eBay: Dan spots a rare Drake RR3/R4245

Drake-RR3

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dan Robinson, who writes:

Almost never seen on Ebay, the Drake RR3, otherwise known  as the R4245, which is also essentially a Drake R7/A inside a marine style case.

This one has some condition issues, so anyone considering it should ask some thorough questions…

Click here to view on eBay.

Wow–I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Drake RR3/R4245 before. It would certainly be a unique Drake piece to have in the shack.

As Dan mentions, the seller does not offer returns, so you would want to thoroughly research the condition prior to bidding.

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7 thoughts on “eBay: Dan spots a rare Drake RR3/R4245

  1. Raoul Meunier

    It’s been a year since my post. Apparently, there is no interest in these receivers. I now own a RR3 and a R4245, both in very, very good conditions.
    Anyone that is seriously considering to buy a “real” receiver, should try one of these. I tried several other brands/models in the past, none of them with the performance of these Drakes. Naturally, the R4245 has the advantage of the synthesised local oscillator compared to the PTO in the RR3, eliminating the drift of the analog design. However, the very small drift of the RR3 can now be fixed by adding a low cost “Digital Automatic Frequency Control” kit.
    Regards,
    Raoul

    Reply
  2. Raoul Meunier

    Gentlemen,

    I happen to have a Drake R4245 for sale in Chile. It is in VG conditions, with no case for it came from a rack.
    Any interest?
    Thanks!

    Raoul

    Reply
  3. Frank Holden

    I once owned one of those… it had a sub 1000 serial # ( in the low hundreds as I recall) and came from a ship built in Romania in the early 1980s for Norwegian owners. Was in the discard bin with the rest of the radio room kit when GMDSS was introduced in the mid 90’s.
    I wish now I had the rest of the radio room gear which probably went to landfill…. although I did get the morse key… an ‘a/s Elektrisk Bureau Oslo’ one which I have before me as I write this.
    It was the reserve receiver… the primary was a Skanti.

    I sold my RR3 maybe 10 years ago on Ebay for about $1000 Australian.

    That ship went to the breakers a few years ago but I saw a sister ship here in Pto Montt a few days ago… I wonder???

    She may be worth a visit on her next call?

    Reply
    1. Raoul Meunier

      Dear Frank,

      Are you interested in a Drake R4245?
      I happen to have one for sale. The fact that you are in Puerto Montt caught my eye; I live in Santiago…
      Best regards,

      Raoul Meunier

      Reply
  4. John Figliozzi

    Dan is a veritable radio bloodhound! Glad to see he’s enjoying his much deserved retirement.

    Reply
  5. David Freeborough

    The Drake R4245 shares a mother board with the R7, but the permeability tuned oscillator is replaced by a synthesised local oscillator based on the Drake external VFO. This tunes in 10Hz steps with 100Hz display resoluton, making it fully synthesised and much more stable than the R7.

    Reply

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