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Re: [TenTec] 2.8 filters and Omni V...just won't work

To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TenTec] 2.8 filters and Omni V...just won't work
From: "Dr. Gerald N. Johnson" <geraldj@weather.net>
Reply-to: geraldj@weather.net, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 10:43:42 -0500
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
It would not be silly to test and with a receiver with a working S-meter 
and a calibrator signal or any other local steady signal you just tune 
across the signal and plot the S-meter readings vs. frequency. If you do 
it in USB and LSB you will see the response (probably have a sharp null 
at zero audio frequency due to audio response not going to DC and audio 
derived AGC) and the carrier frequency, e.g. zero audio frequency in 
receive should be around 20 dB down the skirt. You could use noise into 
the receiver and a computer based audio spectrum analysis but it won't 
show that zero frequency notch but it will show the HF side not going to 
3.1 KHz where it would with the carrier 300 Hz from the lower edge.

In my opinion transmitting with 2.8 is not using spectrum or transmitter 
power efficiently. The added 400 Hz bandwidth over the factory 2.4 or 
the 2.1 I've been used to contains mostly noise from speech harmonics, 
syllabents and background noise that do nothing at all when received 
with a 2.4 or 2.1 filter because the receiver filter rejects them and 
they aren't heard, but they are heard on adjacent frequencies. Heck, to 
improve received S to N, I generally use an audio DSP filter set to roll 
off at 1.9 or 2.1 kHz so I'd ignore a full kHz of the 2.8. Even if 
received with a wider filter the stuff in that part of the audio 
spectrum out of the receiver will be QRM and stuff that may slightly 
enhance the real sound but doesn't improve copy.

Then making the BFO crystal move out further can contribute to the 
infamous CW "click" of the Omnis that some hear, and some don't that I 
think comes from the frequency shift not being quite complete when the 
carrier comes up on CW and its moving through a portion of the filter 
resonse that has a rapid phase shift with frequency. The corner always 
does have that rapid phase shift with frequency in an analog filter. The 
click is nearly always heard only with matching receivers and filters.

73, Jerry, K0CQ

On 10/29/2010 6:05 AM, Richards wrote:
> Is it possible the filter is wider than expected?  Would one be silly to
> test the filter to see if it is in spec?  Could the filter skirts be
> wider than they should be? Is this easy to measure or test?
>
> Not being critical... just trying to learn from all this along with
> the rest of you.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
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