Jack Taylor wrote:
On the other hand Jim, the Syntor X's are a newer .....snip.... As far as I know, performance-wise, the two models are equal
I don't know that I agree with that statement. The Syntor X, being synthesized, could be as clean as far as transmitter side band noise is concerned, but then again, at 600 kHz, it may not be. Synthesizers and PLL's are not always cleaner than crystal multipliers. They can be designed to be cleaner, but that doesn't mean they are, as the Syntor X was not designed to be a duplex radio, especially at 600 kHz.
The Syntor X has a good front-end, but I doubt it will handle overload at a crowded site like the large helical front end of a Micor. The Syntor X's carrier squelch is no way as good as a Micor for repeater service (the Maratrac would be better choice there). The original poster didn't say that the Micor's he had were Stations or Mobiles. If they were Stations, they would survive the duty cycle that may be posed on the repeater. Even a Micor Mobile would survive the duty cycle better than the Syntor, because of the larger heatsink. The Micor is a heavier, and more massive radio in terms of heat removal, something to consider when building a repeater.
The Micor design is approaching it's 40'th birthday, and you'll look long and hard to beat it in repeater service with any modern equipment, when comparing apples to apples. I just had a Micor receiver on the bench that I converted to the 2 meter ham band. It makes 12 dB SINAD at -117 dBm barefoot, -123 dBm with a factory Micor helical preamp, and -127 dBm (yes for 12 sinad) with a ARR GaAs Fet. I cannot turn the HP 8920 down far enough to squelch the receiver. Obviously, the receiver is better than most likely any site would allow for. For those harsh sites where preamps won't work, -117 is pretty damn good, likely better than the Syntor X in the same situation. While the Micor is old, it works and works well, still....
While it could be cheaper and possibly easier to build a repeater from 2, Syntor X's, I wouldn't say the performance is going to 'equal' a Micor.
YMMV, Kevin Custer
