Bud,
I think a lot has to do with the 'material between the ears'. Some have
developed the ability to hear signals that to my ears are buried in the
noise. Those chasing Low Band DX are examples of folks with that
ability. Some report using a wide bandwidth while others report good
results with a narrow bandwidth. I believe it all depends on the "brain
training". The human brain can provide a wonderful filter if you know
what to pay attention to (and ignore things that can distract). Some
have it while others do not. It may be something that can be learned,
but I have not accomplished that feat.
73,
Don W3FPR
On 9/6/2014 5:28 PM, W2RU - Bud Hippisley wrote:
On Sep 6, 2014, at 2:34 17PM, Dauer, Edward <[email protected]> wrote:
I received a couple of off-list comments that might be of interest to
those who are following this thread. One was that narrowing the BW also
improves the S/N.
Maybe. Maybe not. Or, maybe up to a point.
I believe that whether one observes monotonic improvement in ability to
decipher the intelligence carried in a very weak signal as one reduces receiver
BW will be a function of _how_ the BW is narrowed in the various electronic
circuits and/or digital algorithms, as well as a function of our own individual
hearing characteristics.
Perhaps I am not on the main part of the normalcy distribution curve (my close
friends will assure me I’m _not_!) but I know for a fact that many, many times
I have been best able to pull intelligible information out of a very weak CW
signal on the low bands by using a receiver BW somewhat _wider_ than that
provided by my narrowest filtering options. I have used primarily Kenwoods and
(more recently) the K3 for most of my serious low-band DXing efforts, but I
can’t tell you if this effect is more or less apparent in one model vs. any
other.
I am also a strong believer in what I have been told is “stochastic resonance”
as an aid to hearing and copying the intelligence carried in weak signals. I
have found repeatedly, for instance, that I am more apt to hear certain
“unusual” vehicle sounds from the engine compartment or underbody when I have
the car radio playing music within a certain range of amplitudes. Of course,
that might also depend on my choice of music genre … :-)
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