Nate Duehr wrote: > Ahhhh... > > We haven't had a good "What kind of audio is it REALLY" mini-debate on > the list in quite a while... good to see it again... heh. I agree > with Bob that people keep mixing the term "flat" with "discriminator" > and that's just downright confusing to new folks. Some of us > understand what you meant to say, but it's the mix of the terms that > throws people.
I've always called it raw discriminator audio. I read it in a book somewhere ;c} > For any newbies reading along... if you find this discussion confusing > -- don't worry. It is. Don't worry about it. In fact, we'll give ya > the real deal here below... something you can actually DO/USE... > > You won't need to fully understand this unless you find out that you > need to FIX it... then you'll have to dive in with both feet. > > To find out if you need to FIX it... > > Grab a radio. Put it on a good outside antenna. Listen to a station > that's both full-quieting into your repeater and also into your > location on the input. Hit the "reverse" button on your rig while > they're talking. Just to add to that-use a mobile, not a handheld, with a good speaker, not these little 'jap-trac' 1-2" speakers. Plug a good 4" Motorola, GE, EFJ, Midland, Kenwood, etc speaker in to it. And NOT a 12" bass reflex speaker either... > If they sound EXACTLY the same through the repeater as they sound on > the input... you built your repeater right! Kick back with a beer and > enjoy the never-ending terminology debate on the list knowing that you > did yours correctly. > > If the two signals DON'T sound exactly the same, start reading -- and > learning... and start deciding HOW the person sounds different: > > Are they "quieter" or "louder" on one or the other (deviation level, a > limiter in the radio, or levels are set wrong somewhere)... ? More > sleuthing required. > > Or do they sound "tinny" or "bassy" (uh oh - you're going to have to > figure out this pre/de-emphasis thing... that or you've got a filter > acting funny... or you have a radio with a really goofed up audio > response somewhere... maybe you're using a MIC input or... well, > there's lots of possibilities...)? > > If you find yourself with a repeater that is NOT right -- post your > EXACT setup to the list including where you're taking audio from on > each radio, whether your controller supports doing internal > pre/de-emphasis, etc -- the model numbers and where you tapped audio > from are usually PLENTY of info for most of us here to help you out. > > And if you can describe your setup accurately -- there's virtually no > doubt the gurus here can help you make it sound RIGHT... the > terminology and arguments will fade away and we'll all stop arguing > and help you out! (GRIN) > > So, distilling it down to what's important here... Here's my "public > service announcement" for the day... > > "If users sound the same on the input and output... you did it right. > If not, post questions and start figuring out how to get there." > > Nate WY0X Nicely said, Nate! -- Jim Barbour WD8CHL
