dennis@UUNET.UU.NET> (01/16/90)
I have a question for those of you out there owning ICOM R-7000 receivers. I have an ICOM R-7000 mated with an AH-7000 discone antenna in my attic. I am using the Belden 9913 Coax to connect the receiver to the antenna (Very Low Loss, cable run is about 40 feet). I have noticed that I have never received a signal that deflects the S-meter full scale. The most I see is about a 2/3 deflection of the meter on strong signals, such as local FM stations and local aircraft traffic (I live 3 miles from Dulles Airport). What's more is that the higher in frequency you go, the lower the S-meter reading. 800 MHz signals rarely get to half scale readings. Has anyone else noticed this? Do I have a problem or do I just need a preamp? If so, what is a good preamp to use with this receiver/antenna combination? By the way, I easily get full-scale deflection of the S-meter on my R-71A, my Collins R-390A, but these cover .1 - 30 MHz only. Any comments/suggestions? Thanks, Dennis Gibbs (703) 802-1961
pfluegerm@BBN.COM> (01/17/90)
In article <588@tfsg.UUCP>, dennis@tfsg.UUCP (dennis) writes: > I have a question for those of you out there owning ICOM R-7000 > receivers. I have an ICOM R-7000 mated with an AH-7000 discone antenna > in my attic. I am using the Belden 9913 Coax to connect the receiver to > the antenna (Very Low Loss, cable run is about 40 feet). > I have noticed that I have never received a signal that deflects the > S-meter full scale. The most I see is about a 2/3 deflection of the meter > on strong signals, such as local FM stations and local aircraft traffic > (I live 3 miles from Dulles Airport). What's more is that the higher in > frequency you go, the lower the S-meter reading. 800 MHz signals rarely > get to half scale readings. > > Has anyone else noticed this? Do I have a problem or do I just need a preamp? > If so, what is a good preamp to use with this receiver/antenna combination? > > Any comments/suggestions? > Dennis Gibbs I have noticed this, but when using any of my transmitters nearby (25W on 144-148 MHz, or 200W on HF), the meter DEFINITELY goes to full scale. 800MHz signals are not generally significantly lower than any others from transmitters of equal power and distance. I'm using a simpler antenna and RG-8 coax, and thus would expect a few dB (1-2 S-units) less at these freqs. Try TV stations - they go up around S9+60dB. I've never considered the stingy S meter a problem - I can still hear the signals just fine, and feel the R-7000 has good sensitivity. -- Mike Pflueger @ AG Communication Systems (formerly GTE Comm. Sys.), Phoenix, AZ UUCP: {...!ames!ncar!noao!asuvax | uunet!hrc | att}!gtephx!pfluegerm Work: 602-582-7049 FAX: 602-581-4850 Home: 602-439-1978 Packet: WD8KPZ @ W1FJI Internet: PLEASE USE UUCP PATH (NOT INTERNET)!