Hello Again Lucky,

If you purchase a Sat800 from Universal and ask them to inspect and
test the particular unit they will be sending you, they will do so and
you will have no quality problems whatsoever. They do not even charge
for this service. In my experience over many years, Universal is a
first-class company. While they may not always be the "cheapest," the
services they offer in conjunction with the sale more than make up for
any small difference in price.

Best,

Joe

"Lucky" wrote in message ...
Hi Joe

and thank you for the reply. Yes, it is an all around radio for sure. I'm
still looking at it. I can tell you this. Once I get a "bug" to buy a radio,
it's gets bought sooner or later. I love the way the radio looks for sure
and I like the fact it has FM. It's very helpful really. I don't listen to
FM that much but when I do, that's means I need the music!

The quality build does concern me. For almost 5 bills I don't want to hear
about wobbly knobs I can tell you that. This is a radio I need to see and
hear first. Maybe I'll check out one of the dealers in downtown Miami. There
are tons of electronic radio shops there.

In the end Joe I'll probably have one in my collection soon. You know, I
need another new room altogether just for my radios and computer equipment!
I wish I could just buy a new radio every month. I'd try out a Racal for
kicks.

All the best wishes to you Joe. You're a thoughtful kind person.

Lucky

Hi Steve,

I compared them "head-to-head" only once (with the AOR WL-500 mounted
in a window in the back of my house, almost directly under the
Wellbrook in the attic) and the Wellbrook still performed better (5-20
dB at the time). (I cannot mount the WL-500 in the attic where I have
the Wellbrook.) I did not perform a comprehensive test, however.

The preselector on the WL-500 is not critical at all. You do have to
switch between 3-9 and 9-30 MHz, but the "tuning" knob is very easy to
use and you do not need to adjust it within a meter band; you can do
so, of course, if you want to get the very last bit of gain, but,
frankly, I have rarely had to do that.

FYI: The Wellbrook has no preselector and I was advised by the factory
that none is necessary. Some may even degrade reception, I was told.

All the best,

Joe

(Steve) wrote in message . com...
Wow, thanks Joe for all the info on the WL-500 and the Wellbrook. I'm
always trying to learn more about these antennas.

You mentioned that the Wellbrook noticeably outperforms the WL-500, at
least in part due to the fact that the Wellbrook is in the attic away
from noise sources while the WL-500 is very close to noise sources.
I'd imagine that the Wellbrook would outperform the WL-500 even if
they were being used under similar conditions, but I wonder: Have you
ever pitted them against one another, head-to-head, just for the heck
of it? If so, just how much better was the Wellbrook's performance? Or
are they even comparable?

Also, how sensitive or 'fine grained' is the preselector on the
WL-500? I know that on the AOR LA-350, you have to adjust the
preselector for optimum reception even on frequencies that are quite
close to one another. The downside of this is that it means you
constantly have to twiddle with the preselector, but the upside is
that it allows you to 'peak up' on whatever frequency you're listening
to with pretty dramatic results.

Thanks,

Steve

Dear Steve,

I agree with you about an internet service, which would be helpful,
but it would still not tell you what will happen at your particular
location. Only, as you said, a "test-drive" would answer that.

In my case, I was desperate. In my townhouse community, I cannot erect
an outdoor antenna of any kind (other than a small satellite TV dish)
and, having tried many "homebrew" antennas, preselectors, amplifiers,
etc., I took a chance on the Wellbrook ALA 330S due to the very good
reports in PASSPORT. So far, each year, they seem to like the antenna
more and more. I have found, over the years, that, generally, their
reviews are trustworthy (like all reviewers [including even CONSUMER
REPORTS], they have their "biases" [reviewers are, after all, human!]
but this does not seem to negate the overall value of their reviews in
my experience). I took a chance and, as you know, I am very glad I
did!

Read the review of the Wellbrook antennas in the 2004 PASSPORT if you
can and see if their findings would correspond with your requirements.
(The new 2005 PASSPORT will be coming out in a couple of weeks and,
while I do not know what their review, if any, of the Wellbrook
antennas will be, I cannot imagine them liking the antennas "less!"
You could also, if you wished, telephone Wellbrook directly and speak
to the owner. (You can also e-mail him, but I find telephone
conversations more satisfactory.) (I did not purchase mine from
Wellbrook directly, but, rather, from THE SHORTWAVE SHOP, where you
can use a credit card [and they even discount the price somewhat].)

Only then, and in your particular situation, can you determine whether
it worth shelling out the money and trying the antenna.

I can only restate that I am extremely happy I took the chance. The
Wellbrook ALA 330s is an excellent performer and is most satisfactory
to me. No other antenna I have tried works anywhere nearly as well.

All the best,

Joe

(Steve) wrote in message . com...

Thanks for the info, Joe. The Wellbrook really does sound like an
excellent antenna. I'd be tempted to buy one, but it's a lot of dough
to put down without being able to "test drive" it.

It would be neat if one of the remote controlled receivers accessible
via the internet allowed you to switch between a variety of different
antennas. What a useful service that would be--and I suspect some
manufacturers could be convinced to loan an antenna to such an effort
(ASSUMING they're confident their unit will perform well).

Best,

Steve