I also have a Lowe HF-150. A good receiver. Connecting an RF generator
directly overloads the '150 at 120mV when the preamp is switched off, which
is very good when you consider that the Icom R75 overloads at 100mV, also a
very good figure. Note that I am talking about the point where the AGC "runs
out of steam" and the I.F. strip is driven into clipping.
The minimum discernable signal on the HF-150 is 0.08uV on all ranges when
the preamp is switched off, improving to .04uV when the preamp is engaged.
I just got through adding an LED backlight to my '150............a nice ruby
red color. Doing this mod is not for the faint of heart since it involves
unplugging the LCD from its socket (a very fragile component) and very
carefully peeling the reflective foil from the back of the LCD itself. After
this is done, you need to remove the glue from the rear of the display with
something such as alcohol. I used a product called Goo-Gone, but I am not
sure how this affects the soft front surface of the LCD. I ended up with
some micro scratches on the front of my display and ended up polishing it
with 0.7 micron polish.
This is just one of those "rites of passage" that I needed to go through. I
wouldn't want to do this again but would be willing to offer advice to those
would would. There is a place in Youngsville, Ohio called Lumitex that
actually makes the panels. I got ahold of a sample for possible use in the
MW receiver design and I liked it so much that I threw it into the Lowe
receiver.
What it consists of is a woven fiber optic bundle that emits light. This is
very similar to the diffusing panel that is used in the Drake SW-8 receiver.
You can actually change the color of the backlight by using a different LED
at the end of the fiber optic bundle. I have been thinking about changing
the LED color in my SW-8.
I hope this helps.
Pete
"Stephan Grossklass" wrote in message
...
Henry Kolesnik schrieb:
Has anyone on the list used this receiver and if so I'd like opinions as
to
how it compares to other Lowes and other high end receivers. What's
betterin
this price range, and how much?
Wasn't the HF-235 little more than a 19" version of the HF-225?
Whatever, at least according to Sherwood Engineering measurements even
the HF-150 provides better strong signal handling than the HF-235, at
little worse ultimate rejection and phase noise. Looks like this is more
of a middle class receiver rather than high end, though it'll certainly
have good audio.
Stephan
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