Re: Repeater Mod

[S V G <vsyevolod@yahoo.com>]

     A word or two about the Repeater mod that has been buzzing around 
this list lately.  I was
planning on waiting until it was released but the cat is slipping out of 
the bag.
    
     Peter Toms and Terry Robb of Condor Electronics have come up with 
this noise mod that brings
the s/n from -50db to -75db.  (This is totally separate from the upgraded 
power supply that they
used to offer though currently they are not doing this due to lack of 
demand.  It's also different
from the mod that the guy in Boston is doing.)  In an effort to "bring 
this to the people", I have
been working with Peter to document the process.  It is a very difficult 
piece of work and will
tax the skills of most non-pro repair people (and probably some pros as 
well...)  I was able to
perform the mods on my Repeater, with the cushion of being able to take it 
in to Peter if anything
went wrong.  It truly is an amazing mod and I recommend it to anyone who 
has ANY issues with the
noisiness of the Repeater.  It doesn't make the CFC clicking go away 
altogether, though it does
quiet it down a lot.  In my studio environment, I can now run my signal 
"dry unmuted" through the
Repeater with extremely little degradation of sound.  I was never able to 
do that before and so
always ran it through an aux send in my mixer and set the Repeater to "dry 
muted".

     Basically, the main issue with the Repeater is that the front panel 
controls (digital) share
the same ground with the audio path, thus polluting the audio signal.  By 
separating these two
grounds and attaching them at different points, much of the pollution is 
cleaned up and the noise
floor drops considerably.

     So where is this mod and where can I get my hands on it?  It's in my 
computer at the moment,
I'm finishing up the layout of photos with text which will then be put 
into a PDF and placed in
the appropriate spot on the LD website.  It is truly a labor of love, Kim 
is generously providing
web space, nobody is making squat off of this and so you're just gonna 
have to wait a little
longer :)  Unlike other promises that we've heard about the Repeater, this 
one is finished, all
the bugs have been worked out, and it's just about to be released.  (No, 
really...)

     For those people who are unable to do the Repeater mod themselves, 
the forthcoming
instructions will be easily decipherable by any competent tech or you will 
be able to send it
directly to Condor Electronics and they will do it for $95.

     Speaking of Repeater promises, I have heard much behind the scenes 
talk about the company
that purchased the Electrix line.  I don't like contributing to the 
rumours that are floating
around back and forth mainly because they tend to generate ill will.  The 
only thing that I can
say at this point is that as of this week, Electrix is still around and 
plans are still underway
to get the Repeater and other boxes out there to the public.  That doesn't 
mean that it will
happen, only that the rumours of the company's demise are not yet true.  
Just the facts ma'am.

     Stephen






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