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| Reviews Summary for Drake R-4C |
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Reviews: 11
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Average rating: 4.7/5
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MSRP: $500.00
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Description: Vintage Drake HF receiver for 1.6 to 30 Mhz
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More info: http://
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N4UE
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 28, 2002 07:29
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Still 'competition' grade
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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OK, here's another '5'. I guess that if one were to compare this great old receiver to a Racal, or other multi-thousand dollar radio, it could be rated <5. Maybe.
As I have mentioned in the R-4B review, I just love the sound, stability, and feel of these classic radios. At one time I had several, some were in ugly condition, some were museum quality. All worked very, very well. I sold them all but since retirement, I wanted another for the Drake station. I have a very nice TR-4C / RV-4C combination and will use the R-4C as a 'supplimental' receiver. I am anxious to try this combination.
I was able to find a C that had 125, 250, and 500 Hz filters with it. I also have a 1500 filter for it. The only negative (?) is the fact that Drake stopped the LC IF filtering used in the B. Also, Drake stopped using copper plated chassis in the C. I wish that Drake would have put some type of clearcoating on both of these chassis after manufacturing was complete. Although this would have added a small cost, it sure would have made it easier for us fussy types. While it doesn't have the mechanical build quality of an R-390 (wow!), these military radios were not a couple of hundred $, either.
(see my review of the R-1051B)
There are some excellent articles on these fine radios on the HaManuals CD-ROM. The Drake website also has some excellent links. Of particular interest are the modifications mentioned by Sherwood Engineering. Some common problems in this fine receiver include:
audio hum
microphonics
voltage regulation
filtering.
Gee, you say, if the radio has these 'problems' how can you rate it a 5?
Easy, I have never even heard any of these problems on the radios I have owned and while I may perform the mods some day, I like the radio 'as-is'.
Sherwood lists the MDS, etc in chart form. As you will see, it is still an excellent design. Also, like the Bs I have owned, they have never needed any repair. Even the PS caps are still good.
One little trick I do to ALL my radios, is to add a small muffin fan inside. I use a 24 VDC model powered by a 12 VDC wall wart. All the fan does is move the air around. Drakes do run hot (but were designed to do so).....I even make 'kits' to install fans into the tranceivers, there really run hot! Excessive heat is rough on components, especially OLD components.
Finding a nice R-4C is easy, enjoying it is even easier. It is an excellent receiver that would be difficult to equal today.....
enjoy
ron
N4UE
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