[Elecraft] IMD and supply voltage

[Luis V. Romero]

Joe and all:

>
>Comparing processing issues and transmitter IMD are mixing apple and
>oranges.  Processing issues generally affect the quality of signal
>*on channel* - the ability to understand the audio - whilst IMD is the
>"off frequency" splatter up/down the band that interferes with everyone
>*except* your own QSO.
>
>While both are important it is the IMD that represents a "spurious"
>signal outside the bandwidth required for communication - typically fie 
>to ten KHz above and below the desired RF.
>

Yes, I understand completely.  From a "Real World Practical" standpoint, if
I have a really clean transmitter with lovely IMD specifications and I stuff
over compressed, highly processed, all compressor-limiter knobs to the right
audio into it I will get completely unintelligible audio with wonderful
technical specifications and still bother my neighbors.

And don't forget. Some contesters *WANT* the scenario you described above.
No sense in sweeping that under the rug!

That's my point.  I'm being responsible in keeping my IMD products from
raising the noise floor on the bands, but the OB down the street with his
FT101E, "Power Mic" and  4 EL509  sweep tube amp promptly blasts me out of
the pileup. 

I'm not saying that the pursuit of technical excellence in amateur
transmitters is a bad thing, but life is a constant compromise between
technical excellence and "good enough".  Sometimes "close enough!  Now ship
it so we can make a profit!" is the true measure of excellence in the real
world. That doesn't mean we should accept poor engineering, all it means is
that excellence is always a tradeoff, and not only about "numbers".  

Will the OB down the street care enough to change?  That's the ultimate
variable in the equation, isn't it?   

-lu-