[Boatanchors] difference bet. 75A3 and A4?

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On 10/19/05, Jim Wilhite <w5jo at brightok.net> wrote:
> Todd I recently picked up an A2 and have a question about it versus the A1.
> In your answer to Gene, you stated the A1 had better audio than the A2.
>
> I wonder to what the difference in the audio was attributed?  My A2 has had
> the IF section narrowed according to the book and is pretty narrow compared
> to other receivers I own.  The manual for the A2 says the conversion will
> produce 2.4 kc at 6 db down.
>
> That is equivalent to most transceivers of the late 60s and 70s designed for
> SSB.  Needless to say, this makes any AM signal pretty crappy, but
> converting to broadband  gives 4 kc at 6 db.
>
> Anyway, I don't have an A1 manual to look at and am curious from someone
> that knows.  Might it be a good thing to remove the narrow band conversion
> and look at converting the audio section to resemble the A1?

I probably should have added 'in my opinion' to that statement because
I recall some folks in the past who think the A-1 sounds awful too.
There have been folks who say the 75A-2 is the 'best' AM receiver of
the A-Line, but I can't confirm this by mine. Maybe they had the
broader versions? I wonder when or even if they started this narrowing
process in the A-2 before adding the filters and renaming it the A-3?

Rather than say more off the top of my head, what I can do is bring
both manuals in to work and see about copying the pertinent
information for you. With all the rain we've had I'm behind on just
about everything at home but I'm still sneaking over to pick up
another transmitter from a friend tonight (it's a sickness, for
sure!). I've still got your address here so I can send out the copies
to you when time permits.

I can tell you that I picked up the 75A-1 last February or March and
it still had all of the original KenRad tubes installed, and with just
a chunk of wire on the back and the 270G speaker attached, it sounded
great - better than any of the others, but the A-4 isn't as bad as you
might think.