Listener's Guide - 1999 - The Listeners Guide

25) Just because you know the dictionary definition of an attenuator, don't feel it is anact of defeat to use one. With two million watts used by some European broadcasters, weare getting signal strengths that can light small torch bulbs. If you are getting a "60 over9" on the signal meter then by all means record it in the log, then switch in the ATTN tobring it down a bit, This will drop the surrounding stations by an equal amount givingclearer reception and bring the fades of the wanted station into the AGC range of theradio.26) In Article 5 of this section, we mentioned AGC time constants. If you have one, theAGC switch can be experimented with as a buffer to the rapid fading found on higherfrequencies.It is not a cure, it simply can make listening more pleasant.27) SEX, LIES AND AUDIOTAPE: Most radios we have encountered so far have a RECORDjack. If yours has some form of phase-locked detection, then a bit of coax to the LINE INon the music centre - dear old fashioned thing that I am - can do wonders for dear oldAM. Then being able to make cassettes is about the best log you can keep."Lies" refers to the extremes of propaganda you could record, so far off the mark thatthey become funny."Sex" is another Guide by Masters and Johnson. We never understood why it took two ofthem to write it...28) PLEASE DO NOT GO LOOKING FOR SPURIOUS SIGNALS. YOU WILL ONLYFIND THEM: This is the latest sensation to sweep the nation. You spend an arm and a legon a radio, short-circuit the antenna socket - the clever ones will do this with a carbonresistor of equal value to the impedance presented at the socket - then tune very slowlythrough the entire range of the set in USB, listing every whistle you can hear.And we admit it. There are signals to be heard. A manufacturer worth his salt will reportthe "worst" of them in the manual. A synthesized radio works by constant comparison ofthe frequency you are tuning to a reference signal - a crystal or fast VCO - actually insidethe set.This creates a little signal of its own. The processing required to make that comparisonand make the radio easy to operate also produces lots of little signals all their own. If wewant our radio to have the range to cover the whole HF spectrum then yes, there will bepoints on the dial where it will "hear itself".Modern design and layout has reduced these to a level equal to the noise floor so infairness to the designers, I no longer regard them as a problem.29) DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOMEModify equipment at home? Please don't.We have over twenty years product development experience since the days when ashort-wave radio meant an ex-Service receiver that needed extensive mods to make itwork in a domestic environment. Over twenty years in compiling research in what isneeded in a changing market and delivering it at a reasonable price.See ITEM 12 for some idea of development costs and support. We do feel that due to thechanges in all the technologies used in a modern radio, modification at home will lead tomore problems than the original "idea" set out to "solve". If you want to be a part of theradio revolution, use the radio for a little while, think long, hard and reasonably aboutwhat you feel could be improved and write a concise letter to the set maker. The pen isfar mightier than the soldering iron and cheaper, too.30) I THINK THEREFORE I SCAN.Or not as the case may be. Some portables give the impression that "tuning around" is athing of the past. They have adopted clever scanning systems that seem to do away withthe tuning knob once and for all. It pains your writer to admit it, some work very well,but pre-set scan levels can mean they "scan over" the low level DX stuff.So, for real band searching - go manual. They are good for checking general bandconditions, however.31) Most modern radios will decide as a part of the Mode selected, which is the best filterfor the job. Some may have a WIDE/NARROW switch. Wide is best for broadcast speechand music, narrow for SSB use. You may have a range of bandwidths to allow you tofilter out what you can as conditions deteriorate. Filters are the last bastion ofexperiment in radio, so do not hesitate to talk to your dealer about the options if yourradio is designed to take them.32) In a very informal review of all the stations heard during the compilation of thisGuide, only about 18% are in English at any one time.33) The format of an English transmission by an international broadcaster usuallyconsists of News on the hour followed by a topical commentary then a feature