Yaesu FRG-100 - a good receiver for 0-30MHz?

MiketheMechanic

Hi folks,

has anyone here owned a Yaesu FRG-100 receiver?
I'm after a good receiver for 0-30MHz. Mainly for SSB reception.

How would it compare to older radios like the FRG-7, FRG-7700 or FRG-8800?

Conversely, how would it fare (for SSB) against something newer like the Yaesu VR5000?

MtM

watty

I had a FRG-7700 and it was much poorer than Sony ICF2001D and VR500 (No I didn't miss a zero). I sold it.



I haven't used an FRG100. It's well regarded though.

http://www.rigpix.com/yaesu/frg100.htm
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Yaesu_FRG-100


I'd be very surprised if it isn't better than the VR500 and Sony ICF2001D both of which are surprisingly good. (you need the ATT attenutator on of course if you connect the VR500 to an aerial).

You will of course get best results with a large aerial, at least 20m recommended. An ATU (Transmatch recommended) while mandatory for TX really helps receive. An Auto ATU is no use as they use the Transmitter.

Reviews and some comparisons with VR5000
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/476

The VR5000 may not be much or any better as with it you are paying also for VHF.

USB/LSB - I've heard complaints from operators who claim there is only one bandwidth available for SSB. Not true! Here again, YOU'VE GOT TO READ THE MANUAL! You can use ANY bandwidth of the receiver in ANY MODE. Just press the "SET" and "SELECT" switch, then use the MEMO knob to switch your IF filter! The main SSB filter is 2.4 kc/s wide and sounds very good - don't be fooled by the 2.7 display on the screen! It's 2.4 kc/s, at least on mine. (I verified this by opening the receiver and examining the filter.)

Sometimes when I don't have a lot of interference, I use the 4 kc/s filter on SSB. Those station with "big audio" sound fantastic at a wider bandwidth.

Another feature for SSB listening is the variable I.F frequency. With this, you can tailor the received audio to your liking. Here again we have a P.B.T. effect that is variable.

Attenuation Control - A lot of guys don't use this when they SHOULD. This receiver doesn't have a variable RF Gain control, and the selection of either 6 dB, 12 dB, or 18 dB is a good feature. This combined with using SLOW AGC knocks out a lot of interference from SSB and makes listening better.

If you can't find a FRG100 at a decent price and do see a cheap ICF2001D it's worth getting.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/479

http://www.rigpix.com/sony/sony_icf2001d.htm
It has unusual syncronous AM detector and can use upper or lower sideband often removing adjacent channel whistle on AM. Fabulous for R4LW and picks up USA 80m SSB stations just on its whip.
Advantage of portable, alarm and Air/AM + VHF/FM also.

MiketheMechanic

Thanks for this watty - excellent reply. Some good links there.

73's.

MtM