it was originally designed in my opinion. I still think it's one of the best buys out there and many can be had for $350 or even less. If you're a CW operator the bfo crystal and the 500hz mechanical filter are a must. I have over 30 receivers and this is definitely one of the best I have ever used.
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N2DTS
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Rating: 4/5
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Nov 17, 2007 19:30
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good for its day
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Had one of these for quite a while, with no problems. Sure looks like 'real' radio!
Very robust, performance on cw is on the poor side, AM has no filter and is very wide with poor skirts. Very nice on SSB, even today, as long as its not battle conditions.
I think the Drake r4 series outperforms all the Collins S line stuff, but does not look as sharp, and is likely not as robust.
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N6KYS
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 10, 2007 20:15
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Quality, even after 47 years!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I love my Collins 75S-1. This thing was built with lots of rugged quality in 1959, and still runs strong like it's a new rig today. I use it as a companion to my Heathkit DX-60B transmitter, and could not be happier with its AM reception performance. This receiver has the Waters rejection tuning optional modification, which is a nice feature......no, it WON'T compare to the DSP in your Icom, so don't try and make a comparison, but it's a great feature for this rig. The tubes are all readily available at fleamarkets and on eBay, and none are expensive to obtain. I highly recommend this receiver to any glow-in-the-dark radio enthusiast!
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KA5N
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Rating: 5/5
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Jul 17, 2004 20:05
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A 50 year old that performs like today!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have owned my Collins 75A-1 for over 20 years. When it came time to add the WARC bands I ordered the crystals from Jan Crystals. The 75A-1 and my companion 32S-1 (connected to work as a tranceiver)are champs on 80,40,30,20,17,12 and 10 meters. The received audio is great on SSB and AM I haven't used any data communication with the pair although I am sure they would do fine. The PTO in my unit is right on frequency and smooth!!! While this oldest pair from Collins will operate on CW, it may be difficult to find one (or expensive to buy after market) with a CW filter. The 32S-1 generates CW by injecting a 1350 Hertz tone into the SSB generator to make CW. This gives an offset and CW note of 1350 Hertz. Later versions are better suited for CW operation. On SSB the only comment you are likely to hear is sounds great. Of course you can use the 75A-1 with a separate transmitter.
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