[Elecraft] Optimized mic ?

[n2ey at aol.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy <gmk at gm4esd.fsworld.co.uk>

On Sept.06/07 Julian G4ILO <julian.g4ilo at gmail.com> wrote: 
 
N2EY: 
>>> And consider this: The Ancient Ones were working the Antipodes on 
HF 75+ 
>>> years ago with simple regenerative receivers, wire antennas and 
oscilator 
>>> transmitters putting out a few watts of RF power. All of the 
improvements >> in 
>>> our methods, rigs and antenna systems since then have been the 
direct 
>>> results of radio competition of various kinds. 
> 
>> But it does put into perspective the need for high power and high 
>> specs, doesn't it. :) 
 
All depends how you define "need".....

>Perhaps, but the Ancient Ones (hmmpf - Elders please)

Ancient Ones is a term of respect. Consider the age of anyone who 
actually operated an amateur station 75+ years ago....

>did not have to contend with the amount of interference that we have 
today, even in 1946 the HF bands were still >quite "quiet" by 
comparison. 
 
A lot depends on how the comparison is made.

75+ years ago, there were far fewer hams. Here in the USA, there were 
less than 40,000 hams in 1932.

But almost all of them were on 160, 80, 40 or 20 meters. Their 
transmitters were mostly not T9X and their receivers (mostly 
regeneratives) were rarely narrower than 10 kc. Crystal filters in 
receivers came about in the 1930s as a direct result of crowded bands. 
And since those bands weren't all open at the same time, the ones that 
were tended to be rather crowded....

By 1946, there were about 60,000 US hams (but a lot of them, as well as 
hams all over the world, were inactive, still dealing with the 
aftermath of WW2).  Yet by 1946 the regen receiver and self-controlled 
transmitter of 1932 were largely obsolete with hams. Note that in 1946 
the WARC bands and 15 meters weren't ham bands yet, and 160 was gone to 
LORAN, and we wouldn't get it all back for decades.

Most of the improvements in our methods, rigs and antenna systems have 
been the direct results of competition of various kinds. For example:

- Computers in the shack were pioneered by contesters looking for a 
better way to log.
- Transceivers with split operation (multiple VFOs) were pioneered by 
DXers working split
- More dynamic range (in all its forms), better filters, etc., were 
first pushed for by contesters and DXers.
- QRP, in and of itself, is competitive. When most of the stations on 
the band are running 100 to 1500 watts out, making QSOs with 5 watts 
*by choice* is certainly a challenge!

Competition takes many forms. The ham who looks at the available rigs 
and says "I can do better than that" is being competitive, whether 
"better" means more performance, lower cost, smaller size, more 
features, etc.

Would we have the K3 - or any Elecraft rigs - if Eric, Wayne & Co. 
hadn't looked at the available rigs of the time and said "We can do 
better than that?"

73 de Jim, N2EY

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