[TenTec] TT service

Thu Jul 11 02:13:16 EDT 2013

Gary, you are over-simplifying.
The high DR3 is indeed useful but it does not help if your radio is
degrading due to other deficiencies.
For instance, in an electrical storm (which seems to be a side kick of Field
Day), many of the radios near the top of the list suffer from AGC problems
that are so bad, it becomes difficult to copy even strong stations.  A
lesser radio will out-perform it under those circumstances.

Two radios very near the top of the list will degrade in DR3 by about 20dB
if you use them at a Field Day and have 2 transmitters on the same band
(i.e. 40m CW and 40m SSB).  The loss of 20dB does not occur when using the
current test methodology for DR3.  So what looks like a great radio in the
lab, degrades a lot in some typical real life circumstances.

Another very near the top of the list has such bad audio (in the past) that
it caused operator fatigue, causing the operator himself to degrade in
performance.  In the meantime (about 4 years later), that issue has pretty
much been resolved.

Ergonomics does too.  If a radio is more difficult to operate, then its good
DR3 may be offset by time lost in fooling with the less than optimum
ergonomics.  Unfortunately the Eagle suffers from this problem.

ALL of these things and many more contribute to a radio's performance.

As much as we would all would love to see a list of overall performance,
it's not gonna happen.
Part of the reason is the point on ergonomics.  Our likes and tastes are
different.

I love running contests with my Eagle.  In one contest where Rob had an
Eagle and TS-590 side by side, he ended up making most of his contacts with
the TS-590 because he found its ergonomics so much better.  That was despite
the fact that the Eagle has better performance on a few bands.

The story is complex.  Don't place too much value on any list.

73
Rick, DJ0IP

-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of GARY HUBER
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 4:19 AM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] TT service

In the past it seemed that Rob was comparing the new radios to a convenient
standard, i.e. the Sherwood Engineering modified R4-C and in doing so
promoted his product. Not a bad thing but still, ranking DR3 does rank the
radios for those who want to run the specs rather than run the radio that
fits their actual operating environment requirements, their skills, their
capabilities, and wallet. There are a number of Operators who buy based on
the Sherwood specs and the radio's ranking

I know a few operators who have the skills to run the high end radios and
get everything out of them in a multi-TX environment. I also know a lot of
operators who can do just fine with a radio way down on Rob's list.  My
OMNI-VII with FLEX-1500 sub-receiver or Corsair-II work just fine for me at
the home station. Field Day with other rigs is another story, but I like
what I have.

73 ES DX,
Gary -- AB9M

-----Original Message-----
From: Richards
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 8:42 PM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] TT service

On 7/10/2013 5:24 PM, Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP wrote:
> Hey, let's be clear on one point.
> Rob Sherwood does NOT rate rigs.
>
> His list is NOT a ranking of performance of the radios.
> It is only a ranking of close-in DR3 of all of these radios.

Oh, my... er... um...  are you SURE?    ;-)

THIS IS WHAT IS OFTEN CALLED A
     "DISTINCTION WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE."

The Sherwood list is obviously intended to
rank radios according to a single factor.
(Not a bad thing... but that is what it is.)

> Many other things contribute to the overall performance of a radio and it 
> is
> not possible to list rigs in order of overall performance, because we all
> have different performance needs.

Quite right, but that does not belie
the fact the Sherwood list IS a ranking
of radios according to a single factor,
albeit a factor of great interest to
many operators.  But it IS a ranking.

Sidebar:

I rest confident I rarely encounter
circumstances situations where that
ranking is relevant, and my radios,
including a TT Omni VII, and KW TS-590s
both of which have competitive figures on
the other factors and measurements included
Sherwood's chart.

So, unless I am facing a situation where
3d order intercept dynamic range is of
critical importance, my best radios rate
as high or higher (are at least on a par with)
the the radios ranked above it on the list.

Therefore, I won't lose any sleep over the
fact I don't own the rig with the best score.
If I ignore the 3d order intercept column,
there is very little difference among all the
top radios on the chart, which explains, to
me at least, why other guys are working DX
and enjoying contests with those "other"
"inferior" radios.  I concede there might
be a few instances where I wish I had spent
another $X,000 dollars to make a few extra
very difficult contacts, but that makes
those contacts very expensive!

An analogy:  I have a couple of sports cars.
A Corvette guy once chided me about my choice
of vehicle, and I asked him if he really
thought he was getting $30,000 more fun out
of his car than I was getting out of mine.

Similarly, would I really get $X,000 more fun
out of a higher-rated radio?   Would those few
rare and difficult contacts be worth the
extra cost?

Well... as Bob suggests in a couple posts, it
is all relative and each of us must decide these
matters for ourselves, and this is, after all,
only a hobby, and we do not all have the same
resources to throw at it, so maybe we are tilting
at windmills and becoming more worried about rig
specifications, and less interested in making
contacts.

My ONLY objection is to the posturing and chest
beating we sometimes see as guys debate one rig
or antenna versus another.

So, I in the words of the great moral philosopher
and social commentator,  Alfred E. Neuman:

"What,...me worry?"        ;-)

-------------------- K8JHR  ---------------- 

.
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