DRAKE SW 1 Instruction Manual download pdf (Page 7)

October 1997 77

Tune in the World for Less Than $300!

Drake SW1 and Radio Shack DX-394

Reviewed by Rick Lindquist, N1RL

Senior Assistant Technical Editor

and Bill Moore, NC1L

Century Club Manager

One of the surest routes to ham radio over

the years has been shortwave listening

(SWLing) and broadcast listening (BCLing).

Very often, the fascination of listening to

broadcasts and other transmissions from far-

off places has led to a desire on the part of

listeners to put a signal of their own on the

air. We looked at a couple of economical

receivers for the beginning SWL or BCL to

consider that won’t put you in hock but can

offer hours of listening fun, the Drake SW-1

Shortwave Receiver and the Radio Shack

DX-394 Communications Receiver.

Drake and Radio Shack have been mak-

ing receivers for novice and veteran SWLs

and BCLs for years (decades in the case of

Drake, which recently re-entered the Ama-

Somewhat disconcerting were the results

of the transmit intermodulation distortion

(IMD) tests (see Figures 1 and 2). Almost as

disturbing as the prominence of third and fifth-

order products was the prominence of higher-

order (ie, seventh, ninth, eleventh) products.

Yaesu specified a third-order IMD figure of

–31 dBc (see Table 1), a specification it met

on 15, 17, 20, 40, 80 and 160 meters, where

IMD performance was much better but not

spectacular. For comparison, the best case

was 40 meters, where third-order products

were 32 dB down, and fifth-order were 45 dB

down, and higher-order products were almost

non-existent.

On HF, the ARRL Lab measured worst-

case performance on 12 meters, where third-

order products were just 25 dB down and fifth-

order 31 dB down. That’s marginal in

comparison to other transceivers in this price

class that we’ve looked at recently. Exacer-

bating this performance was the fact that

higher-order products do not drop below

50 dB until the 13th order!

The worst-case performance on 50 MHz

was only a shade better. Third-order products

were down by 27 dB and fifth-order products

by 33 dB, but, once again, higher-order prod-

ucts remain prominent through the 13th order.

As we’ve said in past reviews, this is the

kind of IMD performance that may lead to

problems with splatter and “wide” signals, es-

pecially when the transceiver is used with an

amplifier.

The ARRL Lab measured comparable IMD

performance on a second FT-920. This mar-

ginal IMD performance was the only serious

problem we encountered with this transceiver.

Yaesu advised that its production units as

of mid-August were “displaying less variation

in performance, due to tightening of produc-

tion part tolerances.” Yaesu supplied one of

these units for us to test. The unit barely met

its third-order IMD specification on the HF

bands but not on 6 meters; higher-order prod-

ucts overall were less prominent, however.

Additional Observations

The reactions of several users appear to

prove out the proverbial notion that “you can’t

please all of the people all the time.” Take the

radio’s ergonomics, for example. One user

called the ergonomics “some of the best of

the radios I have recently used,” while another

called the front panel “awkwardly laid out”

and the radio “not as comfortable to operate”

as others he’d used. For my part, I tend to

feel that the rig is generally comfortable, ex-

cept for the location of the clarifier and keyer

controls.

Users were ambivalent about the double-

duty

VFO B

knob for the VFO and for RIT. One

tester found that this scheme “worked out

much better than I would have thought,” while

another said it was “awkwardly shared with

the VFO.”

Overall, I enjoyed using this radio. In com-

parison to what was available 10 or 15 years

ago in price and performance, the

FT-920 shows that it’s possible to increase

value in greater proportion to price. The ’920

offers lots of standard features and perfor-

mance, and it’s a worthy contender among the

other offerings in this price category.

Many thanks to Randy Thompson, K5ZD;

Emil Pocock, W3EP; Larry Wolfgang, WR1B;

Rick Lindquist, N1RL; and Mike Tracy,

KC1SX, and Ed Hare, W1RFI, of

the ARRL Lab for their contributions to this

review.

Manufacturer: Yaesu USA, 17210

Edwards Rd, Cerritos, CA 90703; tel 310-

404-2700. Manufacturer’s suggested retail

price, $2300; 500-Hz YF-116C CW filter,

$127; 6-kHz YF-116A AM filter, $127; FM-1

FM board, $62; TCXO-7 temperature-com-

pensated oscillator, $99.

teur Radio market). In the past, we’ve looked

at the Radio Shack DX-302 receiver (see

“Product Review” QST Aug 1981) and the

Drake R7, R8 and SW8 receivers (see “Prod-

uct Review”, QST, Jan 1980, Mar 1992, and

Oct 1994, respectively).

Both of these receivers are tabletop sets

designed primarily for installing in a home

listening post. Both are equipped to operate

from 120 V ac, have built-in speakers and

digital displays. Both cover the standard

broadcast (530-1710 kHz) and shortwave

bands—and then some. But perhaps the best

part is that each receiver sells for less than

$300.

Drake SW1

The SW1 designation says it all. This is

Drake’s entry-level receiver, and these days,

you won’t find a set much more basic and

down-to-earth than the Drake SW1. This is a

fairly compact, utilitarian, lightweight box

(except for the plastic front panel, the cabi-

net is steel) with a front-firing speaker on the

left and a big green LED display on the right

above the

TUNING

knob. The radio continu-

ously covers from 100 kHz to 30 MHz. It’s

double conversion, with IFs at 45 MHz and

455 kHz. There are controls for

RF GAIN

and

VOLUME

, plus a 16-button keypad (that in-

cludes the power and display dimmer but-

tons) and big up and down buttons labeled

with arrows. AGC is fixed. You’ll find the

mini-phone jack on the lefthand panel for

headphones. Drake did not provide a signal-

strength indicator of on the SW1. That’s un-

fortunate, since an S meter is a staple for

hobby listeners.

The US-made SW1 receives one mode—

AM. It has 32 programmable memories to

save frequency settings (it comes from the

factory pre-programmed with SW stations),

and you can enter frequencies directly from

the keypad. Hook your antenna to the rear

panel (the SW1 has an SO-239 for a coaxial-

fed connector or a set of screw terminals for

a wire antenna and a ground connection), and

apply power and you’re all set. To help get

you started, Drake supplies a little wire an-

tenna with the SW1 that’s suitable for a tem-

porary indoor setup. The SW1 can operate

from 12 V dc into the coaxial power connec-

tor on the rear panel. An ac “wall cube”

adapter is supplied for typical home use, but

the dc capability makes it handy for use away

from home (or even in an emergency).

As an AM-only receiver, the fact that the

smallest tuning increment is 1 kHz is not nec-

essarily a hardship (the radio tunes in 5-kHz

steps using the up/down keys). The synthe-

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