If you were one of the lucky ones to nail down an SRF-39FP before the
seller's meltdown, consider yourself fortunate indeed.
With a habit of arriving in a very sensitive state, the Prison Radio
has a well-deserved legendary Quality Control reputation. But no alignment
technician is ever really satisfied with factory-unit performance, so mine was
put through the whole service-manual process today, just to see if the Chinese
factory workers were as fanatical about performance as I am. Well, they
weren't.
Full alignment brought a little more sensitivity both at 600 kHz and
1400 kHz, resulting in a final performance level slightly more sensitive than
a
fully-aligned SRF-59, making it the top-of-the line analog DXing machine in
my somewhat excessive Ultralight Radio stable. Although the sensitivity is
indeed slightly better than that of the SRF-59, it is probably not of
significance for DXing advantage.
Any technician aligning the SRF-39FP will immediately discover that it
is a different animal than the SRF-59. The low band frequency border for me
was very close to 520 kHz as received, unlike the SRF-59's typical 500 kHz.
The front and back cases come apart much easier than those of the SRF-59,
however, the positive battery terminal is pretty well stuck in its slot,
making
the front panel stuck to the circuit board. This doesn't prevent you from
doing the alignment, however, as long as the upper band border is at least
1750
kHz as received (mine was about 1760). You can still peak the coil on the
loopstick for 600 kHz, and adjust the tuner trimmer for 1400 kHz peak, gaining
you the slight increase in performance.
The orange dial needle gearing fell out for me, and it gave me a little
fun attempting to put it back, until I discovered the needle slot in the
front panel (duh...) Anyway, if you have one of these jewels and are really a
fanatic about performance, email me for your very own SRF-39FP alignment
instructions (assuming you have some patience and confidence).
73, Gary DeBock
**************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape.
http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489
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