Modern rigs on AM – Joel, W1ZR cares

[Dave KA2J]

I was leafing through my just delivered Feb ’07 QST and noticed Joel Hallas, W1ZR wrote a review of the Yaesu FT-2000 HF transceiver.  Joel enjoys operating AM and I enjoy listening to his Viking II.  He gives me nice reports using his 51J4.  I have not purchased a new HF rig since my TS-520S in January of 1978, so you can tell I am way overdue!  One of the questions I ask myself when reading about the new rigs is how do they do on AM.  Most articles, reviews and advertisements pay little attention to AM.  Joel did a nice job including several paragraphs on the rigs performance on AM.  He mentioned his boat anchor gear, the Antique Wireless Association’s Sunday afternoon AM net on 75M and how the Yaesu worked on AM.  I wish the engineers who design the modern rigs would pay a little more attention to AM and reviewers take a cue from Joel and critique the rigs on AM performance.  Who knows, the manufactures might take notice and listen, improve AM operation and even sell a few more rigs.
Dave / KA2J

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

I saw that article too Dave. Good to see Joe covering AM in QST. Who would have thought such a thing, what with the ARRL being pure evil and all.

[KB2WIG]

                 "Who would have thought such a thing, what with the ARRL being pure evil and all. "

You can never tell........

[WA3VJB]

Dave, while Joel's review is probably as valid as anyone else's, if I were you I would also talk to people on the air to get your Product Reviews of contemporary transceivers, regardless of whether it's to be used only on AM, or whether it's for use across a range of modes and activities.

A range of opinions, moderated by another AMer using the FT2000, is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Yaesu_FT-2000/

I agree with your point that it was nice of Joel to include a few paragraphs referencing AM. Before I discontinued my subscription to the ARRL, I frequently saw references to AM among such reviews, sometimes limited to a line or two, but at least included as a tested mode.

Did he happen to review the FT-2000 accessory:
MD-200A8X Ultra fidelity desktop dynamic microphone. $539.95

I've been impressed by the SDR-1000, but there are aspects that come out in operating on AM that may not have been discovered or fit the space afforded to an article in a magazine.

Then too, the raw performance numbers are practically the same among rival rigs, leaving a "review" to draw attention to any manufacturing shortcomings that need to be considered, and distinguish the ergonomics to match your preferences.

The TS-2000, for example, is frequently mentioned as one of the ugliest radios being made today. That's not something a manufacturer wants to see in a  magazine where they advertise.

YMMV

[W3SLK]

Steve said:

I saw that article too Dave. Good to see Joe covering AM in QST. Who would have thought such a thing, what with the ARRL being pure evil and all.

What happened to the "...I won't even line my bird cage with it..." phrase???

[W3DBB]

.

[WA1GFZ]

The SDR1000 is a novel radio but lacks a selective front end to deal with wide band signals. The close in dynamic range is very impressive. I think the next generation will have some real performance. I am not a fan or DDS sources that generate a lot of spurs. The SDR software limits them but they are still well above a good synthesizer or crystal/pto source.
You can't claim 100 dB of dynamic range if your spurs are at -70 dBc. Also the ultimate rejection of your filters have to exceed the dynamic range or it becomes the performance limit.
SDR over the next few years could be quite interesting as A/D converters speed up and prices come down. Thank the gamers.
we will see

[k4kyv]

Did he happen to review the FT-2000 accessory:
MD-200A8X Ultra fidelity desktop dynamic microphone. $539.95

Maybe the manufacturer in Japan has taken note of the Audiophool phenomenon, and figured that if someone would pay $600 for a power cord for their stereo amp, $80/ft for speaker cable, or $80,000 for a tube type amplifier, they would gladly pay $539.95 for a "top end" microphone.

I'd rather purchase an authentic professional grade broadcast microphone, and rig up an adaptor for the PTT function, for less money than that.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Steve said:

I saw that article too Dave. Good to see Joe covering AM in QST. Who would have thought such a thing, what with the ARRL being pure evil and all.

What happened to the "...I won't even line my bird cage with it..." phrase???

[Pete, WA2CWA]

MD-200A8X seems to be selling from $379 to $399 depending on dealer. List is $539

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/mics/1359.html

Then, we also have the Heil PR40 selling for around $325

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/mics/3886.html

[flintstone mop]

Plastic radios on AM are always an interesting thread.
Usually there are mods to the filters to get the hi-fi out of it and then turning off or disabling the ALC. Some of the newer stuff might let you select BW.
The SDR's I have heard are great sounding if used properly. Too many ways to mess it up with the use of a computer. I didn't know that the receiver had a shortcoming. I thought all fixes could be done by a newer version of software.
As for microphomes, get one of the Marshall $99 condenture mics, no one will ever know. This can get crazy buying $500 mics for Ham use! Sorry RE27 and Sennheiser and Neuman folks......
Fred

[Dave KA2J]

Paul...  I went back and checked the review.  He did not try the MD-200A8X Ultra fidelity desktop dynamic microphone.  He used three different Yaesu mics; the MH-31 hand mic that is supplied, and early MD-1 and a MD-100 that was purchased to use with FTDX9000 testing.  He received good reports on the audio with the first two mics.  He found he needed to use the built-in parametric equalizer to balance the MD-100 mic.  There is also a filter selection on the bottom of the MD-100.

I got a kick out of his comment "why have all transceiver manufacturers now standardized on the same eight-pin connector, but no two manufacturers wire them the same way?"

Dave / KA2J

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

That's only if I had a bird. I haven't got one yet. Be patient. ;-)

Steve said:

I saw that article too Dave. Good to see Joe covering AM in QST. Who would have thought such a thing, what with the ARRL being pure evil and all.

What happened to the "...I won't even line my bird cage with it..." phrase???

[nq5t]

As for microphomes, get one of the Marshall $99 condenture mics, no one will ever know. This can get crazy buying $500 mics for Ham use! Sorry RE27 and Sennheiser and Neuman folks......
Fred

Depends on where you look.  I've seen SM-7/A or RE-20's for well under that kind of cash on eBay.  I don't think I paid $300 for my RE-20 new (which I suppose is like saying I bought a 75A4 for $25 in 1980 )

I'm surprised at what's happened to the PR-40 price.  I paid under $200 at a hamfest for a brand new one two years ago.  Guess pricing has been rising so buyers will think it's REALLY high end (although it IS a good mic)