N9EWO : JRC Japan Radio Co. NRD-535 HF Receiver

The JRC NRD-535 HF Receiver.
Hissy IF noise trait that plagued the NRD-525 was cleared up.
However now it was a digital noise problem with the NRD-535 (traded one noise for another).
D version added a poor performing "Sync Detector" along with a mediocre variable
bandwidth feature. RS-232 port was now standard via a DB-25 connector. Dave N9EWO (Paul Lannuier Photo)

Nice Ass (Button)!

One of the more humorous episodes to occur during the NRD-535 design review meetings at JRC was the now-infamous saga of the ASS Button. In 1990 the then-current marine/GMDSS HF receiver, model NRD-240, had an interesting function called "Automatic Scan Start", enabled by pressing a front panel button labeled "ASS". This had already been the source of great amusement at SWL festivals where I distributed brochures on the NRD-240, not to mention the endless ribbing I endured by attendees at the Dayton HamVention where we had the '240 on display.

Now, as the NRD-535 was being conceived, the ASS button made it's way into the discussions. As the only person at the meetings whose first language was English, I felt it was my responsibility to make them understand the marketing implications of having the word "ASS" appear prominently on the front panel. This involved a combination of spoken word and insane hand gestures, with some translation help from Shiono-san. It was bad enough that they used the prefix "NFG" to denote the JRC line of antenna tuners. "Please," I begged them, "don't make me market a product with an ass button!" A moment of silence was quickly followed by an eruption of laughter as it finally became clear to the group what my fuss was all about. The ASS button was scrapped, thankfully.