Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John (KC8RZM), who writes:
Hi Thomas,
Don’t know if this is relevant to SWLing but maybe there’s others out there that might be interested in the following.
I always kicked myself not picking up one of Icom’s IC-R8500 receivers before Icom discontiued it. I know this wideband receiver has excellent reviews regarding its performance and this model was about the last of the old analog/superhet design before everything started to go SDR.
Previously, I’d thought about buying a second-hand unit, but have always been wary not knowing its past usage and prefer to buy new gear.
So was surprised to see sellers on ebay the other day listing new and unopened IC-R8500s.
One unit was listed at $2,000.00 but the seller reduced it to $1,800.00 so I snapped it up for my collection.
I think $1,800.00 is about the original price when Icom was still producing this model.
I noticed another seller offering new IC-R8500s for $2,000.00 and apparently has more than 10 available as I type this:
Maybe some other SWLing readers might still wish to own a new IC-R8500 before they disappear for good. As I said, it’s the last in a long line of distinguished Icom superhet-based radios before the SDRs took over.
Best wishes,
John
KC8RZM
Many thanks for sharing this, John. I have never owned an IC-R8500, but I’ve heard it’s an excellent wideband receiver. The seller seems to offer a 30 day warranty and does indeed have a number of these in inventory. Looking through the seller reviews, they have a 97.6% rating with 1310 reviews; only one negative review in the past year. It seems they are based in Israel, but shipping is free (with normal custom delays, etc.).