| W6PMR3 |
Rating:     |
2004-10-21 | |
| Good fun ! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
No, it does not perform like my 756pro but it does not cost as much either !
I have owned many cheap and/or low end receivers and this is the best of the batch.
I think that this is the best performing, most fun to use,low cost radio out there in the second hand market,...period.
And it looks great, nuff said. Paul. |
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| M0DNP |
Rating:     |
2004-10-09 | |
| old work horse |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
The performance of the frg-7 on am was excellent
with a very good single-signal response.however, on ssb
and cw the radio lacks selectivity with the standard filters. alternative filters where available as a optional extra........
73 duane |
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| KD7UAK |
Rating:      |
2004-08-29 | |
| A favorite! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Two weeks ago, at a local hamfest, I came across an excellent example of the FRG-7 and bought it at a good price. I'm very glad I did; in the short time that I've owned this radio it has become one of my favorites. Everything that has been written about it is true, and then some! Well, maybe not quite everything; for example, despite statements to the contrary by some other reviewers, I find that the tone control works well and is useful, especially when listening to SSB. Also, the noise limiter seems to work just fine.
I'm very partial to analog receivers (digital readouts are great for accuracy, but they have no "soul" and you can't "cruise" the bands with digital quite the same as you can with a nice analog dial). The main tuning dial on the FRG-7 is quite accurate, and on individual bands its calibration can be tweaked with the movable dial indicator, if necessary. Tuning this radio is a blast! I like twiddling knobs, so having to use a four-step process just adds to the fun. Tuning SW broadcasts is a breeze but SSB signals are a bit tricky. The main tuning knob is too coarse to hit the signal closely, requiring one to use the fine tuning knob. If this knob has to be adjusted more than a little, then the main dial calibration gets slightly skewed. However, this is only a minor irritation. The IF filter is rather broad for crowded SSB or CW conditions but this can be alleviated somewhat by setting the tone switch to "narrow" (yes, it does work). The skirts of the IF passband appear to be very steep, which is good.
The receiver's sensitivity is amazing! With a 12-ft length of wire strung across my living room, the FRG-7 pulls in weak SSB signals on any ham band just about as well as my FT-101ZD with its external multiband vertical. Frequency stability is pretty good too, especially after about 10-15 minutes of warmup. The sound quality from the speaker is not hi-fi but very decent.
The FRG-7 is truly amazing, a real keeper. If you find one in good shape, get it; you won't be disappointed! |
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| PA3GMP |
Rating:     |
2003-12-24 | |
| A still very good classic |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I encountered the FRG7 for the first time when I was working as a trainee at the Delft Polytechnics University in the eighties, where it was used to receive radio signals from wave measuring buoys. I liked it because it was much easier to use than the heavy and horribly expensive RCA receiver we had as well, and it outperformed the RCA any day of the week. A few years ago I found one at a flea market and bought it for a song. It's not a Yaesu FRG-7, it's a Sommerkamp FRG-7. Yeah right. The brand decal is the only difference.
Unfortunately the receiver didn't work. I opened it up and discovered that someone had apparently tried to re-tune it, using a steel screwdriver, and he'd broken most of the ferrite cores on the RF board and misaligned the rest. Then a lot of things happened in my life and the FRG7 just sat on the shelf for a few years. Recently I borrowed an RF generator, opened up the FRG-7 and managed to salvage all the ferrite cores but one. (I replaced the final one with one I had lying around. It fits but I doubt it's the right type of ferrite, so further improvement may still be possible.) I rand the receiver through the entire alignment procedure, and now it performs like new. It's accurate, sensitive, easy to use and a pleasure to listen to. OK, you need to operate one switch and three knobs to switch bands, but what the heck, that's never bothered me. After all if you've used it once it's all very intuitive.
I showed my FRG-7 to a friend of mine who is not a ham, and he liked it so much that he's been playing around with it all night and is now seriously considering buying his own shortwave receiver. Who knows... the FRG-7 may turn him into a ham yet! :-)
BTW... does anyone know where I can get the correct type of ferrite cores for the RF stage?
Frank PA3GMP |
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| WPE9JRL |
Rating:      |
2003-11-25 | |
| Simple Pleasures |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The Frog-7, I have discovered its very simple pleasures. I finally broke down and snapped up a used FRG-7 from the internet. Always wanted to see what all the excitement was about. Been a SWL since 1967, hamming since 1971.
I ran a comparison to my Yaesu FT-1000MP on signals from the Bdcst Band to weak signals on 28MHz....the Frog compared favorable and heard everything the mighty MP heard. This is one sensitive radio.
True, one must have three arms to band-surf...but, yeah, that is where the fun is! When you get a big "peak" on the Preselector, you know the radio's front end is tuned exactly to the sweet spot....no need to trust ganged tuning or mechanical tracking like other vintage radio's. Tuning is fairly smooth although the Main Tuning mechanics have enough backlash to make SSB tuning a bit frustrating...but, the Fine Tuning control will make up for that.
The Tone Switch described as "useless" in other reviews is not. I have an outboard hi-fi speaker on my Frog and I can tell the difference between "Low" and "Narrow". True, you'll never hear the difference in Tone settings on the built-in speaker but with my big speaker the control is very useful.
I.F. Selectivity is great for AM reception. It is a 6-KHz filter in the 455 I.F. What a surprise I had when I discovered that my Frog was modified with an extra "narrow" filter. I popped the cabinet and found a 3.3KHz COLLINS mechanical filter neatly installed on a circuit board and a front panel mini toggle switch selecting it or the stock 6KHz! Anybody ever hear of this mod?? Can't be too many out there.
SSB reception is great, nice product detector and the AGC tracks well enough to allow easy SSB listening. Drifts very little.
S-Meter seems a bit useless, almost every signal is "20-Over Nine". A check with the sig-gen reveals that a 5 microvolt signal generates a S-5 signal...very generous, indeed! The meter seems to saturate/compress and most any readable signal is S-9 to 20dB. I still don't mind the quirks of the near-useless S-Meter as I mounted an extra 12-volt pea lamp above it and secured it with a little glue. The normal illumination is a bit dim and my extra lamp makes the meter jump out at you in full visibility....something Yaesu should have done.
Audio quality on built-in speaker is good, strictly comm-quality. Has more fidelity with my 10-inch hi-fi outboard, but no real big low end. Perfectly acceptable.
Bottom Line: Fun radio, great bedside set, sensitive, good SSB, perfect companion receiver....a trusted friend that should accompany even a demanding listener thru the airwaves. I can see now why they are so popular and in demand. Snap one up if you can and have some fun twirling the knobs. |
|
| 2E0DNP |
Rating:      |
2003-11-07 | |
| frg-7 |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| i just love the look of this old time radio and Iv had a few that do more.... but this radio is A Trusty faithful and i will never let it go. |
|
| VK1NBK |
Rating:      |
2003-07-18 | |
| Nostalgia rules the waves! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have just returned to SWL after a 23-year absence, leaving it in 1981 for the Amateur world.
At that time I sold my three-year old Frog in order to finance the purchase of my ham equipment (Kenwood TS-120 station) and in hindsight, I regretted it. The selling, not the buying!
But it was one of those "to do THIS, I have to get rid of THAT" things. We've all been there.
I have just taken delivery of a well-cared for FRG-7, which was offered to me at a very fair price in response to a "Wanted" ad that I placed in a couple of web locations.
Ten minutes after taking delivery, the unit was on the left side of this desk, (it's looking at me now!), had a random length of multi-strand hobby wire poked into the SW1 spring-clip, the power lead was plugged in and within ten seconds, as if I'd never got rid of mine in the first place, I'm clicking the band-selector, rotating the Mhz dial, turning the Preselect and revolving the Main Tuning Knob with all the old familiarity. In no time at all I've got an old favourite - Radio Nederlands - coming in loud and clear.
Using a Frog is fun.
That's the "core value" with the FRG-7; it is simply....fun!
You twiddle knobs and see dials rotate, back-lit by a lovely warm glow, and the little 'S'-meter needle swings across, pegging just about every signal, and the audio booms out of that great front-mounted speaker and it is a fun experience because the radio is a solid, no-frills piece of quality equipment.
The FRG-7 is as enjoyable today as it was 23 years ago, for all the same reasons.
I give it a '5' because of that simple fact. |
|
| KD7SWH |
Rating:      |
2003-07-17 | |
| Great Radio! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I have only had my Frog for a month, but It has been a great radio! It was given to me by a fellow ham! If you get a chance to buy one do it! You will love it!
73's de KD7SWH |
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| KB4ORA |
Rating:      |
2003-05-19 | |
| Its Wonderful! |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had this receiver since i bought it new in 1977. The only problem i have had in all this time was when i left a set of batteries in it to long. (One plus is that most of the parts seem to be standard catalog parts.)
About three years ago i went over the Main tuning capacitors with some silver conductive grease and removed an irritating scraping noise as i tuned.
This radio has been my primary receiver for many years. I recently got a Drake R8B. It seems lack the wonderful "listening quality" of ny FRG-7. It just doesnt sound nearly as good.
About 10 years ago, i found a deal on another FRG7 in mint condition; it is stashed, well wrapped, on a shelf in the unlikely event that this one has problems. My old one does have some ugly places where battery residue has had its effect.
It is a superbly sensitive set. The tuning is ALMOST as linear as the tuning dial.
My biggest "gripes" are the filters and the S-Meter. It seems as though if you can even hear a signal, it is S5. The filters cannot give you "single signal" reception.
I do not use mine on batteries much anymore. (8 D cells) and i keep the battery compartment (it's removable) somewhere else so i know i will never leave batteries in it again.
It is a workhorse, it is sturdy, mine has knocked about for over a quarter century without more than a worn place or two on the case.. and some corrosuion on the back.
I used to sue it with audio filters for my Ham Receiver... it is stable and reasonably easy to set.
HIGHLY RECCOMENDED! |
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| JUDAH_SMITH |
Rating:      |
2003-03-11 | |
| BEST ANALOG RECIEVER! I LOVE IT! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Just got mine in the mail a few days ago. A gentalman from a shortwave newsgroup gave me a good deal on one in great shape. This radio is great. And even though it's analog, the tuning is really accurate. I compare frequencies with my Grundig YB-400. For broadcast programming it is easy to find stations. Of course if your trying to find a station at less than 5Kh it gets tough. Sensitivity is tops. It wastes my YB which is a really good performer (for a portable) itself. All I can say is if you always wanted a analog table top reciever, this is the one to get. I love mine. I can now understand why all the old timers fell in love with this radio. It has something the newer digitals don't. It's soooo fun for band scanning. Analog tuning is less acurate, but the tuning around the dial is a blast. Even if you have a good digital, get one of these just for the fun of it. You'll enjoy the Dxing....believe me. |
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