I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay. Back
when I got into
shortwave radio during the mid 1990's I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the
famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.

Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago. Now I
noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are popping up on e-bay.

So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave? And will they
let me pick up the small stations in Africa that I could never get with my
portables?

Thanks!

= = = On Apr 13, 7:13 pm, "Von Fourche"
= = = wrote:
- I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay.

-
- Back when I got into shortwave radio during the mid 1990's
- I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
-
- Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400
- and the famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.
-
- Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago.
- Now I noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are
- popping up on e-bay.
-
- So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave?
- And will they let me pick up the small stations in Africa
- that I could never get with my portables?
-
- Thanks!

Von Fourche -IF- You Get A Good One - I Think So ~ RHF

"Von Fourche" wrote in message
et...



I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay.
Back when I got into
shortwave radio during the mid 1990's I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the
famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.

Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago. Now I
noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are popping up on e-bay.

So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave? And will they
let me pick up the small stations in Africa that I could never get with my
portables?

Thanks!

I imagine your antenna and location would make more
of a difference than the radio in receiving QRP DX (small
African stations).

I have a TS-440 which is related to the R-5000.
I haven't compared the ts-440 to the decent protables
available these days but from the way people rave about them
their sensitivity and selectivity are probably all one
would need, especially for AM shorwave broadcasts.

With the Kenwood you would get some other good
features. To me what is quite valuable is the computer
interface. I have PC software to control the receiver.
With that I have a database of several thousand
frequencies where I have found signals of interest.
It's nice to have a windows interface to point and click
to tune them in.

I also like the IF shift, independently controllable selectivity,
and notch filter of the Kenwood.

One thing about the Kenwood, the keyboard tends to
develop bounce with time. Generally that is a small
annoyance. When punching a mode button (AM, USB,
etc.) it doesn't matter if it bounces. But it could be quite
annoying if one were directly punching in frequencies alot.
I don't know anyone who does that, though.

The R-5000 appears to have some free space available in the
cabinet. In my book that is a plus for repairs, modifications,
and reliability.

You can find the user and service manuals for
the R-5000 at:
http://www.rigpix.com/schematicsnstuff.htm

--
rb

On Apr 13, 10:13 pm, "Von Fourche" wrote:
I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay. Back
when I got into
shortwave radio during the mid 1990's I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the
famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.

Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago. Now I
noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are popping up on e-bay.

So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave? And will they
let me pick up the small stations in Africa that I could never get with my
portables?

Thanks!

Yes, its a very good receiver but be aware of key bounce which was
already mentioned here. Indeed, it may not be an issue for you if you
don't direct-entry frequencies much. Also, one of the R-5000s that I
had owned developed a hum which was caused by a board inside the rig
becoming loose, another possible headache but it is fixable.
It does have many things going for it despite these potential
problems, particularly for weak Africans which are mainly in the
tropical bands.
Portables are sensitive but generally have poor dynamic range compared
to radios in the R-5000 class, and have enough internal noise to hide
weak signals. The R-5000 is quite good in this regard; if the antenna
picks it up you will hear the signal, and it also has some of the best
audio you'll find for a HF receiver, which is a plus for understanding
what you're hearing.
Make sure that the wide AM filter is the upgraded 6 kHz filter. If
its not then you'll really need to get one at an additional expense of
$50-100 on eBay. You can add (or have a technician add) a 4 kHz
filter for it which is available from Inrad, but because the IF of the
R-5000 is not 455 kHz, this is the only extra AM filter you can add.
It is a very good and useful filter, BTW, and I believe Inrad still
also has a 1.8 kHz filter for it which may help in really tight spots
using ECSS. An R-5000 with all four filters is a super rig!
The IF Shift is quite useful but doesn't work in AM; however using
ECSS will allow you to use this feature to clear up adjacent channel
interference with any filter selected. The notch filter is a big
plus, no portable that I know has one.
Get a good antenna whether you get the R-5000 or something else.
It'll make the Kenwood really shine, but also help lesser radios, too.

On 14 abr, 04:13, "Von Fourche" wrote:
I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay. Back
when I got into
shortwave radio during the mid 1990's I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the
famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.

Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago. Now I
noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are popping up on e-bay.

So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave? And will they
let me pick up the small stations in Africa that I could never get with my
portables?

Thanks!

Hello,

The R5000 is a nice receiver (I own one), but is no guarantee for
hearing a station. At this moment I frequently use a wide band
receiver (AOR 8200, with good continuous tunable preselector and a
sangean ATS 909, all with external antennas), because they are
portable.

Before you buy something else, try to figure out what does hinder you
from receiving another station. Some issues:

Do you have problems with adjacent strong stations? A receiver with
better selectivity might help (but when stronger adjacent station
emits out of band, a better selectivity may not be sufficient).
Sometimes, you can use an antenna with nulls in the radiation pattern
(for example a small tuned loop antenna). You can orient the antenna
in such a way that reception from the desired station is emphasized
with respect to the undesired station.

Do you have blocking or overload from non-adjacent, but very strong
stations? A better receiver might work. As a test you may construct a
resonating circuit to make your own preselector. For example, my AOR
8200 receiver cannot be used with external antenna without
preselector. When you buy a R5000, check what filters have been
installed.

Do you have local interference (from domestic equipment)? In that case
it is very unlikely that a better receiver will work better. When the
interference is pulse like, a good functioning Noise limiter/blanking
system will give some improvement. The R5000 has a good one. Trying to
reorient the antenna or find the source of interference may help you.

Is It just noise that hinders reception?. Whether a better receiver
will perform better or not, depends on whether the receiver's noise or
external noise is dominant. Try to add some attenuation between the
antenna and the receiver (provided you are using an external antenna).
If the reception becomes worse, the sensitivity of the receiver is
causing the noise. When it becomes better, then your receiver suffers
from overload, a preselector might help. When it doesn't change,
external noise is dominant, a better receiver will not help.

In general, in many cases the receiver is not the problem, but the
antenna and propagation is.

If you want another receiver bear in mind that many of the R5000 are
in service for over ten years. That is a time that electronic
components may suffer from wear-out. It would be sad when you spend
500 dollars for a receiver in bad shape.

I hope this will help you to make the right decisions to receive the
stations you want to hear.

Best Regards,

Wim
PA3DJS

"Wimpie" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 14 abr, 04:13, "Von Fourche" wrote:
I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay.
Back
when I got into
shortwave radio during the mid 1990's I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the
famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.

Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago. Now
I
noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are popping up on e-bay.

So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave? And will
they
let me pick up the small stations in Africa that I could never get with
my
portables?

Thanks!

Hello,

The R5000 is a nice receiver (I own one), but is no guarantee for
hearing a station. At this moment I frequently use a wide band
receiver (AOR 8200, with good continuous tunable preselector and a
sangean ATS 909, all with external antennas), because they are
portable.

Before you buy something else, try to figure out what does hinder you
from receiving another station. Some issues:

Do you have problems with adjacent strong stations? A receiver with
better selectivity might help (but when stronger adjacent station
emits out of band, a better selectivity may not be sufficient).
Sometimes, you can use an antenna with nulls in the radiation pattern
(for example a small tuned loop antenna). You can orient the antenna
in such a way that reception from the desired station is emphasized
with respect to the undesired station.

Do you have blocking or overload from non-adjacent, but very strong
stations? A better receiver might work. As a test you may construct a
resonating circuit to make your own preselector. For example, my AOR
8200 receiver cannot be used with external antenna without
preselector. When you buy a R5000, check what filters have been
installed.

Do you have local interference (from domestic equipment)? In that case
it is very unlikely that a better receiver will work better. When the
interference is pulse like, a good functioning Noise limiter/blanking
system will give some improvement. The R5000 has a good one. Trying to
reorient the antenna or find the source of interference may help you.

Is It just noise that hinders reception?. Whether a better receiver
will perform better or not, depends on whether the receiver's noise or
external noise is dominant. Try to add some attenuation between the
antenna and the receiver (provided you are using an external antenna).
If the reception becomes worse, the sensitivity of the receiver is
causing the noise. When it becomes better, then your receiver suffers
from overload, a preselector might help. When it doesn't change,
external noise is dominant, a better receiver will not help.

In general, in many cases the receiver is not the problem, but the
antenna and propagation is.

If you want another receiver bear in mind that many of the R5000 are
in service for over ten years. That is a time that electronic
components may suffer from wear-out. It would be sad when you spend
500 dollars for a receiver in bad shape.

I hope this will help you to make the right decisions to receive the
stations you want to hear.



I'm also seeing another Kenwood shortwave radio on ebay: R-2000. Any
good?

In article . net,
says...

"Wimpie" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 14 abr, 04:13, "Von Fourche" wrote:
I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay.
Back
when I got into
shortwave radio during the mid 1990's I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the
famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.

Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago. Now
I
noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are popping up on e-bay.

So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave? And will
they
let me pick up the small stations in Africa that I could never get with
my
portables?

Thanks!

Hello,

The R5000 is a nice receiver (I own one), but is no guarantee for
hearing a station. At this moment I frequently use a wide band
receiver (AOR 8200, with good continuous tunable preselector and a
sangean ATS 909, all with external antennas), because they are
portable.

Before you buy something else, try to figure out what does hinder you
from receiving another station. Some issues:

Do you have problems with adjacent strong stations? A receiver with
better selectivity might help (but when stronger adjacent station
emits out of band, a better selectivity may not be sufficient).
Sometimes, you can use an antenna with nulls in the radiation pattern
(for example a small tuned loop antenna). You can orient the antenna
in such a way that reception from the desired station is emphasized
with respect to the undesired station.

Do you have blocking or overload from non-adjacent, but very strong
stations? A better receiver might work. As a test you may construct a
resonating circuit to make your own preselector. For example, my AOR
8200 receiver cannot be used with external antenna without
preselector. When you buy a R5000, check what filters have been
installed.

Do you have local interference (from domestic equipment)? In that case
it is very unlikely that a better receiver will work better. When the
interference is pulse like, a good functioning Noise limiter/blanking
system will give some improvement. The R5000 has a good one. Trying to
reorient the antenna or find the source of interference may help you.

Is It just noise that hinders reception?. Whether a better receiver
will perform better or not, depends on whether the receiver's noise or
external noise is dominant. Try to add some attenuation between the
antenna and the receiver (provided you are using an external antenna).
If the reception becomes worse, the sensitivity of the receiver is
causing the noise. When it becomes better, then your receiver suffers
from overload, a preselector might help. When it doesn't change,
external noise is dominant, a better receiver will not help.

In general, in many cases the receiver is not the problem, but the
antenna and propagation is.

If you want another receiver bear in mind that many of the R5000 are
in service for over ten years. That is a time that electronic
components may suffer from wear-out. It would be sad when you spend
500 dollars for a receiver in bad shape.

I hope this will help you to make the right decisions to receive the
stations you want to hear.



I'm also seeing another Kenwood shortwave radio on ebay: R-2000. Any
good?





Not a horrible radio, but the R1000 is better. Has nice audio. The 5000
is light years better.

BDK

On Apr 13, 10:13 pm, "Von Fourche" wrote:
I'm thinking of going after a Kenwood shortwave receiver on e-bay. Back
when I got into
shortwave radio during the mid 1990's I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000.
Well, after buying two great portables, a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the
famous Sony ICF-2010, I never went after a Kenwood.

Anyway, I stopped listening to shortwave four or five years ago. Now I
noticed that Kenwood radios are discontinued and are popping up on e-bay.

So, are Kenwood radios worth going after for shortwave? And will they
let me pick up the small stations in Africa that I could never get with my
portables?

Thanks!

Yes, Kenwood made it's last shortwave radio the best ever made by that
company. The R5000 is a compact package with four mode selectable
filters (two standard), tuning down to 10hz, an excellent notch
filter, IF shift, 99 memories, computer control port, etc. And it
delivers excellent quality audio. Kenwood has unfortunately been out
of the shortwave receiver business for several years now.

The R2000 and R1000 are a couple of steps down but competent
receivers. They are about equal in performance.

Von Fourche wrote:

I'm also seeing another Kenwood shortwave radio on ebay: R-2000. Any
good?


As with most radios of this type, the antenna is the deciding factor.
Local noise will be also of importance. Tuning is very accurate.

I have the radio and have found it to be great. A built in timer and
record output jack let you tape shows you can't be around for.


http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4...555fbeddbf140d

or:

http://snipurl.com/1gkzy





mike

m II wrote:
I have the radio and have found it to be great. A built in timer and
record output jack let you tape shows you can't be around for.

Important note: The record out jack is LINE LEVEL not microphone level,
and is mono. One early reviewer panned the R-5000 because the record
output was severely distorted. It turned out he had not read the manual
and tried to put a line level output (0.707 volts) into a microphone
input ( a few milivolts).

Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 Fax ONLY: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/