XV144

[K8RS]

John,
        If you are a casual 2M op than the 910H will serve you well, but if you are a contest op, then I would keep the XV144.  You will be disappointed in the 910H on 2M during a contest.  Local stations and big power stations will show up all over your 910H dial underneath/overtop of the station you want to work..  There is a trade off when you step away from transverters.  
                                   Roger K8RS
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[John Ragle]

Roger...(and other perhaps-interested parties on the list)

    Good advice. However, I think the dynamic range issue is not of
great concern, since I live in a fairly isolated rural area with no
local VHF/UHF contesters. Moreover, the 910 works into a TE Systems amp
with a GaAsFET preamp in line to improve the 910's not-so-hot noise
figure.  At 144 MHz I am not so concerned about line loss, but on 432 I
have a mast-mounted GaAsFET preamp, since the 910 is really quite deaf
on 432 and line loss is more of a problem.

    Another factor which is somewhat of an aid is that I don't lie on
the line of sight of anyone ELSE;  in particular VT and NH are very
sparsely populated with VHF/UHF stations,  and the active Maine stations
are well away from my bearing from just about anywhere.  My 10 element 2
meter beam also adds some selectivity because of its directivity, and 11
elements on 432 does the same.

    A third comment: I have compared the 910 against the XV144 on the
same antenna and feed line against the stations that are "local" -- the
closest are mostly in the Hartford area 60-70 kM south of me and there
don't seem to be any issues on receive. I have used these two setups  
interchangeably for the past several weeks with no noticeable
differences at all, specifically for comparison purposes.

    If cost and physical space were no issue, I would probably choose to
run a Kuhne TR144H, but that unit is too costly for me (around 4X the
price of the XV144). I managed a once-in-a-lifetime deal on the ICOM
910H, and with preamps it is a nice little box.

    Thank you for the response. I was aware of the advantages of
transverter use, but maybe there are others on the list who will benefit
from your comment.

John Ragle -- W1ZI

=====

K8RS wrote:

> John,
>         If you are a casual 2M op than the 910H will serve you well, but if you are a contest op, then I would keep the XV144.  You will be disappointed in the 910H on 2M during a contest.  Local stations and big power stations will show up all over your 910H dial underneath/overtop of the station you want to work..  There is a trade off when you step away from transverters.  
>                                    Roger K8RS
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
>
>
>  

______________________________________________________________
Elecraft mailing list
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Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:[hidden email]

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

[Julian, G4ILO]

I also have an IC-910H (which is surplus to requirements now I have the XV144, if any UK based person is interested.) I much prefer the sound of the K3 receiver and having the standard K3 shift and width controls does help pulling a weak SSB signal out of the noise.

John Ragle wrote

Roger...(and other perhaps-interested parties on the list)

    Good advice. However, I think the dynamic range issue is not of
great concern, since I live in a fairly isolated rural area with no
local VHF/UHF contesters. Moreover, the 910 works into a TE Systems amp
with a GaAsFET preamp in line to improve the 910's not-so-hot noise
figure.  At 144 MHz I am not so concerned about line loss, but on 432 I
have a mast-mounted GaAsFET preamp, since the 910 is really quite deaf
on 432 and line loss is more of a problem.

    Another factor which is somewhat of an aid is that I don't lie on
the line of sight of anyone ELSE;  in particular VT and NH are very
sparsely populated with VHF/UHF stations,  and the active Maine stations
are well away from my bearing from just about anywhere.  My 10 element 2
meter beam also adds some selectivity because of its directivity, and 11
elements on 432 does the same.

    A third comment: I have compared the 910 against the XV144 on the
same antenna and feed line against the stations that are "local" -- the
closest are mostly in the Hartford area 60-70 kM south of me and there
don't seem to be any issues on receive. I have used these two setups  
interchangeably for the past several weeks with no noticeable
differences at all, specifically for comparison purposes.

    If cost and physical space were no issue, I would probably choose to
run a Kuhne TR144H, but that unit is too costly for me (around 4X the
price of the XV144). I managed a once-in-a-lifetime deal on the ICOM
910H, and with preamps it is a nice little box.

    Thank you for the response. I was aware of the advantages of
transverter use, but maybe there are others on the list who will benefit
from your comment.

John Ragle -- W1ZI

=====

K8RS wrote:
> John,
>         If you are a casual 2M op than the 910H will serve you well, but if you are a contest op, then I would keep the XV144.  You will be disappointed in the 910H on 2M during a contest.  Local stations and big power stations will show up all over your 910H dial underneath/overtop of the station you want to work..  There is a trade off when you step away from transverters.  
>                                    Roger K8RS