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Reviews For: Kenwood R1000

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Kenwood R1000
Reviews: 39MSRP: Kenwood R1000
Description:
manual & connectors
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/commrxvr/r1000.html
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00394.6
N8FNR Rating: 2013-02-06
My gateway drug to ham radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought one when they first came out in 1980 and had a ball with it for years. Only had a longwire indoors but still heard a ton of DX. Had West Radio install mechanical fiters, one for AM and one for SSB and that made a big diference on receive. Also added a weighted tuning knob that came from a TS-830 and that made tuning very sweet. Sadly I had had to sell to finance a used loaded TS-840SAT once I got my General ticket.
If I never bought the rig I would have never gotten interested in ham radio and would not have written this review.
RADIOFREAK Rating: 2013-02-05
Reliable performer! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have 2 of these babies,and i WONT sell them never.
Receiver built to last,one of the best general coverage receiver Kenwood have ever made!
Excellent audio,stability and sensitivity.
I like audio especially with this WIDE filter.
These receivers are getting rare,
nobody wants to sell....and the reason is wery simple THIS RADIO ROCKS!
Reasonable price level,used around 150-300.
It is wery simple to use and you will learn it fast,no useless buttons,lights or switches....every button,every switch and every light this receiver has have some meaning.
Solid like a tank!
If you are looking for good general coverage receiver,
this probably gives you the best value for you money in this price range.
VK5GI Rating: 2013-01-19
Good work-horse Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I bought my first R-1000 back in the 1980s, but sold it a few years later. I bought another about ten years ago, and I still have it and probably will be buried with it! I did the MW attenuation mod which is simply cutting out a resistor and jumpering it. Simple and VERY effective. I can now hear MW stations from all over Australia.
The receiver is very rugged and built to last a lifetime. Kenwood got it right with this one. The R-1000 is still streets ahead of even the latest receivers, even though we are looking at nearly 30 year old technology. I see that prices for them are creeping up so buy one soon.
ZL1003SWL Rating: 2012-01-20
An excelent entry level receiver Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I had this receiver for about 6 months but unfortunately had to sell it to pay some bills.
I was surprised with the quality of the construction, solid, metal frame. Very good sensitivity. Not that great selectivity. Great sound quality.
However, after a while the frequency starts shifting a little bit what is quite annoying when listening to SSB signals.
The analog frequency readout requires ongoing adjustments as it moves a little once we start moving the dial button.
Other than that, I found it to be a great receiver, maybe it was one of the top of the line in the early 1980's.
I would not recommend it to a serious DX listener, however a great receiver for an entry level.
SIERRAHOTEL Rating: 2012-01-01
Great radio, very well made. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had a Kenwood R-2000 a long time ago, and I wasn't really happy with it, and a friend's R-1000 seemed to be better in every way. I sold the R-2000 soon, moved up to an Nrd-525, and thought about buying an R-1000 several times over the last 25 years or so, but never found one I wanted that wasn't insanely overpriced.

I recently found an R-1000, in remarkable condition, just a few light scratches on the bottom and one on the top, the front panel is perfect. Inside and out, it was spotless, and untouched, always nice to see in something you bought without trying out first. It worked like new. Alignment appears dead on, and I am very happy! Not bad at all for $200. Of course, it's not perfect by any means. I give it a five out of five for it's era and price range, it's not equal to an R-5000, or an Icom R-71A, but it's a great receiver for the money.

Pros: Solidly built. The sturdy handle can be used as a prop to angle the front panel up to the desired height. Good audio, better than many of my other, more expensive receivers. Nice tuning knob, with a finger dimple, as Kenwood should have put on all their radios! Easy SSB tuning, and SSB is done pretty well in general.

Cons: Out of the box, the 12khz (Or more) AM wide filter is insanely wide, and the narrow (6khz)is better, but still too wide, but this is a 2 minute fix. All you need to do is unplug a cable and plug it back into a jack right next to it to change the AM wide filter to the former narrow one and the new narrow one is the 3khz SSB filter. Why it comes the other way is a mystery. I made this change on mine minutes after unpacking it. As was done back then, the lights in the R-1000 are little conventional incandescent bulbs, and of course, just after I put the cover back on after switching the AM filter over, one of mine died. I replaced it with a "warm white" LED that at first was way too bright, but a little dip in the "liquid electrical tape" and some work with an Exacto knife (to remove some of the dip) made it almost a perfect match for the other ones, and so I decided to change them all out. It looks great, only the "dim" is a little too dim in a room that isn't totally dark now. No big deal. Overloads when hooked to my "big" antenna even with the attenuator on. Easily solved with my home built attenuator I had sitting in a drawer the last 10 years.

This one is a keeper. I have bought several 30-40 year old receivers lately, and this one is the best of them all, both in condition and performance.
CX6AV Rating: 2011-12-21
Excellent !!!! Time Owned: N.A.
Its my better friend, super simple operation, not need user manual, incredible sensitivity in all bands, also in MW (obviously connecting a wire antenna in MW jack).
I love the sound due this wide filter in AM , the broadcastings sound amazing.
I love the slow AGC, but if you wish to more fast could modify cutting a simple capacitor.
Best components of best Japan made years...
Excellent and exact Analog dial.
I upgrade the smeter and analog dial bulbs for a Ultrabright leds with a simple operation.
Cons:only the NB isn´t adjustable, but i live in country side and don´t need NB....
Regards from Uruguay, 73s.
N6NH Rating: 2009-01-15
Excellent RX, Simple, a Beginner's Friend Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just purchased a used R-1000 and I am amazed at its performance, excellent audio, stability for its era, and ease of use. This radio is now commissioned to introduce my Jr. high students to radio communications/Ham radio, and wow does it work great for them! Broadcasts sound golden, Ham SSB sounds like the ops are standing in the room, and CW is warm and crisp...all sounding like a fine Kenwood should. The tuning is touchy as mentioned and requires care to get it right with SSB or CW.

The best part...the front panel has "record out". This feature serves as an excellent line output with a constant sound level independent of volume "AF" control. Connect to a computer sound card "line input", download free software and adjust; and watch PSK31, CW, and SSTV come absolutely alive for beginner and experienced alike!

This receiver is a treasure and built to last many years to come...

I'll put up pictures of students using it on my classroom web page at www.cooltechlab.org

73, Rick AE6RS




KC8DE Rating: 2008-11-10
Clearly best of breed for it's era Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased an R-1000 several years off of of eBay once I decided to upgrade to a "real" communications receiver. I performed the obligatory switch checkup and backlight replacement, but this radio has otherwise been rock solid.

I can't add much that hasn't said before other than I'll probably take it to my grave. Built like a tank, great selectivity, stable and FANTASTIC audio. The WIDE AM filter is often too wide, but when you get a clean signal from a top notch broadcaster like Radio Netherlands or the Vatican, that huge filter bandwidth sounds incredible. Use a good pair of headphones or connect a quality full range speaker and you're really in for a treat.

If you ever have the chance to buy one, don't hesitate. I'm not sure which has been more faithful, my dog or the R-1000.

KC8HQX
WA3A Rating: 2008-10-14
Excellent RX! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought mine on ebay for $200. They usually go for less. This one had the 12volt mod. It is a very good general coverage rx. Ive been a ham for 35 years and was worried that I would be disappointed with the ssb reception of the R-1000.
I was not! I also liked the sound of the narrow AM filter which others have not. The sensitivity is excellent and the selectivity is good. The tuning rate is almost too fast for ssb but its very usable. The audio from the internal speaker is very good.
KD5JCE Rating: 2008-09-28
Best Buy Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Can't add a whole lot more to the previous reviews. I studied what was available in the $200 to $300 range and finally decided on the R-1000. What a joy to use. I have a Cobra 144' antenna up 60 feet on one end and 35 feet on the other, picks up stations from all over the world. Most of the time I have to dial in 20 to 40 db of RF attenuation, this is one sensitive receiver. And the selectivity is amazing for a radio over 20 years old, with no digital filtering. No memories or programming to fiddle with, just turn it on and start listening. Best electronic purchase I ever made. This is a keeper.