I think it's more likely that the MP receiver can't handle lots of strong
signals in the wide passband of the early stages. This could be true of
other "state-of-the-art" radios, too. Up until this weekend, my run radio
was an MP and I was often bothered by clicks. In ARRL DX CW, I did most of
my running on an FT-1000D. I hardly noticed clicks unless they were coming
from very loud stations right next to me (the stock Yaesu 500Hz filters
don't have the steepest skirts in the world.)
As for amps causing clicks or a "wide" signal, I guess I need a technical
refresher -- how does an unmodulated carried become non-linear, compressed
or flat-topped? My understanding is that backing off the loading helps
improve the linearity of SSB signals, but has nothing to do with CW. If the
transmitter is causing CW clicks, then its signal must not meet minimum
standards for spectral purity. I doubt that's the case with the MP or the
amp.
BTW, during the heavy morning runs, I was able to confirm the MP's AGC flaw
that makes it very hard to pick out stations in a pileup (despite the fact
that I have the INRAD AGC mod in my MP.) I had been running 10M pileups with
the 1000D. When the rate slowed I switched to running 15M pileups on the MP
and was amazed by how much more difficult it was to pick out calls. I
switched the radios so that I was running 15M on the 1000D, and was able to
pick out calls much more easily.
I need to do more comparison testing, but I'm coming to the conclusion that
the 1000D is a superior receiver for contesting (the ergonomics of the radio
sure beat the MP, too.)
73, Dick WC1M
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