These SSB contests are indeed a joke! Many signals are just terrible and as Jim K9YC says they are due to dumb Ops maladjusting radio/amplifier settings NOT bad or unsuitable non competitive microphones.
The mentality appears to be Maximum power, legal or not and Maximum bandwidth, splatter or not, the quality of the final signal, well... you hear it and see it. Why this message fails to get across I really don't know, but listening to and watching the SSB contest melee is just, embarrassing. However when you do hear a good Op with a well adjusted TX the signal is outstanding, and I have to say most of the really good SSB signals do come from the USA not Europe. There should be something in contest rules to discourage or even outlaw the sort of Loud and Dirty operation we hear on SSB, and not only in contests! 73, F5VJC On 28 October 2014 04:59, Jim Brown <j...@audiosystemsgroup.com> wrote: > On 10/27/2014 1:05 PM, Michael Walker wrote: > >> I heard so much crap audio this weekend, >> > > Didn't we all. > > that all I can recommend is that you use a Mic element purpose designed >> for the job of SSB QRP communications. >> > > WRONG. The crap audio was almost universally due to cranking everything > WAY past 11. K3 and KX3 will work fine with almost any decent mic that > isn't "broke." :) The only thing "purpose-designed" about mics sold for > ham radio is the sales pitch and hype that goes with them to get you to > spend three times what they are worth. :) > > Also, the most important thing for any SSB station with a weak signal is > to use about 10 dB of compression on peaks, use TXEQ to turn the three > bottom octaves all the way down (-16 dB), turn the fourth octave down 3-6 > dB).Some mics benefit from a 3 dB boost on the highest band (3.2 kHz). This > advice is good for ALL competitive operation. And always be careful not to > over drive the radio. Use just enough to get full modulation, and no more. > > To set that 10 dB of compression, set the front panel display to show COMP > in a bar graph when you're transmitting. > > If you're operating from a fixed location (not backpacking, not mobile), > it's hard to beat a Yamaha CM500. For mobile, you'll want something far > less visible, and for backpacking, you'll want something a LOT smaller and > lighter. > > 73, Jim K9YC > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to foxfive....@gmail.com > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
