[R-390] Best approach for SSB mod on R-390A

[Les Locklear]

I have owned three over thje years in two different configurations. Never a drift problem. Unlesss you have it in a glass greenhouse or an unheated garage in International Falls, Minnesota in winter there should be any drift problem. I sed one with a Drake R-7A which is in itself drifty. A R-390a which drifted maybe 200 hz on a bad day. The last was a SP-600 which drifted 1-2 khz depending which band it was on. The SE-3 that Don has has to have a faulty component.

Les Locklear
Hammarlund HQ-180A
Hammarlund SP-600 Re-Engineered by John R. Leary
JRC NRD-545
Ten Tec RX-350
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Cecil Acuff 
  To: David Wise ; r-390 at mailman.qth.net 
  Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 9:42 PM
  Subject: Re: [R-390] Best approach for SSB mod on R-390A


  Somehow I didn't get Don's post...

  Don I would say yours is broken...that is not at all the experience I have 
  seen nor heard from a local that used one for a very long time.

  Sherwood is also very particular about his designs and would probably invite 
  it to be sent to him for evaluation.

  Cecil...
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: "David Wise" <David_Wise at Phoenix.com>
  To: <r-390 at mailman.qth.net>
  Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 12:00 PM
  Subject: Re: [R-390] Best approach for SSB mod on R-390A


  > My SE-3's oscillator is very steady.
  > I wonder if there are good ones and bad ones.
  >
  > Also, without manual controls, the detector has to
  > guess the operator's intentions, based on, say,
  > tuning rate.  I don't like machines trying to
  > read my mind, because they usually get it wrong.
  > For me it's better to have direct hands-on control.
  >
  > My only complaints have been the lack of a noise
  > limiter and lack of a 5kHz notch filter in addition
  > to the 10kHz filter.
  >
  > I've bookmarked your recommendations.
  > Sometime I'll build one or more and report my
  > experience using them vs the SE-3.  Or if anyone
  > local has built one, let's get get together and try
  > it out next to my SE-3.
  >
  > Dave Wise
  > SWL in Hillsboro Oregon
  >
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: r-390-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:r-390-bounces at mailman.qth.net] 
  > On Behalf Of 2002tii
  > Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 5:06 PM
  > To: r-390 at mailman.qth.net
  > Subject: Re: [R-390] Best approach for SSB mod on R-390A
  >
  > Cecil wrote:
  >
  >>I would love to hear from anyone that might own some of these outboard
  >>devices...I know there were several of the earlier PD-1's out there and
  >>a few SE-3's as well....
  >
  > I have an SE-3 and frankly, in my view, it's not worth the time it would 
  > take to toss it into the trash.  Anyone who has used a properly designed 
  > synchronous detector would just laugh at it.  IMO, the esteem in which it 
  > seems to be held in some quarters shows how few hams and SWLs have used a 
  > properly designed synchronous detector.
  >
  > The SE-3 oscillator is not temperature compensated, and it drifts beyond 
  > the ability of the frequency trim capacitor to center it as the 
  > temperature changes.  I had to drill a hole in the top cover above the 
  > tuning coil and leave a tuning tool poking out the top to tweak it.  The 
  > capture and lock-in ranges and behaviors were also not well chosen, 
  > necessitating that the user manually "guide" the PLL into lock.  All in 
  > all, a very poor effort, IMO.  PLL design is just not that difficult.
  >
  > NOTE: the above comments pertain primarily to using an SE-3 as an AM 
  > synchronous detector.  It's OK as a BFO/product detector, but far from 
  > state of the art even for that use.  The SE-3 does not have IF filtering 
  > or AGC -- it depends on the host radio for those functions.
  >
  > For anyone interested in constructing a properly working synchronous 
  > detector, here are three of the many references you will find through a 
  > web search:
  >
  > http://www.premium-rx.org/ref/amsynchronous.pdf
  >
  > http://webpages.charter.net/wa1sov/technical/sync_det.html
  >
  > http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/pdf/9307028.pdf
  >
  > Best regards,
  >
  > Don
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