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Re: [RFI] Recommended All Band Receiver

To: "Utility.rfi.pro" <Utility.rfi.pro@Gmail.com>, Rfi List <rfi@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [RFI] Recommended All Band Receiver
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Wed, 29 May 2013 09:49:45 -0700
List-post: <rfi@contesting.com">mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
On 5/28/2013 11:49 PM, Utility.rfi.pro wrote:
Switchcraft is superior to Neutrik. The Switchcraft connector would easily accommodate RG-58.

That's what I said.


I believe that the Switchcraft connector would still break with more than a gentle bump. The jack is no doubt fragile as well.

Both the Switchcraft and Neutrik connectors are sufficiently robust that they would not break with a gentle bump unless they were poorly installed. Both are quite decent connectors, although the Swithcraft is the more robust of the two. I stock both of them to make audio patch cables. If I had only the Neutrik available, I would strip the outer jacket so that the braid would fit through the shell, complete the wiring, then protect and reinforce the connection with several layers of heat shrink. I share your concern for the chassis-mounted jack.

BTW -- the Neutrik 1/8 connectors are low-cost consumer-grade products from their Asian subsidiary. Their primary line of EU-made connectors are equal to or better than Switchcraft. I serve on the AES Standards Committee Working Group on Connectors with engineers from both companies, and both are first rate companies.


The problem is the side mounted jack more so than the 1/8th inch plug. Side mounted jacks make it tough to put the device in a bag or case. Side protruding connectors are a nuisance and frequent fracture victim in the rough and tumble world of commercial work.

Gee, I thought we were talking about a low cost alternative for a ham to chase down RFI, not something to be part of a professional's working kit.


One can't predict how many hazards will be encountered that will snag or bump against what is arguably a fairly small piece of metal pressed against a substantial lever.

Murphy's Law dictates that anything that can fracture a small connector will do so at the most inconvenient moment.

Radar Engineers wisely top mounts the external antenna BNC jack on the Model 240 receiver. Mine is still intact after 10 years of oops!

Much care will be needed if an external antenna is plugged into the Tecsun. Not only is the radio a consumer device, its made in China...a fact that means extra fragile in even the gentlest environments.

Yeah, but the Tecsun can be bought for about $100. What does that Radar Engineers box cost? How many hams can afford that to chase down power line noise when they cannot bill a steady stream of clients to pay for it?

Perhaps a right angle connector would work but I would still want to secure that somehow.

Let us know when you find such a connector in someone's catalog. I've never seen one.

73, Jim K9YC
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