[VHFcontesting] What separates a decent transverter from an awesome transverter?

[Mark Spencer]

I'd look at the ability to receive very weak signals while also dealing with near by signals that are quite strong.  Here in my part of VE7Land there are a number of strong government / commercial stations just below the 144 MHz band (ie. at 143.9XX MHz or so.) I suspect there are a number of transverter design details that would influence their ability to deal with this type of issue.

This ability would also be useful in dealing with issues such as near by APRS stations on 144.390 although in my experience APRS on 144.390 is typically not as troublesome as the non amateur sources just below the 144 MHz band.

I've also encountered similar issues in the shared 432 MHz and 1.2 GHz bands.   I suspect Radar in the shared 1.2 GHz band is especially troublesome to me when operating from mountain sides.  If I ever decide to put more time, energy and money into my 1.2 GHz station investing in a high quality transverter (or at least a receive converter) would probably be my first step.

73

Mark S
VE7AFZ

mark at alignedsolutions.com
604 762 4099

> On Apr 24, 2018, at 7:31 PM, Patrick Thomas <p-thomas at mindspring.com> wrote:
> 
> Hey all,
> 
> Subject more or less says it all... I guess better sensitivity, lower noise, better selectivity, and better linearity are the essentials in vague and relative terms, but what attributes do you look for in a REALLY GOOD transverter?
> 
> Or for those who have gone further into making them... what components, construction techniques, etc., make a difference?
> 
> Partly this is a question I hear a lot and only have a vague notion of how to answer other than "obviously the expensive ones are better... somehow." :)
> 
> And partly it is a request for topics for self-guided study/experimentation as I attempt my own homebrew projects.
> 
> Many thanks,
> 
> Patrick - KB8DGC
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