![]() ![]() If the mic has enough audio gain to power up on SSB, then why fix what isn’t broken? ![]() ![]() Something will always be lost.Īudio Compression in many radios also lowers the quality of original mic audio too, so I never use compression except in extreme cases. This includes EQ’s, audio preamps, audio conditioners, and even big professional studio mixer boards change the quality of the original microphone characteristics. I have always believed that adding anything to an audio line takes away some quality by altering it, instead of allowing the original audio of the mic to pass into the radio. If your radio can sound great with just the wideband mic, then run it that way. I mentioned this little story because there is an old axium that says, using an external EQ or audio amp, is not always the better thing to do. And after a few adjustments of the bass and treble controls built into the radio, everyone told me I got my sweet natural strong audio back and it even sounded a little better than before on the 706MKIIG. The hum was eliminated, the tinny sound was gone, and the audio was strong and fantastic. So I opened the Heil PR 30, and installed a 1uf capacitor in the audio hot wire from the Dynamic element. Then I remembered that Icom inserts 7.5VDC on the audio line to power their Electret Condenser mic elements, and the coil in the PR 30 was vibrating with the voltage. So I figured it would have enough volume to make the PR 30 provide enough audio. I did a quick wiring just to see what would happen. The PR 30 had a very noticeable hum and sounded very tinny on my 746PRO. The 746PRO has a much higher gain audio amp than my older 706MKIIG has, as does most newer radios today. One day I decided to bypass the W2IHY EQ device, and connect the old Heil PR 30 directly to my 746PRO. ![]() It just wasn’t as clean and natural as it was on the old 706MKIIG. It got better, but they said it still lacked something. I still got compliments, but my local friends said it was not as crisp and clean as it was from the 706MKIIG. Then I bought my new Icom 746PRO and instantly moved the W2IHY EQ to that radio. I got lots of big compliments on my clean strong audio on HF SSB. So I got the W2IHY 8 Band EQ and ran my former Heil PR 30 through it into the 706MKIIG. And the 706 did not have any mic tone settings. But the audio levels were far too low for any dynamic element like most studio mics have. But that radio had a low gain audio amp that was great with an electret condensor mic element. I had a W2IHY 8-Band EQ and it worked great on my old Icom 706MKIIG. And the most popular one on the market is the W2IHY 8 Band EQ and EQ Plus units. MFJ makes an audio device they call an audio conditioner, but it’s just another EQ. But most of all, let’s use some basic common sense. Back when it was a matter of pride to have good clean natural sounding audio from our nice expensive ham radios. Are they really helping your audio, do they just fill a hidden fantasy of having that big comercial radio announcers deep bassy voice? Or are they just there to try and impress others? Let’s go back to the days when we got sick of crappy CB audio and strived for something much better. Reading that article first may clarify some of the statements made here in this article.Ī lot of hams spend big money on these devices, and I do mean big money. This article is actually a second part to another article called “Microphone Frequency Response” which should be read first to fully understand the audio that radios and microphones are capable of. I want to get into this subject because it is important to good audio practice. ![]()
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