But a lot of coolness.

Recently managed to lay my hands on an NCS Multi-RX and Multi-Switcher pair. The Multi-RX unit allows you to take audio inputs from up to 6 different sources and route them selectively or spatially to a pair of speakers. It also allows you to use one or more of the audio sources to trigger a tape recorder control relay. A provision is made for the mixer output to be routed to other audio processing equipment (such as a DSP unit) before being routed back into the main amplifier.

A master Mute control for use when the unit is run with a Multi-Switcher and connected transceivers is provided, as is computer control of various functions.

In putting the unit in the lineup, I managed to save the shelf space of 4 separate speakers. At present, two BCT-15X and two BCD-996XT scanners feed channels 1/3 and 2/4 (respectively), while a pair of R-7000s are routed through channels 5 and 6. The right-channel Mixer Out leads to Channel A of a Timewave DSP-599ZX, and its Channel A Line Out goes back into the Multi-RX Amp In. Channel B of the '599ZX gets a separate audio feed from a 3rd R-7000, which is run independently of the first two. I can select either of the '599ZX channels for processing while the other runs in pass-through mode.

The finishing touch is a Denon DN-F450R digital recorder. This is a damn slick little unit. With a 32GB SD card, mono audio, 44.1KHz sampling rate and 64K MP3 quality, I can get almost 4000 hours (half a year!) of continuous audio recording. The Multi-RX can start and stop the unit, and I can route various audio sources through the DSP for pre-processing.

A HUGE tip of the hat to Doug, K4SWJ - former owner of NCS - for providing me with a lot of details about the units and for (indirectly) assisting with getting the faulty -3230 into operable shape. Sadly, these units are no longer made - but they're highly sought after among the communications community. This equipment has definitely made my listening more fun, and incorporation of the -3240 into the lineup is next on the list.

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