Bill Meahan K8QN wrote: > Actually, I HAVE thought about 6AR8's in a hybrid I/Q receiver. Just > for the heck of it. By hybrid, I mean using a "modern" DDS to generate > the necessary LO signals, and using tubes for the rest of the > circuitry. Or most of the rest, anyway, depending on what a final > design might look like.
Interesting, indeed...but even a 7360's Softrock using a 28.322 MHz scrounged xtal oscillator from an old EGA card divided by 4 could be an interesting "retro" option. > Somebody will complain that this doesn't achieve some number or other > (usually IP3) that could be achieved with <fill-in-the-blank>. > So what? For anything that includes the human ear and brain as > part of the system (such as a strictly CW/SSB receiver) "numbers" > alone don't tell the whole story since, to the audio processing > centers of the brain, all distortion products are not created equal > and some are actually preferable. Something I find is a must is to have the cleanest possible audio. Particularly, low distortion, low noise and properly filtered highs. Otherwise, it can get tiresome after some extended period under stress, like in contests or DX pileups. It is the part of stress you can minimize somehow at will in such a stressful activity. It is something I have come to appreciate after using a few different radios along the years I have been a ham. 73, Jose, CO2JA
