Watkins-Johnson WJ-8711A Professional DSP Radio Receiver **ULTIMATE DX MACHINE**

Description: This sale is for a Watkins-Johnson WJ-8711A DSP receiver bearing a serial of #3927. The 8711A has a later 4.01.02 chipset. Over the years, we have offered some of the highest acclaimed communications receivers, but we offer the famed WJ-8711A receiver much less frequently. You can find these receivers for sale here and there, but often they are severely damaged cosmetically and are often not fully functional. Nicer units are generally traded via private hands and not available for public offering. The 8711A receiver was designed by Watkins-Johnson to be used by the military and other 3 letter agencies (CIA, NSA, DOS, etc) for monitoring and security. This is the final mil-spec receiver that offered hands-on controls. Subsequent receivers were the black box variety that utilized a computer for operations. This receiver is loved by enthusiasts that enjoy the performance, and because of the wealth of front panel controls, the fun of hands-on operation. This WJ-8711A receiver's front panel is not perfect and so shows minor signs of ownership and operation. Elsewhere on the receiver, you will see a variety of the typical scuffs on the top cover and sides from sliding in and out of the rack. These marks on the sides and covers are not visible when the receiver is installed in a rack or cabinet. We have seen some of these receivers with worn or broken keypad buttons, but this receiver's buttons are in very nice condition. Please look carefully at our pictures for cosmetics on this receiver. Operationally, the receiver works perfectly with no known issues or shortcomings. Upon powering on, the receiver runs through an initial BITE (built in test equipment) test that verifies that there are no functional issues in the primary electronics. The operator can also use the special function selector and run a dedicated BITE test that is more thorough and also includes display functions. We performed this full BITE test and the test ends with the display showing "BITE PASS" in the secondary display (see picture showing this information). The four displays all read out fine, but we did notice a bit of fatiguing of the segments in the main display. This fatiguing is not an issue as we were able to read the main display just fine in both daylight and during nighttime operations. This receiver was a gem to test and operate and should provide the new owner many many hours of enjoyment. The receiver comes with its AC cord, operation portion of the user manual, and a packet of literature including copies of: Watkins-Johnson company profile brochure DRS Technical Data sheet Watkins-Johnson 8711 data sheet Watkins-Johnson 8711A data sheet WJ-8711A brochure WJ-8711A Digital HF Receiver brochureN9EWO - Dave Zantow's excellent review WRTH review 2011 (World Radio & Television Handbook) Passport review 2001 (retested) - (Passport to World Band Radio) Passport review 2008 CD containing much of the above documentation plus various mods and power supply schematics Some of the best info on this fine receiver can be gleaned from Dave Zantow's site where Dave really explores this receiver in detail reviewing the various changes and giving his overall impressions. Unfortunately due to an accident, Dave is now a silent key and his passing will be missed by many people in the hobby. Dave has been well known for having supplied reviews for a variety of receivers over the years with everything from portable handheld units up to the much larger and more comprehensive receivers like this 8711A: https://www.qsl.net/n9ewo/wj8711.html (please copy and paste this link into your internet browser) We could give you some operator information for this receiver, but likely if you are reading this listing, you are already familiar with many of the functions and features of this esteemed receiver. Thus, you can look at Dave's review for some wonderful information. According to DRS's data sheet, the WJ-8711A: "is a fully synthesized, general purpose HF receiver for monitoring RF communications from 5 KHz to 30 MHz with 1 Hz tuning resolution. By combining analog and digital signal processing (DSP), the WJ-8711A achieves high performance at low cost. DSP techniques accomplish functions such as noise blanking, IF filtering, AGC, demodulation, Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO) and passband tuning. Filters with superior amplitude and group delay characteristics are achieved with digital stability and repeatability. The receiver has 66 standard selectable IF bandwidths. Available detection modes are AM, SAM (synchronous AM), FM, CW, USB, LSB, and ISB. An operator can adjust the tunable BFO in 10 Hz steps over a +8000 Hz range, and the available passband tuning further enhances the reception of CW signals. Gain control is manual or automatic, with fast, medium, or slow AGC modes. An operator can adjust the squelch threshold from 0 to -135 dBm, or disable it. Enabling the noise blanking feature effectively eliminates the adverse effects of impulse noise. In addition to fixed-frequency tuning, the WJ-8711A provides fast, flexible scanning in three modes: channel scan, F1-F2 scan and F1-F2 scan with lockouts. Dwell times are available for all scan modes from 0.5 to 20 seconds or infinite. The channel-scan mode provides 100 programmable memory channels. The operator can specify sectors of memory for individual channel scans, allowing the subdivision of available memory into multiple search scenarios. Operators can specify that the receiver skip certain channels without deleting them from memory. Memory channels can also be single-stepped manually. In both the F1-F2 scan modes, the step size is user-selectable from 1 Hz to 25 KHz. The receiver can store up to 100 independent frequency lockouts. An operator can control the WJ-8711A locally via the front panel or remotely via the computer interface. Measuring 5.25 x 19 inches, the microprocessor-controlled front panel provides a user-friendly operator interface with dedicated, logically arranged controls and large, easy-to-read LED displays." This receiver is outstanding in operation and performance as it is loaded with features and virtually everything is user configurable. You don't just have a pulse noise blanker, you can adjust its aggressiveness according to need. You don't just have a couple of IF bandwidths as is common in most receivers .... you have 66 of them covering all modes of operation enabling easily choosing the best bandwidth for the receiving need. You can direct tune, memory tune, band tune, step tune, and scan. You have the ability to not only set the AGC to fast, medium, or slow....but also set AGC threshold and AGC decay. Some of the SDR receivers manufactured may offer this sort of control, but very few receivers give the operator such a range of controls at their fingertips. If you are an advanced DXer who loves to adjust and tune knobs, you will love the control that this 8711A offers for capturing those difficult and weak signals. Truly, this is a professional receiver! Please use the Ebay shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost. This cost includes proper packing materials for safe delivery and insurance cost against damage or loss. Those buyers living outside the USA are also welcome to purchase from us. We have shipped to 112 countries during the past 25 years on Ebay and we are happy to ship virtually anywhere in the world. You may use the shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to look at our Ebay items! 73's KB3GGC (on QRZ)

Price: 2095 USD

Location: Mill Hall, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-12-26T13:40:24.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD