Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: KnightKit R-100A Receiver

Category: Receivers: Amateur Radio

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : KnightKit R-100A Receiver
Reviews: 1MSRP: 99.95
Description:
Full-featured Ham Band & General Coverage receiver circa 1962. Sold in kit form.
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0014
K7LZR Rating: 2021-12-25
Good vintage receiver Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If used properly the R-100A isn't a bad receiver at all. But first it must be built cleanly and correctly in order to obtain good results. Since these were sold only as kits, many were built with impatience and resulting poor workmanship.

Assuming that the rig is functioning as it should, these can be a joy to use even today. Cruising the shortwave bands is a pleasure, and listening on the MW broadcast band is very nice. Sensitivity is good for a receiver of the vintage, and selectivity is adequate in most cases.

The R-100A will do a respectable job of receiving SSB if you first let it warm up for a long time - with my unit about 2 hours - and it will then settle down and be stable enough to listen to an SSB QSO with only an occasional touch of the BFO control required. There is no product detector and so you must use the RF gain control to vary level. In practice it works well if most of the received stations are of similar strength.

The built-in Q-multiplier is a joy to use. With it, you can peak the signal of interest or notch an interfering signal. After a bit of practice it becomes easy to use.

This receiver may not be much to get excited about these days, but in its day it was a sleeper, mainly due to the selling price.

In those days, your $99.95 bought you a lot of receiver in the KnightKit R-100A. Rigid steel chassis, heavy steel cabinet, printed-circuit construction, high-quality printed front panel. You also got good quality tubes & other parts and a great assembly manual. A big feature is the printed-circuit bandswitch - 36 low-loss connections with zero possibility of wiring mistakes! Cool! Another great feature is the use of planetary dial drives - no fussy dial cords to wear out or stretch or break.

And the features were top-notch for the money. Big, nicely backlit dials. Calibrated bandspread for the ham bands. Muting provisions. Built-in Q-multiplier. Good sensitivity & selectivity. Nice audio. And impressive looking too!

If you find a good one, it deserves a place in the shack if you like vintage gear.

Edit 12/25/21:
I've owned the exact R-100A unit which I use here since I was 16 years old - a long time ago. It was one of my first receivers as a novice. Even after upgrading to countless newer rigs through the years, I always find it a pleasure to use this simple receiver, and a refreshing step away from the overwhelmingness of today's rigs.