Join me as we look at another beautiful shortwave radio, a stunning and option-filled Kenwood R-5000 communications receiver.

Do you love the idea of listening to old-school broadcasts from other countries over the radio waves rather than computers and the internet? Not hi-fi gear, I know, but kind of like hi-fi for radio, so in the interests of variety, here is another shortwave radio article for the generally electronically curious, about my newly acquired Kenwood R-5000 communications receiver.

Radio Stuff

If you read my previous article about my Japan Radio Corporation NRD-525, you’ll know I love shortwave radios. I love all forms of radio, and analog FM tuners are high on that list, but shortwave is where it all started, in my bedroom, listening on my Panasonic boombox four-band radio.

The bands were very busy back then, with the Cold War still in play and the Russian Duga ‘woodpecker’ over the horizon radar wreaking havoc for shortwave listeners and amateur radio operators. There were mysterious ‘numbers stations’ you may have heard about, with strange voices reading strings of numbers, providing coded information to operatives in the field in plain sight of kids like me, yet impossible to decode without the requisite one-time pad. And of course, there were broadcasts from every country and region you could imagine – Russia, China, East Germany, the USA, Asia, South America.

These weird and wonderful stations broadcast music, news, and propaganda. The trick was and is tuning in at the right times and then locating the stations, amongst the sea of noise. Yep, those were interesting times for an inquisitive 13-year-old Liquid Mike. These days, I’m building my little collection of ‘always-wanted’ receivers, and the Kenwood R-5000 is one I’ve wanted since I was a kid. My current shortwave ‘communications’ receiver list includes:

• Sony ICF-SW77
• Sony ICF-SW7600G
• Icom IC-R75
• Japan Radio Corporation JRC NRD-525
• Kenwood QR-666
• Kenwood R-5000

There is much misinformation out there about Kenwood, and as a Kenwood enthusiast, I’ve heard it all. Some speculate that Kenwood couldn’t/didn’t make the incredible gear at the top of their ranges over the years, but in fact, the opposite is true.

They made and continue to make some of the very best equipment, and their radio gear has always been class-leading in many ways. To give you an idea of the level of expertise at Kenwood, and what they still make now, check out the TS-990S, their current best shortwave transceiver, selling for a cool $15,000 AUD!

Kenwood R-5000 Features

The Kenwood R-5000 communications receiver is a classic top-of-the-range consumer shortwave radio from the peak of shortwave radio, the 1980s. It competed with the NRD-525 I’ve discussed previously and is an excellent performer.

Like all premium communications receivers, it features excellent sensitivity, several antenna input options, and up to four IF filters to tailor the selectivity to the signal type listnered to, and how crowned that particular band is. Also like other receiuvers from the time, it uses a VF type display

Sound from the built-in spealer is excellent, better than the NRD-525, but it sounds even better with a good external speaker like my Kenwood SP-930.

Kenwood R-5000 Specifications

Courtesy of Medium Wave Circle

Year Introduced/Discontinued: 1987/1998
Power: Mains, 12 V supply optional
Size: 279 x 107 x 307 mm
Weight: 5.6 kg
Price: US$1050, CAN$1340, £1000, A$1850 (you read that right folks)
Coverage: 100 kHz – 30 MHz continuous

That’s right, the Kenwood R-5000 communications receiver cost nearly two thousand Australian dollars decades ago, without any of the optional extras. You’ll understand why I never bought a new one.

My Kenwood R-5000

I purchased my Kenwood R-5000 from Japan after waiting for ages to find what looked to be a clean, honest one. What I didn’t expect was for it to be filled with maybe $1000 worth of options! The seller seemingly didn’t know or just didn’t include all the extras that my unit came with in his listing, likely because he didn’t know.

My R-5000 arrived in perfect condition, and a quick inspection revealed that I got very lucky. My Kenwood R-5000 came with the VC-20 VHF receiver module, which gives access to a range of aviation and amateur VHF frequencies. It also contained the YK-88SN and YK-88C SSB and CW filters, and the VS-1 voice synthesiser unit, so the radio can read out the frequencies entered. Each of these options is several hundred dollars now, IF you can find them.

The DCK-2 DC option was also installed, meaning I can run this 100V radio on a standard 13.8V linear power supply and this is critical with the R-5000. These radios dissipate a lot of heat when run on mains power. Over time, this kills the small power supply capacitors, something I sorted out in this radio. The radio also came with the RS-232 chipset option.

What a score: an almost pristine Kenwood R-5000, with just about all the available options, for less than $500 delivered! Let’s take a look.

Results

Here she is after some routine maintenance, listening to ABC radio in the morning! Sorry I don’t have any more interesting reception images for you, but I listen to 585kHz and 720kHz at various times during the day as I work, so these are what I have.

In terms of performance, I would rate it as broadly similar to the JRC NRD-525, though that radio has slightly better circuit board quality and ergonomics, whilst audio through the built-in speakers is better on the Kenwood.

The other advantage of the JRC NRD-525 is its 15 kHz wide open IF filter setting, which allows for almost high fidelity AM listening, something the 6 kHz filter of the Kenwood R-5000 and most other normal radios does not offer.

Thank You

As always, thanks for visiting. If you’d like me to look at your shortwave radio, feel free to contact me. Thanks also for your patience if you have equipment with me. There will be some delays as I continue to work through various local and interstate jobs; please accept my apologies if I’m unable to book your job in.

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