I totally understand what your talking about but you have to be aware of
the fur ball that happened on this list when the K3 was introduced.
"It doesn't sound like my (insert favorite Japanese Radio here)". There
were people running around on different message boards claiming the K3's
audio was terrible, even though it was configurable with said AGC
settings and probably the best receiver any of them had ever heard. So
what is a company to do, make the radio "sound better" out of the box or
let the nattering nabobs of negativism continue to slander the rig?
They made the necessary anti-mush firmware changes and left the default
alone. Pretty good middle of the road solution. DXer's and contestors
are supposed to be our best and brightest, not counting some recent high
profile DXpeditions (that's another thread), but can't keep on top of
firmware changes and experiment with AGC settings?
We haven't ALL become appliance operators needing our hands held have we?
I'll bet the 4.51 changes were all over contesting.com within 10 minutes
of being released. The changes were discussed on this list until the
horse resembled glue. Claiming nobody knows/knew about them is silly.
On 4/9/2016 2:44 AM, Ian White wrote:
To clarify what Don and Al have said, I don't take any position in the
"Bad Audio" discussion. I doubt if any of us truly understands what the
other guy means by "bad audio" anyway.
My comments were specifically about the so-called "pileup mush" that
results from the poorly chosen default AGC settings; and also about the
lack of follow-through from Elecraft on this topic.
[What follows is a re-post of my earlier message referenced by Al (with
minor edits). For clarity, I don't have any disagreement with the views
of Don, Al or Barry N1EU.
I'm out the door now for the GM DX Convention, so I won't be able to
enter into detailed discussions for the next few days.]
***************
The factory default AGC THReshold for the K3 and K3S is very, very low.
Measurements by KE7X [1] have shown that the default setting of THR=5
corresponds to an AGC onset at less than S3, whereas competing rigs have
a threshold of S7 or even higher. This very low AGC threshold is what
allows the AGC to be activated by band noise.
Elecraft's factory defaults of THR=5 and SLP=12 compress all signals
above the AGC threshold into a very narrow range of audio output levels
[see the measurements by KE7X]. This makes for comfortable
broadcast-style listening - but there is price to be paid. The default
settings greatly reduce the differences in the real-life strengths of
incoming signals - important differences that DXers and contesters
*need* to hear, in order to pick individual signals out of a pileup.
Following complaints from DXers, DXpeditioners and contesters about this
so-called "pileup mush", and following further series of measurements by
KE7X, Elecraft eventually did increase the available range of AGC
THReshold settings (the v4.51 firmware upgrade).
Following the release of FW v4.51, the consensus within the
[K3-contesting] Yahoo group about the most important settings for DXing
and contesting has been as follows.
* AGC THR: increase to at least 8 (from default = 5) and preferably to
12, and then take some time to become re-accustomed to the increased
range of audio levels [2]. (Some users recommend as high as 14, if your
ears can handle it.)
* AGC SLP: decrease to 8 or even less (from default = 12). Lower SLP
settings allow stronger signals to sound somewhat louder, and thus more
realistic, but the range of variation will be partly determined by the
THR setting already made; so always experiment with THR first, and with
SLP afterwards.
* AGC DCY = SOFT (not default=NOR). The User Manual claims that "The
SOFT setting can reduce IMD caused by traditional AGC, and is especially
useful in 'pileup' conditions, in some cases making it unnecessary to
turn AGC off."
The settings recommended above have essentially solved the problem of
"pileup mush" for those who have tried them... but regrettably, Elecraft
has done almost nothing to make DXers and contesters aware that such
changes are possible.
More than 3 years after the firmware release notes boasted that v4.51
"greatly improves signal clarity in pile-ups and other high-noise or
dense-signal situations, especially with threshold set to 12 or higher",
that information is *still* missing from the User Manual. There is also
no information on how to create different 'profiles' of AGC settings for
different types of users.
Meanwhile, Elecraft's factory AGC defaults remain exactly as they were,
still optimized apparently for comfortable 'listening', while many DXers
and contesters remain unaware that their K3/K3S could actually be *so*
much better.
[1] http://www.ke7x.com/home/miscellaneous-k3-information
[2] It is important to give any increased AGC THReshold setting an
extended trial. To anyone accustomed to an artificially restricted range
of audio signal levels, a higher setting will initially sound quite
'aggressive' - even though the new setting is much closer to real life.
************
73 from Ian GM3SEK
--
R. Kevin Stover
AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441
---
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