Tried to post this earlier, but my internet connection is spotty today...
I thought Timmy modded an MW-50 for 7415 shortwave.
I hear that a lot. I think I know why. I've seen that transmitter inside and out, it's a Gates 50S.
Having said that, there is not much difference between a Gates 50S and a Harris MW-50 (besides being the same company). Mostly the same transmitter with a slightly different cabinet(s) and tank circuit.
Tim probably refers to it as an MW-50 because the Gates 50S is not as well known, and it's close enough to an MW-50 that you still get pretty much the right idea if you imagine one in its place. The nameplate is different, the transmitter's abilities and basic construction are pretty much the same.
I don't know if an Orban shortwave processor (it might restrict audio response too much!!!) would make anything better. It's about as loud as it can be. Many listeners email saying that the signal is BOOMING into their radios. Some folks have an audio amp and bigger speakers hooked up for the BIG sound.
That pretty much nails it on the head. People get all up in arms about "you don't need all that bass", but whatever bass is in the program should damn well be there in the broadcast. That's my personal standard. That's a question of
fidelity, not shaking the house to pieces, in my view.
I used to love Harv's closing music (yeah, we're going
way back, here) because it really showed off the robust low-end of 7415. Plenty of other programs do, too, but Harv was quite a regular fixture on BCQ back then.
Never really looked at the Orban HF line. A 9100 (or similar) can give any AM signal whatever it needs, irrespective of frequency. I'm sure it's all (the HF line, that is) sold overseas, anyway: there are fewer licensed shortwave stations in this country than there are states.
Haven't been to Monticello in a few years, but I
think there's a 9100 in the 7.415 chain. I know the 9.3xx chain (particularly the exciter) is mostly Pete SOV's brainchild. The other two have been modified too many times since my last visit to even guess.