[Hammarlund] At the risk of...

[Delibert3A@aol.com]

How about a combination -- the SP-600, with the 455 kHz IF fed into the 
HC-10, which is essentially the IF and audio stages of the HQ-180.  

As a longtime SW broadcast DXer before I got my ticket, I found that the 
HQ-180 produced images of the 41 and 49-meter SW bands in places that 
interfered with some of the better DX.  The two RF stages of the Super-Pro 
give you a lot of protection against that. 

Adding the HC-10 gives you a lot of features that the Super-Pro lacks -- good 
SSB reception, better selectivity choices, better AVC choices, and a better 
notch.  (But to add the HC-10, you need a dropping resistor in the IF output 
-- otherwise, the Super-Pro overloads the HC-10.)

If you don't have an HC-10 (they're scarce), you can get the same result by 
feeding the IF of the Super-Pro into the 455-kHz IF circuits of an HQ-180 or 
HQ-170.

Here's another great combination for SW BC DX -- A Super-Pro with an outboard 
synchronous detector.  Some years ago, Steve Johnston sold an outboard unit 
that worked with any 455 - 500 kHz IF.  I fed the audio from the detector 
back into the audio section of the Super-Pro for a great result.  The only 
downside was that deep fades and lightning crashes caused the unit to lose 
its lock on the broadcast carrier.  The solution turned out to be the 
addition of Q-multiplier, like the old Heathkit units that can be had at many 
hamfests.  The Q-multiplier would peak the carrier just enough to prevent the 
synchronous detector from losing its lock through just about anything, and 
allow me to extract audio from some very weak signals.  And if you find the 
SP-600 hard to use in the ECSS mode because it drifts too much, note that 
this arrangement is much more tolerant of drift.

In case you can't tell, I love my SP-600.  (I was also fortunate to find one 
of the later units, made without the "black beauty" tubular capacitors.)

Art Delibert
KB3FJO


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