Receivers continued........

[Mike Sanders]

Greetings All, I have not posted in a while to this list and the
talk of the 300 to 303 comparisons prompts me to.
I have an NC303 that could use some alignment yet but works very
well on ssb. My NC300 was a poor performer on ssb until I did some
of the standard well known agc mods. Now it too is a good ssb receiver
but still not as good as the 303. The 300 remains a great AM receiver
as it was before agc mods. Its a real toss up between the two at this
point. No they are not as good as my 75A4 or any of the S line receivers
I have or have had. They will however run circles around the A4 on AM
and I assure you I have a righteous A4. I have had some good HQ170s and
some not so good. My best was an HQ170A which I used on ssb with a
Johnson Pacemaker and homebrew amp. I do not own a National receiver
that would not bury the 170s (all of them on AM). I have a Hammarlund
SP600JX21 that is very nice on AM and surprisingly good on ssb (full rf
gain). My Hammarlund HQ150 is a late model and is poor on ssb but very good
on AM and suffers from all a single conversion receiver does. It will be
the last piece of BA gear to ever leave my grasp but all my Nationals
sound better than this receiver. I just love it. Dozens of Hallicrafters
receivers have passed through my hands and I am not partial to them at
all. However the SX115 and SX117 are especially good and noteworthy. I
own a Cyclone III transceiver SR400A that is a beautiful piece of gear.
It is in use a lot here and gives my KWM380 a run for its money in signal
quality in and out. This Halli will bury any Collins S line transceiver
I own or have owned or anybody elses for that matter but I still have
a KWM2. (they are kinda like pocket knives, everyone has one right?)
   Anyway whoever said comparing anyone of any rig to another BA rig was
really not very conclusive was right. However I can say without a doubt
if you want an AM receiver, National is tops. For ssb it is probably
Collins but Halli had some real contenders in their stable. The best
radio to own for overall operation flexibility, performance and ease of
service is Drake whatever I don't care. (I'm talkin tube type now) I have
owned and loved several TR7s but could not really put them up against
a lot else in performance etc. They had a few problems that were/are
well known but were still good radios.
    If it were cut and dried and an easy comparison one rig to another
I would not own all this junk. But I do. I love this old stuff in spite
of some odds and ends and holes in performance or such nonsense as that.
I own a Kenwood 850 that I dearly love but I have lots of BA receivers
that will embarrass it. The KWM380, the SR400A, the 75S1, the R4, the
R4B, the R4C, and the 75S3 among others.
    The point is folks have fun. Thats what its all about.
                                            73, Mike K0AZ

P.S. The best AM receiver I can think of is my HRO50T1 with the 6kc
Collins filter adapter. If it gets better than that please let me know
and I will start lookin.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --
To subscribe: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov
and in body: subscribe BOATANCHORS yourfirstname yourlastname
To unsubscribe:  listserv at listserv.tempe.gov
and in body: signoff BOATANCHORS
Archives for BOATANCHORS: http://www.tempe.gov/archives
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --