Kenwood NRD-525 (1985–1992)

Name: Kenwood NRD-525
Brand: Kenwood

First, the filing problem. The NRD-525 is a Japan Radio Company (JRC) receiver, not a Kenwood. The "NRD" prefix belongs to JRC's line, and the record places it there. It appears on this Kenwood page only because our index misfiled it. If you came looking for a Kenwood set, the R-5000 is the model you want.

What the record does establish: a serious HF general-coverage desktop communications receiver, introduced in late 1985 and sold until roughly 1992. The exact introduction year is ambiguous in the sources - 1985 or 1986, depending on who you ask - and we'll leave that standing rather than pick a winner. It covered 90 kHz to 34 MHz in all modes, used double conversion, and carried a 10 Hz digital display, an IF notch filter, four filter positions (4 kHz and 2 kHz fitted as standard), 200 memories and a direct-entry keypad. The memories and keypad were the headline additions over the preceding NRD-515. Power was AC 100-240 V.

It was not cheap: around $1250 USD in 1986, and a period Australian dealer listing quoted A$1999 while calling it, fairly enough, a "superb 90kHz–34MHz 200ch rec." One thing worth knowing before buying: the EPROM firmware is not readily updatable, so what shipped is what you get. JRC did revise the design in production — SSB offset selection was added from serial number BR36471 onward. The set is regarded as highly collectable today, an English service manual is in circulation (it divides the receiver into five blocks: chassis, receiver, synthesizer, control and panel), and spare key caps still turn up from US parts sellers. Dimensions, weight, sensitivity figures in microvolts and current market prices are all things the record does not give us, and we'd rather leave them blank than invent them.