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[CQ-Contest] radio evaluation: lab measurements?

Subject: [CQ-Contest] radio evaluation: lab measurements?
From: w5xd@delphi.com (Wayne E. Wright)
Date: Wed Mar 5 02:46:26 1997
I'd like some insight into how much weight to assign to lab measurements when 
choosing a new rig. One of the steps I'm trying is a pair-wise comparison of 
the ARRL published lab measurements in their product reviews of various rigs 
that I consider to be candidates, and among these are the FT-1000MP and the 
Omni VI.

The FT-1000MP (April 96 QST) is clearly a popular high-end radio among 
contesters. The Omni VI (January 93) appears to not enjoy the same level of 
enthusiasm, so I figured I'd find lab measurements to back that preference. Its 
been 15 years since I was at the controls of a spectum analyzer, network 
analyzer or other mega-buck test equipment, but I'm pretty sure I remember what 
a dB is and the Omni VI appears to consistently, although narrowly, win the 
numbers game in all the important categories (e.g. two tone IMD figures 3 dB 
better) and the transmitted phase noise graphs show the Omni VI solidly better. 

Trying to find quantitative reasons to chose, then, there's a strong hint that 
I'd better look beyond the measurements. Feature wise, the Yaesu clearly wins 
the contest of maximizing the count of knobs and switches, but only the 
sub-receiver qualifies in my mind as a feature that could contribute decisively 
to contesting.  And another number I'm comparing, of course, is the price and, 
while its slightly cheaper, I don't consider the Omni VI a winner in this 
comparison because feature-wise it seems to be about $1K out of line with the 
feature-comparable imports (i.e. its more like an FT-990 or TS-850).  

So, unless cost is the whole story, I still haven't found any numbers to 
support the relative popularity. I do not have any personal experience with 
either of these radios and am not trying to endorse either. I WOULD like to 
know how contesters interpret the lab measurements. I have been trained to 
trust the numbers (electrical engineer) but thats clearly not the whole story 
or apparently even the biggest part of it. 

Thanks,
Wayne, W5XD
w5xd@delphi.com

PSI apologize if this email appears to have an attachment. I'm using MS 
Exchange as a POP client and it works great for me, but lots of folks on the 
receiving end report receipt of an empty text attachment that I don't think I 
control.

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