Comparison of SB303 vs. SB300/301??

[Steve Harrison]

At 03:56 AM 1/22/99 +0000, I asked:
>...I'm not certain how the 301 was different [from the SB300]
>other than the solid-state LMO. And I'm particularly curious whether the
>SB303 performed as well as the 300/301. Any opinions/observations?

Simply put, I was overwhelmed by the response, at least 15! The consensus
was that the SB303 was preferred by almost all but several guys due to
higher sensitivity and a general sense of it being a better receiver
overall. But there were several folks who warned that their examples
appeared extraordinarily prone to overload and crossmodulation. On the
other hand, there were two who specifically stated that they had not
experienced any such problems.

And I was corrected in several of my beliefs, such as I thought that the AM
filter was 6 kHz; instead, it's 3.75 kHz. And I thought that the SB301 had
a solid-state LMO: almost every respondent said their 301 LMO uses a tube.
Most folks also confirmed that all three receivers accept three IF filters;
I thought I remembered my SB300 having mounting places for only two: but
the last time I looked, that was over 20 years ago, so....

Finally, almost everyone with a 303 cautioned me to make certain I got the
extender boards for it. A question: is there more than ONE extender board
for the 303? And, are any common to the SB104(A)??

I'm *still* waiting to hear from the local who has the 303; I'm getting
more and more anxious every hour now! But at the same time, I wondering
what to do about the AM filter, because 3.75 kHz isn't going to make much
difference compared to the 2.7 kHz SSB filter in my application (high-speed
(>3,300 WPM) CW meteor scatter). But I'd *swear* that I have seen 6 kHz
filters advertised hereabouts for the SB receivers, most recently only a
few weeks ago. Would the former owners please tell me more about what they
were, please??

One respondent recommended obtaining a R390 for better AM performance. I
don't have either the room, nor want the headaches associated with fixing
or maintaining one of those monsters, thanks anyway! Besides, I'm NOT going
to use it in AM mode; I just need wider IF bandwidth in SSB mode than the
standard 2.7 kHz.

TNX to all for your insights and help! 73, Steve Ko0U/1
(this close || to asking around for another SB303... any for sale? I'd
rather do my own fixing-up than have someone else do it; that way, I become
more familiar with it more quickly since I'm going to do other mods anyway)

P.S. I don't recall reading any insights as to the actual difference(s)
between the 300 and 301, though! If it's not the LMO, what is it??

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