TenTec
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [TenTec] WTB: Older Jupiter

To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] WTB: Older Jupiter
From: "Bob McGraw - K4TAX" <RMcGraw@Blomand.net>
Reply-to: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:17:37 -0600
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
The only thing that will sound exactly like a Drake 2-B is a Drake 2-B. Same for the Collins S Line but, is that before the audio stage has been modified or after the audio stage has been modified? In other words, NOPE. I updated my 75S-3C receiver audio output stage per info from Rob Sherwood. That made a remarkable improvement in the audio quality.

Even in the recording studio, my former profession and using and $100K's of equipment, I can hear the difference between the best digital audio and the best analog audio signal. We did simultaneous recordings using professional 24 track digital machines and professional 24 track analog machines. Syncing those two machines together electronically we were able to effectively A/B the signals and hear the difference. They sounded different. Digital audio is just that........digital. There have been vast improvements in digital audio processing technology today. Yet I still encounter comments from my associates of the past studio era that acknowledge today how good analog recordings sound that were done in the 70's and early 80's as compared to today's digital recordings. Each method has their benefits and each method has their compromises. Digital audio will never sound like analog audio.......get accustomed to it and accept it for what it is. Someone asked me recently about the difference. I responded; "in the 70's and 80's we had talent, today we have technology".

Many ham receivers do not have good quality analog audio stages. This is reflected largely in the specifications of the audio in terms of power output and distortion at a specific power output level and impedance. Many current radios show specs with numbers of <10%THD+n while most if not all Tentec radios spec the rated output at <3%THD+n. The difference is the higher one produces listening fatigue after several hours and the lower one does not.

One must remember that Tentec's founder was Al Kahn and by note is the founder of Electro-Voice, the company to which he incorporated in 1930. Al also holds the original patent for noise canceling microphones. Jack Burchfield joined E-V in 1958 and remains head of Tentec today. The company has a long lineage of audio history.

Between the Omni VII, the Eagle and the Argonaut VI, all of which reside on my desk, I find that the Argonaut VI has the best quality receive audio using the internal speaker. The Eagle has the best DSP BW system with the least digital artifacts and with the internal speaker sounds quite good. The Omni VII has the best overall sound, most comfortable and a bit warmer to my ears. All of this leads me to conclude the fact, with the three radios, the oldest approaching 7 years, the newest radio being less than a year old, actually the newest has the best sounding audio.

73
Bob, K4TAX

P.S. - If you wish to read more I suggest you acquire the book; TEN-TEC The First 40 Years, 1968 - 2008




----- Original Message ----- From: "Cecil" <chacuff@cableone.net>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] WTB: Older Jupiter




Sent from my iPad

On Jan 17, 2013, at 12:33 PM, Darrell Bellerive <drbellerive.va7to@gmail.com> wrote:

..........cut...........

Or perhaps quantum leaps backwards? Anyone find their Omni VII or Eagle to sound EXACTLY like a Drake 2-B, or Collins S-Line, or Ten-Tec Triton?

73, Darrell VA7TO

.........cut............

You will be hard pressed to pull that off with anybody's DSP rig.....just as you won't find an MP3 player made that will sound like a direct to disk vinyl recording on a nice direct drive turntable with a decent moving magnet cartridge played through a restored tube amp. That said neither the Drake nor the S line will do well on today's bands during a contest or in a huge split frequency DX pileup.

Want top notch weak signal receivers with the DSP tools necessary to help fight the tight bands with usable audio...pick up a rig with modern 32 bit DSP technology and use it sparingly. ( I think the Jupiters is 16 bit so it will have limited dynamic range) Dialing in too much DSP processing will result in the artifacts you mention on anybody's implementation.

Cecil
K5DL


_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec



_______________________________________________
TenTec mailing list
TenTec@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>