X-treme eSSB Audio FORUM

Last month, I received a card in the mail that tops any QSL card I have ever received. I was running my 950VMSDX and a OO sent me a notice saying I was splattering more than 6kc away on 20 Meters. I have already shared this story with some, but thought I would share with all to see if anyone else has recieved a similar notice?

At first I was going to toss the card, but after second thought it is my proudest piece of wallpaper. Is there an award similar to WAS or DXCC for most OO notices for running wide or what they term as "splattering"? If so, I am going for Honor Roll.

73
W4BJM

Howdy Brad!
Hahahahahaha.....
Well, unfortunately that shows that most people don't know what there listening too.
True ESSB has at least a 6kc wide Passband full of real audio information....not 'Splatter'!
More then likely his receiver couldn't receive all the audio information due to his narrow filters and he misinterpreted it as 'Splatter'.
Just a guess, trying to give the guy a bone here, hahahaha!!

Well, hopefully as time wears on, people will start to understand and appreciate the experimentation that we're doing...it has already grown a phenomenal amount.
You can tune across the band and hear the people that care about how they sound.
Even the Lo-Fi guys are sounding like a million bucks now!
Since the Hams have figured out that they don't have to sound like Donald Duck, they are accepting the audio processing.
We've heard outright naysayers of using this equipment finally succumb to there own good senses and are using EQ's.
It will continue to spread.
Have Fun!!

...

That is probably the biggest reason I am losing interest in Ham radio all together...


whiners...

Bitchers

Complainers...


I can't even get on my local 10 meter net without someone bitching about my audio.. and I'm only 3.3 kHz wide

whatever happen to the experiential portion of this hobby?

...

I refuse to let the assholes win this time.... so I am just going to keep doing what I enjoy...period.


I agree Keep up the good work Brad, and Ed.

Scott, don't give up, we have too many people to piss off on 10 mtrs when the sun wakes up.

Never let the naysayers get the best of you. The fact that they drive-by and throw out BS comments should be worn as a Badge of Honor. It means you are capable of independent thought coupled with the moral fortitude to step away from the norm and do what you know is right, no matter what they say. It could also mean that the drive-by naysayer is quite jealous of your audio, and is pissed off because more and more of his buddies have been warming up to the idea of at least sounding better than usual, and have since purchased a piece of audio gear or two to spruce things up

The more I cruise the bands, the more I detect stations transmitting standard bandwidths that now have a flare of audio improvement. This tells me that there are more and more people jumping the fence. Not necessarily the whole fence (>3.5Khz bandwidths), but at least making the attempt to sound better by using a piece of audio gear or two. And I am sure this has many staunch naysayers downright pissed off, thus cruising the bands spreading general hate and discontent to anyone who sounds better than the pinched up norm. I say, if they can't take the heat, then get the hell out of the kitchen, because I am not going anywhere any time soon.

Yes, I believe we need to formulate an award system for the most OO cards received for running wide. If there were such a system in place, I too would shoot for Honor Roll, like in the 10Khz division....hehehe....

And Bow, you best not give up, or I will come down from the Hills of Texas to the flat lands of Houston and slap some sense back in to you. As Greg inferred, I want to party with you on 10M when the sun comes alive!!

Yawl take care now,

Mike

Ed, K6HP:

I have dealt with this on other frequencies other than 3820. I have people tell me my audio sounds like crap. Well, the thing that I have noticed is people that want to run their receivers 1.8kHz wide and wonder why people not running much in the 400Hz range sound bad. I have noticed that the Kenwood TS-570 is the worse as most I have talk to roll the receive audio off at 300Hz on the low end. I have been told by a couple people running these radios that it sounds like I am running DX audio, which you know that is not the case since I talk to you and the 3820 crowd quite often; been AWOL for a while now though. It is just amazing how people interpret wide audio as splatter. I find that it is their radios, the way that their filters are tuned, and how (y)our audio falls into their passband.

Oh well, there is going to continue to be a**h**es everywhere. There are just so many people that are stanch believers in tin-can audio. If it doesn't have any lows, I cannot stand to listen to it very long, but it must have some highs for articulation as well. It just seems to me that with more and more radios being ESSB ready from the factory, that more people would get with the program.

Glad to hear that you got the TS-850. I will have to stop back by 3820 and see what's up more often. I am getting a Heil Pr-20 and a W2IHY 8 band EQ in a couple weeks. So see ya when I see ya.

John, AD7VH east central Nevada

I just want to follow up from my original post based on the replies that have been submitted. While I did receive an OO card for "splattering" on 20 Meters, I would honestly say the vast majority of the time I get compliments regarding my audio. Now I must confess that I don't work 75 meters, as I don't have an antenna for that band. I really prefer the higher HF bands (10-17 meters) when they are open. When I work the WARC bands, I generally run 4Kc wide due to the narrow allocation of SSB on that band as opposed to 6.7 Kc wide.

I cannot tell you how many times I get complimented on the 950VMSDX, with the "naysayers" being very few and far between. In addition there have been ops I have worked that claim they now have an interest in ESSB just by working/hearing me. I think everyone wants to sound "good" just as much as having a good signal. While propagation can prevent the signal issue, the "sounding good" is entirely left up to the operator.

Long story short, I feel the tide is slowing turning in the SSB amateur radio world from sounding like Donald Duck to what is now available. If someone does not like how I sound, I don't get defensive. I appreciate their point of view, finish the QSO at 3Kc wide and leave it at that. They may have a receiver that cannot "handle" the extra bandwidth or audio frequency range. After the "73", I resume how I was operating before.

The VFO knob works both ways for everyone. Just my $0.02.

Brad,

Sometimes us forum members use this space as a place to vent. Please do not think that you have stirred up deep rooted emotions such that members of this forum are going to go on a rampage against the naysayers!! I think those days are pretty much over as it really does not do anyone any good. As a matter of fact such actions can give us ESSBers a rather bad light. Now if they are adamant about picking a fight, well......

Though I still like the idea of an award system for the most OO cards for wideband transmissions

You will find most of us approach the situation just as you, being as cordial and polite as the situation calls for. If they ask questions, I answer them honestly. In fact I try to feed them as much technical information as they can possibly absorb. It just may turn the proverbial light on, and it has a couple of times. It always makes them quite and ponder a little when I tell them I am no wider than a standard AM transmission, yet I am transmitting twice the content as one.

John hit the nail on the head when he referred to the receiving stations receive bandwidth, and where does it sit in relation to their suppressed carrier frequency. You can have a nice 3Khz receive bandpass, but if the carrier offset is set such that the -6db point of the receive bandpass starts at 300Hz or higher, then most people you hear are going to sound like they are running DX, or close to it. And if the receive bandpass starts at 50Hz, then that ESSB station is going to sound bassy, no doubt about it. It's getting them to understand that concept that is hard. But if they are running a rig capable of 6khz receive, and you convince them to open it up to that, that is when the ears perk up and the light bulb may go off. Nothing beats a good sounding station.

Well I have rambled on long enough. When I finish putting things back together, I may stop by 3.820 one of these nights to say "Hi", if yawl wouldn't mind?

Mike

P.S. Bow, I am still going to visit you if you even think of pulling out