[Heathkit] Dumb speaker question

[Glen Zook]

What are you basing the sensitivity upon?  If it is the "S" meter reading then that is really not a good indicator.  The only way to compare would be to use a switch to be able to change the same antenna between radios and then tune in a very weak station.

It has been my experience that the LDS (least descernable signal) on the SB-301 is well under 0.1 microvolts which is excellent.  In fact, the ability to receive such a weak signal is actually wasted because the ambient noise level on HF is considerably greater.

The only way to really measure the sensitivity is to use a signal generator with a well calibrated variable attenuator.  Of course, you need to make sure that the alignment is correct before making the measurements.

Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com


--- On Sun, 2/28/10, Wayne Harrah <pilotguy1050 at yahoo.com> wrote:

Now for another subjective question, not quite so black-and-white:  how good overall do you rate the receive sensitivity performance of these radios?  I was not as impressed with the sensitivity of the 301 as I thought I might be.  Do you all think that a well-aligned and well-working Heathkit receiver of this vintage will work as well as another radio from the same era... say, a Kenwood TS-520 or FT-101?