<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div><div><span>I vote #1. However, for the SB-301 and NOT the SB-101 over the SB-303 (fat fingers?).</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><br></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span>Stability and selectivity are about the same. Both receivers use the same i.f. filter. After 5-minutes, or less "warm up", the SB-301 is just as stable, if not more so, than the SB-303. Calibration on the SB-301 is usually as good as, in some cases, actually a little bit better, than the SB-303. This is assuming that the SB-303 has the TRW version of the LMO. If not, then the calibration of the LMO is going to be a LOT better in the SB-301.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><br></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span>Because of internal noise, the SB-301
is generally more sensitive than the SB-303.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><br></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span>Reliability: For holding alignment, both are about the same. For component reliability, there are certain transistors in the SB-303 (especially in the audio circuits) that are prone to failure. However, every so often, one needs to unplug and then re-install the circuit boards because the edge connectors do become corroded and that causes problems. Unplugging and then re-installing the circuit boards usually cleans the contact surface and eliminates connectivity problems for a year, or so. Then the operation needs to be repeated.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><br></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span>For repair: The dual gate MOSFET devices in the SB-303 are getting very difficult to locate these days and are fairly
expensive when found. One must have the fairly scarce extender cards to easily work on the SB-303, especially when aligning. The 6AS11 tube in the SB-301 is not as common as the remainder of the tubes but is still available. One has to be careful when repairing the SB-303 because of the possibility of "lifting" the plating from the printed circuit boards. As for the majority of components, both use commonly available parts.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><br></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span>For overload: The SB-301 wins "hands down". The SB-303 overloads very easily on strong signals and is very difficult to use if there are other amateur radio stations nearby transmitting on the same band. "Intermod" is basically non-existent on the SB-301 but can be a problem with the SB-303.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><br></div><div
style="background-color: transparent;"><span>As for heat: Yes, the tubes in the SB-301 do put out more heat. However, this is usually not a concern, especially when the matching SB-401 is used with the receiver.</span></div><div></div><div> </div></div><div></div><div> </div><div>Glen, K9STH<br><br></div><div>Website: http://k9sth.com<br> <div style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font size="2" face="Arial"> <hr size="1"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold;">From:</span></b> Chris Kepus <ckepus@comcast.net><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Heath@puck.nether.net <br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, January 2, 2013 4:05 PM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re: [Heath] Fw: SB-301 help<br> </font> </div> <br><div
id="yiv1030476633"><style><!--
#yiv1030476633
_filtered #yiv1030476633 {font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
_filtered #yiv1030476633 {font-family:Calibri;panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
_filtered #yiv1030476633 {font-family:Tahoma;panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
_filtered #yiv1030476633 {font-family:Consolas;panose-1:2 11 6 9 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
#yiv1030476633
#yiv1030476633 p.yiv1030476633MsoNormal, #yiv1030476633 li.yiv1030476633MsoNormal, #yiv1030476633 div.yiv1030476633MsoNormal
{margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman", "serif";}
#yiv1030476633 a:link, #yiv1030476633 span.yiv1030476633MsoHyperlink
{color:blue;text-decoration:underline;}
#yiv1030476633 a:visited, #yiv1030476633 span.yiv1030476633MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{color:purple;text-decoration:underline;}
#yiv1030476633 p.yiv1030476633MsoPlainText, #yiv1030476633 li.yiv1030476633MsoPlainText, #yiv1030476633 div.yiv1030476633MsoPlainText
{margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas;}
#yiv1030476633 p.yiv1030476633MsoAcetate, #yiv1030476633 li.yiv1030476633MsoAcetate, #yiv1030476633 div.yiv1030476633MsoAcetate
{margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma", "sans-serif";}
#yiv1030476633 span.yiv1030476633PlainTextChar
{font-family:Consolas;}
#yiv1030476633 span.yiv1030476633BalloonTextChar
{font-family:"Tahoma", "sans-serif";}
#yiv1030476633 span.yiv1030476633EmailStyle21
{font-family:"Calibri", "sans-serif";color:#1F497D;}
#yiv1030476633 span.yiv1030476633EmailStyle22
{font-family:"Calibri", "sans-serif";color:#1F497D;}
#yiv1030476633 .yiv1030476633MsoChpDefault
{font-size:10.0pt;}
_filtered #yiv1030476633 {margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
#yiv1030476633 div.yiv1030476633WordSection1
{}
--></style><div><div class="yiv1030476633WordSection1"><div class="yiv1030476633MsoNormal"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">Wow! What a great response from the “Puck” group! <span style="color:#1F497D;">Thank you!</span> As I told the “Heath” group, I appreciate every comment. As a couple of you commented, it will be interesting to see if there is clear cut choice.</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">I hope more folks check in with their views and rationale. </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">I will summarize all this but since I have some rather pressing matters to take care of in the next several days, it will likely have to wait until next week.</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">To assist with the compilation, it would help me
greatly if you would come back to me one more time using this scheme to record your opinion/preference**:</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">Give me a "1" if you strongly prefer/recommend the SB-101 over the SB-303; "2" if you slightly prefer the SB-101 over the SB-303; "3" if you would be equally happy with either; "4" if you slightly prefer the SB-303 over the SB-301; "5" if you strongly prefer the SB-303 over the SB-301. Also, let's also simplify the main reasons for your preference. Please use these descriptions: Stability; Selectivity; Sensitivity; Ease of repair; Reliability (as in needing only infrequent under the hood repair); Energy consumption (hot vs.not); Concern over parts availability and/or cost; strong signal handling (intermod performance); Prefer Tube equipment, Prefer solid state equipment. Whew! </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">One of the more
creative recommendations was: "If you can find a SB-403, keep the SB-303"! :-)</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">**Some of you do not need to come back again as you made it real easy for me to put your preference on the scale and stated your rationale clearly.</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">Again, thanks for taking part in this opinion poll. In the end it will help me and I'm sure many others who are on the fence. </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText"> </div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">73,</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">Chris</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoPlainText">W7JPG</div><div class="yiv1030476633MsoNormal"> </div></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>Heath mailing list<br><a ymailto="mailto:Heath@puck.nether.net"
href="mailto:Heath@puck.nether.net">Heath@puck.nether.net</a><br><a href="https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/heath" target="_blank">https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/heath</a><br><br><br> </div> </div> </div></div></body></html>