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Reviews For: Drake PRN 1000 (O.E.M.)

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Drake PRN 1000 (O.E.M.)
Reviews: 6MSRP: 250
Description:
Shortwave Broadcast/General Coverage Receiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0063.5
KC7JBB Rating: 2010-08-27
Solid Performance Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my PRN1000 for about a year and all though I dont use it much, I like this one well enough, I wont be getting rid of it anytime soon.
I have it hooked to a random wire running outside under the edge of the roof on my house. It recieves well compared to my E1 or Sat750. I originally thought it not as sensitive but it's pretty close.
The chuffing while tuning is horrible, thats one thing I dont think I can get used to.
I happened to look inside this unit the other day and WOW! The build quality is super, it's nice to see something that looks like it's built to last and repair if needed.
Final thoughts: Great audio, do away with the chuffing and give me a wide narrow filter option and this radio would be great, I just love those big green LED's also.
KB5KWO Rating: 2006-07-07
Good AM Performer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If You Dont Spend Too Much on the PRN1000, You Should Be Happy.
Its a Good AM / SW Performer, It's Stable, and has Great Audio.

However it Chugs While Tuning, Has No Memories and is Subject to Overload.

I Paid $25.00 for Mine and Have Really Enjoyed it. It's a Great BedSide Radio and Looks Nice Too..

AD6ZU Rating: 2006-02-15
OK AM only receiver, but great audio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
A decent entry level AM-only receiver. It does suffer from front end overload from AM BCB stations sometimes. I put a switchable High Pass filter (5 pole ladder) to cut out the MW when on the HF bands and it cleared up the overload perfectly. Also, if the front end blows out due to static, the first mixer is a simple NE602 8 pin dip which is cheap and easy to replace. I got one that was deaf and it came right back to life after the fix.

The receiver is not very selective, but since it is AM only, it makes for great audio when listening to a strong SWBC or AM MW station. The large case adds to the fullness of the sound which is good because it is pretty empty in there. You can also add a BFO to listen in on the ham bands so long as the bands aren't crowded. I used a Ten-tec kit since building one from scratch cost just about the same.

Would I buy one at $100? I would probably go for an ebay Transoceanic 3000 or 7000 at that price, but was a fun little radio to play with. It is nowhere near the performance class of an R-75, IC-2010, SW-8, or any modern amateur radio with general coverage receive, but it certainly had more quality put into it than the current batch of cheap asian consumer grade portable SW radios.

I also had an SW1 (also picked it up real cheap with a blown front end, easy fix with 2 transistors) and it is pretty much in the same class but with a few more features.
SW2448 Rating: 2005-07-05
Nice little Receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I like to think I can give a review on what this radio can do, not what it wont do.
OK it is AM only, OK it so it makes Chuffing sounds, you cant expect a Rolls Royce for the price of a Ford so for what its worth the PRN1000 does a fine job, I got mine from Ebay for $225AU, roughly the same price as a Sangean ATS505 or Sony ICF SW35, no comparison, the quality of the Drake kills them both.
Part of the challenge to me is to recieve Tropical Band Staions, too easy on fancy radios, great fun on the PRN1000.
KA5S Rating: 2003-01-12
Just passable Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is easily surpassed by many later digitally tuned radios. It was promoted by the late People's Radio Network (the "PRN" in the name) and appears to be a cost-and-feature-reduced version of the Drake SW-1, a receiver Radio Netherlands gave high marks for what it does)(1). But it's NOT an SW1. The SW1 exhibited no "chuffing" while tuning; the PRN is actually unpleasant to tune due to the noise at each tuning step. The SW1 has 32 memories, too! Nevertheless, the "For the People" label makes it an interesting radio curio, and it replaces a Regency tube SW in the kitchen.

(1) http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/sw1.html
WB8EPO Rating: 2001-04-01
Step up from the SW-4A Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This definitely has Drake quality, but manufactured under another name. Stable and accurate frequency control. Similar to Drake SW1 but has fewer presets. Remembers last frequency tuned. Smooth manual, keypad, or selectable step tuning, 1 or 5 khz steps. Comes with antenna wire, swl book, headphones, and ac adaptor.