Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[Nick Hall-Patch]

The following comment grows out of a recent discussion with a couple 
of other DXers.


One reason for sticking with anything is familiarity.   If you know 
every quirk of an R8A, you will be able to use it to the maximum of 
its capability; everything else will be down to your DXing skills.


SDR is a wonderful technology, though finding time to go through all 
the files is a challenge.  Perseus is a great SDR.  It's been around 
for about 10 years; even for geezers, that's getting to be a 
reasonable portion of our lifetimes.   At this point, one of its 
selling points is that it is frozen in time; most owners still use 
the original software, and it isn't because they are too, ah, thrifty 
to pay for the later version.  Perseus owners, like the table top 
receiver owners, are able to use it to the maximum of its capability, 
because they are really familiar with it.   But they could be seen as 
nearly as much stuck in time as the guy driving an R8A, or even an 
HQ-180A.And it's a credit to Nico Palermo that so many people 
want to stop in that time that even he has moved beyond; the man is a genius.


The world of SDR has not stood still, either in hardware, or in 
software.   But each of us needs to figure out whether we want to 
chase the latest thing, and agonize over the fact that the latest 
software or OS update has broken our favorite feature, and what 
work-around we can perform on it, or...whether we would rather 
DX.   Meantime, the solar minimum wafts by, while the bleeding edge 
listener curses at his computer (as if we weren't doing that enough already).


(Incidentally, I really enjoy wasting time poking through software 
and even trying to break it through modification, or heading off on a 
tangent...but there isn't enough time for everything, even for a 
retired person...)

..
best wishes,

Nick







At 04:46 2018-08-14, Mark Connelly via IRCA wrote:


*** I've run my Perseus successfully since 2009 on various versions 
of Windows including XP, 7, and 10.  When the laptop is about 5 or 
so years old and you're looking for something new for critical 
business and home programs, take that older one that still runs your 
SDR and disable it from any internet usage.  OS gets frozen in 
place, new apps / programs are not added, no updating happens.  If 
you're doing that you can also pull out bloatware, anti-virus 
programs, and anything not needed to run the SDR and ancillary apps 
such as Total Recorder used to create mp3 audio clips.  The old 
laptop, not worth much in the resale market at that point, becomes 
dedicated.  Bill Gates can come out with Windows 1 and it won't 
matter.  You can still DX.


Nick Hall-Patch
Victoria, BC
Canada  


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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[Chuck Hutton]

I've successfully run the Perseus software on a $58 Atom Z3735 based tablet..

That has to be the lowest horsepower system for sale these days.

Best to step up a level so you can run a browser, Actobat Reader, etc.

No need for a gaming laptop with today's chipsets and CPUs.

Chuck


From: IRCA  on behalf of Guy Atkins 

Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 10:51 PM
To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America
Subject: Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

You can actually run most SDRs on much lower priced computer hardware than
you might imagine. The main (free) SDR software packages have progressed in
processing efficiency the last few years; I'm specifically thinking of
lower CPU requirements for SDR-Console and SDRuno. IMHO the HDSDR software
has been CPU-thrifty from the start.

If all you're doing is DXing the MW band, an older Intel Core i3 laptop
will handle the Mbps sampling rate needed, and even many of the newer
netbooks of yore. I remember at the dawn of Perseus, Bjarne Mjelde and I
used low-end MSI Wind netbooks just fine with Perseus. That said, an i3 or
i5 computer would give more "headroom" for the first time SDR user.

Alternatively on the low end of PCs, the newer Atom processors can handle
SDRs just fine. Three years ago I ran an Elad FDM-S2 successfully on an HP
Stream 7 tablet with CPU usage of just 11 to 13 percent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FAwxwI95Zg
[https://www.bing.com/th?id=OVP.M_Ixgq0a_zWz0ZGhfQNmRQEsCo=Api]<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FAwxwI95Zg>

HP Stream 7 - Elad FDM-S2 SDR Demo<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FAwxwI95Zg>
www.youtube.com
This short video demonstrates that the Elad FDM-S2 software defined radio runs 
well on the $99 HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet. In the demo the entire medium 
wave band ...





That Stream 7 tablet was only $99 new three years ago, so price really
isn't a barrier as much as some people claim for computers for SDRs.

Don't like Windows for SDRs? There are some Mac SDR programs out there now.
I can't name them as I don't follow the Apple computer world closely, but
the software exists. I also know of some DXers who use Boot Camp on their
MacBooks for running SDRs with their chosen flavor of Windows.

73,

Guy Atkins
Puyallup, WA
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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[Guy Atkins]

You can actually run most SDRs on much lower priced computer hardware than
you might imagine. The main (free) SDR software packages have progressed in
processing efficiency the last few years; I'm specifically thinking of
lower CPU requirements for SDR-Console and SDRuno. IMHO the HDSDR software
has been CPU-thrifty from the start.

If all you're doing is DXing the MW band, an older Intel Core i3 laptop
will handle the Mbps sampling rate needed, and even many of the newer
netbooks of yore. I remember at the dawn of Perseus, Bjarne Mjelde and I
used low-end MSI Wind netbooks just fine with Perseus. That said, an i3 or
i5 computer would give more "headroom" for the first time SDR user.

Alternatively on the low end of PCs, the newer Atom processors can handle
SDRs just fine. Three years ago I ran an Elad FDM-S2 successfully on an HP
Stream 7 tablet with CPU usage of just 11 to 13 percent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FAwxwI95Zg


That Stream 7 tablet was only $99 new three years ago, so price really
isn't a barrier as much as some people claim for computers for SDRs.

Don't like Windows for SDRs? There are some Mac SDR programs out there now.
I can't name them as I don't follow the Apple computer world closely, but
the software exists. I also know of some DXers who use Boot Camp on their
MacBooks for running SDRs with their chosen flavor of Windows.

73,

Guy Atkins
Puyallup, WA
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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[Mark Connelly via IRCA]

--- Begin Message ---
*** My replies to Colin's comments are preceded by asterisks.

>> All good comments - my current reluctance to join the SDR crowd is the 
>> expense of buying a Perseus and then getting a laptop with enough horsepower 
>> to operate it... 


*** Elad is about half the price of Perseus (~ $500 versus ~$1K) and a 
competent laptop is about $500 so you're in the door for about a grand.  
Compare that to Hammarlund HQ-180A or SP600-JX, Collins R-390A or 51J4, 
National NC-183, and other competent '60s era receivers running well "north" of 
$300 in '60s money.  When scaled to inflation, not to mention what you get now 
in the addition of spectrum storage and infinite filter bandwidth choices, even 
a Perseus + premium gaming laptop coming in about $2K looks like some kind of 
bargain.  I can guarantee that you would have had to work more hours in 1967 to 
bag a top grade Collins or Hammarlund than you would have to now to get up at 
least the ~$1K for an Elad and mid-range (adequate) laptop.



>> For me, another strike against is the whole concept of scooping a swath of 
>> spectrum and ?listening to? or searching it ?later on...?


*** This is a problem how?  You can still listen live if you want.  Best 
approach is a mix of live and after-the-fact listening.  Live gets you 
shortwave and internet parallel options less feasible in a post-facto setting.  
Also you can tweak phasers and optimize other antenna settings better.  
Captures get you DX at times when you might prefer to be working, sleeping, 
eating, shopping, socializing, etc.



>> I work - and I have zero time for hunching over a laptop and snooping 
>> through WAV files looking for DX that happened 8-12 hours earlier.


*** In the late autumn and winter, I could see it darkening outside the windows 
of my Boston-area office around 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 UTC), about 45 minutes 
before sunset, and knew that there was screamer TA DX going on but I couldn't 
do a thing about it as I wasn't leaving for home for two more hours and then 
there was the traffic jam en route (during which I might get a few of the 
bigger blasters on the car radio).  By 6 or 7 p.m. EST, domestic splatter was 
huge and the TA DX was just a shadow of what I knew it was between 3 and 5 p.m. 
when I was still at work.  From the '60s through the '90s I could only dream 
about being able to listen during the best time for foreign DX which, on this 
side of the country, is from an hour before sunset to maybe an hour and a half 
after sunset.  Listening live at home after dinner only really worked in spring 
/ summer with the later sunsets.  In the vaunted autumn / winter "DX season" 
listening at home after work / commute / dinner was frequently a waste of time. 
 The good stuff was happening much earlier.  So, once again, recording spectrum 
is a problem how?  I think of it more as a solution.
 


>> Maybe when I?m retired. 



*** Maybe when you're retired you could actually listen live at times when the 
DX is good.  Seems like you would actually rely less on scheduled recordings 
then. 


>> I am amped about getting a BeagleBone webSDR up an running from my QTH but 
>> was choked when I looked at how expensive it was to get one to CANADA 
>> around twice the price of one in the USA.



*** Aren't you close enough to the border to work out a deal with a DXer on the 
US side to buy the gear and drive it up there sometime?


>> I?ll revisit that soon - the idea of having a self contained web receiver 
>> with a dedicated processor is appealing. Having an SDR that is d?pendant on 
>> the whims of Bill Gates and Windows holds ZERO appeal. Unlink th? receiver 
>> concept from a Windows O/S and I?m in. 



*** I've run my Perseus successfully since 2009 on various versions of Windows 
including XP, 7, and 10.  When the laptop is about 5 or so years old and you're 
looking for something new for critical business and home programs, take that 
older one that still runs your SDR and disable it from any internet usage.  OS 
gets frozen in place, new apps / programs are not added, no updating happens.  
If you're doing that you can also pull out bloatware, anti-virus programs, and 
anything not needed to run the SDR and ancillary apps such as Total Recorder 
used to create mp3 audio clips.  The old laptop, not worth much in the resale 
market at that point, becomes dedicated.  Bill Gates can come out with Windows 
1 and it won't matter.  You can still DX.


>> Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA -

*** Mark Connelly, WA1ION - South Yarmouth, MA, USA
--- End Message ---
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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale ... and SDRs

[Donald Barnes via IRCA]

--- Begin Message ---
Colin and Bob,

This is a great discussion. A couple of years ago I had my Drake R8A given the 
once over by a gentleman who I believe was a former Drake service tech. I too 
am enamored with the tactile, knob twisting, button pushing actions. My DXing 
forays to Hawaii and recently to Rockworks on the OR coast have also made me a 
big fan of the “Supercharged” ultralights coupled with the “Frequent Flyer” 
FSLs ingeniously developed by Gary DeBock. I have had an Elad FDM-S2 that I 
have not pressed into service yet. I am probably going to try it this fall. 
During brief, variable and glorious propagation openings, I am lured by the 
option of recording the entire BCB band so as not to miss any DX. TP and TA 
propagation is not exactly commonplace here in the hinterlands.

73 and Best of DX,

Craig Barnes
Wheat Ridge, CO



Sent from my iPhone

> On Aug 13, 2018, at 7:22 PM, Bob Coomler  wrote:
> 
> Colin,
> Keep an open mind.  I have a Winradio G31 SDR.  I have never used the 
> recording feature (I'm strictly a real time listener), love it's features, 
> have found it to be great for portable operations. And I'm retired.  :-)  I 
> previously had a thoroughly modified Icom R75 and it took a lot (A LOT!) of 
> soul searching to make the change, but no regrets.  I miss the tactile finger 
> tip and visual experiences, but my ears are happy.
> Bob Coomler W7SWLTucson, AZ
> 
>  From: R. Colin Newell 
> To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America 
>  
> Cc: Mark Connelly 
> Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 12:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale
> 
> All good comments - my current reluctance to join the SDR crowd is the 
> expense of buying a Perseus and then getting a laptop with enough horsepower 
> to operate it... 
> 
> For me, another strike against is the whole concept of scooping a swath of 
> spectrum and “listening to” or searching it “later on...”
> 
> I work - and I have zero time for hunching over a laptop and snooping through 
> WAV files looking for DX that happened 8-12 hours earlier. 
> 
> Maybe when I’m retired. 
> 
> I am amped about getting a BeagleBone webSDR up an running from my QTH but 
> was choked when I looked at how expensive it was to get one to CANADA 
> around twice the price of one in the USA.
> 
> I’ll revisit that soon - the idea of having a self contained web receiver 
> with a dedicated processor is appealing. Having an SDR that is dépendant on 
> the whims of Bill Gates and Windows holds ZERO appeal. Unlink thé receiver 
> concept from a Windows O/S and I’m in. 
> 
> Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA -
> 
>> 
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> 
> 
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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale ... and SDRs

[Bob Coomler via IRCA]

--- Begin Message ---
Colin,
Keep an open mind.  I have a Winradio G31 SDR.  I have never used the recording 
feature (I'm strictly a real time listener), love it's features, have found it 
to be great for portable operations. And I'm retired.  :-)  I previously had a 
thoroughly modified Icom R75 and it took a lot (A LOT!) of soul searching to 
make the change, but no regrets.  I miss the tactile finger tip and visual 
experiences, but my ears are happy.
Bob Coomler W7SWLTucson, AZ

  From: R. Colin Newell 
 To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America 
 
Cc: Mark Connelly 
 Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 12:58 PM
 Subject: Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale
   
All good comments - my current reluctance to join the SDR crowd is the expense 
of buying a Perseus and then getting a laptop with enough horsepower to operate 
it... 

For me, another strike against is the whole concept of scooping a swath of 
spectrum and “listening to” or searching it “later on...”

I work - and I have zero time for hunching over a laptop and snooping through 
WAV files looking for DX that happened 8-12 hours earlier. 

Maybe when I’m retired. 

I am amped about getting a BeagleBone webSDR up an running from my QTH but was 
choked when I looked at how expensive it was to get one to CANADA around 
twice the price of one in the USA.

I’ll revisit that soon - the idea of having a self contained web receiver with 
a dedicated processor is appealing. Having an SDR that is dépendant on the 
whims of Bill Gates and Windows holds ZERO appeal. Unlink thé receiver concept 
from a Windows O/S and I’m in. 

Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA -

> 
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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[R. Colin Newell]

All good comments - my current reluctance to join the SDR crowd is the expense 
of buying a Perseus and then getting a laptop with enough horsepower to operate 
it... 

For me, another strike against is the whole concept of scooping a swath of 
spectrum and “listening to” or searching it “later on...”

I work - and I have zero time for hunching over a laptop and snooping through 
WAV files looking for DX that happened 8-12 hours earlier. 

Maybe when I’m retired. 

I am amped about getting a BeagleBone webSDR up an running from my QTH but was 
choked when I looked at how expensive it was to get one to CANADA around 
twice the price of one in the USA.

I’ll revisit that soon - the idea of having a self contained web receiver with 
a dedicated processor is appealing. Having an SDR that is dépendant on the 
whims of Bill Gates and Windows holds ZERO appeal. Unlink thé receiver concept 
from a Windows O/S and I’m in. 

Colin Newell - Victoria - B.C. CANADA -

> 
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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[billy brooks]

Thanks mark for your wisdom.  I'm interested in selling my drake for the
reasons you recommended.  However, I will be buying
A new icom 7300 for mwdx until I pass my tech./general class ham exams. If
I'm successful,  mwdx will probably fade away as
The noise and lack of proper station id decorum (espn!) are driving me nuts.
Even back in the early '60's it was getting
Problematic thanks to our komrades in D.C. 
Btw:  I had to cancel my cape dx trip due to family health problems.  Maybe
next year with a potent 100watt icom!

I appreciate the guidance shown me like so many other old-timers  on irca
have extended.

73s   bill brooks

-Original Message-
From: IRCA [mailto:irca-boun...@hard-core-dx.com] On Behalf Of Mark Connelly
via IRCA
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 2:02 PM
To: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Cc: Mark Connelly
Subject: Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[Mark Connelly via IRCA]

--- Begin Message ---
I have several old school tabletop receivers including Drake R8A and SW8, also 
Palstar R30.  All excellent radios and former workhorses for me.  Basically 
they collect dust now.  Keeping them for now but will someday think of selling.

When you start using a good SDR such as Perseus or Elad, why would you ever go 
back?  Storing spectrum for later replay, obviously, is the "killer app" but 
just in terms of receiver basics you get better filtering (via DSP) for 
selectivity, as well as small-signal sensitivity and big-signal intermod / 
overload immunity numbers at least competitive with the best Drake / AOR / NRD 
(and, for that matter, Collins / Hammarlund / Hallicrafters) sets.

Interestingly, small portable radios, especially the newer crop with DSP 
filtering features, also occupy a bigger slice of the overall DXing pie than 
traditional tabletop receivers.  You don't always want to drag a laptop + SDR 
(or a tabletop set) everywhere.  Hiking in the woods, flying, or going on a 
cruise ship often demand simplicity and small receiving gear profile.  
Portables are still useful.

Mark Connelly, WA1ION
South Yarmouth, MA

<<
Some opinions -

My Drake R8 went up in smoke 2 days ago -- the upside is: I am a qualified
electronics technician
with 30+ years experience with a workshop outfitted to work on anything
with transistors, tubes, integrated circuits, surface mount, etc...

I fixed it after ripping it apart - a very painful emotional process
because... It's my baby...

The first round of surgery did not fix the problem - but I pressed on after
vaguely recalling some troublesome area
mentioned in the forums.

Viola -- Drake R8 fixed and back on duty in time for the Fall 2018 DX
season.

Ironically, Jim Pruitt and I are creating an all - new Drake R8 user-group
based on the failing Yahoo user group -
failing in that Yahoo Groups are on their very last legs.
Seeing that all Drake receivers are an aging species, I plan on doubling
down on my technical knowledge in an effort
to support as many of them as possible.

Now -- on the issue of buying Drake receivers: They are all long in the
tooth and all of them are going to have some health issues - some sooner -
some later. I sold Drake R8 a month ago for a whopping $800 after giving it
a 4 hour restore. It's still needs some work to keep it happy over the next
few years and that will cost more money.

My point: Do NOT buy a Drake unless you have the skills to maintain it or
the contacts or technical know-how to overcome the obstacles of aging. When
I sold my extra Drake R8, I was painfully clear that it might last another
year, another month or another decade. Nobody really knows (short of
looking under the hood and taking multiple measurements...)
To the buyer - CRYSTAL clear that his radio that he just paid $800 for -
could last a day, a week, a month, a decade.

As the owner of a Drake R8, I have to say the emotional connection to
classic radios like these verges on the unhealthy...
which is why I felt like I was holding a very elderly dog in my arms as I
undertook emergency open heart surgery.

While I am not saying that you shouldn't rescue and old dog - maybe buying
a puppy might be preferable.

(as in a NEW radio or something from the 21st Century...)

On Sun, Aug 12, 2018 at 7:55 AM billy brooks 
wrote:

> Greetings ladies & gents. My drake is still available @ $700.00 + ship.
> Pix and video available to verify condition.
>
> 73's Bill brooks 724-627-5994
>
>
>
> --
Colin Newell - Editor and creator *of *Coffeecrew.com
 and DXer.ca  -
VA7WWV | Twitter @CoffeeCrew | Victoria - Canada
>>--- End Message ---
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Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[R. Colin Newell]

Some opinions -

My Drake R8 went up in smoke 2 days ago -- the upside is: I am a qualified
electronics technician
with 30+ years experience with a workshop outfitted to work on anything
with transistors, tubes, integrated circuits, surface mount, etc...

I fixed it after ripping it apart - a very painful emotional process
because... It's my baby...

The first round of surgery did not fix the problem - but I pressed on after
vaguely recalling some troublesome area
mentioned in the forums.

Viola -- Drake R8 fixed and back on duty in time for the Fall 2018 DX
season.

Ironically, Jim Pruitt and I are creating an all - new Drake R8 user-group
based on the failing Yahoo user group -
failing in that Yahoo Groups are on their very last legs.
Seeing that all Drake receivers are an aging species, I plan on doubling
down on my technical knowledge in an effort
to support as many of them as possible.

Now -- on the issue of buying Drake receivers: They are all long in the
tooth and all of them are going to have some health issues - some sooner -
some later. I sold Drake R8 a month ago for a whopping $800 after giving it
a 4 hour restore. It's still needs some work to keep it happy over the next
few years and that will cost more money.

My point: Do NOT buy a Drake unless you have the skills to maintain it or
the contacts or technical know-how to overcome the obstacles of aging. When
I sold my extra Drake R8, I was painfully clear that it might last another
year, another month or another decade. Nobody really knows (short of
looking under the hood and taking multiple measurements...)
To the buyer - CRYSTAL clear that his radio that he just paid $800 for -
could last a day, a week, a month, a decade.

As the owner of a Drake R8, I have to say the emotional connection to
classic radios like these verges on the unhealthy...
which is why I felt like I was holding a very elderly dog in my arms as I
undertook emergency open heart surgery.

While I am not saying that you shouldn't rescue and old dog - maybe buying
a puppy might be preferable.

(as in a NEW radio or something from the 21st Century...)

On Sun, Aug 12, 2018 at 7:55 AM billy brooks 
wrote:

> Greetings ladies &  gents.   My drake is still available @ $700.00 + ship.
> Pix and video available to verify condition.
>
> 73's  Bill brooks 724-627-5994
>
>
>
> --
Colin Newell - Editor and creator *of *Coffeecrew.com
 and DXer.ca  -
VA7WWV | Twitter @CoffeeCrew | Victoria - Canada
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