[Premium-Rx] Receivers

[Ed]

I don't think the Drake qualifies as a premium rx.  But it's definitely great.  Just wish I could stick a mil spec tuning knob on it without having to worry about the encoder.   

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 1, 2014, at 15:27, Charles Steinmetz <csteinmetz at yandex.com> wrote:
> 
> Michael wrote:
> 
>> The TenTec 340   *   *   *  manual tuning is very slow.  It's more of a fine tune rather than for swift navigation.
> 
> Like many, many radios, the RX340 manual (knob) tuning follows the UP/DOWN STEP (keypad) tuning interval.  That is, each count of the rotary encoder changes the frequency by whatever amount is set for the STEP control (a range of selections from 1Hz to 1MHz).  So, the manual tuning can be very slow to insanely fast depending on the STEP setting.  I find the 50Hz step position to be about right for manual tuning on the RX340.  The JRC NRD-545, Harris RF-590, WJ 8711, and many, many other receivers all act this same way, with some slight variations.
> 
> Personally, I find this a particularly useless arrangement.  I usually want the UP/DOWN (keypad) tuning steps to be the same as the band channelization (generally 5, 9, or 10 kHz on the MW/SW bands, sometimes higher at VHF/UHF), but at the same time I want the knob tuning to be much, much slower -- a good rate for scanning and fine tuning.  The Drake R8B is the only premium receiver I'm aware of that allows this.  Its tuning knob always tunes at a good band-scanning/fine tuning rate, and its UP/DOWN (keypad) tuning varies according to the band channelization.  (The Drake SW-8 also works this way.)
> 
> The RX340 also has some strange limitations, due (I suspect) to insufficient DSP horsepower.  The notch filter is unavailable in AM, SAM, ISB, and at BWs above 4kHz in LSB/USB.  The PBT is unavailable in SAM and ISB.  The BW is limited to 4kHz and above in SAM, and is not adjustable at all in ISB.  Ergonomically, you have to cycle stepwise through the modes and tuning steps, and it uses one control to adjust BW, BFO, PBT, notch, AGC, squelch, and noise blanker.  The WJ 8711/HF1000 has similar quirks.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Charles
> 
> 
> 
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