Just a thought about the R-5000: when I look at archives from rrsw
about the '5000 I see many people commenting about it being a good
receiver but "old technology." Except for lack of synch detection
(which can be added through an SE-3) and any type of DSP (which, from
what I've read and heard samples of in the NRD-545, isn't a perfect
tool), what's so "old tech" about it? I still think its a great
receiver for both dxing and program listening (nice audio).





wrote:
I have a near mint Cubic 102BXA HF transceiver and matching
speaker/power supply that I would trade for a like condition R-5000
Kenwood shortwave receiver. The Cubic works perfectly, and is in
excellent cosmetic and electrical condition. You may read about this
fine rig he

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/798

This transceiver was built to military standards, as Cubic provided the
U.S. Military with a lot of equipment during this period. The build
quality is excellent, and reliability is very good. A unique basspand
tuning system makes this rig a great performer on both SSB and CW. Take
a look at the actual radio he

www.members.aol.com/mgaluvr/cubic102bxa

This unit comes boxed in two cartons, one for the transceiver and the
other for the power supply/speaker, with heavy protective foam,
original instruction manual, and power cord. Microphone is not
included, but will work with practically any standard type high
impedence mike. Guaranteed not to be DOA...this transceiver is fully
operational and very nice. Take a look at the photo....additional info
upon request...just email me. I am not interested in selling this
rig...a trade is preferred. Thanks....Bill

wrote in message
ps.com...
Just a thought about the R-5000: when I look at archives from rrsw
about the '5000 I see many people commenting about it being a good
receiver but "old technology." Except for lack of synch detection
(which can be added through an SE-3) and any type of DSP (which,
from
what I've read and heard samples of in the NRD-545, isn't a perfect
tool), what's so "old tech" about it? I still think its a great
receiver for both dxing and program listening (nice audio).

It can mean old tech in many ways:

-The receivers were last made a while ago, and are
starting to need repairs due to age.

-Unlike newer kilobuck receivers, the R-5000
needed filters added to make it a complete receiver.

-The lack of synch detection and the requirement
of needing an SE-3 to add it makes the R-5000 not
quite the out-of-the-box receiver that the newer
ones are.

-The design for the R-5000 was done in the mid
80's, and didn't incorporate newer design elements
over the course of it's run (like more memories,
better computer control, etc).

That said, for my money, it's a good receiver
that's quite capable of holding it's own in the
DXing arena. The R-5000 and the IC-R71A
commonly fought it out for the DXers buck
back in the 80's and early 90's (pre-R8 and
pre-535). The R-5000 could go with up to
4 filters and had good sound, the IC-R71A
could pick up faint DX a smidge better but
that was balanced by poor audio. (Other's
opinions, not mine; I've never tried either...Yet.)

--Mike L.


wrote:
I have a near mint Cubic 102BXA HF transceiver and matching
speaker/power supply that I would trade for a like condition
R-5000
Kenwood shortwave receiver. The Cubic works perfectly, and is in
excellent cosmetic and electrical condition. You may read about
this
fine rig he

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/798

This transceiver was built to military standards, as Cubic
provided the
U.S. Military with a lot of equipment during this period. The
build
quality is excellent, and reliability is very good. A unique
basspand
tuning system makes this rig a great performer on both SSB and CW.
Take
a look at the actual radio he

www.members.aol.com/mgaluvr/cubic102bxa

This unit comes boxed in two cartons, one for the transceiver and
the
other for the power supply/speaker, with heavy protective foam,
original instruction manual, and power cord. Microphone is not
included, but will work with practically any standard type high
impedence mike. Guaranteed not to be DOA...this transceiver is
fully
operational and very nice. Take a look at the photo....additional
info
upon request...just email me. I am not interested in selling this
rig...a trade is preferred. Thanks....Bill

Michael Lawson wrote:
wrote in message
ps.com...
Just a thought about the R-5000: when I look at archives from rrsw
about the '5000 I see many people commenting about it being a good
receiver but "old technology." Except for lack of synch detection
(which can be added through an SE-3) and any type of DSP (which,
from
what I've read and heard samples of in the NRD-545, isn't a perfect
tool), what's so "old tech" about it? I still think its a great
receiver for both dxing and program listening (nice audio).

It can mean old tech in many ways:

-The receivers were last made a while ago, and are
starting to need repairs due to age.

-Unlike newer kilobuck receivers, the R-5000
needed filters added to make it a complete receiver.

-The lack of synch detection and the requirement
of needing an SE-3 to add it makes the R-5000 not
quite the out-of-the-box receiver that the newer
ones are.

-The design for the R-5000 was done in the mid
80's, and didn't incorporate newer design elements
over the course of it's run (like more memories,
better computer control, etc).

That said, for my money, it's a good receiver
that's quite capable of holding it's own in the
DXing arena. The R-5000 and the IC-R71A
commonly fought it out for the DXers buck
back in the 80's and early 90's (pre-R8 and
pre-535). The R-5000 could go with up to
4 filters and had good sound, the IC-R71A
could pick up faint DX a smidge better but
that was balanced by poor audio. (Other's
opinions, not mine; I've never tried either...Yet.)

--Mike L.


You pretty much nailed it. In practical terms, the differences
between R-5000 and R-71 were matters of taste. Performance was about
equivalent, each with as many plusses as the other, each with as many
minuses as the other. If you were fluent in each one, they were the same
radio on the desk.

In practical terms, today, there are some significant differences.
R-71 is still relatively well supported by ICOM. R-5000...not so much.
Displays are no longer avaiable for R-5000. And both require attention
at this age. R-71 will need DC-DC converters rebuilt, display caps
replaced, and trimmers on the PLL board replaced. And very likely the
power supply board touched up because the regulator operates at such a
high temperature, the solder crystallizes on the board. R-5000, will
also need recapping, likely a display, and the some encoders are failing.

The future outlook is that a greater percentage of R-71's produced
will still be in service than R-5000's, at least from the 2005 point of
reference, so choosing carefully is very much a requirement if the user
plans to put the radio into regular service.

D Peter Maus wrote:


You pretty much nailed it. In practical terms, the differences
between R-5000 and R-71 were matters of taste. Performance was about
equivalent, each with as many plusses as the other, each with as many
minuses as the other. If you were fluent in each one, they were the
same radio on the desk.





I love my R-5000 but that's got to be the worst keypad ever designed and it
bounces like crazy.

--
Brian Denley
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html

Brian Denley wrote:
D Peter Maus wrote:


You pretty much nailed it. In practical terms, the differences
between R-5000 and R-71 were matters of taste. Performance was about
equivalent, each with as many plusses as the other, each with as many
minuses as the other. If you were fluent in each one, they were the
same radio on the desk.





I love my R-5000 but that's got to be the worst keypad ever designed and it
bounces like crazy.



In fact, that keypad was one of the reasons I went with R-71.

In article ,
D Peter Maus wrote:

In practical terms, today, there are some significant differences.
R-71 is still relatively well supported by ICOM. R-5000...not so much.
Displays are no longer avaiable for R-5000. And both require attention
at this age. R-71 will need ......

Two points missed:

1. The R-71 has it's microprocessor's programing on a battery backed up
RAM chip. When the battery fails, the radio is dead until it is
reprogramed. Someone sold an update kit, I have no idea if they
are still available.

The other question is how much longer will ICOM be able to reprogram
the current chips? One would hope they keep that equipment around
but old computers fail, programs no longer run after operating
system updates etc.

2. The R-5000's had a problem with the rubber potting compound on the PLL
board. A nasty job, the easy way is to unsolder ALL of the components,
scrape out the left over compound and install new components.

As the components become hard to replace, a repair will be to use a
tweezer and dental pick to remove all the compound by hand, hoping that
you do not damage anything and nothing was corroded to the point of
being unuseable.

I did it that way, and if it was not for the fact that the cost of
shipping each way to a competent repair person was more than the
cost of them repairing it, I would not have.

Geoff.


--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 IL Fax: 972-2-648-1443 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838
You should have boycotted Google while you could, now Google supported
BPL is in action. Time is running out on worldwide radio communication.

Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
In article ,
D Peter Maus wrote:

In practical terms, today, there are some significant differences.
R-71 is still relatively well supported by ICOM. R-5000...not so much.
Displays are no longer avaiable for R-5000. And both require attention
at this age. R-71 will need ......

Two points missed:

1. The R-71 has it's microprocessor's programing on a battery backed up
RAM chip. When the battery fails, the radio is dead until it is
reprogramed. Someone sold an update kit, I have no idea if they
are still available.



This comes up every time R-71 is mentioned. I had mine for more
than 10 years, and it was used when I bought it. Still had the original
battery when I sold it. And the guy that bought it reports that it's
still working. I spoke to Bellevue about this, and the head tech there
said he's never replaced a battery that was not working. A lot of users
have them replaced because they're nervous about it. Others have them
replaced while in for other work. But he's never replaced a battery
because it was dead. The worst he's seen is replacemnt jobs that were
botched by users, and had to be reprogrammed. This conversation took
place a couple of years ago, so I don't know if his claim has changed.
The point is that this issue can be more or less a non issue depending
on users' diligence.



The other question is how much longer will ICOM be able to reprogram
the current chips? One would hope they keep that equipment around
but old computers fail, programs no longer run after operating
system updates etc.


Also a non issue. As long as they support the radio, they will be
reprogramming RAM. But it does afford the opportunity to mention the
number of amateur users who have learned to reprogram this radio, and
who can offer their help. Do a web search. Or they show up in RRS, from
time to time.

The Willco board is still available, though the numbers are
limited, as the chips used are no longer available.



2. The R-5000's had a problem with the rubber potting compound on the PLL
board. A nasty job, the easy way is to unsolder ALL of the components,
scrape out the left over compound and install new components.

As the components become hard to replace, a repair will be to use a
tweezer and dental pick to remove all the compound by hand, hoping that
you do not damage anything and nothing was corroded to the point of
being unuseable.

I did it that way, and if it was not for the fact that the cost of
shipping each way to a competent repair person was more than the
cost of them repairing it, I would not have.

Geoff.



That's quite a visual

"Brian Denley" wrote in message
...
D Peter Maus wrote:


You pretty much nailed it. In practical terms, the differences
between R-5000 and R-71 were matters of taste. Performance was about
equivalent, each with as many plusses as the other, each with as many
minuses as the other. If you were fluent in each one, they were the
same radio on the desk.





I love my R-5000 but that's got to be the worst keypad ever designed and
it bounces like crazy.

--
Brian Denley
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html


I cleaned the contacts on a R-5000 I sold. Worked great. It wasn't that
hard. The funny thing is the 5000 I've had for twelve years has never had
key bounce but I never use it anyway because RxPlus comp control is how I
enter freqs.

--

Regards
B.H.

Brian's Basement
http://webpages.charter.net/brianhill/6.htm

Brian's Radio Universe
http://webpages.charter.net/brianhill/500.htm

"D Peter Maus" wrote in message
...
Geoffrey S. Mendelson wrote:
In article , D
Peter Maus wrote:

In practical terms, today, there are some significant differences.
R-71 is still relatively well supported by ICOM. R-5000...not so much.
Displays are no longer avaiable for R-5000. And both require attention
at this age. R-71 will need ......

Two points missed:

1. The R-71 has it's microprocessor's programing on a battery backed up
RAM chip. When the battery fails, the radio is dead until it is
reprogramed. Someone sold an update kit, I have no idea if they
are still available.



This comes up every time R-71 is mentioned. I had mine for more than
10 years, and it was used when I bought it. Still had the original battery
when I sold it. And the guy that bought it reports that it's still
working. I spoke to Bellevue about this, and the head tech there said he's
never replaced a battery that was not working. A lot of users have them
replaced because they're nervous about it. Others have them replaced while
in for other work. But he's never replaced a battery because it was dead.
The worst he's seen is replacemnt jobs that were botched by users, and had
to be reprogrammed. This conversation took place a couple of years ago, so
I don't know if his claim has changed. The point is that this issue can be
more or less a non issue depending on users' diligence.



The other question is how much longer will ICOM be able to reprogram
the current chips? One would hope they keep that equipment around
but old computers fail, programs no longer run after operating
system updates etc.


Also a non issue. As long as they support the radio, they will be
reprogramming RAM. But it does afford the opportunity to mention the
number of amateur users who have learned to reprogram this radio, and who
can offer their help. Do a web search. Or they show up in RRS, from time
to time.

The Willco board is still available, though the numbers are limited,
as the chips used are no longer available.



2. The R-5000's had a problem with the rubber potting compound on the PLL
board. A nasty job, the easy way is to unsolder ALL of the components,
scrape out the left over compound and install new components. As the
components become hard to replace, a repair will be to use a
tweezer and dental pick to remove all the compound by hand, hoping
that
you do not damage anything and nothing was corroded to the point of
being unuseable.

I did it that way, and if it was not for the fact that the cost of
shipping each way to a competent repair person was more than the
cost of them repairing it, I would not have. Geoff.



That's quite a visual



I never had a problem with my R-71 either. I think your right Pete. It's a
rare occurance if it happens at all. The funny thing is I had my 71 in a box
for three years and it still worked. Go figure?

--

Regards
B.H.

Brian's Basement
http://webpages.charter.net/brianhill/6.htm

Brian's Radio Universe
http://webpages.charter.net/brianhill/500.htm

Question please,just what is key bounce?
cuhulin