Has anyone on the list used this receiver and if so I'd like opinions as to
how it compares to other Lowes and other high end receivers. What's betterin
this price range, and how much?
tnx

--

73
Hank WD5JFR

had one here awhile back. OK, but a bit over priced. i brought a new
235 mil set up home from europe about 3 years ago. if i remember,
it cost me a little over $300 USD. i don't know what that comes
to in euros. they didn't sell too well. the hot one is the 150
and 150E. i tried to sell the 235 on ebay and could even get a
buy it now of $300 i paid for it. i had to pull a trade on Grove
for something else. the 235 was an odd ball. they were made for the
military, but wouldn't sell. too much over load. i only keep it
for a few months, dumped it as quick as i could. i see a lot of
them used in the SW shops all over europe and the UK. if you
have to have one for a collection, check the web. most shops over
there import to the US. i saw one on ebay, jan this year. had a buy it
now of just under $900. didn't get a single bid. so, i think that
says it all. if you want a lowe, go for the 150, great little rig.
put a post up for Lucky. he just got a 150. ask him how he likes his.

Drifter...

Henry Kolesnik schrieb:

Has anyone on the list used this receiver and if so I'd like opinions as to
how it compares to other Lowes and other high end receivers. What's betterin
this price range, and how much?

Wasn't the HF-235 little more than a 19" version of the HF-225?
Whatever, at least according to Sherwood Engineering measurements even
the HF-150 provides better strong signal handling than the HF-235, at
little worse ultimate rejection and phase noise. Looks like this is more
of a middle class receiver rather than high end, though it'll certainly
have good audio.

Stephan
--
Home: http://stephan.win31.de/
PC#6: i440BX, 2xP3-500E, 704 MiB, 18+80 GB, R9k AGP 64 MiB, 110W

Drifter wrote:
had one here awhile back. OK, but a bit over priced. i brought a new
235 mil set up home from europe about 3 years ago. if i remember,
it cost me a little over $300 USD. i don't know what that comes
to in euros. they didn't sell too well. the hot one is the 150
and 150E. i tried to sell the 235 on ebay and could even get a
buy it now of $300 i paid for it. i had to pull a trade on Grove
for something else. the 235 was an odd ball. they were made for the
military, but wouldn't sell. too much over load. i only keep it

for a few months, dumped it as quick as i could. i see a lot of
them used in the SW shops all over europe and the UK. if you
have to have one for a collection, check the web. most shops over
there import to the US. i saw one on ebay, jan this year. had a buy
it
now of just under $900. didn't get a single bid. so, i think that
says it all. if you want a lowe, go for the 150, great little rig.
put a post up for Lucky. he just got a 150. ask him how he likes his.

Drifter...

I also have a 150 and it's great fun. It's very 'minimalist' in design,
offering fewer bells and whistles--and better overall performance--than
many receivers.

Build quality is superb.

Sound quality is superb.

The tuning knob is to die for. Tuning around in SSB has a distinctly
'analogue' feel, in large part because of 8 hz tuning increments.

I'm told that the 150 has a relatively weak front end, but that's
easily (and inexpensively) fixed with a BCB rejection filter or
preselector. Using my 150 with a Wellbrook 330S antenna, I find that I
need neither of these add-ons.

Steve

I also have a Lowe HF-150. A good receiver. Connecting an RF generator
directly overloads the '150 at 120mV when the preamp is switched off, which
is very good when you consider that the Icom R75 overloads at 100mV, also a
very good figure. Note that I am talking about the point where the AGC "runs
out of steam" and the I.F. strip is driven into clipping.
The minimum discernable signal on the HF-150 is 0.08uV on all ranges when
the preamp is switched off, improving to .04uV when the preamp is engaged.
I just got through adding an LED backlight to my '150............a nice ruby
red color. Doing this mod is not for the faint of heart since it involves
unplugging the LCD from its socket (a very fragile component) and very
carefully peeling the reflective foil from the back of the LCD itself. After
this is done, you need to remove the glue from the rear of the display with
something such as alcohol. I used a product called Goo-Gone, but I am not
sure how this affects the soft front surface of the LCD. I ended up with
some micro scratches on the front of my display and ended up polishing it
with 0.7 micron polish.
This is just one of those "rites of passage" that I needed to go through. I
wouldn't want to do this again but would be willing to offer advice to those
would would. There is a place in Youngsville, Ohio called Lumitex that
actually makes the panels. I got ahold of a sample for possible use in the
MW receiver design and I liked it so much that I threw it into the Lowe
receiver.
What it consists of is a woven fiber optic bundle that emits light. This is
very similar to the diffusing panel that is used in the Drake SW-8 receiver.
You can actually change the color of the backlight by using a different LED
at the end of the fiber optic bundle. I have been thinking about changing
the LED color in my SW-8.
I hope this helps.

Pete

"Stephan Grossklass" wrote in message
...
Henry Kolesnik schrieb:

Has anyone on the list used this receiver and if so I'd like opinions as
to
how it compares to other Lowes and other high end receivers. What's
betterin
this price range, and how much?

Wasn't the HF-235 little more than a 19" version of the HF-225?
Whatever, at least according to Sherwood Engineering measurements even
the HF-150 provides better strong signal handling than the HF-235, at
little worse ultimate rejection and phase noise. Looks like this is more
of a middle class receiver rather than high end, though it'll certainly
have good audio.

Stephan
--
Home: http://stephan.win31.de/
PC#6: i440BX, 2xP3-500E, 704 MiB, 18+80 GB, R9k AGP 64 MiB, 110W

It turned out to be Q4 (MC14569) that had a thermal problem. Lowe UK was
nice enough to steer me in the right direction. After the unit was on for
about 15 minutes the problem would surface. I cooled the suspected device
and the problem went away. After 2 more minutes, the problem returned; once
again, I cooled Q4 and normal operation was resumed.
Actually, it is pretty interesting how the BFO signal is derived. The
reference oscillator is divided down by different intervals to derived the
USB/LSB injection frequencies. A ceramic ladder filter is used to filter the
rich harmonics from the 4569 and so that only the ones in the 455kHz range
are selected.
It is interesting how the 44.545MHz signal is derived. A fundamental
oscillator in the 14MHz range is used with a quad diode array to generate
the harmonics. An LC tank circuit selects the 44.545MHz harmonic. Pretty
cool design.
On a final note.....................a nice fellow on the other side of the
pond was nice enough to scan the service manual for this receiver and send
it to me in 4 PDF files. I am going to contact Lowe UK and see if it is ok
to post the manual up on mods.dk
Maybe, I will zip the file down to make it easier to e-mail to folks who
want it now.

Pete

"Telamon" wrote in message
...
If you have a warmup problem it could be a power supply voltage
regulator. Some change the regulated voltage if they get to hot and the
circuits they power shift with the voltage. Simple things first.

In article ,
"Pete KE9OA" wrote:

I agree................I have both the AOR7030 and the Lowe HF-150.
Although
the 7030 is good, the HF-150 does have higher overall gain. I think this
is
because they are using the full capabilities of the SL6700 I.F.
demodulator
chip, while in the 7030, AOR is only using the I.F. amplifier/demodulator
portion of a TDA1572 chip. The 1572 is a very good device, but it helps
when
you use the on-board RF amp and the on-board mixer.
I am using the 1572 in my MW receiver and the receiver has that same type
of
high gain that the HF-150 has.
Now, if I could only figure out the SSB problem with my '150. It works
fine
for the first 15 minutes, but after that time the oscillator seems to
skew.
It appears to be the 4094 shift register/DAC that has the problem. Once I
figure things out, I will post my findings to the NG.
I guess I can use it in AM mode for the time
being...............................

Pete

"Dale Parfitt" wrote in message
news:LxPWd.63914$uc.1617@trnddc08...


As much as I love the HF-150, I don't think it's in the same league as
the 7030+. The 7030+ offers many more features, greater dynamic range,
more filter choices, etc.

Steve

I think you're right Steve- I have owned both. But I sold the 7030 and
still
have the Lowe. As you say, it is wonderfully built, easy to use and
highly
portable. I have never overloaded mine.
Once backlit, a fabulous bedside RX.

Dale W4OP



--
Telamon
Ventura, California

The minimum discernable signal on the HF-150 is 0.08uV on all ranges
when
the preamp is switched off, improving to .04uV when the preamp is
engaged.

Could this be the other way around? The radio should be able to
discern a weaker signal with the preamp on, n'est ce pas?

RK

"rkhalona" ) writes:
The minimum discernable signal on the HF-150 is 0.08uV on all ranges
when
the preamp is switched off, improving to .04uV when the preamp is
engaged.

Could this be the other way around? The radio should be able to
discern a weaker signal with the preamp on, n'est ce pas?

RK


That's what he's saying. A .04uV signal is weaker than a 0.8uV,
and for the former to be noticeable, the preamp needs to be in place.


Michael

..04uV is half the signal level of .08uV..........................see what I
mean?

Pete

"rkhalona" wrote in message
oups.com...
The minimum discernable signal on the HF-150 is 0.08uV on all ranges
when
the preamp is switched off, improving to .04uV when the preamp is
engaged.

Could this be the other way around? The radio should be able to
discern a weaker signal with the preamp on, n'est ce pas?

RK

I forgot to mention that the S-meter scale now has a white background
with black letters and a red tipped needle. I copied the original on the
scanner and made the changes with Adobe Photo Shop before printing it to
glossy paper. I may get around to making a new case cover from heavier
sheet metal, just for fun.

Pete KE9OA wrote:

That sounds like a cool looking combination. It's pretty good to personalize
the radios!

Pete

"starman" wrote in message
...
Pete KE9OA wrote:

There is a place in Youngsville, Ohio called Lumitex that
actually makes the panels. I got ahold of a sample for possible use in
the
MW receiver design and I liked it so much that I threw it into the Lowe
receiver.
What it consists of is a woven fiber optic bundle that emits light. This
is
very similar to the diffusing panel that is used in the Drake SW-8
receiver.
You can actually change the color of the backlight by using a different
LED
at the end of the fiber optic bundle. I have been thinking about changing
the LED color in my SW-8.
I hope this helps.

Pete

As you may have read here Pete, my R8B now has a blue display. I removed
all of the green backlight LED's (56 of them!) and replaced them with
four white ones, which are mounted in holes at each end of the display
frame. They are powered from the 10-V source with current limiting
resistors. The R8x's LCD has an inherent blue color when it's back
lighted with white light. The charecters appear white on a blue
background. I like it much better than the sickly OEM green.

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