Thank you to all the people who replied either directly or via the reflector
on some of the scout issues I posted earlier.
Unfortunately I only have a few more criticisms to share....again I stress
they relate only to my rig, and are by no means intended as a reflection of
all 555 scouts. These are personal reflections, intended as information to
other users who are interested, and like wise a yelp for help, to those that
can offer such.
i) I padded the output audio jack, and it has made the headphone audio more
tolerable, but I cannot seem to get rid off the darn tone at low volume. It
seems to be related to poor shielding or filtering of the main cpu. I have
even experimented and placed resistance to value of a 3k in line with the
audio out jack, and the tone is still there... I find it extremely annoying....
The headphone volume is right with about 600 ohms in line with the
headphones.....but that infernal tone still interferes with weak signal
reception...
Has Ten Tec ever released a mod for this?
ii) I was working a home brewer on his newly made QRP rig on 40mx. His
crystal happened to place him at 7.200 Once I netted with the scout, I
found an internally generated heterodyne, or "birdie" on this frequency. I
could not copy the qrp signal through this. This led me to investigate other
bands.....10mx,15mx, 20mx,30mx 40mx,... and they all had them. (I didn't
bother to check 80mx.)
These internally generated birdies are sometimes 20 kc wide, by the time you
clear the tone associated with them.
In somewhat of a state of disbelief.... I rang a good friend in the USA who
also has a scout, and he confirmed theat they exist in his rig also, and he
has learnt to avoid those spot frequencies. A receiver is not much value if
you can't utilize the entire bandspread it offers.
Has anyone experienced like wise? Any remedies?
iii) When the speed of the keyer is less than about 22/23 wpm, the audio
gets very choppy... and most unpleasant to listen to. Obviously this is a
mixture of AGC response and the "QSK"( I use the term loosely, as my rig is
far from QSK) ability of by the rig.
iv) After lengthy listening to the audio on cw, I find it quite fatiguing. I
love the "highs" that the receiver offers, particularly with CW, but..... I
think the audio could do with more lows.
Has anyone shaped the audio out of the rig? (With out using after market
accessories.)
v) Lastly has anyone modified their rig to semi break in ? I want to key a
120 watt amp that is not qsk. Seeing mine is not qsk anyway I figure, I am
not losing anything.
My feelings of bitter sweet, now just leave me.... bitter, when I come to
think of the fact, that maybe I should have purchased the "yaecomwood" after
all.
Someone commented on Mr Millen and the HRO series as a comparison to the 555
Scout. . I agreed with the reply. It is like comparing a Rolls Royce to a
Penny Farthing... they both get you places, but do it quite differently.
Trust me... this Scout is no Rolls Royce!
Maurie.("moz") VK3CWB.
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