Description
We have offered and sold around 180 of these R8B units on Ebay and have a lot of experience in testing and in verifying proper operation. This particular receiver came to us in beautiful cosmetic condition with only a couple of very small signs of previous ownership. We have provided HD pictures for you to view this receiver in great detail. Please review our pictures for specifics on cosmetic appearance. Electronically, we have fully tested this R8B and sensitivity and overall performance are outstanding. We did not detect any issues or shortcomings with the receivers operation.The Drake comes with:AC power cordcopy of the user manualcopy of the service manual Drake R8B advertisement copy - Passport 1999Drake R8B advertisement copy - Passport 2000Drake receiver brochure - original Drake R8B sale flyerPassport (to World Band Radio) review copy - 1998Passport review copy (retested) - 1999Passport review copy (retested) - 2003NASWA (North American Shortwave Association) review - Jan 98WRTH (World Radio & Television Handbook) review copy - 2000Passport R8B Whitepaper reviewfinally, included is a CD that contains the user manual, service manual, promotional materials, reviews, Joe Carrs Antenna Handbook 4th ed, RxPlus control software, schematics, and moreThe price of the Drake receiver is set at a selling price based on its desirability, condition and availability. The R8B is no longer manufactured, but the receiver is so highly regarded that the selling price on used R8Bs have remained at an elevated level due to interest and demand. Let us talk a little bit about the R8B. This receiver was one of RL Drakes last great offerings to the DXing hobby. Drake began its foray into shortwave receivers with the nice, but modest SW4 receiver. Now 25 years later, Drake brought out the R8 receiver in 1991. It was well received by the market, but did have its shortcomings...some were ergonomic issues and others were functional issues. Eventually Drake introduced the R8A in 1995 and then a couple of years later, they hit the nail on the head with the R8B which was introduced in 1997 and was produced until 2005. Here is a list of improvements of the R8B over the R8:Improved Ergonomics: Single key presses will select your mode and bandwidthMore Memories: 1000 memory positionsFaster Scanning: Scan 40 channels per secondAlphanumeric Display: Program names may be displayed on the front panelDisplay & Entry Frequencies: User programmable in KHz or MHzCabinet Feet: Front panel tilt via a metal bailEvent Timers/Clocks: 2 Timers. The time may be programmed to remain on at all timesImproved AGC: The AGC has a smoother attack for improved SSB listeningTone Control: Expanded control of high frequency rangeFM Receive Mode: New highpass filter to reduce sub-audible tone squelch signalsLine Cord: New detachable power cordExpanded RS-232 Control: Allows customized reports of frequency, mode, memory, channel, name, and signal strengthRL Drake no longer manufactures high end ham and shortwave gear, but their legacy for quality equipment will live on with the likes of the R8B. This receiver has won lots of recognition from various authorities within the DXing community and rightfully so...it is one HOT receiver...offering the benefits of high sensitivity, choices of selectivity, synchronous detection, passband tuning, an effective noise blanker, multiple modes of reception...AM, FM, USB, LSB, CW and RTTY, two VFOs, two clock times (local and universal), choice of antennas from the front, 1,000 presets for memories, and a preamp for the weak signals. The R8B covers Longwave, AM, Mediumwave, Marine, Shortwave, Ham, and CB frequencies. An optional adapter can be purchased to allow the receiver to pick up VHF frequencies.In Passports White Paper review of this receiver their final evaluation is that the R8B deserves an overall rating of 5 stars or superb. We will quote from their summary:The Drake R8B receiver, a revised version of the now discontinued R8A and R8, offers superior performance for hour-after-hour listening to news, entertainment, and music from afar. It is one of the relatively small number of radios on the market with both selectable sideband synchronous detection and a wide choice of bandwidths--both major pluses in enhancing fidelity. The R8B offers worthy audio quality that can be even more fully appreciated when listening through headphones or a suitable outboard speaker.The R8B eliminates virtually all our performance and ergonomic concerns about the R8 and R8A. This new and presumably final version combines unusually capable program listening performance with excellent DX capabilities within its price class. This flexibility, along with attractive pricing, has propelled the Drake R8 series into a position of overwhelming market dominance among world band receivers.Bottom Line...The sensibly priced Drake R8B is a nicely rounded receiver with nearly everything done the way it should be. It is equipped with five well-chosen bandwidths, selectable-and double-sideband synchronous detection, passband offset, variable notch filtering, and a wealth of other goodies that perform as they should...along with appropriate ergonomics and superior factory service.While there are other receivers that are a skooch better for program listening or DXing, or have comparable ergonomics, there is no other receiver that does quite so nicely in all three categories, much less at the R8Bs price. Little wonder, then, that this is the worlds best selling world band tabletop receiver.Here are some reviews on the R8B in case you really want to research this unit:https://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/494 (copy and paste link into your internet browser)This unit works on multiple voltages so can be connected to AC in a variety of other countries other than the USA and Canada.At this point, we believe that we have given you what info we have on this receiver. Feel free to email with any other questions and we will do my best to try to help out with them. Most questions will likely be with regards to shipping cost. Those buyers living in the USA may use the Ebay calculator for their cost. About $17 of this cost is for the purchase of insurance that is expensive, but necessary. Shipping may be via either USPS parcel post or by FedEx depending on your location and the shipping cost.Buyers located outside the USA may also use the Ebay calculator. During the past few years, we have shipped to 111 countries the past 24 years on Ebay and we are happy to ship this receiver to you. Shipping will be via US Express airmail and insured. Please remember that you may be responsible for all import, customs, duty or VAT fees in accordance with what your country requires if any additional fees may be charged to you. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to look at our Ebay items!
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