X-treme eSSB Audio FORUM

Hello to all who do dat VooDoo,
Here's a question that I hope won't just get giggles and jabs-
Is there any VooDoo Audio potential in the Ol Hybrid rigs?
I have more old radios than Green and my Card Reader don't
see no new Rig in my near future. So,
By Hybrid I mean- Ken. TS-820s, Yae. FT-101ZD MKI and MKIII.
I understand I can't expect Tru VooDoo...
Any help will be great.
We just Love them Harmonix!

de How Low Can U Go

Howdy How Low Can U Go,

Welcome to the Forum!!
We're glad that you are here.

Well, to answer your question, there is Bad News and then there is Good News.

Bad News first (always! hihi):
The main problem with the older rigs is in the narrow IF filters that they used for SSB.

You might say no problem, I'll just install a wider filter.

Well, most of the older rigs do not have the Carrier Offset point adjustable enough to handle any filters wider then about 3kc. Since this is not adjustable enough, the opposite sideband suppression begins to suffer and you will eventually wind up with full Double Sideband with suppressed carrier the wider filter you use. This is on both TX and RX.

Now the good news:

You can usually find a good 3Kc filter, sometimes a 4Kc filter will work if the rig can adjust the carrier set point enough (rare without modifications).
You can balance the audio to sound just wonderful at this bandwidth.

With some mods, you can usually widen the frequency pass band of the speech amplifier to supply the balanced modulator with decent audio.

Of course there is nothing better then injecting the Rack Line Audio directly to the Balanced Modulator and bypassing all the speech amp limitations. This works terrific for both SSB and AM. Of course when this is done, then you will usually need to set the AM TX Bandwidth with the Audio equipment EQ, some of the older rigs do not use IF filters in the AM TX IF.

So there is help if you want to go down the road of modifications.

For keeping the radios stock, your best bet is to use a good EQ that will adjust the balance of your audio to the best it can be with the bandwidth you have.

You can get them to sound just wonderful, but unfortunately, it will not be Voodoo eSSB.

Take Care,

Very true. One of the most notable eSSB enthusiasts used a Kenwood TS-830 for a very long time and it had an amazing sound (at the time). Yes, modifications were necessary [just as Guru mentioned]. And it's worth the time and effort applied. Others have used Kenwood TS-930's, '940's, even a Yaesu FT-840 [which high impressed me].

There is an Ham/Tech/Engineer in the northeast who modifies TS-530's and '830's specifically for "fuller" SSB audio--limited to 100Hz to 3000Hz (both TX/RX). [He mentioned that mods are also performed for the monitor circuitry as well. I'll have to search for his information--been over a year since we've been in contact.]

Don't give up hope, it is quite possible to do...just need to discover and apply methods.

There is an Ham/Tech/Engineer in the northeast who modifies TS-530's and '830's specifically for "fuller" SSB audio--limited to 100Hz to 3000Hz (both TX/RX). [He mentioned that mods are also performed for the monitor circuitry as well. I'll have to search for his information--been over a year since we've been in contact.]

Were you able to find the info?

Thanks much for the encouraging words. I've been looking at all the
racks on the web site and have found many of the components for sale used- Any suggestions for tried and tru combo or single rack item
that can get me started with these old Rigs?
I've also received a 706MkIIG as a gift from an SK- should I persue this angle instead?

I enjoy listening to all the great harmonix around 3.630!
OOO DAT VOODOO....

TNX
How Low Can U Go

Not able to find his information--I should have kept it in my records. Lemme try some other networks and see where they lead.

There is an Ham/Tech/Engineer in the northeast who modifies TS-530's and '830's specifically for "fuller" SSB audio--limited to 100Hz to 3000Hz (both TX/RX). [He mentioned that mods are also performed for the monitor circuitry as well. I'll have to search for his information--been over a year since we've been in contact.]

This seems to be who is working on the Hybrids......... http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/4537

http://home.comcast.net/~esprepair/

Yup, that's him. Thanks for sharing the info...

Yup, that's him. Thanks for sharing the info...