On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:38:17 UTC, wrote:

Receiver test data 080828 from
S = Sherwood http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
P = Passport to World Band Radio
Q = ARRL QST mag http://www.remeeus.eu/hamradio/pa1hr/productreview.htm

2/5 KHZ DYNAMIC RANGE NARROW SPACED

dB
102Q/101S Elecraft K3 (with 200 Hz roofing filter)
100P/85S Icom IC-R9500 (100P is at 5 khz and 85S is at 2 khz
spacing)
96S Flexradio SDR 5000
95Q Icom IC-7700
93Q Flexradio SDR-1000
86Q/80S Icom R7800
82S AOR7030
78S Icom R781
78Q/75S Icom IC-R756 PRO III
77Q/75S Icom 756 PRO II
77P Drake R8A/B
77S NRD 515
75S Drake R7
75S WJ-1000
74P WJ-8711
71S Icom 756 PRO
71S Drake R8
68S/66P NRD545
67S Icom R75
67S Drake SW8
64S Yaesu 7700 (similar to FRG7)
63S Yaesu FT2000
62S Icom R70/R71
55P Eton E1 portable
46S Ten Tec 340
43P WinRadio 313i

What does "dynamic range narrow spaced" mean as a spec? It means when
you are DXing with signals close up to your target you will hear it
better and with more clarity, enabling you to make that crucial ID
that otherwise might not be possible.

If you are just a listener with a portable trying to clarify major
international broadcasters on the SW band, then a radio like the Eton
E1 will do you very well. Indeed, veteran DXer John Bryant proved this
on his amazing DXpedition to Easter Island: see
http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/easter_island_2007.dx

However, if you are a listener and DXer on the MW band and the LF/LW
band then things get a lot tougher and it is useful to have a radio
with better specs.
On MW band this is because you are working the splits between the
American 10 kHz separation and the rest of the world's 9 kHz
separation. So, for instance you may be, like me in Africa, trying to
work 1520 kHz WWKB Buffallo N.Y. when Saudi Arabia is pounding in on
1521 kHz. That is when the radio's with the top specs make the
difference.

Chasing LF NDB beacons on LF, a great part of the hobby, also requires
a radio with good specs, as there are hundreds of beacons, many of
them right on top of each other.

I own an Icom IC-7700 and the results working this fine radio are awe
inspiring - the clarity of the received DX is just wonderful and the
filters are so precise it is like a surgeons knife cutting through
butter. You can clearly hear the advantages of the 7700 over my older
756Pro3 on this audio clip:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IC7700...0audio%20clip/

But getting rare DX is not all about owning the best radio available,
as my DX pal Gary Deacon's results attest. Your position and location
at a good DX site are very important as is having a good antenna. See
Gary's remarkable results on only a Yaesu FRG-7 (Frog) and his Icom
R71 at:
http://www.capedx.blogspot.com

Recently more and more of my MW DX pals have moved to SDR computer
radio's, the latest favourite being the Perseus. The claim to fame of
these radio's is not their top specs, but rather there ability to
record large swathes of the band for later analysis. This is vitally
important because most MW station ID's come in around the TOH top of
hour. So, even with a fine radio like my 7700 you can only record one
or two ID's at best over TOH. But a Perseus SDR records 800 kHz of
spectrum and the result is that it can yield many more crucial ID's
that you cannot get with a conventional radio.

Have fun and good DX

John Plimmer, Montagu, Western Cape Province, South Africa
South 33 d 47 m 32 s, East 20 d 07 m 32 s
Icom IC-7700, Icom IC-756 PRO III with MW mods
ERGO software
Drake SW8. Sangean 803A
Sony 7600D, GE SRIII, Redsun RP2100
Antenna's RF Systems DX 1 Pro Mk II, Datong AD-270
Kiwa MW Loop.
http://www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx

John,
So nice to actually see a post on SW/MW radio on this forum! The spam
posts from some members are overwhelming. I always enjoy your helpful
and interesting posts. All that great MW DX makes me wish I could go
on a DXepedition too!
Bob