[Hallicrafters] SX-28, Collins R-390A, and Ten Tec RX-340

[Helmut Usbeck]

I presume by ability to hear well you mean sensitivity or overall RF gain.
The only receiver in the group that starts to fall on it's face is the SX-28
at around 15 Mc which is understandable, given the tubes and circuitry
available at the time.  Below 15 Mc. it's probably just as good.
The other two do fine in there receiving range.
Starting with receivers in the late thirdies sensitivity is an overdone
issue in my opinion.  If one studies the front end of any of the
manufacturer's medium to top of the line receives they all do well.
I'm most familiar with the R-390a.  Over abundance of gain, which is kept
under control by a fine AGC circuit along with no tendency of overloading
of the front end.
One must remember no matter how sensitive a receiver is if a signal drops
into the noise it's just not readable anymore.  Maybe DSP circuitry can do
some to clean it up but there's a limit.  Also a lot of marketing hipe is
starting to erupt about DSP, with alot of hams parroting what they read in
the ads.  It's good but not a cure-all.

Heck, just take your audio output from your valued SX-28 and feed it into
your sound card and run it thru some DSP software.  Get a preselector for
better reception above 15 Mc. and your about as up to date as you can get.

Regards,
Helm.  WB2ADT  [2698]


On Thu, 23 Jan 2003 tlogan7 at cox.net wrote:

> Hi -
> Does anyone on this list have the breadth of knowledge to give a non-technical comparison of these three receiver's ability to hear? I'm not concerned with improvements for ease of use - only ability to hear well. I am interested in the progression, so to speak, of technology from three periods in time on three well regarded receivers - just do not know if they even belong in the same group for comparison. Thanks for any thoughts. 73/Tim NZ7C
>
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