You still haven't explained how the tubes fiqure into this...
Of course it's a good receiver. It was pretty much a lab
instrument. But it's the overall attention to detail, rather
than the use of tubes that makes it good. If the one
picking up the het couldn't get the audio, it's due to
poor filter shaping in that radio..
The sensitivity pretty much means nada for him in Fla.
You'd have to be on a frozen desert Isle to have quiet
enough cdx to take advantage of that sensitivity on MW.
Severe overkill for 99%...I'm sorta dubious of how those
numbers were measured also, but thats another story...
Doesn't really matter as even 1 uv for 10 db s/n+n is overkill
in the MW band..
I don't dispute that it's a good radio. It's one of the best.
But the same could be done solid state, if they still built
radios like collins did 50 years ago...
The sensistivity on my icom on MW-AM is way less than those
numbers, and I still have way more sensitivity than I could
ever use, unless I was waaaaayyyy out in the sticks , in the
dead of winter...And even then, I probably have enough..
In his case in Fla, just having a R-390 alone is not the answer.
His location is not quiet enough to take advantage of any
great sensitivity numbers.
The only thing he needs is good selectivity. Any half decent
radio, tube or s/s, will have enough sensitivity if any kind of
decent antenna is used. The station will either be there, or
it won't, due to cdx. If it isn't, nothing he uses will likely help too
much.
On HF, the 706g does .15 uv for 10db.. .12 on six meters.
..11 on vhf/uhf.. Thats overkill for HF and six...I never use
the preamp...It's *too* much sensitivity, so I actually use less
than those numbers ..Those are with the preamp on.
It's reduced on AM mode, how much depending on the band,
but it's still never lacking for sensitivity. Not even close.
And it's a fairly cheap radio, relatively speaking. Much less
than the R-390 when it was new...About 1/20th the size and
weight...:/
BTW, I do have both tube and solid state radios, so it's not
like I've never used a tube rig before to compare...
Receiving wise, there is nothing done with tubes, that can't be
done with solid state. Now audio....That's open to real debate..
I don't deny many tube radios have great audio to the ears.
But so does my 706 if I'm going into the sound card, and to
my kenwood stereo audio amp, good speakers, etc...
It's my best sounding radio for listening to the "rack" crowd,
that run all the transmit audio gear. Way better than my old
all tube Drake R4, which sounds thin in comparison, due
to it's filtering. Not much low end on that radio...
MK