"Scotch" is a drink. The Scots are a proud nation.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Castro" <ronc@sonic.net>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 8:39 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Orion (original) S-meter
> True enough about S-meters historically being a relative indication.
> There
> was a time in late 50's and early 60's when the "S-meter wars" started
> between the manufacturers, mostly Hallicrafters and Hammerlund. On each
> successive model, they boosted the sensitivity so that if you did a
> side-by-side comparison, the radio showing the highest reading would be
> thought to be superior. The strategy worked for a while, until everybody
> got
> wise!
>
> I think that was about the time that the S-9 = uV, and 6 dB per S-unit
> standard got popular, and Collins stuck to it pretty rigorously. They are
> still known as having "Scotch" (as in 'tight-fisted') meters.
>
> Obviously readings are relative since a receiver hooked to a dipole at 10'
> will read far less than one connected to a 6 over 6 over 6 array on a 180'
> tower. The benefit of accurately calibrated meters are to help in antenna
> comparisons, getting a "ball-park" on F/B ratios, relative conditions
> between stations that talk on a regular basis (I do that on 75 all the
> time), comparing two stations in nearby locations, etc. Both my KWM-380
> and
> my TS-870 have S-meters that are remarkably accurate, although I
> determined
> that the '380 uses a 5-dB/S-unit standard instead of 6. The 870 has a
> menu-selectable option that automatically changes the S-meter reading to
> compensate for the preamp.
>
> It would be nice to have readings that correlate to a known standard in
> the
> Orion.
>
> Ron
> N6AHA
>
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