Mike and all,
Yes, an FT847/FT817 will be helped immensely by better filtering for in band
crud. One other thing to bear in mind, all these multimode/multiband rigs are
designed to cover a wide frequency range, usually 118 - 174 for VHF and 400-512
on UHF. Unfotunately, a wide front end can let in nearby pagers and commercial
stuff which can degrade mixer performance and cause the rig to be near overload
even before the kw on the next mountaintop comes on!!
While the multimode/multiband rigs are very nice and compact, they are not for
the serious contester. There just is no substitute for a good HF I.F. rig and a
good transverter. DEM, Elecraft, SSB, Microwave Modules, Yaesu FTV series, or
even a good old Hallicrafters or a Drake TC2 Even with a middle range HF rig, a
transverter combo is better.
I've owned an FT736 with the Mutek mods, a TS2000 with a different front end
filter, an IC910 and none of them come even close to a TS850 with a
transverter. For the casual operator who spends maybe 8 hrs total time in a
contest or does packpacking to a mountain top they are great, if you are
serious about really being competitive, get a decent HF rig and a transverter.
T
Now for my big plug, the Elecraft K3. I have two of them and I'm selling all 8
TS850's used by K8GP for the past 10 years. While the TS850 is a wonderful
radio and one of the best "war dogs" out there, the K3's DSP design, firmware
upgradability, ease of interfacing (direct BNC transverter in and out
jacks!!!), dial coverage to 24 GHz and a DIRECT line to the CEO for
suggestions/problem fixes via their reflector, it is second to none for joy of
operating. Imagine a NB that not only works VERY well but it is done in the DSP
so strong signals do not cause a lot of the problems like a traditional IF
blanker does. There is a IF blanker included and both NB's are very
configurable. I could go on and on about the K3 but check out Elecraft's web
site. The only downside is it can get pretty pricey if you start loading it up
with options but trust me, it is worth EVERY penny you pay!!
73, and Happy Holidays, wish for DX in 2010!!!
Terry
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Sapp
To: VHF TEST REFLTR
Sent: Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:44:09 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] FT-817/897/847 overlaod
Hi Everyone: Try good filters in the FT817/897/847. It costs $125 or more a
filter, but the performance change is dramatic. I put the Collins 300Hz filter
(Inrad #712) in my '847 and one in an 817. The improvement was so dramatic I
went out and got the Collins 2.0KHz SSB filters (Inrad #720) a few weeks later
for the 817 and for tx in the FT-847. There was room in my 847 for the Inrad
1.8KHz crystal filter, for receive, which has even better performance at the
-60 to -80 range on their charts. You will also notice a 2db improvement on
transmit with a narrow SSB filter versus a stock ceramic resonator. I have a
second FT-817 I use the stock ceramic resonator for SSB and a 500 Hz filter for
CW. I use that radio as an i.f. radio for the microwave bands, as the wider
filter helps when tuning/searching for weak signals and I still can go narrow
to improve the S/N when needed. I would put the 300Hz cwfilter in that radio
as well, but eventually you drain the budget. My FT-84
7 is actually usable now for a 160m cw contest effort with the filter upgrades.
One other comment. I notice the dynamic range goes to pot on the FT-847 with
the noise blanker on. I'm not sure how true that is on the 817 or 897, but try
turning the NB off the next time your front end gets hammered on. Don't forget
that RF gain control knob does work. Find a weak VHF or UHF beacon and see how
far you can turn down the RF gain without giving up that much hearing
performance.
Mike wa3tts
Mike wa3tts
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