=  NOW 40 WPM  =
BANDWIDTH, RF GAIN, ATTENUATION, AND METERING RETURN TO NORMAL
FUNCTIONING.  I LIVE IN AN AREA WITH A LOT OF AIR TRAFFIC, BUT I
FOUND THAT I HAD TO USE AN OUTDOOR ANTENNA TO RECEIVE AN ADEQUATE
NUMBER OF SIGNALS.  THE SENSITIVITY ON THE AIR BAND COULD BE BETTER.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE ELITE 750 INCLUDES A SQUELCH CONTROL THAT
WORKS ON ALL FREQUENCIES, AND IT WAS PUT TO GOOD USE ON THE
AERONAUTICAL BAND.  ITS A WELL DESIGNED SQUELCH WITH A SHARP, FAST
CUTOFF.  ID BE REMISS ANOTHER TOOL IS THE ELITE 750S SELECTABLE WIDE
AND NARROW BANDWIDTH OPTIONS.  THE MANUAL DOES NOT SPECIFY THE
BANDWIDTHS, BUT THE WIDE SELECTION SEEMED A BIT TOO WIDE, AND IT WAS
PROBLEMATIC IN CROWDED CONDITIONS.  I FOUND MYSELF USING THE NARROW
SETTING MUCH OF THE TIME.  AFTER HUNTING THROUGH THE HF BANDS FOR A
WHILE, I WAS EAGER TO GIVE THE ROTATABLE FERRITE ANTENNA A TRY ON
MEDIUM AND LONGWAVE SIGNALS.  I REMEMBER HUNTING DISTANT AM STATIONS
WITH A PORTABLE RECEIVER MANY YEARS AGO AND HAVING TO ENDURE THE
HASSLE OF TURNING THE ENTIRE RADIO THIS WAY AND THAT, TRYING TO AIM
ITS FERRITE ROD ANTENNA FOR MAXIMUM SIGNAL STRENGTH.  THIS IS NOT
THE CASE WITH THE ELITE 750.  ITS BAR ANTENNA TURNS SMOOTHLY WITH A
SLIGHT CLICKING SOUND, AS IF IT WERE MOVING THROUGH MECHANICAL
DETENTS.  NOT ONLY COULD I PEAK DESIRED SIGNALS, I WAS ALSO ABLE TO
USE THE ANTENNA TO NULL INTERFERENCE FROM STATIONS ON ADJACENT
FREQUENCIES.  MY FIRST TEST WAS ON 700 KHZ.  THATS THE HOME OF THE
MIGHTY WLW IN CINCINNATI, OHIO.  AT FIRST THERE WAS LITTLE TO HEAR
BUT NOISE, BUT AS I GENTLY TURNED THE BAR THE STATIC FELL AWAY, AND
WLW EMERGED.  RECEPTION WAS SURPRISINGLY GOOD CONSIDERING THAT THE
ELITE 750 WAS SITTING INSIDE AN ALUMINUM SIDED HOUSE AT THE TIME.
LONGWAVE BROADCASTERS ARE A VANISHING BREED, BUT THEIR SIGNALS CAN
STILL BE HEARD WHEN CONDITIONS ARE OPTIMAL.  TRY AS I MAY, I WAS
UNABLE TO RECEIVE LONGWAVE BROADCASTS DURING THIS REVIEW, BUT I WAS
ABLE TO SPIN THE BAR AND ISOLATE SOME INTERESTING SIGNALS FROM OTHER
SERVICES, SUCH AS AERONAUTICAL BEACONS.  SSB AND CW THE ELITE 750 IS
NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR A HIGH PERFORMANCE HAM RADIO RECEIVER, BUT IT
DOES OFFER SSB AND CW RECEPTION.  IT ACHIEVES THIS WITH AN
ADJUSTABLE BEAT FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR BFO.  THE KNOB IS LABELED SSB
BFO, BUT OF COURSE, ITS USE ISNT STRICTLY LIMITED TO SSB.  TUNING IS
IN 1 KHZ STEPS, AND THE SSB BFO CONTROL DOES AN ADMIRABLE JOB OF
TUNING IN SEPARATE CW SIGNALS ABOVE AND BELOW THE TUNED FREQUENCY,
AS LONG AS THE BAND IS NOT TOO CROWDED.  IVE OFTEN BEEN DISAPPOINTED
WITH HOW BFOS ARE IMPLEMENTED IN CONSUMER SHORTWAVE RADIOS.  EITHER
THE BFO CONTROL IS WAY TOO SENSITIVE, OR THE BFO INTRODUCES ANNOYING
DISTORTION THAT CAN MAKE LISTENING ALMOST PAINFUL.  I WAS PLEASANTLY
SURPRISED TO SEE THAT THE WORST FAILINGS OF CONSUMER BFOS WERE
AVOIDED IN THE ELITE LAB NOTES ETON ELITE 750 RECEIVER BOB ALLISON,
WB1GCM IN TESTING THE ELITE 750, I FOUND THAT THE SENSITIVITY IS NOT
QUITE UNIFORM THROUGHOUT THE HF SPECTRUM, LIKE WE ARE USED TO WITH
AMATEUR TRANSCEIVERS.  ITS GOOD

=  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  =  QST DE W1AW  <