[IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Another member has joined the cult. I purchased both the SRF-59 and the 37 from Amazon just before Christmas, and like many before me, I've been amazed at the results. Last night while walking the dogs, I took the SRF-59 out with me, and listened to CKLW on 800khz, along with TWR, WHSO, and two other weaker stations. At the end of the walk, I rushed into my shack to compare this performance, to my home station. Current configuration is an Icom 746-Pro, along with a DX Engineering NCC-1 phaser, two LF Engineering Active Whips, and an assortment of other antennas (Wellbrooke ALA-1530 Loop, 600 foot BOG, etc.) All the same stations could be easily heard on the home station, but no others, despite lots of dial tweaking, knob twisting, phasing, etc. Keep in mind, I'm comparing an under $20 radio to literally thousands of dollars worth of DXing equipment. Switched to the Drake R8B receiver...nope, no big improvement there either. Amazing. I am confused by the flurry of messages on this topic though. Am I to understand that another Ultralight has now proven to be superior even to the SRF-59? Please tell me now, as I must own it! For those of you who remain skeptics, take it from a new convert. Resistance is futile. Drink the kool-aid. Jump on the couch and proclaim your love for Oprah and the rest of the world to hear. Every word of this is true. Under $20 bucks wow. 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF Les Rayburn, director High Noon Film 100 Centerview Drive Suite 111 Birmingham, AL 35216 205.824.8930 205.824.8960 fax 205.253.4867 cell ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Am I to understand that another Ultralight has now proven to be superior even to the SRF-59? Please tell me now, as I must own it! Les, From what Gary's comparision disclosed, the Sony T615 is more convenient because of it's digital readout, but nothing combines sensitivity and selectivity better than the 59. TheT615 delivered from Japan via Audio Cubes is about $100, or the cost of 6.5 SRF59s delivered before Amazon pulled the plug on free shipping. The T615 is very selective, but in the head to head comparision, the 59 nudged ahead very slightly during his daytime station comparisions. 73, Gil ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Ultralights are fine, but they don't have great taste or a good head. I like Labatts the best. Canadian. Pass the peanuts, huh? Karl Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 15:31:55 -0500 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; irca@hard-core-dx.com Subject: Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch Am I to understand that another Ultralight has now proven to be superior even to the SRF-59? Please tell me now, as I must own it! Les, From what Gary's comparision disclosed, the Sony T615 is more convenient because of it's digital readout, but nothing combines sensitivity and selectivity better than the 59. TheT615 delivered from Japan via Audio Cubes is about $100, or the cost of 6.5 SRF59s delivered before Amazon pulled the plug on free shipping. The T615 is very selective, but in the head to head comparision, the 59 nudged ahead very slightly during his daytime station comparisions. 73, Gil ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com _ Make distant family not so distant with Windows Vista® + Windows Live™. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/digitallife/keepintouch.mspx?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_CPC_VideoChat_distantfamily_012008 ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
For those of you who remain skeptics, take it from a new convert. Resistance is futile. Drink the kool-aid. Jump on the couch and proclaim your love for Oprah and the rest of the world to hear. Every word of this is true. Under $20 bucks wow. I am convinced that Sony had a subliminal message when coming up with the SRF-59 model number... Small Radio Fanatic 59 --- and we all know what 59 means in hamspeak... 73 de Joe Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
At 03:38 PM 1/4/2008 -0500, you wrote: Ultralights are fine, but they don't have great taste or a good head. I like Labatts the best. Canadian. Yup...You're right KarlBrewed right here in my Hometown...London, Onatrio CANADA!!! We'll just make it the Official Beer of the Lazyboy Olympics!! 73..ROB. Robert S. Ross VA3SW Box 1003, Stn. B. London, Ontario CANADA N6A5K1 Antique/Vintage Radio Enthusiast Amateur Radio Stations VA3SW/VE3JFC Defy Physics.Play Table Tennis!! (Ping Pong with an Attitude) «¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥« ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
I hope most of you have had the good sense not to brag to your significant others how good a $15 rx does compared with your rigs and equipment costing thousands of dollars. ;) Gil ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
--- Gil Stacy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Am I to understand that another Ultralight has now proven to be superior even to the SRF-59? Please tell me now, as I must own it! Les, From what Gary's comparision disclosed, the Sony T615 is more convenient because of it's digital readout, but nothing combines sensitivity and selectivity better than the 59. TheT615 delivered from Japan via Audio Cubes is about $100, or the cost of 6.5 SRF59s delivered before Amazon pulled the plug on free shipping. The T615 is very selective, but in the head to head comparision, the 59 nudged ahead very slightly during his daytime station comparisions. Plus, AFAIK, the T615 is cigarette lighter size. That's fine for those who have 20/20 eyesight, but for the rest of us that's darned small. As far as the sizes of the controls, I'd guess if you can handle one of those mini cell phones, you could handle the T615. Since the M37V has overload issues, I'll have to forget about that one as well... Russ Edmunds Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ) [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia] 40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id [EMAIL PROTECTED] FM: Yamaha T-80 Onkyo T-450RDS w/ APS9B @15' AM: Hammarlund HQ-150 4' FET air core loop Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Actually, I don't know what 59 means in hamspeak. Paul Not A Ham Walker On Jan 4, 2008 3:41 PM, Joe Miller, KJ8O [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am convinced that Sony had a subliminal message when coming up with the SRF-59 model number... Small Radio Fanatic 59 --- and we all know what 59 means in hamspeak... 73 de Joe ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Have we been suckered? Is all this SRF-59 stuff pure hype, contrived by iBiquity to head off criticism of IBOC that was dominating the DX lists. Must be...has to be... Stopping Radio Fanatics. Anyone listening? Hello What, have you all been bought??? - Original Message - From: Robert Ross [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America irca@hard-core-dx.com Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 3:44 PM Subject: Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch At 03:38 PM 1/4/2008 -0500, you wrote: Ultralights are fine, but they don't have great taste or a good head. I like Labatts the best. Canadian. Yup...You're right KarlBrewed right here in my Hometown...London, Onatrio CANADA!!! We'll just make it the Official Beer of the Lazyboy Olympics!! 73..ROB. Robert S. Ross VA3SW Box 1003, Stn. B. London, Ontario CANADA N6A5K1 Antique/Vintage Radio Enthusiast Amateur Radio Stations VA3SW/VE3JFC Defy Physics.Play Table Tennis!! (Ping Pong with an Attitude) «¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥« ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Saul, I have not bought one as yet as I have enough portable radios. Even through the local Fred Meyer has a half a dozen of them for $17.99 (not on sale). With me, the newness would wear off and it would end up in the drawer with a couple of my GE Walkmans I never use. I am very happy with the Sony S5W I got from Gary. It is a great size for travelling and a pretty good portable to say the least. One of the best I have ever used for MW DX. The GE Super Radios (1 2) are back ups. I also have an old Sony 6500 I need to get repaired as the audio cuts in and out plus the Grundig I bought a couple years back that is ok. With all of those, the R8, SPR4, and Kenwood R-1000, I am set up pretty good. The only other radio I might be interested in time might be a computer radio down the road. Oh yes, if I found a decent Drake R7A, I might be interested as I love Drake receivers. But I am pretty well set up with radios. Add to that a couple boomboxes too. They have poor radios though, but good for dubbing. 73, Patrick Patrick Martin KAVT Reception Manager ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Plus, AFAIK, the T615 is cigarette lighter size. That's fine for those who have 20/20 eyesight, but for the rest of us that's darned small. As far as the sizes of the controls, I'd guess if you can handle one of those mini cell phones, you could handle the T615. Since the M37V has overload issues, I'll have to forget about that one as well Russ, I didn't realize how tiny the t615 is: 3.5x2.1x.5. Tell me about cellphone controls. I've got a miserable Moto Razr that I've yet to dial a correct phone number on first time. It's as if I've got the digits of a Simpson TV character. Mesa Mike has cracked the code on the 37's overload issue with a filter replacement. It's a great sounding FM radio. Once I replace the a.m. filter, it should do fine on a.m. 73 Gil ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Hi Gil: I think the problem with the M-37V was images in Gary's RF-rich environment, not overloads. Not sure the filter would do anything for image problems, but if you don't live within 20 miles of literally a million watts like me, the increased selectivity on the M-37V may cure overload problems as well and be a really good choice! 73 - Kevin Mesa Mike has cracked the code on the 37's overload issue with a filter replacement. It's a great sounding FM radio. Once I replace the a.m. filter, it should do fine on a.m. 73 Gil ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hi Gil: I think the problem with the M-37V was images in Gary's RF-rich environment, not overloads. Not sure the filter would do anything for image problems, but if you don't live within 20 miles of literally a million watts like me, the increased selectivity on the M-37V may cure overload problems as well and be a really good choice! That's why it wouldn't work out here - 4 miles from 50 kw KYW which is tremendously strong, 5 others between 5 and 50 kw at least part of the time within 10 miles, still others a bit further. I've never been able to use a longwire here due to overload and intermod - only loops... Russ Edmunds Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ) [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia] 40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id [EMAIL PROTECTED] FM: Yamaha T-80 Onkyo T-450RDS w/ APS9B @15' AM: Hammarlund HQ-150 4' FET air core loop Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
--- Gil Stacy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Plus, AFAIK, the T615 is cigarette lighter size. That's fine for those who have 20/20 eyesight, but for the rest of us that's darned small. As far as the sizes of the controls, I'd guess if you can handle one of those mini cell phones, you could handle the T615. Since the M37V has overload issues, I'll have to forget about that one as well Russ, I didn't realize how tiny the t615 is: 3.5x2.1x.5. Tell me about cellphone controls. I've got a miserable Moto Razr that I've yet to dial a correct phone number on first time. It's as if I've got the digits of a Simpson TV character. Mesa Mike has cracked the code on the 37's overload issue with a filter replacement. It's a great sounding FM radio. Once I replace the a.m. filter, it should do fine on a.m. I don't have one - the reasons I cited are why I likely won't. Someone else would have to answer that - at this point probably Gary. The filter mod only improves the selectivity. Mike indicated yesterday I think that it didn't help the overload - which I wouldn't expect it would. Maybe we'll yet discover a good digital readout cousin for the 59 which has equivalent performance features. Russ Edmunds Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ) [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia] 40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id [EMAIL PROTECTED] FM: Yamaha T-80 Onkyo T-450RDS w/ APS9B @15' AM: Hammarlund HQ-150 4' FET air core loop Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
Russ, The 2007 Shootout (on dxer.ca) revealed that both the SRF-59 and the Sangean DT-200VX perform very well in RF-intensive environments. Neither showed any images, and there was only one very weak spur on each receiver. The stock SRF-M37V, on the other hand, has both image and selectivity problems (full list on the review), but Mesa Mike's narrow filter modification may cure the selectivity issue. I am eager to perform the mod on my own SRF-M37V, but have been busy doing full service-manual type alignments on five different SRF-59's... one of which is going to you, my friend. Wait just a little longer, and you should receive one of these super tiny terrors, Russ, guaranteed to be as sensitive as any SRF-59 on the planet 73, Gary **Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp0030002489 ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Drinking the Kool-Aid, Jumping on the Couch
The M37V does indeed suffer from images when in the presence of strong RF. That's a problem common to most digitally tuned single conversion radios, because they lack tuned front ends which most analog tuned radios have. Today I took the unit and parked about a hundred yards from the antenna of my local KRSN 1490, which is running 640 watts. Strong image on 590 kHz (but it could be nulled into oblivion!) The image went away after I moved about a mile on down the road. The next strongest signal is from KSWV 810 in Santa Fe. While I was at the KRSN tower site, I checked for mixing products at 1490-810=680 kHz and heard nothing. OK, so maybe KSWV is just too far away to cause intermod with KRSN. Fine with me! Images and intermod could likely be dealt with by using the radio in conjunction with a tuned loop. That's something I haven't tried yet, though. In order to test the intermod better, I'll have to go to Santa Fe where there are 2 or 3 radio stations sharing a tower. If I park near it, that should bring out any intermod products. I'm lucky, I guess, that I don't live near any powerful stations. The local is several miles away from where I live so it doesn't bother me too much. At home, I notice no images anywhere on the band. On Jan 4, 2008 7:07 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Russ, The 2007 Shootout (on dxer.ca) revealed that both the SRF-59 and the Sangean DT-200VX perform very well in RF-intensive environments. Neither showed any images, and there was only one very weak spur on each receiver. The stock SRF-M37V, on the other hand, has both image and selectivity problems (full list on the review), but Mesa Mike's narrow filter modification may cure the selectivity issue. -- Mesa Mike LA de NM ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
