Have a spare 60,000 USD laying around?

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majoco

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Where's that thread about "Why are SDR's so expensive"? :)

I wonder how well an Excalibur Pro would stack up against this millionaire's toy! As far as I can tell on the 80m band YouTube video, bandwidth appears to be quite broad - not good enough to reject the adjacent channels when listening to the guy calling "CQ".
 

SCPD

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As far as I can tell on the 80m band YouTube video, bandwidth appears to be quite broad - not good enough to reject the adjacent channels when listening to the guy calling "CQ".

On a $60k piece of equipment, I can assure you the BW setting is adjustable.

If you watch the video at the 0:19 mark, you can see he has it set to 6khz which is too wide. User error.
 

balibago

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Also keep in mind folks that today's $60k receiver maybe tomorrows 1,000 dollar receiver complete with a whole host of software like DSD that you can download over the net.
 

Token

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The base model of that unit has a real time bandwidth of 20 MHz. Equate this to the DDC bandwidth of your Perseus/Excalibur/etc, this has a bandwidth of 10x as wide but at 75x the cost. The frequency range is very wide, but the DDC is not all that impressive. An option can take it to 80 MHz bandwidth. However, the Tektronix RSA 6120 series can go to 110 MHz bandwidth (with option, 40 MHz standard), and they tell me they will have an option out for that in a few months taking it to 180 MHz.

Of course, the RSA 6120 outfitted with the software and options I need for work just priced out at $157k, and I need 2 of them for the application.

As an aside, I have used these kinds of equipment next to things like the G39DDC, G33DDC, Perseus, Net-SDR, etc, and to tell you the truth for how we use them in the hobby they would not be worth the cost, even if it was chump change to the buyer. I have never seen a piece of equipment like this that substantially outperformed, as a receiver, something like the Perseus or the Excalibur. Sure, it can record a huge chunk of spectrum, but it does not receive an individual signal any better. And to tell the truth none of these equipments have a large advantage over the wideband display of the Excalibur series.

T!
 

majoco

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There's a world of difference between what we want a radio to do and what the spooks want a radio to do. If I had 60k to blow - it would be on bigger and better antennae, or a bigger plot of land to put them on!
 

k9rzz

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Then there would always be someone who'd hook it up to some piece of crap antenna. I'd rather invest that money in some towers.
icon12.gif
 

SCPD

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Then there would always be someone who'd hook it up to some piece of crap antenna. I'd rather invest that money in some towers.
icon12.gif

Hey if you can afford that then what you do with it is your business. :p

Reminds me of a painted lime-green Lamborghini I once saw...
 

SCPD

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As an aside, I have used these kinds of equipment next to things like the G39DDC, G33DDC, Perseus, Net-SDR, etc, and to tell you the truth for how we use them in the hobby they would not be worth the cost, even if it was chump change to the buyer.

Token I would agree with you for the most part but the hand-held version (PR100) would be sweet.

R&S®PR100 Portable Receiver - Rohde & Schwarz

It's only the price of new car. :cool:

http://cdn.rohde-schwarz.com/dl_dow...es_and_datasheets/part_17_18/PR100_bro_en.pdf

That DF mode on the PR100 is really cool! (Check out page 10+ in the brochure.)
 

kb2vxa

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"A little higher in bandwidth and it might start picking up my brainwaves."

Not to worry, brain waves run from .5 to 30Hz so only elephants with electric ears can hear them and I'm sure they're not interested.
 
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