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write your own review of the ICOM IC-R71E.
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STEVEQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 13, 2012 07:36
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Excellent Rig
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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An Icom R71A found it way into my shack a while back, after being away from radio for many years, the shack grew from the good old tube rigs, Drakes and Collins, including the great R390A into the solid state rigs starting with a RACAL, then a Kenwood now an Icom R71A.
The first time I turned it on, signals popped out of the rig and the sensitivity is outstanding.. now remember I have the mil spec rigs in mind having worked the R390A way back when in Naval Intelligence ... sure the Collins is great but that Icom is also a great little rig .... still getting used to the small knobs etc .... sorry I am an old tube type, turn the dials guy .... won't repeat all the good tech stuff people have said rather saying this is a great rig, maybe a little flaw here and there but NO Big Deal ... grab one in good condition, you will like it
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RXRXRX
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Rating: 5/5
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May 18, 2011 12:46
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awesome-even on am
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have an r71a. I keep hearing about folks not liking the AM quality. I beg to differ. At least on mine, the AM quality is outstanding. If you have a noise situation or an inferior SWL antenna, sure your AM signal will be lousy. If you look at my videos here
http://www.youtube.com/user/globalswgetter?feature=mhsn
you see that they are ALL on AM-and with preamp off. All about propogation and antenna..oh and speaker too. The 71A sounds fidelically beautiful, bass and all on a good external speaker. I use a Boston center channel here.
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PA0PGA
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 26, 2009 14:52
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A great receiver
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Own the R71E for two years now and use it daily, mostly for SSB on 80. Bought it second-hand with a burned-out transformer and some man-made issues for 150 Euro, and fixed it.
When correctly aligned, it is an amazing receiver, very sensitive and a low noise floor, ideal for fishing out the little signals from under the big QRM at times. It has the CW filter and the AM filter and FM module.
Altough there were some minor issues with the powersupply and there is some digital hash here and there in the AM and LW band, it is still the most used receiver overhere.
I use it beside the computer in my living room to listen on the bands while searching the net.
It can hold its own against every other receiver I own and more (R390A, IC756, FRG-7700).
I really love the little bugger.
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PY4VFO
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 4, 2008 16:32
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Great Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Excellent with the modifications, IK2RND (Roberto Nardo) EPROM/RAMBOARD, and KIWA audio mods.
My receiver, is with all the modifications, including, P.B.T/Noch filter in AM, etc...
For me is a great old radio.
http://swloggins.blogspot.com/
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SWL64
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 12, 2008 06:03
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5/5
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Own my IC-R71E more than a year now,and from the beginning of,my opinion :this is THE receiver i want to keep in my house,it really is an amazing good one!!With the stockfiltering the quality in AM(broadcast)is bad indeed,tuning 1 kHz up/down helps a little.My one has a wide-filter build in and i'm satisfied with it,no audioproblem at all in AM(i can listen for hours!)Owned a lot HF-receivers :Lowe HF350/HF225,Icom R72,Yaesu FRG7700,Kenwood R5000,but the IC-R71E is the best of all,i never sell it anymore.
Built as a rock,nice great S-meter,real laboraty quality!!
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DK9DE
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Rating: 3/5
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Oct 10, 2008 09:35
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AM receiption with R-71
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I fully agree with the comments from KB3GJL about the Icom R71 receiver. I like the receiver using it for SSB mode. I had and still own many other receivers and can say, the AM receiption is the worst of all receivers I know. The shape factor of the cheap AM filter is simply too bad. A strong broadcast station (S9 +60 on the S-meter) splatters more than +-50Kc of the carrier.
The modulation of the strong BC-station is even audible on other stations below or above. Any other receivers like R75, FRG100 or AOR 7030 perform much better in the AM mode than the R71. This receiver is not the right choice for a serious BC listener.
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WI0H
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Rating: 2/5
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Aug 11, 2008 09:05
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A Tale of Two Radios
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The Icom R-71 (My version is the A model) is the first radio I've ever encountered that suffers from multiple personality disorder. On one side you have the SSB and utility radio that performs quite admirably. On the other side though, you have its AM performance, which is so mediocre it's laughable.
If you plan on spending all your time on the the ham bands, listening to SSB, or monitoring RTTY and wefax, this radio is your dream come true. If you EVER plan on listening to something broadcast in AM though, don't bother. Quite frankly, this radio sucks when it comes to AM. The filters are either too wide or too narrow, the gain control is useless, and the audio is atrocious. Imagine listening to your stereo with three layers of down pillows duct taped to your head. THAT atrocious. Keep in mind that this is after the radio was professionally modified for improved audio quality as well. Yuck! The good news is that the rig is stable enough to tune in AM broadcasts with either upper or lower sideband engaged, which measurably improves the audio.
So there you have it, two radios in one. Dazzle your friends with its clean SSB reception, then send them all out of the room by tuning in the BBC. I guarantee the radio will hear it, even if you can't. Icom should be proud an embarrassed of this radio at the same time. There are so many better alternatives out there of similar vintage(JRC NRD-525, Kenwood R-5000, Drake R8, etc.), I don't know why this would be anyone's 1st choice for a receiver.
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W8WZ
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 13, 2008 18:17
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Best Rcvr Around
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have had 2 Icom R-71A recievers. The first one didn't have the PBT. The one I currently have does have the PBT. Both are wonderful recievers. The PBT is a nice option. The display did go out on the one I currently have. But all that was required to fix it was to replace the electrolytic caps in the display unit. The yahoo user group for the Icom R71A is a great place to get advice about how to fix these radios.
The only radio I have used that was as good as this one was my Kenwood TS-930. I have used an Icom 737, and Icom 735, a Kenwood TS 570, and a Kenwood TS 950. None of those performed as well as the Icom R71A for Shortwave Broadcast DXing. Although the TS-950 wasn't bad. However it cost alot more than the Icom R71A.
This radio has the advantage of having a built in power supply that none of the other Icoms I mentioned had.
I plan on keeping this radio forever. If someone is just getting into Shortwave listening, or if you have been listening for a long time and want to get a very, very high quality rcvr, I HIGHLY suggest the Icom R71A. I am an avid Short Wave Broadcast listner, as well as a Ham who uses this radio with home brew transmitters that I have built. It works great for both purposes.
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K9HDT
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 19, 2008 10:36
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Better than the new stuff!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I own a R71A. It's fantastic. It beats any new radio thats out there. Simple and straight forward. I had the Willco board mod done to give me 1024 memories and to make sure the operating system never dies. The only thing that would have made it better than the newer Drakes would have been a sync detector. Other than that it's every bit as good if not better. By the way I have owned an R8B since 98 so I know what I'm talking about. IT's way more sensitive than my R75 and a lot less noise. No DSP hiss, just a pure analog signal. The radio was a gift from a fellow Ham friend so it's even better. It was just sitting on his shelve collecting dust. Now it get's daily use and will for a long time to come. Too bad they don't make this kind of quality anymore.
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IV3GWJ
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 30, 2007 11:52
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THE RECEIVER!!!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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This isn't a ordinary receiver. This is "a receiver". Apellative that can share together with few others (surely..JRC 535, Kenwood r5000).Forget all the "bells and whistles" around. With R71E you can find all the necessary to listen to good programs and make good dx!
....and second hand prices are often good!
Others new and semi-new products could be better in some respects..but in general view this old friend has still a lot to teach!
Buy one if you can!
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