Joe Analssandrini wrote:
Universal recently announced that they are again selling the AOR
AR7030
Plus which is very good news.

I do not want to get into an argument and I recognize that we all
have
our favorites, however, it is my opinion that the AR7030 Plus is
positively the finest short wave radio ever designed and it is
certainly the best model under $2000. If you have or can get the 2005
edition of PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO, take a look at its
specifications on page 168. They are even better, in some key
aspects,
than the "professional" Ten-Tec or Watkins-Johnson which cost far
more.
Numbers certainly do not tell all, but you cannot ignore them either.

I hope, however, that the Drake R8B and, especially, the Grundig
Satellit 800 are not discontinued. It would seem to me that, at least
in the case of the Grundig, there is still considerable demand. I do
not understand why Eton does not put some advertsing money into it;
after all, its development costs have been amortized by now so each
sale is pure profit.

Best,

Joe

There's also a more general theme here, in my opinion. If Drake
discontinues the R8B, then there are fewer choices for all of us when
it comes time to buy a new, high quality receiver. In this respect,
it's not just bad for Drake lovers, but for anyone who might one day
have purchased a Drake. I felt the same way when AOR stopped selling
the 7030+ in the US, and am really happy that Universal is selling it
again!

While I don't care for the 800, some folks like it and I'd like Eton to
continue it for them...assuming Eton can't come up with something
better. It should be priced at around $300 though--not a penny more.

Steve