[Elecraft] Chasing the numbers

[n2ey at aol.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: Gary D Krause <n7hts at bresnan.net>

> I've been wondering how the numbers really affect what we hear. If a 
ham were to sit down in front of all the top rigs, >blind folded and 
not allowed to touch them, would he or she be able to pick out the one 
with the best receiver by just >using his or her ears? Lets assume that 
this ham has good hearing and that every rig is set the same. I realize 
that people >have different reasons for picking a rig and that it isn't 
always based on lab tests otherwise we would all own the same rig 
 >assuming money is not a factor :-) But is there really a difference in 
the lab numbers as close as they are or are we just >chasing numbers? 

IMHO:

It depends on what you are doing.

Under good conditions (decent signal strength, not a lot of QRM or QRN, 
etc.), you won't hear much difference between a K3 and any other 
half-decent rig.

It's when things are less-than-good that the differences really begin 
to show. Like when you're trying to dig out an S1 signal next to an 
S9+40 signal. Or when the band is full of signals of all kinds and 
strengths, but you only want to hear one of them. Etc. What tough 
conditions do is to show up the weaknesses in a rig.

There's also the inability to set every rig the same. Filter responses 
and DSP settings vary all over the place, as do gain controls, notches, 
etc.

The numbers show what can be measured objectively. But that's not the 
only measure of a rig. What really shows the quality of a design is a 
combination of the numbers and other factors, like how tiring is it to 
operate the rig, how well it makes contacts of the kind you like to 
make, etc.

IOW, for me, the real test is this: How much fun do you have with the 
rig?

73 de Jim, N2EY