[600MRG] By the way --- your receiving equipment

[sbjohnston at aol.com]

    I started listening on the 630m band with my old faithful Kenwood R-1000 and a BC-453 command set receiver.? I was about to make a modification of the BC-553 to spread the band out on the dial, but I got the notion to get something new...

I made a review of the ham transceivers and shortwave receivers manufactured in recent amateur memory.? While nearly all of them included a basic specification showing receive coverage going deep into the MF range (some into LF), nearly all of them had reduced performance down there. 

To buy a receiver that would be an improvement over the BC-453 it seemed like I was going to have to spend thousands for a used professional unit.? That's one of the reasons I splurged on a new Kenwood TS-990S transceiver - it's receiver design considered the LF and MF ranges worth hearing.? On transmit it covers the 137 and 475 kHz bands with output from the DRV port (so the rig can act as an exciter for a low or medium frequency amplifier).? 

These tx and rx characteristics look to be true of the TS-590S transceiver as well, judging by the info in the manual.? I haven't tried that rig but it looks to be a good choice for use on 630m at a more practical price than the 990.

Of  all the other various "modern" transceivers and receivers on my shelves, the  unit I found to have unexpectedly good receive performance on 630m is  the Alinco DX-70.?? 
    
 
   
 
  Steve WD8DAS / WH2XHY
 
 sbjohnston at aol.com
 http://www.wd8das.net/
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