Drake R-4C
$$···
| Frequency | RX: 80–10 m (+ 15 extra 500 kHz crystal positions) |
| Power | Receiver only |
| Modes | USB, LSB, CW, AM |
| Weight | 7.7 kg (17 lb) |
| Connector | phono/RCA jack (52 Ω) |
| Year | 1973 |
| antenna | phono/RCA jack (52 Ω) |
The final and most refined receiver of the Drake 4-Line. Triple conversion, improved filters, a noise blanker, passband tuning, and accessory crystal positions for added coverage. Paired with a T-4XC transmitter, it was a strong value in 1970s amateur radio.
Ham-bands-only with crystals needed for WARC bands. The audio is good but not Collins-smooth. Still a tube receiver in an era when solid-state was arriving. Finding unmolested units is harder than it should be; many were modified.
A popular 1970s receiver. The R-4C was a favorite of budget-conscious serious operators and contesters from 1973 into the early 1980s. A clean, unmodified R-4C is still a pleasure to operate.
The Drake R-4C is the receiver of Drake's famous 4-line and the most refined of the family, a 1973 triple-conversion communications receiver that, properly equipped, ranks among the finest tube-era ham-band receivers ever made. It receives AM, CW, and single sideband on the 80 through 10 meter amateur bands as five fixed 500-kilohertz segments, with fifteen accessory crystal sockets for any 500 kHz slice between 1.5 and 30 MHz; 160 meters is available only by adding the right crystal, so it is not standard coverage.
Where the earlier R-4/R-4B are double-conversion, the R-4C adds a third conversion: a crystal filter at 5695 kilohertz becomes the main selectivity element ahead of the 50-kilohertz final IF, and electronic passband tuning replaced the earlier mechanical scheme. Only a 2.4-kilohertz SSB filter and a wide AM filter ship as standard, the sharp 250/500/1500-hertz CW filters cost extra, which is exactly why aftermarket 8-pole crystal-filter upgrades became a cottage industry around this receiver.
That upgrade path is why the R-4C is still prized as a competition-grade receiver decades later. The antenna connects through a phono (RCA) jack rather than an SO-239, and (being a receiver) it has no microphone connector. It is a discontinued classic. Compare it with the matching T-4XC transmitter and the earlier 2-B.