[Premium-Rx] New Member Introduction

[Blair Batty]

Hi all:

The listowners used to post introductions of new members,
but stopped because of privacy concerns. So I'm going
to introduce myself.

I live in SW Ontario, Canada, just north of Lake Erie, opposite
Erie, Pa. I have a Ham licence (VE3 CZY), though I don't talk much; I
prefer listening, and experimenting with a soldering iron.

I like to listen to HF commercial broadcasts like the BBC
and China, as well as aircraft, trains, military and other utilities.

I have a 80 ft longwire antenna, a discone, 900 mhz Yagi, amplified
LW antenna, 16 way military antenna coupler, 8 way VHF/UHF
Stridburg antenna coupler, various antenna filters and preselectors,
8 (various) scanners and several HF or "all-band" receivers.
All audio is routed thru a Roland M-160 Mixer, a graphic equalizer
and finally stereo amplifier and speakers.

My favorite receiver is a wonderful Harris 590, in perfect
condition which I recently received from list member Jim Sorenson.
One feature of my Harris is that it has the ISB (dual sideband) option.
It can simultaneously receive upper and lower sidebands,
with separate audio output feeds. On difficult
AM signals, if I switch to ISB and route USB to the left channel and
LSB to the right channel and detune by 1 hz steps, I can often clear
up the signal. Interestingly, if I am exactly on frequency, the left
and right channels merge and sound as if the signal is right-in-front
of me (center).

I also like old HP test equipment and have several 141t spectrum
analyzers, matching tracking generators, 8640B generator and
other stuff. I like this stuff because it is still low-tech enough for be
fixable and understandable by me, very good quality and calibration,
and yet affordable.

I'd enjoy corresponding with anyone interested in the Harris RF-590, 
integrating
the same with other Harris gear, making antenna filters and preselector,
listening to LW, etc.

Sincerely
Blair Batty

p.s. Can anyone supply me with a manual for RF-591 Preselector; original,
photocopy or electronic?

p.s.s. Jim Sorenson: if you're still having trouble reaching me, try:
<priapulus at yahoo.com>

p.p.s.s. I visited Toronto Surplus and Scientific last week. It was a
little disappointing, I'd hoped to browse a bunch of Harris gear
and get a better feel of what was available, but there was
very little on display. They claimed most stuff was in their
warehouse. The store was about the size of a school classroom,
jammed full of stuff. The only staff person there, ignored me
and allowed me to browse.