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Technical Topics => Equipment => Topic started by: mbott on August 10, 2023, 2039 UTC

Title: New to me R75
Post by: mbott on August 10, 2023, 2039 UTC
I have 5 SDRs, 4 of which I can connect to at any time and a Kiwisdr, but there are times that a physical radio with a knob just feels right.  This Icom R75 has replaced the DX-160 that I never really felt comfortable with.  The Palstar SP30B arrived today. 

Life is good.

(https://i.imgur.com/NheHseft.jpg)

--
Mike
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: Sealord on August 10, 2023, 2056 UTC
Nice!  I still haven't come over to the dark side of knobless radios yet :)
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: ~SIGINT~ on August 11, 2023, 0020 UTC
Ah, but you can add knobs to a software based SDR. I use an ELAD TM-2 (TMATE) with SDRuno.
https://shop.elad-usa.com/tmate/elad-tm2-usb-tuning-system-tmate/ (https://shop.elad-usa.com/tmate/elad-tm2-usb-tuning-system-tmate/)

A Griffin PowerMate or Contour Design Shuttle are other options. I believe that the Griffin product is no longer available and drivers beyond Windows 7 may be an issue.
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: M R I on August 11, 2023, 0502 UTC
I run power SDR interfaced with IF stage and CAT control functions on a modified HF transceiver. I can use the VFO knob to tune with tracking.

I also have the R75 that developed audio distortion. I traced it down in the -5 volt power supply circuit that uses a 555 IC as a DC to DC converter to a bad capacitor causing a low output voltage.
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: mbott on September 03, 2023, 1411 UTC
Nice!  I still haven't come over to the dark side of knobless radios yet :)

What the LP looked like just two years ago.

(https://i.imgur.com/MT8bh4v.jpg)

--
Mike
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: mbott on September 03, 2023, 2023 UTC
And this is the current LP.

(https://i.imgur.com/H0PrLD2.jpg)

--
Mike
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: ~SIGINT~ on September 03, 2023, 2055 UTC
Hi Mike,

Nice setup of your listening post (LP). I can see that you have pruned the collection of receivers over time. I went through that a little over a year ago when I moved. It was a painful thing to do. I had acquired and restored well over 100+ radios in my collection over a 40 plus year span. Today it is all but a couple of hands full or so.

Here is a link to a picture of 1 rack, of many, which is found in an article I wrote on Software Defined Radio (SDR) back in 2018.

http://www.milspec.ca/sdr/sdr.html (http://www.milspec.ca/sdr/sdr.html)

By the way, depending on which RSP model you have, you can run multiple receivers (RSPduo) and all RSPs are capable of running multiple VRXs within the same bandwidth (decimation setting). This is how I am able to listen to, for example, 11175.0 kHz on VRX 1 and 11232.0 kHz on VRX 2. You certainly have the screen real-estate for multiple VRXs.
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: mbott on September 04, 2023, 1526 UTC
<snip>

By the way, depending on which RSP model you have, you can run multiple receivers (RSPduo) and all RSPs are capable of running multiple VRXs within the same bandwidth (decimation setting). This is how I am able to listen to, for example, 11175.0 kHz on VRX 1 and 11232.0 kHz on VRX 2. You certainly have the screen real-estate for multiple VRXs.

RSP2 (as a spare), RSPduo, RSPdx, Airspy HF+ Dualport and a HF+ Discovery.  And yet, I rarely open a 2nd VRX let alone use the two receivers of the duo. 

Screen real estate generally looks like this:

(https://i.imgur.com/Rhass9J.png)

--
Mike
Title: Re: New to me R75
Post by: JustGreg on September 08, 2023, 2234 UTC
It is a nice receiver and works well.  Nice to hear that they are still around.