A Trip Down Memory Lane

I am sure many of you will remember Enterprise Radio Applications Ltd. Otherwise known as ERA. Their Microreader CW and RYYT Decoders are the stuff of legend, and you can still see many of them in operation. I have had one for years to resolve the RTTY transmissions from JOMOC and the DWD. But I had never heard about the ERA BP34 Communications Filter until I saw it on e-Bay.

It was a bargain, so I added it to my HF listening post, coupled with the AOR AR7030, my main workhorse. The AOR sports good internal (IF) filtering, of course, but the BP34 adds another (audio) dimension; the one-button operation opens up the sound in a clockwise direction and gets rid of some background noise too. This is a sturdy device – like they used to be made – and is simplicity itself: audio-in, audio-out and DC12V.

The choice of modes is AM, CW and SSB, so can clear up your data signals too. If you see one of those second-hand, treat yourself and experiment a bit. A bit of an archive search revealed that this filter was actually reviewed in Practical Wireless way back in September 1989, pp. 46-48 - written by the Reverend G.C. Dobbs G3RJV, no less! 

https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Practical/Wireless/80s/PW-1989-09.pdf

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