From owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Fri Jun 12 18:46:40 1998 Received: from fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU (fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU [128.180.1.4]) by oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id SAA19863 for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 18:46:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: from Lehigh.EDU ([127.0.0.1]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with SMTP id <12715-65320>; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 18:46:16 -0400 Received: from nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU ([128.180.1.13]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with ESMTP id <12598-18474>; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 18:45:42 -0400 Received: from mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net [204.127.131.37]) by nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU (8.8.8/8.8.5) with ESMTP id SAA22030 for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 18:45:38 -0400 Received: from n4xy ([12.69.101.145]) by mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net (InterMail v03.02.03 118 118 102) with SMTP id <19980612224506.DEBU7634@n4xy> for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 22:45:06 +0000 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980612181743.00b99100@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 18:17:43 -0400 Reply-To: n4xy@att.net Sender: owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Precedence: bulk From: Ed Tanton To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: SG-2020 REVIEW Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-To: QRP-L Reflector X-Sender: n4xy@postoffice.worldnet.att.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Status: RO I have used my '2020 for about a week now, and feel I have explored its functions, features, and foibles enough to write about it. There has been so much controversy over its introduction and the unit itself-after that introduction-that I hope we can clear the air a little. Of course, all this is purely the results of my own experiences and opinions, so take it for whatever you think that is worth. First, let me extend my thanks to BOTH Universal Radio and to SGC for their efforts to get me a '2020. In case you are not familiar with the front end of this: it does not really matter why, now, but what had been destined to be "my" '2020 got sold to someone else. I made a lot of noise about it here on QRP-L, copied SGC, and by the close-of-business on the 1st day possible, had an email from SGC saying they were sorry for whatever occurred, and they-in cooperation with Universal-would get me my rig. This was done, to include getting it here from Ohio NEXT DAY so I could have it in time to take it to the NO GA QRP Group meeting. Thanks to both companies. Second, the paragraph above has nothing to do with how the rig works. Neither does anything anybody has said or written-but I will be referring to some of that. This is about how my SGC SG-2020 works, according to what I expected-per what SGC said about it. Also, a comparison to other QRP rigs I have owned underlies many opinions-especially the QRP+. But, again, I emphasize, this review is about the merit of the SG-2020. For those of you who don't want the details... but just the facts m'am: 1. Does the '2020 exhibit the strong signal IF feedthru described earlier? Yes it does, BUT: 90% of it is easily eliminated by backing off a little on the RF Gain; most of the rest by careful tuning of the SCAF in conjunction with the Passband setting; and the VERY FEW signals that were still there were not killers-that is, any QSO with a non-weak-signal station would have been no problem to continue. More on this later. 2. Does the '2020 exhibit a chirp? Yes it does, BUT: it is as slight as a chirp can be and still be there. It is true that ANY chirp is unacceptable these days, but I expect this will be fixed sooner or later. If is not, I personally do not care-it is THAT slight. 3. Is the SCAF effective? Absolutely. NO filter is all that useable at the narrowest passbands on extremely weak signals-I always wing up around 400Hz or 500Hz no matter what rig or filter(s). I'm not going to argue about this... if you believe otherwise, more power to you, but none on any rig I have ever owned could be used effectively at 100 Hz on extremely weak signals. Also, I have heard it said that the 100Hz setting was not useable at all. I have no idea what was wrong-pilot error or the hardware, but this filter works great at 100Hz. MOST of this test was conducted using the speaker. Yes, on weaker signals that was more difficult (not with fones however) but it was still possible on virtually all signals. The SCAF not only works: it shines! It is So-o-o nice to tune in a given signal, with interfering signals all around, and just start narrowing that BW 'til all you can hear is the guy you're talking to... and that goes for SSB just as much as CW. 4. Current Drain. I'm sorry guys... I do not doubt the veracity of those who have come before me on this... and truthfully, I don't care much. The 7 AH pair I just bought are not going to work an entire weekend at 20W out... but I will be seeing whether they will at 5W-THAT I'll get back to you on. But that is SO subjective. Phones or speaker? Backlight or not? Other current drain (LDG QRP Autotuner for example.) I expect a lot from the 14 AH pair I already have, and a lot (of juice that is) from the car battery I usually use-except when backpacking of course. Then, the 7 AH pair would really be nice, and we'll just have to see. 73 __________________________________________________________ Ed Tanton N4XY EMAIL: n4xy@att.net 189 Pioneer Trail Marietta, GA 30068-3466 TEL: (770)579-3933 V/MBX/FAX __________________________________________________________ INTERESTS: QRP BoatAnchors Test Equipment Photography CW: 99.9% Mercury Paddle # 0214 QRP to 150W: 95% ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Think you can, think you can't: either way you're right!" Henry Ford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Fri Jun 12 20:08:53 1998 Received: from fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU (fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU [128.180.1.4]) by oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id UAA21390 for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:08:52 -0400 (EDT) Received: from Lehigh.EDU ([127.0.0.1]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with SMTP id <13330-18474>; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:08:25 -0400 Received: from nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU ([128.180.1.13]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with ESMTP id <12508-30756>; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:07:11 -0400 Received: from mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net [204.127.131.37]) by nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU (8.8.8/8.8.5) with ESMTP id UAA29168 for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:07:04 -0400 Received: from n4xy ([12.69.101.145]) by mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net (InterMail v03.02.03 118 118 102) with SMTP id <19980613000632.EHAK7634@n4xy> for ; Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:06:32 +0000 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980612200606.00b8e890@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:06:06 -0400 Reply-To: n4xy@att.net Sender: owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Precedence: bulk From: Ed Tanton To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: SG-2020 REVIEW (more) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-To: QRP-L Reflector X-Sender: n4xy@postoffice.worldnet.att.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Status: RO Well... I had to shut down the cpu due to a storm, and when my son booted the thing it appears EUDORA went ahead and sent it. Having read it just now, I think maybe it said enough anyway! I've made plenty of QSOs with it. I did my best to illustrate the IF feedthru problem to my friend Randy, K4ODL when he was over yesterday, but on a hot 20M band, it took a while-and even then it was tough to find. It is nowhere near the problem that I think was implied. Yes it will do it, typically on signals LOWER in frequency, but-as I said in part 1-all you have to do for most signals is turn the RF Gain down a little. I had Randy listen in another room to the chirp, and his reply was that it was barely there, and trivial. Of course all of this is anecdotal, but this is a heckuva rig for $625.00. Faults: 1. The IF thing. It has a 7 pole 60MHz xtal filter, so it's not that. Its front end is broadbanded, so maybe it's there. I don't know. Should they work on fixing it? Absolutely. Would I RETURN this unit, and then a second one for doing it? No way. I can find the RF Gain even in the dark. (The QRP+ had an attenuator to serve the same function.) 2. The chirp. As I said earlier, ANY chirp needs fixing. That said, there's chirps and there's chirps. This is not something to lose any sleep over. It too should get some attention, and will probably get fixed in time. It is absolutely no big deal. 3. The missing tilt bail. "The what?" you say. On the QRP+ there was one (!!) front foot... which worked inadequately as a front tilt bail to angle the front of the xcvr upwards, towards the operator. I find this to be THE most serious deficiency. Even for that paltry $625 they ought to be able to add a stiff piece of bent wire. I am using a 2 inch (thick) nut I got from Mendelsohn several Daytons ago figuring there'd be SOME use for it. I have stuffed an upsidedown rubber foot with a cone on it (that normally sticks up through a chassis) into the hole in the nut, and that's doing pretty well. I had been wondering what kind of package to put my LDG QRP Autotuner in... now I know: about 2 inches high, and the width of the '2020 tilting backwards! It'll work like a champ. One thing I did not address in part 1 was the relay clatter. Yes it does. But as Tommy Lee Jones said in "The Fugutive": "I don't care!!!" It is not overpowering to the speaker audio-and since it is only noisy when you're changing between TX and RX you're not really trying to hear anything else anyway. And you cannot hear it with fones on. I don't like PIN diodes. They are THE most likely thing to be popped in a non-working TR-7... et al. For the remainder of you who say the same thing about T/R relays, all I can say is that in 37 years of operating I have had one problematic one, and that responded to a little contact repair diamond file, and was definately NOT switching QRP. Properly designed and utilized, they just aren't that much of a problem. (Although judging by the number of entries I read on the boat anchor reflector, KWM-2 relays ARE a problem, as are T4X-whatevers to a lesser degree.) But not that many, not that often, otherwise. There were also some comments on breakin. The Ten Tec OMNI VI (and I understand the OMNI V was even better-I cannot imagine how, as good as mine was) I used to have had the BEST genuine FULL BREAK-IN I have ever heard. Basically, my sidetone sounded more like just another loud signal in the audio stream. I could hear-probably-in between character parts-or it seemed like it. Everything else I have ever owned had SEMI-breakin. That is where you can only hear between characters, and sometimes worse-depending on the rig and the timing and the AGC and the sidetone thump. Lot of parameters there to get right. Well, on the SG-2020 you CAN hear between characters just fine. The thumping/whatever is not attrocious or anything, and not-un-pleasant to operate. It isn't what I call full breakin, but it's certainly good enough for me. Basically, a dot or dash -or preferably a string of 3 or 4-IS going to get my attention with no problem. As with the relay noise and the 100Hz comments, I don't understand their problem(s). Obviously I really like this rig. I don't feel I am blind to its faults, but do not consider those faults that serious, considering it is a new rig and only costs $625.00. There is no way any competing rig will beat the case. Wow. They may equal the case, but it's something very tough-and looks good too. The button ergonomics are better than the QRP+. You start a QSO in XCV, and as soon as you make contact switch to RIT... then you can tune the rcvr around all you like. A push on the REV button tells you the TX freq. It does some scanning stuff but I never use that kind of thing. It tunes to any freq you want within it's range, and one jumper enables full tx as well for MARS/whatever. I think that's an invitation to disaster unless you HAVE to have it for MARS. As far as SSB is concerned, I made several contacts with it, got GREAT reports, and am impressed with the processor's punch. Seems to put out plenty of RF without being too much. My bottom line with anything is would I buy another? Absolutely. It does indeed have its faults, but they are minor, and not nearly deserving of the criticism I have seen here. It needs some attention in the areas I have outlined, but as it is it is a fine QRP rig. 73 __________________________________________________________ Ed Tanton N4XY EMAIL: n4xy@att.net 189 Pioneer Trail Marietta, GA 30068-3466 TEL: (770)579-3933 V/MBX/FAX __________________________________________________________ INTERESTS: QRP BoatAnchors Test Equipment Photography CW: 99.9% Mercury Paddle # 0214 QRP to 150W: 95% ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Think you can, think you can't: either way you're right!" Henry Ford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Fri Jun 12 20:35:10 1998 Received: from fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU (fidoii.CC.lehigh.EDU [128.180.1.4]) by oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id UAA22008 for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:35:09 -0400 (EDT) Received: from Lehigh.EDU ([127.0.0.1]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with SMTP id <12644-18474>; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:34:54 -0400 Received: from nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU ([128.180.1.13]) by fidoii.cc.Lehigh.EDU with ESMTP id <12430-73766>; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:33:50 -0400 Received: from mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net (mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net [204.127.131.37]) by nss4.cc.Lehigh.EDU (8.8.8/8.8.5) with ESMTP id UAA38544 for ; Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:33:47 -0400 Received: from n4xy ([12.69.101.145]) by mtiwmhc02.worldnet.att.net (InterMail v03.02.03 118 118 102) with SMTP id <19980613003330.EQQU7634@n4xy> for ; Sat, 13 Jun 1998 00:33:30 +0000 Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19980612203304.00bb7c20@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 20:33:04 -0400 Reply-To: n4xy@att.net Sender: owner-qrp-l@Lehigh.EDU Precedence: bulk From: Ed Tanton To: "Low Power Amateur Radio Discussion" Subject: SG-2020... 2 minor points Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-To: QRP-L Reflector X-Sender: n4xy@postoffice.worldnet.att.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.5 (32) X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 beta -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Status: O Sorry... forgot to mention that my usually noisy QTH (the power company whiles about really old poles and lines and their lack of money to do anything about it) has been extremely quiet... my normal mode with any rig having a noise blanker is "IN"... but for this test I have yet to turn it on. The other minor point is that Randy was listening on a receiver rack I have in another room in my basement using a RACAL RA6790/GM and my 51S-1, with an active antenna. 73 __________________________________________________________ Ed Tanton N4XY EMAIL: n4xy@att.net 189 Pioneer Trail Marietta, GA 30068-3466 TEL: (770)579-3933 V/MBX/FAX __________________________________________________________ INTERESTS: QRP BoatAnchors Test Equipment Photography CW: 99.9% Mercury Paddle # 0214 QRP to 150W: 95% ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Think you can, think you can't: either way you're right!" Henry Ford ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~