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I don’t have any experience with the 8617a. I have two 8716s (HF only) and they are top notch. If the seller is being ‘snarky’ about whether the 8617 actually works it is a cause for concern. If he won’t provide a video session to show you that then you have to decide if you want to take the chance. If it works $500 is a very good price. If it doesn’t then at worst you have a spare parts rig, but not functional. If it does work I’d love to hear how it performs on HF and AM BC bands since the 8617 is a VHF/UHF radio (like the 8611). Good luck!

Thank you!😁

I am pretty sure if it’s using the Dallas chip then it will work!

@@KI4BZJ new power supply too?

@@dieselten01 I would ask Steve Pappan at WJ Systems when you order the replacement power supply. He will be able to tell you for sure. Let me know what he says!

Hmmm…That would be interesting!😁

Thanks. Dave’s eBay seller ID is kellyjo_13.

Thanks!

Awesome! I’d live to see pictures and/or a video of it. WJ made some great machines.

Thanks for the question. I think both radios are excellent at picking out weak signals. If you are listening to voice mode (AM) signals, I might push the WJ HF1000A above both the 8711A and the 896. For digital modes & CW I’d probably call it a draw. I might do a future video demonstrating the audio recovery between the 896 & the 8711A if you are interested.

Thanks for the info. Regrettably the V.4 firmware is not installed and lacks of some interesting modes on AM mode. Anybody knows where I can get the v4 ?

Thanks. That might be a benefit of having a wideband radio these days. You can get FM and other higher frequency stations. I miss the broadcast offerings of years past on HF as well!

You are right. It is a simple two line fluorescent dot matrix display. Very simple and basic, but functional. The multifunctional menu choices that are available through it do allow a lot of control over the radio’s settings and features.

Hi Clint! Glad to meet you. My call sign is KI4BZJ, although I don’t really get on the air very much, mainly listen on HF. I can see why your 206A is branded Kyoritsu-The power supply boards in it are made by them. This model seems to be branded by multiple companies, but the boards are slightly modified Kenwood R2000 parts. My second unit has some issues and I tried doing a straight RF board (the lower one) from a Kenwood R2k, and it fit, but there are two circuit differences, both of which seem to connect to the Kyoritsu power system daughter board. The radio does turn on and function with the R2k board, but the receive is deaf. What is the issue with your radio?

​@@KI4BZJ Hi Chuck, thank you so much for replying, its going on midnight I'm about to hit the sack (Monday morning)....the receiver is like 98% percent working but is deaf, maybe we have the same problem?....I'm hearing the stronger stations in the Broadcast Band but go up in frequency and its pretty quiet. This is where I have a couple of questions. The "GAIN" control, I assume it's an RF Gain control?...mine doesn't work, even the stations I'm hearing this Gain control doesn't do anything which suggests that the problem definitely lies in the Front End. Also the BFO function, Kyoritsu has used an external BFO board which plugs in to the main receiver board, it appears to work but only in the CW mode, select USB/LSB and there's no obvious effect, is that the same on yours?

Chuck, I tried sending you an email per the address in QRZ but it bounced back, my email address is correct in QRZ you are more than welcome to send your email address via my address....;)

@@VK3CSJ Yes, my QRZ entry is about 15 years out of date snd I can’t recover my password to do anything there. I’m wampus61<at>gmail<.>com if you’d like to compare notes.

@@VK3CSJ One of my receivers receives well, but seems to fade after an hour or two usage. The other one is completely deaf and doesn’t produce any audio. Probably the same front end issue, just in different states of failure. Yes, the GAIN is RF Gain. The BFO is primarily intended for CW, so I’d expect it to only work in that mode.

Thanks for the tip! I know you are an NDB expert so thanks for the advice. I actually included the NDB comparison with you in mind my friend!😉😁

@@KI4BZJ thanks Chuck!!

I believe there is one there now if you are interested!😉

Highly recommended!😉😁

I don’t know how much they originally cost, but they are a high quality machine!

Thanks for the comment. Right now WJ Systems is in startup mode, but hopefully I’ll have an email address shortly where you can contact them. Hang tight and I’ll provide contact info when they have that up and running.

To follow up, WJ System’s website is now up and running! Check them and their products out at www.wj-systems.com !

@@KI4BZJ Thanks, Chuck, I certainly will check out their site.

Its not DSP, but uses an analogue filter array of some kind to narrow/broader the audio. Very cool!

Thanks Jim. The unit below is a ‘sick’ ITT Mackay Marine 3030A on which I’m currently diagnosing some power issues at the moment. I hope to have it up and running for a future video!

@@KI4BZJ Cool, thanks. I'm looking forward to that video, too!

Yes, and that was in 1987 funds!!

@@KI4BZJ the next r 2000 that comes up for sale in good condition I'm buying it I've had one but it was in bad condition fotget about the vhf uhf module no good

Thanks Dean. The nameplate and model number are on the rear of the radio instead of the front. I don’t know why Cubic made that choice. Check out my Facebook page for pictures (including the nameplate).

Actually I only posted this entry to some of the FB radio groups (Black Radios, etc). I’ll post an entry on my public FB page shortly. Check it out!

@@KI4BZJ I will do that, sir.

@KI4BZJ I just placed a friend request on Facebook to you. Thanks.

Over time I’ve developed contacts all over the world who keep an eye out for models on my radio ‘bucket list’. Other times I get tips from other collectors or trade for radios they own. That’s how I found this particular radio.