[Drake] Re: Historical research

[Barry L. Ornitz]

Duane Fischer, W8DBF, asked a number of questions about our 
opinions of receivers.  He noted that direct replies would be 
preferable to answering them on the list.  However, I think 
these questions need some clarification, which is why I am 
asking here.

Questions about "audio quality" and "best listening" are 
naturally quite subjective to begin with.  But to be more of a 
technical purist here, I would like to ask Duane to define his 
terms better before we reply to his questionnaire.

A communications receiver certainly has a different frequency 
response than does a receiver designed for listening to 
music.  Which has better audio quality?  I think it depends on 
the application.  A bandwidth limited receiver whose audio 
response is tailored for speech communication may not sound 
natural or high-fidelity, but it may be far better suited to 
picking out, and especially understanding, speech during 
crowded or other difficult band conditions.

So Duane, can you provide some additional detail?  We could be 
talking about a receiver for strong signal, armchair 
ragchewing, or a receiver for digging out weak DX signals from 
a pileup, or even CW only usage.  A receiver we find perfect 
for one of these purposes might be miserable when applied to 
another.

        73,  Barry L. Ornitz     WA4VZQ     ornitz@tricon.net