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Reviews For: Drake R-4C

Category: Receivers: Amateur Radio

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Review Summary For : Drake R-4C
Reviews: 17MSRP: 500.00
Description:
Vintage Drake HF receiver for 1.6 to 30 Mhz
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00174.4
K5MO Rating: 2022-01-17
One of the best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned six or eight Drake receivers over the years, and still use them frequently (including a 2B yesterday), but the R4C is an exceptionally nice receiver.

While it's not too difficult to design the best receivers given an unlimited budget (you hire the best talent and tell them requirements including no worry about BOM cost), Drake managed the unlikely, namely delivering an exceptionally good receiver at a modest price point.

THAT is good engineering.

The fact that there's so many of these still on the air is testament to their high performance and reliability.

I'll always keep them in my shack (and a few more on standby!) .

They're just *that* good.
VK2MS Rating: 2022-01-17
The most misleading set ever...in my view Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought two R4-C's from USA some years apart...Neither worked on arriving. I have to give my sets a 2 as DOA The first had an ingenious filter selector... microswitches on the passband cap selecting one or the other sideband filters....Sherwood spat the dummy on my request for a discussion on that. "Just rip it all out". He did tell me the filters from the Tx were wrong impedance. He didn't tell me an article had been written using those filters for the R4 B which fixed the mismatch using available transformers.
I bought some Sherwood mods for it ...still awaiting them well over 12 months later having to reorder as 'order lost' and each time supplies present at first order were slipping away. Then they were for installation, now perhaps for nstallation or reselling . Rob Sherwood has since retired and parts have dried up.

The second set was about 70% Sherwood add-ons. I bought it to 'see' the results. I have a sense that untuned signal is getting past the IF's, but then that's what Falkenberg also found quite specifically and more certainly.

I in my opinion the sherwood filtering are tweaks... Why?... I found the article others must have read but do not mention anywhere in all my research. It is an article addressing the real cause of the R4-C problems. An hour's work, maybe 2 if working painstakingly will fix it and a day or so constructing a special shield takes it past Sherwenge figures.

The R4-C seemed to be a half-baked rush-job set loaded with 'not there's" and faults for which individuals have paid over $1000 US for 'fixing' and enjoying their set. I have receipts from one 'fully loaded' which add all up to nearly $2000US....to get an R4C working to the satisfaction of that contester. The Sherwenge component of it was about $2600 ..not quite $2700.
What's it worth for resale?...$800?

After 4 attempts and one more around sno 25000 changing the plastic to steel gearing Drake still didn't realise they'd built-in a problem.

They'd tried to fix it with shieldingand tube changes... a lot more expensive than relocating two components and getting rid of the unnecessary Class A amp so as to ease the power supply. Sherwengs was one of the good revisions there. For an Electronics engineer to drop 150v dc to 12 using a resistor defies comprehension... unless of course their decision was made by a bean counter....save $5.00 in the production of each set and cost the client many times that in pre-fab'd parts alone when the p/s burns out and the amp has to go.

Sherwenge wisely advised NOT to replace the p/s with their revision unless also replacing the factory audio. The factory adio could drag hald an amp.

The fact is that it was a bad design around T-6 which Drake and Sherwnge didn't find, or found and let go as a lot was invested in her 'cures'. Finding and fixing the problem could have saved many $hundreds of thousands spent on R4-C's.

The article is:
Drake R-4C, Filter Leakage Problem.
Originally written by Bengt Falkenberg SM7EQL
Revised and translated by Goran Carlsson SM7DLK

The Drake organisation missed the engineering point that a proper scientific approach quickly found ...why not Sherwenge also? Surely?...or maybe not, Sherwenge and Sartori and the other experimenters didn't do the simple test...pull all the filters and see if the set was now dead quiet...Falkenberg did it as first refernece point....and found the underlying R4 C problem in noise and blow-by.

Why is the proper engineering fix, costing an inch of solder and the electricity for the iron, not widely highlighted. In my qay of thinking it's the first thing to do to the R4 C, perhaps after changing the audio and power supply. ....Meanwhile the second set has a problem testing me. When I get the sets working and the 'fix' done...that score could leap to a '5'on the basis of the Falkenberg article and none of it will be from tack-on's...although as said earlier one already has much of it.
AD4U Rating: 2021-01-01
Best Receiver Of The 50+ Receivers I Own Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Finally I bit the bullet and sent my R4C to Sherwood. I had Rob install EVERY Sherwood mod including the 600 Hz "front end filter" and relay to switch between the 600 Hz front end filter for CW and the 8 KHz front end filter for SSB and AM. I added INRAD (where available) or Drake 8 pole filters for bandwidths 2.4, 1.5, 500, and 250.

Finally Rob performed a complete alignment.

Using my HP 8640B signal generator I can CLEARLY hear a -135 dB signal on all bands.

On CW NOTHING gets through the front end of this receiver. On SSB it is the best performing receiver I have ever used in my 50+ years as a HAM.

These mods were not cheap, but if you want the BEST receiver, this is the only way to go.
KG0MN Rating: 2019-07-15
A great radio with a little work Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I was lucky when I called Sherwood to see about purchasing the kits for the R4C. While talking with Rob Sherwood he mentioned that he was selling a R4C which had all of his mods installed in it. I own a K3S and IC-7600 and the R4C hears things just as well and if not better than the other 2 radios. Without the mods the audio is a bit tinny and the power supply circuit leaves something to be changed, but with just those 2 mod the radio becomes a beast.
K4YRK Rating: 2010-11-24
A great old work horse of a receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased a Drake R-4C off eBay that has the Sherwood mod and power supply mod also. I had one before that was stock without the Sherwood mod and can say the Sherwood mods make a big improvement in this old girl.

I find it to be be a hot receiver with low noise floor. I am compairing it to my Ten Tec Orion 2 on receive on weak DX signals on 80M and the Drake holds up well to the Orion.
KO7I Rating: 2010-11-07
Contest Worthy Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
As the dust settles from the ARRL SS CW Contest this past weekend, I figured I would add these words regarding a R-4C with a full compliment of Sherwood Engineering Mods. With a 500 Hz filter selected there were times when I detected a station responding to my CQ SS but down in the noise, switching to the 250 Hz CW filter would bring the station out of the noise and into the clear. Strong adjacent signals? Not a problem unless they were in the middle of my passband. The 600Hz roofing filter is a must have.
Is it worth the effort and investment to have the Sherwood Eng mod's installed? IMHO YES - without a doubt. Given that for a modest investment in a late model R-4C that can be purchased for $250 or less, the performance enhancement pays off in dB dollars.
One word regarding the T-4XC, there is no such thing as a "fast band change" with a tube type transmitter. Being reminded of these band change tune-ups and the time lost, I am beginning to look into dusting off a 100W solid state rig.

73, Don KO7i

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by KO7I on 2010-10-02

In March 2010 I purchased a Drake C-Line, the T-4XC was your basic transmitter the only extra was a DX Engineering RF speech processor. The R-4C had all of the factory filters, plus the optional CW filters (1.5kHz, 500Hz, 250Hz filters). The receiver also has the Drake noise blanker. The sweet thing about the R-4C is that it has ALL of the Sherwood mod's including the CW & SSB roofing filters. These mod's do transform the receiver to a completely higher level and are worth the investment.

I have been working mainly 40 meters both SSB & CW. The Sherwood R-4C consistantly exceeds my expectations and I am becoming spoiled rotten, it beats most rice boxes hands down.

The only OK part of this receiver is the 2nd IF mixer, unfortunately this is not a mod offered by Sherwood and it is the final remaining weak point of the receiver. I am looking at gutting this part of my receiver and rebuilding it with a high dynamic range mixer and low noise ic IF amplifier.

In closing the early production R-4C's had a dual gate mosfet mixer and it was a poor design. The end of production run R-4C's attempted to correct this flaw and that is why they are so much more favorable.

73, Don KO7i
W8JI Rating: 2010-10-04
Stock, no good Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Although I use and have collected Drakes, I'm going to be bluntly honest about this. Without the transceive using the T4XC, and without mods to the receiver or 160, I'd much rather have Drake 2B.

I bought my first R4C back when they were new, and the receiver was nearly useless in any type of crowded condition. Not only did it have gross mixing of signals, it had a terrible AGC.

I talked to Drake at length about the receiver, and the silly idea of using 50 kHz injection into the second mixer. I changed the mixer around with my own idea and bought a 500 Hz Sherwood roofing filter, and then the receiver was passable. I finally took the SSB filters out of a lightning damaged T4XC and used a three way relay system to pick USB, LSB, or the 500 Hz roofer.

There is too much group delay through filters for good AGC on CW using narrow filters, so the AGC is not curable on CW.

The good points are the PTO and the filters. The PTO is excellent, the filters are great, and that made the R4C a good platform to gut and rebuild.

I went through various versions until I finally made one totally solid state through the signal path with diode double balanced mixers. To correct the AGC, I reduced front end gain and never applied AGC ahead of the roofing filter. I used low noise IF amps and very quiet mixers, and that allowed me to build a good AGC system.

The only reason I don't give the R4C's a 1 or 0 is because they can be helped. The early SN units with the MOSFET second mixer actually are a 0, at least for any serious operation.



G4DJC Rating: 2008-09-06
great rx Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I owned a R4C in the 70's & found it be a very reliable, great Rx.It wasn't modded at all, although I understand the Sherwood Filters mod was worthwhile for added selectivity. The "bluey" strip tended to go transparent due to the heat from the back light bulb, but apart from that & the occasional valve replacement. I had no problems at all. I don't know how they would fare against current rigs but I suspect, particularly on the LF bands, they would hold their own. 73, Dick. g4djc.
VE4MM Rating: 2008-07-16
Nice Vintage Receiver! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Just bought a new R4C off eBay for about $338.00

Yes......new.

Works really well.

Sure enjoy the analog dial!

73

Michael Mark, BSc EE, P.Eng. Life Member ARRL
WW3QB Rating: 2007-04-15
Still Great After All These Years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought mine in 1978 as a teenager when I got my first job. I wish I was still in such great shape! Get at least the 500Hz filter for CW. Also the INRAD 1800 filter is a good idea. I did not do any of the Sherwood mods. Mine does not drift after warm up. Very sensitive. Also receives the WARC bands with extra crystals. No 60 meters. This is still a wonderful radio!