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Review Ranking Criteria

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Introduction
In an effort to standardize my criteria used when reviewing a particular radio, I have come up with a point system that allows me to rank features and performance.
I have created several categories and assigned each a system of points based on what I believe to be those features of importance and how well a radio stacks up against others in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, interference rejection, etc. Those features of importance have been given more possible points while those that have a lesser "drool factor" are assigned smaller possible point values.

Criteria & Points Assignments

Sensitivity	Deaf	0
	Below Average	5
	Average	10
	Above Average	15
	Exceptional	25

Selectivity	Below Average	0
	Average	5
	Above Average	15

Interference rejection	Lots of interference	0
	Above average interference	5
	Average interference	10
	Below average interference	15
	Little interference	20

Coverage	Base bands	0
	25 - 30MHz	+ 5
	1+ Ghz	+ 5
	Commercial aero	+10
	Military aero	+10
	FM radio	+10
	TV audio	+10
	800MHz	+20
	Shortwave	+20

Channels	Less than 200	0
	200 or greater but less than 500	10
	500 or greater	15

Channels per bank	Less than 20 or greater than 50	0
	Greater than 40	5
	Between 20 and 40	15

Ease of use	Too complex/frustrating	0
	OK	5
	Average	10
	Easy	20

Scan/Search speed	Underpowered	0
	Average	5
	Fast	10

Receive modes	AM/FM	0
	WFM	+5
	SSB/CW/NAM	+10
	Others	+5

Step sizes	The basics (5/10/12.5/20/25)	0
	6 or more	10
	User selectable	+10
	User-defined	+5

Conversion	Double	0
	Triple	10

Audio	Power	+10
	Quality	+10

Antenna	Deaf	0
	Average	5
	Above average	10
	Exceptional	20

Construction	Cheap	0
	Average	5
	Above average	10
	Exceptional	20

Size	Large	0
	Average	5
	Below average	10
	Small	15

Search	Band	0
	1 pair of limits	10
	Multiple pairs	20
	Service	+5
	Linkable	+10

Attenuator	None	0
	Global switch	5
	Per channel	10
	Multiple uses	+10

Auto store	None	0
	Single bank use	5
	Multiple bank use	20

Search skip	None	0
	Less than 50 frequencies	5
	50 or more to 200 or less	10
	Greater than 200	15

Backlight	None	0
	Adequate	5
	Average	10
	Great	15
	Toggle	+5
	Keypad	+10

Alpha-tags	Just channels	10
	Banks/search limits	+10

VFO	None	0
	Pseudo	5
	Real	10

Squelch tail	Obnoxious	0
	Average	5
	Nice	10

Priority	None	0
	1 channel	5
	Multiple channels	10
	Separate bank	+10

Delay	Global	0
	Channel	5
	Search	+5
	User-defined	+5
	Fixed	-10

Hold	Scan	+5
	Search	+5

Rotary control		+10

S-meter		+10

Power-on resume		+10

Computer interface	Download	+5
	Upload	+5
	Control	+10

Tone decode	Optional	+5
	Standard	+10

Battery indicator		+10

Channel count		+5

Tape record control		+5

Clock		+5

Timers	Sleep	+5
	Wake-up	+5
	Multiple	+5

Weather programmed		+5

Weather alert		+5

Data skip		+5

Bank delete		+5

Bank sort		+5

	TOTAL	670

Results To Date

Here's the table of radios I have ranked thus far and their scores:

Make	Model	Points	%
AOR	AR8200 MkII	525	78%
AOR	AR8200	495	74%
Fairhaven	RD500vx	485	72%
Alinco	DJ-X10	475	71%
Yupiteru	MVT-9000	475	71%
Icom	IC-R10	470	70%
AOR	AR8000	465	69%
Icom	IC-R3	440	66%
Yaesu	VR-500	420	63%
Trident	TRX-100XLT	400	60%
Icom	IC-R2	395	59%
WiNRADiO	WR-1000i	395	59%
Commtel	COM225	380	57%
Icom	IC-PCR1000	375	56%
Optoelectronics	OptoCom	375	56%
Icom	IC-PCR100	370	55%
Welz	WS2000	340	51%
Alinco	DJ-X2	330	50%
Uniden	BC9000XLT	330	50%
RadioShack	PRO-2042	315	47%
Uniden	BC3000XLT	310	46%
Welz	WS1000	305	46%
RadioShack	PRO-2045	300	45%
RadioShack	PRO-92	300	45%
RadioShack	PRO-2006	290	43%
AOR	AR16B	285	43%
Racing Electronics	RE2000Alpha	285	43%
RadioShack	PRO-26	285	43%
Uniden	SC200	285	43%
Yaesu	FT-90R	275	41%
RadioShack	PRO-2041	270	40%
RadioShack	PRO-2004	265	40%
RELM	HS200	270	40%
Uniden	SC180B	260	39%
RadioShack	PRO-2052	255	38%
RadioShack	PRO-64	245	37%
Uniden	BC200XLT	240	36%
Uniden	BC245XLT	240	36%
RadioShack	PRO-2066	220	33%
RadioShack	PRO-67	220	33%
RadioShack	PRO-90	220	33%
Uniden	BC235XLT	220	33%
Uniden	BC100XLT	210	31%
RadioShack	PRO-43	210	31%
RadioShack	PRO-60	210	31%
Uniden	BC220XLT	205	31%
Uniden	BC230XLT	205	31%
RadioShack	PRO-2037	200	30%
Uniden	SC150-PC	200	30%
Uniden	SportCat	170	25%
Maycom	AR-108	165	25%
RadioShack	PRO-51	145	23%
Uniden	BC80XLT	125	19%

Closing Comments
Using this point system for ranking, it will hopefully help me to keep an objective reference when reviewing a radio. I will have to think in overall terms when comparing a radio being reviewed to others in its class as well as to those who currently hold top honors. While no radio will be able to garner 100% of all points, it will serve as a base reference with which I use to evaluate and you can expect to compare various radios.

When applied across all of my reviews, it will give everyone a look at how a given radio compares to others. By publishing these figures along with the review criteria, you, the reader, will be able to adjust the numbers as necessary to favor or disfavor certain categories that you feel are more or less important when compared to my viewpoint.

For example, in my personal opinion, a radio's use of a Nicad pack is a detriment to its flexiblity and operation. To this end, I will count it against a radio if it uses a Nicad battery pack. You may feel differently. It may mean no difference to you or it may be the major consideration when choosing between two different radios. It would be in your best interest if you feel at odds with my ranking criteria to adjust the points awarded to favor your particular biases. In this way, you can use my review as a starting point and thereby adjust it so that you have a reference that you can make use of to select a radio based on your personal preferences.

I hope this system works well and I think it should. There will obviously be differences and disagreements between which categories are more important than others and how the points are awarded. I'm a pretty level-headed guy and think I've done a good job at being fair to both manufacturers and to us as users.

If you would like to express your disagreement over anything listed here, or can offer additional insights in to how this rating system can be improved and can do so in a rational and mature explanation, I look forward to discussing it with you. So feel free to drop me an e-mail.

Happy reading and strong signals to all!