Re: [IRCA] drake r8a for sale

[Nick Hall-Patch <nhp@xxxxxxxx>]

The following comment grows out of a recent discussion with a couple 
of other DXers.

One reason for sticking with anything is familiarity.   If you know 
every quirk of an R8A, you will be able to use it to the maximum of 
its capability; everything else will be down to your DXing skills.

SDR is a wonderful technology, though finding time to go through all 
the files is a challenge.  Perseus is a great SDR.  It's been around 
for about 10 years; even for geezers, that's getting to be a 
reasonable portion of our lifetimes.   At this point, one of its 
selling points is that it is frozen in time; most owners still use 
the original software, and it isn't because they are too, ah, thrifty 
to pay for the later version.  Perseus owners, like the table top 
receiver owners, are able to use it to the maximum of its capability, 
because they are really familiar with it.   But they could be seen as 
nearly as much stuck in time as the guy driving an R8A, or even an 
HQ-180A.    And it's a credit to Nico Palermo that so many people 
want to stop in that time that even he has moved beyond; the man is a genius.

The world of SDR has not stood still, either in hardware, or in 
software.   But each of us needs to figure out whether we want to 
chase the latest thing, and agonize over the fact that the latest 
software or OS update has broken our favorite feature, and what 
work-around we can perform on it, or...whether we would rather 
DX.   Meantime, the solar minimum wafts by, while the bleeding edge 
listener curses at his computer (as if we weren't doing that enough already).

(Incidentally, I really enjoy wasting time poking through software 
and even trying to break it through modification, or heading off on a 
tangent...but there isn't enough time for everything, even for a 
retired person...)
..
best wishes,

Nick







At 04:46 2018-08-14, Mark Connelly via IRCA wrote:
> ........
> *** I've run my Perseus successfully since 2009 on various versions 
> of Windows including XP, 7, and 10.  When the laptop is about 5 or 
> so years old and you're looking for something new for critical 
> business and home programs, take that older one that still runs your 
> SDR and disable it from any internet usage.  OS gets frozen in 
> place, new apps / programs are not added, no updating happens.  If 
> you're doing that you can also pull out bloatware, anti-virus 
> programs, and anything not needed to run the SDR and ancillary apps 
> such as Total Recorder used to create mp3 audio clips.  The old 
> laptop, not worth much in the resale market at that point, becomes 
> dedicated.  Bill Gates can come out with Windows 10000 and it won't 
> matter.  You can still DX.

Nick Hall-Patch
Victoria, BC
Canada  

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