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Harris tri-band AGC

Bill DeFelice said:
Are you seeking a specific version? From what I remember wasn't there a version in the MSP-90 chassis besides the MSP-100?
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yep...I still have one of those in service. I might also have an MSP-100 lying in the bone yard.
 
man i wanted one of those. if there's an extra one lying around i might be interested if i can afford it. how much $ we talking?

-amos
 
Bill DeFelice said:
Are you seeking a specific version? From what I remember wasn't there a version in the MSP-90 chassis besides the MSP-100?
Click to expand...

The one I am after is the MSP90 - the bottom unit on this page: http://home.versatel.nl/phantomfm/htm/inhoud/Shopprocessing.htm

The MSP90 chassis also came with a wide-band AM limiter, the MSP100 has dual FM limiters from what I can make out. There's also an MSP95 somewhere in the scheme of things, but I don't know what it is or what it looks like.
 
When setup properly, the MSP 90, 95 and 100 are very good processors. I would rate the MSP-90 as better than the Optimod 8000a, about on par with the Optimod 8100, while the MSP-100 can sound far better than a barefoot 8100. I have installed two of these old workhorses in recent years. The MSP-90 is on an LPFM with a CRL SPP 800 driving it. It sounds surprisingly competative. The Triband MSP-100 is on a fill-in translator and it really sounds good. It's as loud, or louder, as any of the digital processors in town and none of us can hear any distortion in it. The triband AGC gives it a unique sonic signature that is more open than the 8100 was and similar to today's processors.

These boxes are pretty complicated, though. A wrong tweak can make them sound aweful. You have to understand processing better than the casual user to make them work right. Also, most of them are suffering from bad capacitors and degraded performance and re-aligning them is not trivial, so keep that in mind when aquiring them.
 
Studio1 said:
The MSP90 chassis also came with a wide-band AM limiter, the MSP100 has dual FM limiters from what I can make out. There's also an MSP95 somewhere in the scheme of things, but I don't know what it is or what it looks like.
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The MSP-90 series came in AM and FM limiter versions and could be stereo or mono. Harris made a stereo generator that came with the FM versions. There was also a studio chassis version of the MSP-90s that I have laying in a boneyard. It's the same as the FM version (two channels) but without the stereo generator. The MSP-90 15kHz LPF and pre-emphasis were defeatable so the limiter could be used in final processing or for the studio. I have never seen, nor used the AM version, but the instruction manual discusses them, which is how I know they existed.
 
Used the MSP-100 on an AM we built and owned years ago.Took a little tweaking,but when dialed in, it was amazing,clean and dam loud..Antenna was the late John Mulanney's unipole,broad band nice rig.He was some smart and a darn good guy..Xmtr was Harris MW1A.
 
Yeah. There's a local AM here in town (lots of power AM) that uses one of the MSP processors ahead of their STL. There's a newer Optimod at the transmitter. The MSP really helps the overall sound IMHO. It was bypassed as a test and quickly added back in the system due to what it did for the sound. They are amazing boxes!
 
It was by far the best AM i've ever heard..The Orban or CRL boxes couldn't match it.I guess Harris out out of the processing game.That Msp-100 was $ 5695.00 and that was back in 1979..Of course when the DAPS came along later it was a new game.It was a rack hog and heavy! Well built though,like a tank.
 
I was actually looking for one of the MSP-100's for the campus station build but unless there was a cover for the lower portion of the unit it would be too tempting for the curious kids. I loved the meters on the beast! The one thing I never thought of was just how big the chassis really is.
 
oldiesstation said:
....Of course when the DAPS came along later it was a new game.It was a rack hog and heavy! Well built though,like a tank.
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Well, it's just one person's opinion, but I'd say that the MSP series outperformed the DAPs by a wide margin. Certainly that is true of the MSP100. The level of science (and complexity) is far greater in them. I was pretty young when these hit the market, but I believe the DAP310 predates the MSP series by a few years. From the nuances of the design, it's clear that Harris had Orban in their sights when they made the MSP series. Much of the MSP design seems intended to circumvent the Orban IP of the day.


The MSP90s were comparable in size and weight to an 8100. The MSP-100 was huge. It is quite heavy, too, at something around 50 lbs.
 
I agree the MSP-100 was much better than the DAPS.They were loud but not as clean as the 100.Yep,it was heavy.I spent hours tweaking,but once the sweet spot was found,mercy what a sound.I must say i was skeptical of buying it since it was a new entry,(Harris had a good salesman).He said put it on,if you don't like it send it back.It stayed in the rack.
 
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