[Elecraft] Why Transverters?

[Tim ORourke]

From: "Mike McCoy"
At the risk of appearing naive and/or dumb, I just don't 'get it' when it
comes to transverters.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mike 
Like you I wounder this same thing until I became part of AA4ZZ super VHF
contesting crew. By using an HF rig as an IF you get a very sensitive and
quite IF with what ever bells and whistles the HF incorporates. You also
gain with the xverter a very high performance front end dedicated to that
particular band, higher sensitivity, better rejection of out of band
signals, lower noise, broader dynanic signal handling range both high and
low power. Most VHF/UHF rigs have compromised filtering and preamps because
they are trying to handle such a broad range of frequencies. In comparing my
847 to my K2 with xverters there is a noticeable difference. 847 has a
higher noise floor, weaker rf preamp and less selectivity. 
TenTec xverters are fine for chasing grids and working casual DX on 6 with a
4 element beam but if you ever have chance to try a high performance xverter
such as a DEM or SSB you will know what i am talking abt. Feed a 128 element
2 meter array into the T-Tec or most any multiband vhf rig and see what
happens to the front end! I like the TenTec's and have built several and
they are fine xverters, but the DEM and SSB are like comparing your K2 to an
entry level HF rig of any brand. 
Maybe it is time for K-Line xverters hint! Tim O'Rourke W4YN