| N4MJG |
Rating:      |
2022-11-05 | |
| Great FRG-100B updated ! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
i had this since winter 98 on christmas day , i use it quite abit over the years !
73
Jackie
N4MJG
skcc 7305 since 2005
NAQCC 5233
OMISS 11548
PREFER EQSL |
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| 2M0GOV |
Rating:      |
2011-11-25 | |
| Excellent Value for Money |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Some folks tend to review items against items that cost a considerable amount more... So being realistic about this receiver when it comes to value for money, there isn't many other Shortwave Communications Receivers out there that can match it. Look at what you get for around £300 or less, and compare it with what else you can get for the same money, that has similar features.
So what if it doesn't have the best quality internal speaker... Use an external or decent headphones! If you want a weighted VFO (like other TRANSceivers have) spend the extra!!!
This is an excellent receiver for casual listening, and i wouldn't hesitate buying another one. It is stable, reliable and reasonably easy to use and doesn't take long to learn to drive it. The handy "Reference Guide" that sits under the radio is an excellent idea, and saves digging out the Operating Manual for general use.
I wouldn't hesitate recommending this lovely little receiver to anyone. Best value for money for what it is!! |
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| K2VI |
Rating:      |
2009-12-12 | |
| real nice receiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I did a side by side shootout between the drake sw-8 and the frg-100b. I would not part with either, There was no defined winner but in the sensitivity department they were tie,Selectivity was even as well as neither has much tools to eliminate interference.I did notice splatter on 160 meters with the drake but not with the yaesu.It was local AM broadcast stations breaking thru on 1845. The yaesu seemed to have a slight edge in quietness and more mellow.The drake hands down had the better audio.The yaesu was a bit muffled but not bad, the drake had a nice full range sound.All in all i would call it a tie.Hope this helps someone if there looking for a receiver.73 |
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| MI3LVZ |
Rating:  |
2009-03-12 | |
| Just terrible. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Bought mine new from Waters and Stanton. Deaf as a post, you would be better sticking your ear out the window!
What were Yaesu thinking, very very cheap plastic feel to the radio,VFO is just horrible, none of the buttons are back lit, FM is an option!!!!!
My old FRG-7 just destroys it.
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| KG5I |
Rating:      |
2007-05-17 | |
| Hard to beat for the price |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Although I have not owned this rig for very long, I am a seasoned ham so I have learned a bit over the years. I would recomend this rig to anyone that wants a nice receiver but does not want to part with a lot of cash. My application is just for receiving ham bands, but now that I have it here, it's very nice to see whats happening in the SW,MW band segments too.
I think the only problem (if you call it that) was the straight wire antenna I used seemed to pick up a lot of noise. When I fed with a 50 ohm feedline to a wire antenna on the tower, this little receiver came alive with activity. It's the perfect companion to the my other station equipment.
Does it receive like a expensive receiver? No, but for the price,($300) you should not expect it to. Perhaps someday I can afford to drop a grand plus on a nice receiver; but until then I'm very happy with my little FROG. |
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| IV3GWJ |
Rating:      |
2007-04-17 | |
| VALUE FOR THE MONEY |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is the first "serious receiver" I've bought several years ago and it will probably be the last I would sell a day to come. After it, a lot of others radios (that also costs five times this unit) come and go into my shack, but my little frog always remains in its place...and since it will probably feel lonely...I bought another one to keep it company!
It is very easy to use at basic "work" but make attention..you must read the instructions to use it properly because there are a lot of complex functions that at first glimpse you don't see.
It is a very sensitive (too?) receiver for serious listening with good selectivity (possibly improved with kiwa filers)and pleasant sound.
It lacks notch filter, pbt and rf gain but at the end its good behaviour make forget them all.
My advice is to try one of this, if you have opportunity and you can't go wrong...at this price (look at the second hand market!) it's difficult do better.
73...please excuse me for my english....
Andrea
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| K1FPV |
Rating:      |
2005-06-06 | |
| Good Receiver for the Price |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I've had my FRG-100B now for over 15 years. I bought it with the optional 500Hz. CW filter and the FM unit. Sensitivity is fine for casual SWLing, and adaquate for amateur use with a seperate transmitter. The internal speaker leaves much to be desired. I use a high quality stereo type speaker with mine and the sound is excellent. |
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| CLYDEMCCLARAN |
Rating:     |
2004-12-29 | |
| A very good traditional HF receiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
In 2002, I bought my FRG 100 from Universal Radio. After two plus years, the receiver can be considered high grade. It is not top of the line as in a Drake but very utilitarian for weak frequencies with an external antennae.
Audio quality: Not too great on its own speaker. The Sony 2010 or 7600-GR is a better choice for acoustics, but an external speaker accessory will work well with the 100-B.
Memories and Tuning: The number of memories are adequate however, there is only 52 settings (actually a 50+2 setup) accessed through a small rotary dial. Tuning with the main knob has the "old tyme feel" of analogue radio days. A up/down push button tuning makes tuning easy to negotiate, though no keypad is offered on the console itself. Also, the receiver can be programmed to scan similar to a police scanner with channels stored in memory.
One severe negative: VERY DIFFICULT TO USE WITHOUT THE MANUAL. One must keep the manual handy to program the frequencies even if you technically savvy.
The stock filters, noise blankers, and squelch are competent for shielding unnecessary noise. Particularly, 6db and 12 db settings do a nice job of squelching overloads from nearby MW stations. Aftermarket filters are available (and needed) for serious precision and stability for CW/RTTY; though one could get by without them.
The receiver covers from 150KHZ to 30MHZ continuous. It does not cover 6M (like the ICOM R-75), aircraft (like the 2010 or Satellit 800), VHF or frequencies commonly found on a wideband receiver such as the Yaesu VR-5000 or the AOR 8600. For what it is, this is a traditional designed HF receiver that is packed with nice features and excellent selectivity. It is sensitive enough to pick up stations in the deep tropics, low powered shortwave, and sideband transmission thoughout the USA and Canada.
Verdict: A Drake is clearly better, but it costs at least twice as much. At $549 to $649 this is good value (especially over a Satellit 800, IMO). On e-bay these run about $350 to $400 and represent even a better buy. Despite its idiosyncricies, I enjoy mine and it is currently my principal receiver. |
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| DAROBIN |
Rating:     |
2003-09-08 | |
| A++ |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Like others, I have used many other receivers over the years, mostly high-end, recent and tube. I focus on Drake and JRC, but also use WJ. The FRG100 was one of those I ignored, because I had the capabilities already and more in other sets. But I became intrigued by reading a review, and decided to acquire one through Ebay.
I am very impressed. This is a very nice, and well-designed receiver, stable, with excellent feel. The ability, as noted elsewhere here, to switch selectivity positions in AM, LSB, USB is just great.
Recently, I tested this receiver alonside a TenTec 340. No contest, one would assume. But the FRG100 pulled in everything the 340 could, although obviously the 340 with its DSP can separate and make audible almost anything.
The FRG100, particularly with modifications available, is a great receiver! |
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| JIM1701 |
Rating:      |
2003-03-13 | |
| Good Unit, sound sux! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I had a SW, CB years ago when I was 15, I got rid of everything back then, Now I bought a Yaesu FRG-100 with the FM unit on eBay for 399.99. It is a great unit but the sound sux, I have overcame this, I was going to go to radio shack and buy an external speaker but when I arrived there I saw 3inch replacement speaker with more wattage then the original so instead of getting the 15.00 EXT SPKR I bought the 5.00 replacement internal SPKR, Let me tell you it is 1000% better! I hear everything clearer!!! I've seend MODS that you have to install blah, blah.... This was so simple and cheap, the New spkr is a hair bigger than the original but it fits like the original, I just had to manuver some of the components out of the way of the magnet and I also put electrical tape on the magnet just in case, it doesn't contact anything but it just a bit of insurance... THIS UNIT IS EXCELLENT, NOW! |
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