{"id":52090,"date":"2022-03-07T06:30:17","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T10:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=52090"},"modified":"2022-03-06T09:46:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T13:46:06","slug":"jim-is-impressed-with-the-collins-75a-4-and-kenwood-r-600","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/jim-is-impressed-with-the-collins-75a-4-and-kenwood-r-600\/","title":{"rendered":"Jim is impressed with the Collins 75A-4 and Kenwood R-600"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Jim Meirose, who recently shared a few photos and writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is the equipment currently in use here in Somerville, NJ. The Collins 75A-4 is a recent acquisition. This radio is used to cover all amateur bands. The other is the Kenwood R-600, for general coverage up to 30 MHz. The Collins has proven to be a wise purchase, as I can hear both ends of almost any SSB QSO picked up on any band. The Collins is sensitive enough to be able to even pull in signals from bands which real-time band condition maps say are nearly or totally dead at the time.<\/p>\n

Comparison of the Kenwood to the Collins on ham bands has shown nearly an even match; but, the Collins can sometimes detect weak amateur signals that the Kenwood can’t (using the same antenna) and totally beats the Kenwood for clarity of SSB audio. The Kenwood has much better audio quality on AM, however.<\/p>\n

Both radios are very easy to use. Before using a 75A-4, however, study the manual to set up the controls, because there are some odd (non-intuitive) quirks to know to get the set to work properly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The antennas here are a 150′ long wire, which works well on all frequencies. A 15 meter half-wave dipole was put up to get the most from the Collins on that band. A 10 meter dipole will soon be put up also. For ham bands 20 meters and lower the long wire does the job. For convenience’s sake, I have the 15 meter antenna and the long wire connected to the Collins all the time. But, an odd quirk; 10 meters comes in stronger with just the 15 meter dipole connected. Looking forward to see how it sounds with the 10 meter antenna.<\/p>\n

I bought the Kenwood at the beginning of the pandemic. I knew for general coverage it would beat anything I’d used before (Heathkit and Hammarlund radios). I got the 75A-4 purely based on reviews I had read. I wanted a peak performer in the amateur bands. It has proven to be great on every ham band and under nearly any atmospheric conditions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Regarding the Tristan Da Cunha QSL card; I find the mystique of this world’s remotest community to be fascinating. When I saw this QSL card up for sale in eBay, I grabbed it. Especially since the QSO ocurred on August 1948, when I was slightly over one month old.<\/p>\n

Thanks for sharing this, Jim!\u00a0 That Collins is a thing of beauty! I would love to have one if I had the space for it! It’ll certainly keep the shack warm on cold winter nights.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jim Meirose, who recently shared a few photos and writes:   This is the equipment currently in use here in Somerville, NJ. The Collins 75A-4 is a recent acquisition. This radio is used to cover all amateur bands. The other is the Kenwood R-600, for general coverage up to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,43],"tags":[9698,9697,8592,8910,2789,7733],"class_list":["post-52090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-75a-4","tag-collins-75a-4","tag-jim-meirose","tag-kenwood-r-600","tag-tristan-da-cunha","tag-tristan-da-cunha-qsl"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-dya","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46176,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/listener-post-from-a-broken-console-radio-to-the-kenwood-r-600\/","url_meta":{"origin":52090,"position":0},"title":"Listener Post: From a broken console radio to the Kenwood R-600","author":"Thomas","date":"October 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jim Meirose, who recently shared the following listener post: Listener Post by Jim Meirose My interest in radio started around 1960-61. My uncle was going to take a giant worn-out console Record Player\/AM\/FM\/SW 1940s monstrosity to the dump. My father, who was an electrician\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/swl-radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/swl-radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/swl-radio.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/swl-radio.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41702,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/radio-west-catalog-at-american-radio-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":52090,"position":1},"title":"Radio West catalog at American Radio History","author":"Thomas","date":"January 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Zack Schindler, who writes: Oh this brings back memories. I bought a lot of stuff from Radio West. Here is their catalog from 1983. Had them install a Collins mechanical filter in my Kenwood R-1000. Click here to download Radio West Catalog 5 (PDF).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Radio-West-Catalog.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Radio-West-Catalog.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Radio-West-Catalog.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Radio-West-Catalog.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36558,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/tc-notes-differences-between-kenwood-th-d74-and-th-f6a-on-mw-sw\/","url_meta":{"origin":52090,"position":2},"title":"TC notes differences between Kenwood TH-D74 and TH-F6A on MW\/SW","author":"Thomas","date":"March 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TC, who shares the following response to Ivan's post about the Kenwood TH-D74 on mediumwave: A couple of years ago, I published a side-by-side comparison of the TH-F6A and the TH-D74 on YouTube comparing reception of a local AM broadcast station. The F6A was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Kenwood-TH-D74-v-TH-F6A-e1552304821154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Kenwood-TH-D74-v-TH-F6A-e1552304821154.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Kenwood-TH-D74-v-TH-F6A-e1552304821154.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Kenwood-TH-D74-v-TH-F6A-e1552304821154.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11559,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/universal-radio-sale-on-icomkenwood\/","url_meta":{"origin":52090,"position":3},"title":"Universal Radio sale on Icom\/Kenwood","author":"Thomas","date":"November 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Universal Radio has just posted \"Black Friday\" deals on The Kenwood TS-590SG and a wide range of Icom radios. \u00a0 The Icom R75 tabletop receiver is priced at $669.95 with free shipping and a free Grundig G2 portable radio. If you've been thinking about pulling the trigger on the R75,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Icom-R-75","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Icom-R-75.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12857,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/dave-reviews-the-kenwood-r-1000\/","url_meta":{"origin":52090,"position":4},"title":"Dave reviews the Kenwood R-1000","author":"Thomas","date":"April 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My buddy, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), has apprised me of a new review he has published of the classic Kenwood R-1000\u00a0receiver. Dave comments that\u00a0he doesn't normally review\u00a0discontinued sets anymore, but he made an exception for\u00a0the R-1000 as it\u00a0\"was so unique\/good and still is to this day.\" Click here to read Dave's\u00a0full\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kenwood R-1000 (Source: Universal Radio)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Kenwood-r-1000-Universal-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Kenwood-r-1000-Universal-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Kenwood-r-1000-Universal-Radio.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18828,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/the-kenwood-r-1000-a-resurgence-in-popularity\/","url_meta":{"origin":52090,"position":5},"title":"The Kenwood R-1000: A resurgence in popularity?","author":"Thomas","date":"May 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: The Kenwood R-1000 has been enjoying a resurgence\u00a0in popularity over the past few years, fueled in part by\u00a0a positive re-review of the receiver at http:\/\/webpages.charter.net\/n9ewo2\/news.html While new condition R-1000s, and you would be surprised\u00a0how many of them are out there,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kenwood R-1000 (Source: Universal Radio)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Kenwood-r-1000-Universal-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Kenwood-r-1000-Universal-Radio.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Kenwood-r-1000-Universal-Radio.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52090\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}