[BC] Achieving good S/N

[Robert Orban]

At 05:45 PM 12/26/2005, you wrote:
>From: Kevin Tekel <amstereoexp at yahoo.com>
>Subject: [BC] Achieving good S/N
>To: broadcast at radiolists.net
>Message-ID: <20051227003755.6216.qmail at web32907.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
>Bob Orban wrote:
> > It replaced a Gates pre-emphasized clipper (I forget what its actual
> > marketing name was) that splattered on every "ess." The Gates only
> > lasted a week on-air before I sent it back.
>
>I have one of those.  It's the Solid Statesman FM Limiter.  Yes, it sends
>pre-emphasized audio right into a wideband diode clipper.  When I had one
>in on-air service I modified it to place the pre-emphasis ahead of the
>broadband limiter (with a speeded-up recovery time).  To me the HF
>"ducking" was more tolerable than the brute-force clipping, at least on
>pre-Disco-era music.

Nope...the device in question was an "FM Top Level" (as I discussed in a 
post just previous to this one). The Top Level was a pure pre-emphasized 
clipper and had no gain reduction elements in it at all. I believe that the 
Solid Statesman limiter was introduced later; we're talking about 1966, 
which was approximately when the first FM Volumax was introduced.

Google

gates "fm top level"

and you will get a few hits.

Bob Orban