Hello Saul,
Wow, what a great description of the SRF-59's general niche in the
DXing food chain, hi.
OK, Saul, I will let you (and other Canadian SRF-59 DXers) in on a
little secret. I have now done 16 full service-manual alignments on the
SRF-59
radios, and I wish I could tell you that sensitivity has been consistent in
new-unit SRF-59's... but it has not been. Out of 16 full alignments that I
have done, sensitivity was markedly improved in 10 units, somewhat improved in
4
units, and marginally improved in 2 units. I have never yet seen a new
factory unit with sensitivity fully equal to an SRF-59 that has had a full
service manual alignment. I'm probably getting myself in hot water by telling
the
truth about this, but so be it. My backlog of SRF-59's for alignment is gone;
and the process has been reduced to a 10-minute routine.
Because of my deep appreciation for the timely Canadian assistance in
starting the Ultralight Radio boom, I really would like every Canadian SRF-59
DXer to use a fully aligned radio, and experience the difference it makes (I
would like that for the Americans, too, but don't have the time to do
alignments for all of them). For Canadian SRF-59 DXers only, Saul, I have a
supply
of new, fully tested, fully service-manual aligned SRF-59's that are
guaranteed to be as sensitive as any on the planet. If you (or any other
Canadian)
would like one of these, simply send me an email off-list and it will be on
its
way.
It's disappointing sometimes to see various DXers criticizing the
SRF-59 for not being as sensitive as receiver X, when they haven't even heard
about a full service-manual alignment, and simply assume that their new SRF-59
is
typical of the design in sensitivity. I see "shootouts" all the time, using
unaligned SRF-59's. The Chinese factory workers are not highly motivated to
place the smaller loopstick coil in the peak RF spot, and new-unit SRF-59
sensitivity is all over the map. I have written full service-manual alignment
procedures for the SRF-59 and posted them on the IRCA list, but to my
knowledge, only Steve Ratzlaff has actually done the procedure. SRF-59 owners
deserve
the highest possible sensitivity, and eventually they will all get it, when
enough technicians step forward to do the alignment jobs. For now, at least
personally, I would like to make sure that all Canadian DXers have the best
possible SRF-59's for their DXing pleasure, and have prepared a few
fully-aligned units for them. Let me know if you could use one, Saul-- I
would be
thrilled if one of them received the first TA audio in Canada, hi.
73 and Best Wishes,
Gary DeBock
Chief Ultralight Radio Fanatic
**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.
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