| K7FD |
Rating:      |
2022-01-06 | |
| BCB DX’ers dream machine |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently had the opportunity to acquire a well-cared for Drake R7. First things first, I sent it off to Ron WB4HFN for a full alignment. Since its return I have enjoyed listening to BCB, NDB, and shortwave. Performance equals or exceeds any modern rig I have in the shack. The excellent passband tuning makes this receiver my favorite BCB radio of the bunch. Not only is overall performance top notch, it’s beautiful to look at!
John K7FD |
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| KG7M |
Rating:      |
2020-12-27 | |
| Best Receiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| When the R-7 came to the Amateur Radio market I was in my mid-20s and worked for Joe Borsch's (W7PNS/SK) Portland Radio Supply Company. Although I sold many R-7s, and TR-7s, the R-7 was out of my price range. I settled for a used set of B-Line Twins. I recall Joe, and our Tech Dan Raab, owning, and working on the 7-Line. For many years after the demise of Portland Radio Supply Company, Joe was THE guy to send your Drakes to for repairs. In 1993 I was employed at HP making a great living. I purchased a R-7, and TR-7, which I still own. I just restored both. The VCO Board JFETS had gone out on both - HI OSC on one and LO OSC on the other. The R-7 is easy to repair and maintain if you take the time to study the Service Manual. Unfortunately, the Ham that was still producing the "Extender Boards" is now in his 80s and is no longer offering the boards. The 7-Line is a Bear to troubleshoot and service without the Extender Boards. I don't have a set and my VCO Board was out. The 7s are modular in design and contain over a dozen PC Boards which plug in using Molex Connectors. I was able to test some voltages at the back side of the Main Board. I then removed the VCO Board and attached voltage with it out of the receiver to pinpoint the faulty components. After the repair and alignment, it now perfoms like new. A word of caution. The Drake Service Manual has some errors in the Alignment Instructions for the 2nd IF AGC and S-Meter. It's critical to properly set the IF Gain in order to achieve the fantastic Noise Floor Specs. I'm still floored as to it's ability to ferret out weak signals. On the AM BCB every channel is alive with a signal. On VLF I hear Aero Beacons unreadable on my other receivers, WWVB at 60 kHz, and the Navy's VLF Stations at 24 kHz.. All without any Preselector. And it's a joy to copy DX on the Ham Bands. Mine is a high serial number, with the NB7A and all Filters. I've owned a lot of fine receivers over the years. Drake R8B, Lowe HF7030, JRC NRD525, HQ180A,, R390. The Drake R-7 remains the king. The only Mod I've done was to mount 4 tiny fans (1.5" dia) under the lower vent. They mount with no drilling using zip ties. Keeps the receiver cooler by moving air over the power supply components. And I've replaced the Incandescent Dial Lamps with LEDs. |
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| KD8IIC |
Rating:      |
2018-02-24 | |
| It's The Best For Weak CW |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Still my #1 RX for weak CW signal intercept.
Kenwood TS830s and Ic R70 tied for 2nd place.
Motorola R390 and EAC R390a 3rd and 4th.
Fitted with 500 and 300Hz filters and a CALF.
The CALF limiter invaluable during lightning QRN.
Makes static crashes go puff puff so I can work
QRP ops during summer nights 40 es 80m.
Grab one if one can still be found. Great RX!
Mine has never once had a drift problem BTW. |
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| WA7MAD |
Rating:     |
2012-04-22 | |
| 5 but for drift and heat |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I owned an R7 for several years using it QSK with a Heath xmtr and also for SWL'ing and aerobeacon DXing. It could pull anything out of the ether and with the 300Hz filter even the low power beacons on LW could be pulled out of the noise of my urban location. Synchronous detection of AM BC eliminated distortion due to selective fading and heterodyne squeal could be killed by simply moving to silence on the sideband away from the offending QRM with synch det enabled.
BTW - the Sony ICF2010 had sync. detection and it worked equally well, though that radio was in a different price class than the R7 and aimed at a different audience.
I don't give the R7 a 5 rating because the terrible drift of the PTO was something that should never be found in a rig of this price. On mine it would never settle down regardless of the time the rig was on. In frustration I bought Drake's external VFO which was completely frequency synthesized, not a PTO. Also, the R7 would get very hot due to the design of the power supply. Without a fan, just a large heat sink, I was concerned with component cooking, but this didn't present a problem in the years I owned it.
For getting the signal out of the mud, the R7 was the best receiver I've ever used and a real joy for fighting QRN and QRM. If my life depended on a radio, I'd want it to be this one.
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| K5YY |
Rating:      |
2010-10-21 | |
| R7A, possibly last one |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I purchased this from a friend who had it in the box, unopened since 1998, after being "tweaked" by Drake for voltages, one foot tip replaced and checking alignment, etc. Then it sat 12 years and I was the first to open the box from Drake. What a near mint radio this is and the lastest serial number I have seen and the available records show none higher than this # 3641. The last 4 on record are all < 3300. The radio performs flawlessly, very minimal drift and frequency is off only 1/3 kc from 000 to 500 on the VFO! The "A"model has the optional 500 cycle filter and NB7A noise blanker installed and is optimized for 9KC AM instead of the standard 4KC. I have compared this receiver to my Icom 781 and Icom 756 PROIII and to a JRC 545D and Icom R9000 on listening to several DX stations and find it hears better than two of them (not telling which) and is equal to the other two. This includes PBT and notch filter adjustments as needed. This is a keeper for me but would like to know if any other R7As are out there with similar serial number near the end. I also have an R7 with all filters and the NB7A and it too performs very well, similar to the R7A. Drake made quality products, and the radios are serviceable and contain readily available parts for most problems that might occur. |
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| ERIEDXER |
Rating:      |
2009-10-28 | |
| Excellent classic SS receiver |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
This is my all time favorite SS receiver. You have to let it warm up for half an hour to keep it from drifting, but then it's ALIVE and stays put. The preselector isn't too bad to figure out. But you find a signal, any signal, and you will be able to tune it in and hear it very clear on the R7. If I just want to sit and listen in on hams on SSB, I go my R7. I have used this extensively for DXing for the past 10 years and have never had to replace a single component in it. Used prices on these are getting a little high, but it's still one of the best receivers out there IMHO.
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| KQ4O |
Rating:      |
2007-09-06 | |
| Still the Standard! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I foolishly sold my R7 (with the NB installed) when I moved to a tight property and thought I couldn't put up a decent antenna worthy of this fine receiver. It's been a while so I can't go over all the positives, except to say that there are many of them.I've owned a few high end receivers (R-5000, R390A, AR3030) unfortunately no ICOM or JRC to compare it to, but it was the best I ever had by far.
The biggest advantage to it was the ability to use the PBT in conjunction with a Sherwood SE-3 without having to resynch the SE-3. In other words, get an outboard synch detector for it (SE-3), synch the station that you're listening to (whether powerhouse RCI or barely there SIBC) and if there's interference you just turn the knob for the Passband Tuning and shift away from the trouble, and still be locked in synch. Bob Sherwood told me that this was the only receiver that could do this.
The ONLY negative was the fact that it took maybe 15 minutes to truly stop drifting, which was only a problem using SSB or the SE-3 at the start of a listening session (got use to it).
Truly a classic!
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| N8YX |
Rating:      |
2005-06-30 | |
| A keeper! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I recently acquired one of these receivers for use with my TR7. The unit in question spent a large part of its existence in one of the FCC's monitoring facilities.
There were a few minor annoyances to straighten out: A persistent frequency "jump" of ~100hz was noted when receiving an on-the-air CW or calibrator signal. This was fixed by carefully removing the VCO, DR7 and VR boards, then cleaning the plugs and sockets. (DeOxit or similar works well for this purpose.) The bandswitch contacts - particularly, the HI/LO VCO contact segment - also got a good cleaning. Afterwards, the VR output levels were set using an accurate DVM.
Next, on to the PTO. It needed a bit of work to get the analog dials to track with the counter. The blue filter material in the bezel was replaced, along with its counterpart behind the S-meter.
Last, the IF/Filter board was removed and a few accessory filters were added: 8/6/.5/.3 KHz. (This combination works well with the TR7, whose filter complement is 6/2.3/1.8/.5 KHz.)
The R7 is now as stable as the RV7/TR7 combo. That is, it drifts ~200hz total from a cold start then stays put indefinitely. Sensitivity and selectivity are excellent, and the rig is a joy to use.
This one isn't leaving my shack. |
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| WA2JJH |
Rating:      |
2004-05-05 | |
| A classic performer |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I just got a R7A on Ebay. I paid $960. It is a cheaper and has more funtions than a RACAL I was going to buy.
This is not just the receiver section of a TR-7.
I had the R7A side by side with my TR-7.
I liked the TR-7's pre-amp-less high level conversion. The R7A deos the same.
I found the R7A even better than the TR-7. Signals that were not readable on the TR-7, were readable on the R7A.
A few pet peeves. Do not even bother using the rx pre-amp. In my case it amplifies the QRN and city industrail noise as much as the signal.
The mode selection is strange. Just AM and SSB.
One then uses the always on passband tuning for LSB, USB, CW and RTTY. It has a greater range than that of the TR-7.
The 7A has the excellent NB built in. It is very dramatic in effect.
They also put in a 500hz and 4KC AM filter.
OK SOME MIGHT SAY WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL.
THE R7A IS SUCH A GOOD AND RUGGED RX, There is a military variant of it, the R-77. They replace the PTO with percision variable frequency source.
The mil varient is bult into a 19" rack mountable case Other wise except these RX's are identical.
The mil varient is ultra rare.
The R7A is cumbersome to use, but it's low noise floor, clean design, and sensitivity are un surpassed.
The RX is speced to work down to 10kc ? I did confirm it receiving 44KHZ. I turned off the NB and put a CD player near it.
I too wish Drake was back into making ham equipment.
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| DAROBIN |
Rating:      |
2003-04-16 | |
| One of the classics! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Many years ago, in my first decade as a DX'er, Drake came out with the R7 and then the R7A. Those of us who aspired to the R7 were put off by the huge cost of the receiver at the time. Some also disliked the tuning system which required one to use UP/DOWN slewing buttons to jump around the bands. However, what nobody disputed was the incredible flexibility this receiver offered, as sell as its famous sensitivity and selectivity options.
As most users of Ebay know, prices for the R7 but especially the R7A, have skyrocketed over the years, a reflection of the quality of the receiver and its value to amateur operators as sell as hard core SWL/DX'ers. A R7 in excellent condition can bring in the range of 600-700, while R7As in excellent to perfect condition (exceedingly rare) can bring $1000+, even as high as $1200.
What distinguishes the R7 series from other receivers is its incredible electronic passband tuning, which was exclusive to Drake. It enables one to tune across the center frequency to LSB and USB, and when combined with the R7s wonderful 5 selectivity options and its very effective notch, created a truly great DX machine. Add to this, the RIT control, which unlike other receivers actually varies the LED readout, and you have a real classic.
Stability issues with the R7 are just part of the deal you sign on to when you buy the receiver. Those who want to go all the way can find the RV-75 Synthesized VFO unit which provides greater stability, but these go for almost as much as the receiver itself in auctions.
The R7 justifiably enjoys a stellar reputation with many in the DX community. I obtained mine from the estate of a deceased Amateur operator who had apparently purchased it, then used only a little, it was stored in a closet for years.
One of the problems with the receiver, I should mention, has to do with something as simple as replacing the dial lamps -- the main dial lamp bulb
requires considerable dis-assembly of the receiver. Some owners of the R7 have modified the radio with a toggle ON/OFF to be able to extend the bulb life. |
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