"John S." wrote in
oups.com:


wrote:
I havent had much luck on amateur radio forums so ill ask the question
here, Im looking for
a receiver with good sensitivity on 800 - 1000mhz or there abouts, im
using a Icom 706 that
covers 500mhx down to 100khz & need something to fill the gap, right
now im using a pro
2006 scanner but i would like something with manual control of
frequencys.

For very good quality receivers with manual tuning try an Icom 7100 or
an AOR AR-3000A. Difficult but not impossible to find on the used
market.

There is nothing I'm aware of new that allows manual tuning and
includes full frequency coverage.




I like my IC 7100 too. Switching out different receivers on the same
outdoor antenna, the 7100 receives best of all I own.

For just ham band stuff, My ts-790 tribander does better I think. There is
a mod and a location for an extra connector on the 790 to allow it to
receive 800 mHz.

SC

I have them both. The ICOM sure looks sexier, but they are both nice
radios The AR300A is more portable, though you can run the icom from
12V if you build a cord. [The power connector is an off the shelf
Molex.] The AR3000A has a funny power connector. It ships with a wall
wart and a plain cable going to pigtails, so you can also run it from
12V IF that cable hasn't been lost by the original owner.

The AOR can do some very strange stepping. It only comes in handy on
the old (and maybe still active) "air phones". Basically the AOR can
set the step and an offset. For example, if you wanted to hit 100.1,
101.1, 102.1, etc .you could set a 0.1Mhz offset and a 1Mhz step. I
need to check to see if the Icom can do that.

The Icom 7100 can output 10.7Mhz to a panadapter

If you listen to this recording (win amp required since it is ogg
vorbis)
http://www.lazygranch.com/sound/redf...6/tues_ogg.ogg
the Icom 7100 was the right channel, and the AR3000A was the left
channel. However, it is not a fair contest as the 7100 was on a UHF
blade antenna mounted on the roof of my SUV, while the AR3000A was on a
Diamond RH77C inside the SUV.

Both the 7100 and the AR3000A have a line level output. The AR3000A
needs a funny DIN connector cable that I built but didn't use for the
recording. My recollection is the AR3000A line output was unsquelched,
but I'm not sure. I know the Icom 7100 line output is squelched.

I don't know the current price for the AR3000A, but I got the Icom 7100
for $400 about two months ago. I've seen the Icom 8500 go for around
$700, which is also a good deal as it is newer and a bit higher in
bandwidth, plus fair HF performance.

For mil air, both these radios have reasonably high frequencies first
mixers (around 700Mhz), so they produce few mil air birdies.

Icom handheld scanners have always been less than optimal radios due to
intermod problems. If you were to get a handheld, I'd go for the
MVT7100. [Yeah, got one of those too.] The only drawback to that radio
is the goofy battery holder, and of course a lack of computer
programming.
m II wrote:
wrote:

I havent had much luck on amateur radio forums so ill ask the question
here, Im looking for
a receiver with good sensitivity on 800 - 1000mhz or there abouts, im
using a Icom 706 that
covers 500mhx down to 100khz & need something to fill the gap, right
now im using a pro
2006 scanner but i would like something with manual control of
frequencys.


The Icom IC-R20 may be a nice one.

http://www.leeselect.com/icom/r20.htm



mike

wrote:
Icom handheld scanners have always been less than optimal radios due to
intermod problems. If you were to get a handheld, I'd go for the
MVT7100. [Yeah, got one of those too.] The only drawback to that radio
is the goofy battery holder, and of course a lack of computer
programming.



I thought it was pc controllable....there seem to be more available than
just the cloning cable.


http://www.universal-radio.com/catal.../27710020.html
http://www.qsl.net/g3vgr/civ.html
http://www.qsl.net/civ_commander/
http://www.eham.net/articles/1588?eh...0e37f0c4242ca4




mike

The icom has PC control, but is not as good of a radio as the old
MVT7100. It is the MVT7100 that has no PC control.

When I am scanning an event like a military exercise, I put all the
frequencies in a scanner with PC control. As I find active frequencies,
I hand enter them into the MVT7100, and lock them out of the scanner
with PC control. I then end up with a record of the active frequencies
(in the MVT7100). Generally a not so good scanner will still pick up
the presence of a signal, so you can hunt with your lesser scanners and
listen with your better scanners.


m II wrote:
wrote:
Icom handheld scanners have always been less than optimal radios due to
intermod problems. If you were to get a handheld, I'd go for the
MVT7100. [Yeah, got one of those too.] The only drawback to that radio
is the goofy battery holder, and of course a lack of computer
programming.



I thought it was pc controllable....there seem to be more available than
just the cloning cable.


http://www.universal-radio.com/catal.../27710020.html
http://www.qsl.net/g3vgr/civ.html
http://www.qsl.net/civ_commander/
http://www.eham.net/articles/1588?eh...0e37f0c4242ca4




mike