"HFguy" wrote in message
news:ng22g.739$5z3.735@trndny01...
junius wrote:

Although it doesn't cost that much these days to extend the range of an
HF-transceiver for general coverage, it could be harder to come up with
a good sync' detector that doesn't infringe on another manufacturers
design. Look what happened to the R-75. I'm sure Icom knows how to
design a good sync' detector but there may have been legal limitations
to what they could implement. This could be the main reason the
manufacturers are not interested in adding a sync' detector to a general
coverage HF-transceiver.

That's an interesting point, but I think Drake is licensing their sync
detector and I suppose other manufacturers would also license theirs, if
they think it wouldn't take away too many of their own radio sales. That's
assuming that's there's still much worth licensing. Most of those patents
must have been around a while.

Chip fabrication is another issue. ASICs are economical only in large runs.
Motorola used sync detection in it's AM stereo chipset, and I'd guess
adapting it to a stand alone sync detector would be easy enough. They must
have not thought there was enough buyers to bother with.


I also don't think it's really so "apparent
that a significant number of radio amateurs have an interest" in
listening to international shortwave broadcasts. It's been my experience
that few do.

Speaking only as an occasional hamfest attendee, I've noticed little interst
there concerning international broadcasting even though these guys are very
much SW radio hobbyists.

Frank Dresser