Is ICOM IC-R71E a good buy?

[cemelec]

I have always had an interest in SW (listening only) and have had various receivers over the years.

I'm  looking at a ICOM IC-R71E , is it still a decent receiver for general purpose all band reception? (I have requisite skills and test equipment to repair / rejuvenate if necessary)

Or, suppose I were happy to spend up to around £500 / $750 would I be better with a more modern offering? Suggestions welcome

Thanks, Charles

[Bicurico]

All depends on what you want to do, but honestly I would not invest any money in such an old device.

Why not go the SDR route. There are modern radios from premium brands, but you can get very interesting hobby/amateur devices on AliExpress which have pretty good reviews.

Regards,
Vitor

[HB9EVI]

if you get it for a reasonable low price, why not, but more than a few 10 bucks, I wouldn't spend for it

[Bicurico]

Well, I think up to 100 bucks would still be reasonable and it will sell for more on eBay. No doubts about that.

I was referring to the mentioned budget of 500-750 Pounds!

Here are some more interesting options, IMHO (in no particular order):

KN990
RS978
RS918
XIEGU G1M
Xiegu G90

Search them at AliExpress and on Youtube (reviews).

I think you get more fun out of these than on an old transciever boat anchor.

Regards,
Vitor

PS: This more extensive reply was written on a PC (before I was on the mobile phone, hence the lack of examples)

[HB9EVI]

sure it will sell for more on ebay - but that doesn't mean that it's worth the bucks; no idea why all the world is crazy about old crappy radios for almost any foolish price you can imagine

yea 100 bucks would be my personal maximum - if I had need for another radio

[themadhippy]

no idea why all the world is crazy about old crappy radios

Old maybe,but it most certainly wasn't considered  crappy when released in the mid 80's.

[HB9EVI]

it's not primarily a matter of age, but also about how well the operator cared about the device; I better spare details about how such radios look coming from the environment of a heavy smoker

age can become a problem, when exotic chips start to fail or leaking electrolytic caps cause corrosion on the PCB; ageing is also happening in pure semiconductor devices; often it starts with PLLs not locking a.s.o. sometimes you have in the end a huge to-do pile; some radios are mechanically a disaster like the sandwich-construction of devices like the FT-7x7 series; that's no fun to work on those one

[n5al]

Why not go the SDR route.

Regards,
Vitor

https://www.sdrplay.com/ --> it's very popular and designed in the UK.

BTW, shortwave listening isn't anything like it used to be back in the 60's, 70's and 80's.  Many players, both big and small have left the game.  Proportionally, less programming is aimed at the first world countries and more is aimed at developing countries (in their local language).  Nowadays, you will find a number of religious broadcasters and the omnipresent Radio China International, as you scan the bands. 

[msuthar]

Specially for Icom IC-R71  there is a technical issue  its parameters are stored in a RAM which is backed by a lithium battery.
When this battery fails the rig becomes dead.The PLL s  N data and memory data also various mode offset data gets lost.
It is very difficult to reprogram the ram.There were some ram cards were available with PAL and Eprom in old times.
this link https://www.eevblog.com/forum/rf-microwave/programming-volatile-memory-boards-in-older-icom-rigs/

[cemelec]

So in the end after much researching and thanks to various responses to my original post, I have ended up with these:

- SDRplay RSPdx
- ICOM IC-7300 (taking foundation license exam before end of year)

Somewhat over my original intended budget, but 100% worth it in every way. Both are fantastic radios, and the steep learning curve of both keeps my brain occupied. I'm retired now,  so I was brought up in the analogue age, and I don't think I would ever go back to technology even as recent as the 1990's or 2000's.  In the 1980's I worked in the radio comms industry (Racal and Park Air) and the leading edge technology of those days wouldn't be good enough for most of todays amateurs.

[TheSteve]

IC-7300