An interesting post just appeared on the Omni-7 board from Aussie Craig Dickson, VK3HE. He writes, in part:
"...[T]he second issue is SSB Transmitter spectral purity. [To me] it is still unacceptable to have SSB transmitters with 2-Tone IMD figures of -20 to -26 db below pep 3rd order... In my mind its a pity that the designers of the Omni 7 did not see it as a high design priority to make sure [it] had [a] transmitter that matched its excellent receiver performance. To me its of equal amazement that the designers of the K3 also chose to ignore this issue. If either the K3 or Omni 7 met commercial or NTIA standards for SSB signal purity it would have opened new markets and increased sales for both Elecraft and Ten Tec." ( Actually, a pretty audacious post for a guy whose QRZ page says "Inactive. I don't QSL." <LOL> ) In any case, all judgment aside -- We've seen very little discussion of the K3's transmitter design, and that's understandable in light of the tremendous breakthrough the guys have made in receiver performance versus price point. And I have no idea if Craig's statements in regard to the K3 have any merit at all. But I'm curious as to how Wayne and Eric would respond to Craig's implication that the K3's transmit purity leaves something to be desired. Guys, do you think Craig makes a valid point, or not? And if he does make a valid point, is this just a matter of marketability -- of the customer being unwilling to pay extra for technological refinements that, at the end of the day, don't directly affect his performance experience on the air? Or to put it another way: >From the market standpoint, the receiver has to be great, but the transmitter only has to be good enough? If everyone used SSB transmitters that met commercial standards, would the ham bands have less QRM overall? Bill / W5WVO _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
