Palstar R-30 Review by Gary Wilt
After reading Gerry Thomas's excellent R-30 review, as well as
many others on Eham.net, I decided that it may be time for me
to go ahead and purchase an R-30, since I've read more positive
then negative reviews about it. So I went ahead and purchased
my R-30 from Grove Enterprises. I decided to order from Grove,
mainly because they had the R-30 on sale at the time, and their
return policy is second to none. I was very happy to receive the
receiver just two days after placing the order.
What to expect when it arrives....
The receiver is fairly well packaged. The entire package consists
of a heavy duty outer cardboard box. The radio itself is wrapped in
clear plastic and is then wrapped in an additional inner heavy
cardboard type sleeve. The supplied AC adapter is housed in its own
smaller box, and is then inserted into a heavier weight small
cardboard box and is then laid across the face of the radio. The
outside of the box only indicates the receiver's name and serial
number on one of the end flaps, otherwise, the box is rather benign.
You'll find no large company logo names or model numbers, as is so
often the case by other manufacturers.
At First Glance....
After seeing many photos of the R-30 on the Internet, I was
truly amazed at just how small the radio is. The pictures I have
seen can make one believe that the radio is much larger then
what it actually is. In my opinion, the R-30 is in the same league
with the size of a Lowe HF-150, but is somewhat wider, and much
lighter. Construction quality appears to be fairly good overall,
but not up to the tank like exterior of the HF-150.
Quite honestly, the R-30 isn't the prettiest receiver available, but
this isn't the reason why I purchased it. My main concerns were how
well it performs, as well as, the ability of it to become portable.
There are very few good performing radios available that allow
portability. Yes, there are many portable radios out there, but
many of them must be discounted as they are poor performers.
Undoubtedly, the best of the bunch is the famous Sony 2010, but this
radio is fairly heavy, especially when you add the "D" cell batteries
inside of it. It is also notorious for having overloading problems.
The Lowe HF-150 would be my ideal choice, but it doesn't have a
backlit display, unless you're able to find the newer Europa model,
and there's no S-meter. The original HF-150's front end also leaves a
little to be desired.
This is where the R-30 really seems to stand out. It sports a nicely
backlit display, as well as a clear and accurate analog S-meter. It
is also lightweight, and from what I've read has a very good front
end. These features alone seem to make it the perfect "carry along"
radio, especially one that's capable of performing very well.
Initial Impressions....
Upon first inspection it's apparent that the radio has a minimum
of front panel controls. There's the obvious VFO knob, which when
pressed, changes the tuning rate between 500 Hz or 20 Hz steps.
While I'm now on this subject, I'd like to comment further about
the VFO knob. It appears that it is manufactured from a plastic
material that feels lightweight to the touch. I also noticed a
slight wobble when it was turned. I'm not sure if the knob itself
is off a bit or if it's the shaft that its mounted on that gives this
wobble effect. Otherwise, it does spin very smoothly, and seems
to perform well. There's also no indicator light that lets the user
know if the tuning rate is set for 500 Hz or 20 Hz steps. The easiest
way to find out I found, is by looking at how rapidly the digits
change on the display. I also found the switch portion of the VFO
knob that selects the tuning rates, to be a rather clumsy method of
doing so. At first, I wasn't sure if I had pressed the knob or not,
as it's a momentary type of switch and one without much feel. But
with a little practice I did become more accustomed to how this
feature functions.
Elsewhere on the front panel, there are 5 small push buttons located
below the LCD display that control Memory, Mode, Bandwidth, Attenuator,
and AGC. There are also two more small push buttons to the right of
the VFO knob that control Up/Down frequency stepping, in 500 Khz
increments/decrements. There are also small LED indicators above the
Attenuator, Bandwidth, and AGC buttons. These are used as a reminder
of their settings. Another 3 small red LED indicators are located just
to the left of the LCD display. These indicate the current operating
mode, i.e. AM/LSB/USB. The only other control is the Volume/Power
switch. A 1/4" headphone jack is also provided on the front panel, and
lastly there is the very nice analog "S" meter, which is very clearly
labled from S1 to +60dB.
The radio also features a heavy tilt bail located on the bottom panel.
This helps aid in the viewing of the front panel when it's extended.
The radio does have feet on the bottom, the front ones of which are a
bit taller then the ones in the rear. This also helps to elevate the
radio a bit, but the tilt up bail really improves front panel
viewability.
The LCD display is easy to view from most angles and is adequately
backlit. Likewise, the analog "S" meter is also very easy to read
and clearly lit. The backlighting on both can be turned off via a
pushbutton switch located on the rear panel of the radio. This
certainly will help conserve battery consumption while the radio is
powered via the non-supplied internal "AA" cell batteries.
The rear panel of the radio features the typical SO-239 low
impedance antenna connector, spring terminals for the attachment
of higher impedance antennas, the pushbutton switch which turns on/off
the LCD/S-meter backlighting, (as was mentioned above). Also provided
is a switch that allows power to be applied onto the SO-239 antenna
connector, and the connection for the supplied AC adapter. A 1/4"
jack is also supplied for connection of an external speaker, and
there's also a Ground screw terminal, which allows for proper
grounding of the radio.
Powering it up, or "So how does it perform, you may ask"?.....
Please understand that I'm only sharing how the radio performs in
my part of the world. Your mileage may vary. I live in what's known
as a highly "polluted" RF environment. So what do I mean by this? I
live only a few miles north of the infamous Meadowlands here in
northern NJ. Many high power AM transmitters reside here. Also, to my
north I have WABC 770, which has its transmitter located in Lodi, NJ,
another problem for me. So my DXing experiences are a real challenge
for myself, especially when DXing the BCB band. I also am using a
home made loop antenna for MW DXing, so that must also be considered.
For the HF bands I use a long wire sloper antenna and my Cushcraft
multi-band vertical antenna.
Tuning Around....
A. MW Band
I soon attached my home made loop, and decided to try to pull
in a few of the harder to hear long range daytime MW stations. My
first stop was on 640 Khz. There is a low power daytime station in
Connecticut. This one for me is pretty difficult to hear. I was happy
when the R-30 managed to pull it in with about an S-1 and nice clear
audio. In fact, after tuning around a bit more I was generally very
impressed how well the R-30 managed to pull in more of these long
range daytime stations, even if they were located on a frequency
next to or nearby a strong local station. I was able to hear stations
up to 150 miles from me with crisp, clear audio.
A few nights later I tried my hand to see if I could hear some TA
(Trans-Atlantic), stations. I did manage to hear hets on 890, 1090,
1250, and 1520, and then even heard some Arabic chanting audio on
1521 from Saudi Arabia. I've only done this previously with my older
Drake R-8 and with my Kenwood R-5000 receivers. This was a great
thrill for me and clearly shows that the R-30 can hold its own with
the bigger communication receivers.
I don't have any test equipment to perform accurate test measurement
evaluations, but I do have extensive experience with many types of
receivers that I have once owned. Over the years I've had the pleasure
of owning the following communication receivers; Drake R-8, Kenwood
R-5000, Lowe HF-150, and a Drake SW-8. I'd have to rate the Palstar
R-30 right up there with those as far as sensitivity and selectivity
is concerned.
The R-30 is rated at 2uV sensitivity, and has been measured as low
as 0.5uV by some reviewers. While these are an excellent numbers,
many good DXers know that sensitivity is not the only important
factor for snaring good DX. Selectivity is also a very important
specification in how well a radio can separate adjacent stations.
In my opinion this spec is even more important then sensitivity. I
found the R-30 to be very good in this aspect. I was able to
clearly listen to many stations that were located right next my
stronger locals. Readability only improved when I switched into ECSS,
(exalted-carrier) mode. I noticed that it's also possible to tune
away from a neighboring interfering station when in the AM mode. This
also helped to reduce nearby splatter and allows one to hear the
desired station much more clearly. I did notice that my R-30 was
slightly off frequency when I used ECSS, by around 150 Hz, but this
was later corrected by myself. I also tried using the narrower
bandwidth while in the AM mode, but it appeared to significantly
muffle the audio, more so then what I had expected. I did expect
some degradation of audio, but not as much as what I had experienced.
My best results were obtained when tuning in ECSS, or when I tuned
away from the interfering station in the AM mode.
Audio quality is also quite good with the internal built in speaker,
and seems to improve dramatically further with the use of an external
speaker. I personally enjoy using Radio Shack's little OPTIMUS video
cube speaker. They're designed for voice frequencies and seem to match
up well with just about any radio I have ever used it on. I believe
their still available today, but now carry the RCA brand name on them.
A major factor in my decision to purchase the Palstar R-30 was that
most of the reviews I found stated that it had a very good front end,
one that was good at handling strong signals. I've experienced
overloading problems with many receivers in the past, but I can
honestly say that I've experienced no overloading problems
what-so-ever with this receiver. The front end on the R-30 really
is well designed.
B. HF Bands.....
Tuning around on the HF bands, I was able to copy many of the
International broadcasters. Radio New Zealand was very strong on
17.675, as was Radio Australia during the early morning hours. In
fact, many of the International broadcasting stations were easily
heard with great sounding audio emanating from my external speaker.
With the R-30's clear, low distortion audio, anyone could listen to
program content hour after hour without becoming fatigued.
I also spent a good deal of time on the amateur bands, in
particular 20m. The band was open one night and I was able to
easily copy many operators from all over Europe with no problems.
The receiver is very stable after a short warm-up period, and
once a station is tuned in, it stays rock steady, without the
need for any additional re-tuning. Even many of the utility
stations and WX-FAX stations were stable and clear. It's good to
see that Palstar has made a good quality stable receiver for serious
SSB and Utility work. Best stability appears to be after the receiver
has warmed up. This generally takes place after about a 10 minute
period when the radio is operated in a room temperature. It may take
longer if the radio is used outdoors in cooler weather.
The AGC also performs as expected. The slow setting performs
very well and the time constant is just about right. I found myself
using the fast setting when tuning around high power or local stations,
and I used the slow time setting for SSB, utility stations and after
I tuned in a station I wanted to listen to.
Portability....
Another important factor in purchasing this radio for me was it's
ability to be operated as a portable. The R-30 can operate from
internally inserted "AA" cells. This is a great feature, and makes
it easy for taking the R-30 along with you during DXpeditions, hiking,
or just lounging in the park or a backyard.
In this section I will try to describe how to install the batteries,
because it does require a bit of work. The first step is to remove
the 4 screws which secure the top cover. They are located in pairs
on each of the lower sides on the radio. After removing all four of
them, carefully lift off the top cover, taking special care of the
wires connected to the top mounted speaker. I found it easiest to lay
the cover on its side and placed towards the back of the radio.
Next, remove the screw that holds down the battery retaining bar, and
then lift the bar from right to left. The left side of the bar is
inserted into a notch. (It appears that the function of this bar is
to prevent a battery from popping out of the holder while in transit.)
Next, install 10 'AA' batteries, preferably Alkaline type, and be
careful to insert each of them noting their correct polarity.
Replace the battery bar, screw, top cover, and 4 cover screws in
that order.
The radio appears to perform very well when I operated it on the
internal batteries. From what I've read battery life isn't the
best, but this is to be expected. Battery life will suffer greatly
if the backlight is on, so be sure to turn it off to help
conserve battery drain. I'd expect several hours of usage from
a fresh set of alkaline batteries, probably long enough for one good
DX session.
My Closing Comments....
Overall I found the Palstar R-30 to be a very good receiver.
Certainly one sensitive and selective enough to pull out weak
DX. Whether you enjoy DXing the medium wave band, International
Broadcasters or Utilities on the HF bands, the R-30 should serve
you quite well.
The audio quality is among the best I've heard. I would rate it
up there with the Drakes, though not as bassy, and not as bold
as the HF-150, but very good sounding indeed. The radio is built
solidly, though I would still take care when carrying it with you.
I did find a nice little carrying case at my local Radio Shack store
which seems to hold the radio and the adapter securely in place.
The radio is certainly small enough to take along with you
on DXpeditions or while monitoring on the go. While it does not
have all the features that a "real" DX radio may offer, the R-30
seems to get along without them just fine. The excellent, low
distortion audio quality is really an added bonus, and seems to help
the readability of stations in many situations. ECSS mode does work,
though I found I had to shift the frequency just a little bit, which
I later corrected. The audio in the ECSS mode does seem to decrease
somewhat, but was remedied by increasing the volume slightly.
In conclusion, this is a very fine offering from Palstar. I must
commend them for the fine job they've done. The receiver seems well
priced, performs very well and is built solidly. I would recommend
it to anyone looking for a bare bones work horse that's capable of
pulling in DX with great sounding audio, and for a radio that can
be taken along on those outdoor adventures. It's certainly smaller
and lighter then Drakes now retired SW-8 and it's lighter then the
harder to find Lowe HF-150.
I do wonder if Palstar will offer an upgrade for this receiver
sometime in the future. Most preferably, I'd like to see them
change the VFO tuning knob to a heavier type material. I'd
also like to see them change the way the Memory function works, as
there doesn't seem to be an easy way to go back to the VFO mode
once your in it, other then to retune. I'd also like to see Palstar
add an outboard keypad if possible, as was done with the HF-150.
Thanks for taking the time to read my review. I hope it is of
some benefit to someone out there. I'd also like to invite those of
you who own an R-30, or those of you who are thinking about the
purchase of one, to join the R-30 discussion group that I started by
going to here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Palstar_r30
Best wishes and Good Listening to all,
Gary
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