OMNI VII

[Steve Ellington]

Rob C. Kontes wrote:
>        Yes a larger more versatile meter would be appreciated.  Keep it analog...
> None of this digital bar graph nonsense.  I watched back in the 70's as LCD
> watches became the only kind you could buy.  Eventually Timex and the gang
> got the message and now a nice analog offering is available again.


Good points Rob. There is something incompatible between us humans and
the digital world. Digital watches have no point of reference for us to
relate to. We can look at a minute hand and develope a mental picture of
how much time we have to get ready for work. Not so with a digital
watch. With those, we must first mentally compute the time difference
then develope some point of reference. 

The same goes for digital dials. With digital readouts, we enhance
accuracy but we lose mental touch with the source. Take for instance,
alinment of an I.F amplifier while monitoring the agc voltage. Although
it can be done with a digital meter, an analog meter alows much quicker
interpolation. We can see the peaks and valleys as they swing across the
face of the meter. 

The same arguments carry over to audio. When DSP is introduced, we are
using our ears to send a multitude of closely spaced digital pulses to
the brain which hopefully is able to blend the pulses and enable us to
interpet the sound as it was originally produced. This is what causes
"listeners fatigue". The mind is now doing extra work even though we
aren't aware of it. 

I can listen to cw on an Omni-6 all day and enjoy it as no other radio. 
However, I'm hearing all kinds of comments from users of the new dsp
radios about how "something just ain't right". When the TS-870 hit the
market with it's I.F. dsp, it was a big splash but shortly thereafter, I
saw dozens of them for sale on rec.radio.swap. I asked several of them
what the problem was and basically, they couldn't explain it. They just
said that there was something about it they didn't like. A few
complained of some kinds of "distortion" but couldn't describe it.

For 3 months, I had an FT-1000mp here. Although it's a great
technological feat and has impressive displays that boggle the mind plus
super selectivity with it's audio dsp, after listening to it for about
20 minutes, I was ready to go do the chores, pet the cat or take out the
trash. 

As for bar graph meters. They get the job done, are highly visible and
more accurate but again, what I'm really seeing is rapid flashing of
several little leds that are close enough together to trick the brain
into seeing a solid line. But look closely. There is a minute gap
between those little bulbs. The brain is smart enough to know better.
Our poor little minds must take all that blinking into account and give
us the information we need. Compare that task to the gentle swing of a
meter needle! Compare the relaxing feeling we get watching a meter swing
as the cw warfs across our ears vs. the harsh blinking of 15 little red
bulbs. Try staring at that bar graph for a while. 

I say keep the digital frequency readout. We need it for accuracy. Scrap
bar graphs and make dsp an option we can easily disable. There just
aren't many things you can do to the Omni except improve and perfect
what's already there. 

N4LQ Steve

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