[Premium-Rx] Looking for recommendations on high performance VLF receiver.

[Bruce Gentry]

In addition to having a good receiver, a good (quiet) location and 
antenna are also needed.  How many people go on "RXpeditions" for VLF?  
As for receivers, how would a classic TRF/regen receiver like an RBA or 
RAK work for you?  The detector bandwidth narrows as you approach 
oscillation, and the RAK has sharp audio filters. The reason I ask about 
these receivers is their simplicity, "purity", and lack of conversion 
noise along with good sensitivity. The Collins R-389 and many others 
have a lot of internal noise.

On 4/9/18 2:06 AM, Tom wrote:
> Hi Folks!
>
>
>    I've been having a blast pulling in VLF aircraft beacons in the 200-525 K/c range.
>
>    I am looking for recommendations for a premium receiver that will cover VLF. If it can cover say VLF to HF (maybe 10k/c - 30 Mc, that would be even better!)
>
>    Due to the nature and spacing of the signals, selectivity is an absolute must!  Signals can typically be 2 K/c apart from each other, creating all sorts of heterodyne issues.
>
>    My best receiver is the CEI-357 (R-1401): Sensitivity is good, selectivity is also quite good, but the noise blanker doesn't seem to work, and this a real performance killer (especially since we're getting into the noisy time of year!).
>
>    The CEI-357 has 6 K/c, 3 K/c, 1 K/c, and 100 Hz filters. For VLF work, the 3 and 1 K/c filters are what I primarily use. The 1 K/c filter gets used the most. Being able to use a .5 K/c filter would be a huge asset for pulling in the Canadian beacons that have the 400 Hz modulation.
>
>    Having the ability to go from AM to USB and LSB is also a huge plus: I bagged a beacon in the Caribbean (a 3900 mile path!) because I was able to switch to SSB and use a narrow filter.
>
>    Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
>
>
> -Tom
> ______________________________________________________________
> Premium-Rx mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/premium-rx
> Help Page: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Premium-Rx at mailman.qth.net
> Help Contact eMail:  radio at 8zo.com
> Home Page:  http://www.premium-rx.org/
>