Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler
The AR88 is useable to receive SSB but hasn't the selectivity to handle close adjacent signals. On narrow BW it's very pleasant for CW. No product detector so the BFO deafens the AGC system and you must nurse the RF gain manually.
THe HRO is an equal of the AR88. Poor tuning resolution in MHz from those little graphs, but good resettability from that dial. It's maybe a little better than the AR88 at handling the presence of large signals. Same comments about SSB apply to HRO as AR88.
The Eddystone general coverage sets are fair, but not quite as well built mechanically as the AR88. Their much vaunted tuning reduction is fine, but a little wear in the plain brass bush of the tuning knob shaft allows it to rock a little and that produces a frequency shift equal to a fair amount of rotation. I've had to make new bushes for a few of these receivers. Again, they don't really have the selectivity/agc for SSB but can be made to work under favourable circumstances and with effort.
To do SSB on an Eddystone, Tanuki wants an 888A amateur bands only set. I have one of the later versions of it, the EA12. I think in a previous life this one served as the IF for the first moonbounce 70cm contacts out of Scotland. This has an 85kc IF and a notch. SSB reception is easy, performance is fairly good Selectivity is not as sharp as modern SSB radios. THey seem to be sought after, so prices are pretty high.
If considering valve boat anchors, then the Racal RA17 should be in contention. It's fine for AM, RTTY and CW. You can make it receive SSB and it's not too hard work, but add Racal's external SSB/ISB adaptor and it becomes rather good. Superb stability. Long and linear tuning scales (60 inches per MHz) I ran an RA117 for about ten years. That's a later version with a few improvements and a much better amount of audio power.
They've all got their individual charms and difficulties. They can all be fun.
I'd definitely avoid an AC/DC eddystone.
A lot of CR100 have been mucked about with in attempts at improvement. AR88 and HROs tended to get left as they were.
I've had a wide range of receivers over the years... the ones I've kept are:
AR88 (and one for spares)
Eddystone EA12
Racal RA1217 (Transistorised RA117 with SSB filters)
Racal RA1792 (built down to a cost, no preselector or RF filtering)
Icom R-9000 (30KHz to 2000MHz with spectrum CRT)
Icom IC-765 tranceiver
Icom IC-7700 transceiver.
Hope this gives you a bit of a feel for things.
EDIT: Update, RA117 weighs 67 pounds according to data plate on front.
David GM4ZNX
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But aren't all the sets with BFOs are not the best for SSB reception? They are good for CW. I think I read somewhere on this.
I have an old ICOM IC-751A, and it still works great albeit with some problems on CW Txing output power.
IC9000 would be awesome, but if it has to be restored, replacing 90+ electrolyc capacitors will be a major project itself.