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From: Ian White, G3SEK[SMTP:G3SEK@ifwtech.demon.co.uk]
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 1998 12:30 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] MFJ259B: Vers. 6F0 vs. 6F1 ?
Hello Ian: I have a few comments on your recent thoughts:
Maybe we're being spoiled by these modern slow-tuning transceivers. It's
perfectly possible to set the 259 to 10kHz at 7MHz, which is closer than
almost any real antenna system could recognise. There is a slow-motion
drive built into the tuning capacitor on the 259, and presumably the
259B is the same. Frequency setting is miles better than the RF-1 - now
*that* is tricky!
>All in all, with these fast paced software changes coming out
>with new 259B's, you would almost think MFJ ought to have
>waited a few months until all the "bugs" were out, maybe,
>and the frequency synthesizer was ready to go.
The AEA units were shown at Dayton and orders were taken for delivery to
commence the end of July. They won't be too far behind that even though some
additional features (like coax length readout to the first open or short) have
been added.
It's the Dayton Effect - both the 259B and the AEA-CIA "had" to be ready
for the show, because there were hams waiting to buy them, and I guess
we all have to share some of that responsibility. But even now both
firms are still tweaking the firmware. Maybe the next hardware releases
will have a bi-directional RS-232 port for both data download *and*
uploading of the week's new firmware?
The AEA unit does have an RS-232 port with firmware drivers already installed.
Applications software will follow at a later date.
BTW, unless the synthesizer in the new AEA-CIA has been totally
redesigned, it's not DDS but similar technology to a VHF handheld,
followed by a downconverter to give an unbroken sweep across HF and up
to 54MHz.
Yes indeed, the AEA unit is a TOTALLY NEW design that definitely uses a DDS
circuit.
73/Mike N7ML
73 from Ian G3SEK Editor, 'The VHF/UHF DX Book'
'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB)
http://www.ifwtech.demon.co.uk/g3sek
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