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Reviews For: Drake SW-2

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Drake SW-2
Reviews: 4MSRP:
Description:
General coverage digital HF receiver
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0045
TURBO68 Rating: 2012-05-08
Excellent Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Recently bought a Drake Sw-2 in new condition my thoughts when i looked at it very small hooked up to my Wellbrook-ALA1530 active loop came alive main intrest is monitoring hf aero performance is excellent just bought a Bhi dsp speaker wow what a difference again in clarity very happy with the Drake and i do have other radios from alinco,aor,icom,palstar,ten tec this is as good and if u havent got a decent antenna u are not going to get any where..
K8SWL Rating: 2004-03-23
A surprise Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Back when the SW-2 came out, I didn't think much of it. It didn't look like a Drake. I've since heard several people say it was quite "the sleeper". So finding one used on epay at a reasonable price ($200), I decided to find out on my own. It is definately a positive addition to my shack full of toooo many receivers. I've had or have most receivers manufactured by Drake. The SW-2 is absolutely hot. I love the selectable syncro detector. It pulls in stations below the noise floor. Additional filtering would be a plus. But for what it is, it's great!
N3OJD Rating: 2004-03-07
I agree -- a real sleeper Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This receiver is a well kept secret but I'm going to let it out of the bag.

I've owned maybe 50 communications receivers in the last 30 years, including Rockwell Collins, SX-88, 51S-1, you name it and this is one of the few I kept when I sold off my collection.

I owned a Sony ICF-2010 for many years and moded it with many improvements but the SW2 has the best synchronous detection I've ever heard. Audio is great and the combination makes for very easy listening.

I did have to replace the rotary encoder when it got hinky but Drake had them in stock (at 400% markup but what the heck).

If you ever see an SW2, grab it.





WB5OAU Rating: 2003-04-26
Wonderful bargin Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This radio is a sleeper. With selectable sideband and synchronous AM it's a great band cruiser, and not bad listening to the AM gang on 3880 either!

While it could use some filters when the going gets tough, for the price, it does a fantastic job. Dont waste any money getting an extention speaker as the front firing speaker has some of the best fidelity audio of any solid state rig I own.

If you're looking for a living room/end table rig, this is the one. With about 30 feet of wirewrap wire tacked to the ceiling, I can hear everything from low band beacons (200-300khz) to
DX on the 10m band.

Hard to find, and there's a reason! I've heard it's wise to buy a spare shaft encoder, or use the remote to keep from wearing the one in the rig out.

Great receiver...but hey...it's a Drake!

73
John K5MO