RadioBanter - Collins will no longer make filters ...

On Mon, 3 Aug 2015, Joe from Kokomo wrote:

On 8/3/2015 1:14 AM, wrote:
It seems the demand has dropped so much they have decided to stop making
them , at least for the hobbyist. This is very sad news.

Where did you read this?

The 500 Hz CW filter in my Yaesu FT-1000MP is a Collins mechanical filter and
works well.

Just speculation on my part, but maybe DSP filtering is becoming so good that
it is reducing the demand for physical filters. ????

Those horrible messages being broadcast to all the rec.radio.amateur.*
hierarchy had a couple of posts about this.

It seems derived from a Collins press release.

And yes, demand has dropped, so it would have to be due to "digital
radios".

The filters have always been expensive (as single units), so people have
either used them because they were on the surplus market, or ended up with
a receiver (generally high end) that used them. I don't think many Joe
Averages are going to Collins and buying a filter for their new receiver
project.

So those top end receivers are moving elsewhere. The occasional receiver
that is more aimed at the consumer but which happens to have a Collins
filter, those can't be too plentiful (in terms of different models and
sales), so they'll have to find something else.

I thought some of the ceramic filters (obviously the better ones) were
disappearing, less demand for those except for the average AM broadcast
type (and even those are likely fading away). Demand for SSB bandwidth
ceramic filters was never that great, and likely fades even more, there go
the shortwave broadcast stations and there go the shortwave receivers.

But will this impact things? There likely will be issues of finding a
Collins mechanical filter in a specific package, but the filters have been
made for so long that there likely is a lot out there in people's parts
drawers and such. There may be enough for all, especially given fewer
receivers even before going digital were going to 455KHz. And the fact
that 455KHz was a fairly standard IF frequency means if you find a Collins
filter, there's a good likelihood that it is at 455KHz. They were made
for 500KHz, and the only one I have happens to be a 250KHz, but they
didn't stray too far. Of course, a lot of portable SW synthesized
receivers end up with 450KHz IF.

Michael