Stuart - Forgive me for venting on this subject, but Rob Sherwood's
chart is perhaps the most misunderstood piece of information in ham
radio today. It is not, and was never intended to be, a grading of the
quality of receivers. What it IS, is a list of receiver performance
parameters "Sorted by Dynamic Range Narrow Spaced".
I suggest that narrow spaced dynamic range is NOT as important in the
grand scheme of things as most believe it to be and that 99% of guys who
make a buying decision on that basis could not even explain the symptoms
observed in a receiver with relatively poor narrow spaced dynamic
range. When I last checked, Rob Sherwood's favorite "go-to" rig was
still the Icom IC-781 - rather far down the list. There are many other
factors more important to making a good decision on what to buy if you
want the "best" for your situation.
I've owned K3s, an FTDX-5000 and now an Orion II in the past year - all
near the top of the list, but that wasn't the reason I owned them. I
found the K3 lacking in many respects, and the FTDX-5000, while a great
receiver, has perhaps the worst CW transmitter we've seen in recent
decades. I won't go into that here in detail, but if you intend to buy
one of those for CW work, do your homework on the problems. Your
comment on trying to see what you are considering is right on. And,
there's no substitute for having one on your operating table for a week
or more so that you can find all its "warts" on your own.
I disagree with the comment on spectrum displays. Ever since my Icom
781, I've understood the value of a spectrum display on an HF
transceiver even though that on the 781 was rather crude by today's
standards. Today, I use an Orion II modified to output the first IF to
the rear panel, which is fed to an SDR-IQ receiver using SpectraVue
software for the spectrum display. Your comments lead me to believe
that you view a spectrum scope as a means of looking at signal quality
(may have misjudged that), but that's not the way I use the scope.
I'm a CW operator with keen interest in DXing and I use the scope to see
signals that I'd never find by just tuning around and listening. With
the arrangement I have now, I can see a blip on the scope for any signal
that I can hear, even those down in the noise. So, I can watch a dead
or nearly dead band and sometimes see a signal blip far from the
frequency I'm tuned to. A quick mouse click on the signal tunes the
Orion to that frequency and a QRZ often raises a DX station that
otherwise wouldn't be worked.
There are a lot of very good Japanese rigs (that aren't near the top of
Rob's list), going back over a decade, that would fill the bill for most
operators today. But, quite to my surprise, I found the Orion II with
SDR-IQ superior in many ways to the best that the Japanese have to
offer, regardless of where they appear on the list. Anyone who believes
that the K3 is an overall better rig than the Orion II probably hasn't
tried an Orion II.
73, Floyd - K8AC
On 8/29/2011 11:12 PM, Stuart Rohre wrote:
Hello,
The quandry of what radio is faced by us all. I rely on Sherwood
Engineering reports to grade the receivers, and the Yaecomwoods
invariable pale compared to Elecraft K3, K2, and Ten Tec offerings.
The Eagle is a very compact radio which is valuable to me for Field Days.
I have an Argonaut Five, which has almost the same easy to learn front
panel. That is also important to me, and harder with the Yaecomwoods.
You really should try to get to see one of whatever radio you are
considering.
If you really want a spectrum display, get a spectrum analyzer, but they
do not make very good ham communications or DX receivers.
There are outboard devices that could allow you to view the signals in
your IF bandwidth, but your ears are the ultimate test equipment. You
have to be able to hear the signal to work it, unless you are using PSK
31 or modes like that, which do use a waterfall display. But if your
interests are voice DX and CW, I think you want a Ten Tec and the Eagle
is a great radio for the price.
Good Luck and Good DX!
Stuart Rohre
K5KVH
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