Numbers are, at best, a data point. Back in the late 1970s I was a reporter for an electronics industry trade newspaper. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, that year, I visited an area called "esotheric audio." In one room there was a very sophisticated looking turntable, preamplifier, amplifier and speaker set up. Between the speakers, on a table, was an oscilloscope. The guy told me the THD was 0.1 % to which I replied "but the human ear cannot distinguish a THD much below 1 %." And he replied, "of course, you can't hear it, that's why we have the oscilloscope." The price for the system was in excess of $10,000.
My point is numbers are not the "be all, end all." I've had Yaesu gear, and I remember, with horror, my bad experiences with Yaesu service. I also remember how bad the audio monitor sounded when I operated phone. Last year, I sold two Yaesus and bought two K3s. Trust me, had I known there would be an FT-5000 coming, and its specs were comparable to K3, I would not have deferred the purchase and considered the 5000. 73, Rob K6RB > > Some people here on the reflector have already stated this...but what do > the > numbers from the Sherwood web site really mean? Are these numbers so > close > together that you just start picking nits? > > Two guys want to buy a vehicle. One went to Ford, the other went to > Chevy. > (You can see where this is going) > > They can look at the vehicle...sit in it...turn the knobs on the > dash...but they > cannot run the engine or take it out for a test spin. (Just like we > cannot take > a rig on a test spin - we can look at them in hamfests, but we can't take > one > home for a week to really give it a test drive.) > > So, these two guys take a look at the specs between the two cars. They > have the > "numbers." The only real difference is 1 inch on the wheel base, one car > has 5 > more cubic inches of displacement, and one has 10 more horse-power than > the > other. > > > They both have nice paint, finish, chrome, and all the basics one needs > for a > car...4 wheels, steering wheel, AC, power this and that, and automatic > transmission. Just a few things are different. > > Price is different...the Ford cost $5,000 more than the Chevy. > > So one guy picks the Ford and the other pics the Chevy? Why? One > certainly > costs less but the specs are "oh so close" > > As ham radio operators...are we that competitive that every DB of this or > that > matters? What do the numbers really mean? All this is lost to me because > of > "the noise of the numbers." Where does operating skill come in? > > Now, look on down the Sherwood list and you see some older rigs coming in > pretty > good. Have we lost perspective in this number numbing battle for the best > receiver? The Drake 4C looks pretty good. The 765 looks good too. > >>From my perspective...the K3 is the best rig I have ever owned...it beats >> my > Ocean Hopper, my NC57, my HR-10B, my HW100, my TS520, 820, 830, 850, my > ..... > and the list goes one. Remember from whence we have come! > > Numbers....the din is deafening! > > Lee - K0WA > > > In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply. If you > don't > have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it. If you can't > find any > Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense. Is > Common > Sense divine? > > Common Sense is the image of the Creator expressing revealed truth in my > mind. > - J. Wolf > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
