N0UN's Ham Radio Blog

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Observation, ESSB Audio and DX

Posted: 20 Apr 2015 06:37 PM PDT
http://n0un.net/observation-essb-audio-dx/

Listening to the DX pileups on and off through 40+ years in Ham Radio has
led me to a couple observations.
One of them is why in the world would you adjust your audio to be 6 kHz
wide "bottom bass" and then try to compete in a DX Pileup?Â* Over and over
and over again I hear this low frequency bowel moving bass audio in
pileups, and yet I rarely hear them ever getting through a pileup.Â* Talk
about an exercise in futility!Â* They spend thousands of dollars ruining
their DX signals with racks of audio gear and equalizers, then they get mad
because they can't figure out why the DX station can't understand a word
they're saying.Â* When they occasionally do get through, listen close as to
how many times they have to repeat their callsigns and information to the
DX station.Â* Seems the more they spend, the more they sound like they're
chewing on marbles.Â* Imagine what that bottom bass audio must sound like
10,000 miles away with a strange American accent?Â* Showing up in a rare DX
pileup with ESSB (extended single sideband) audio seems to me like showing
up to a gunfight with a butter knife.
Human ears don't comprehend well in that bottom bass audio range.Â* Then
take a kilowatt of power and divide it across 6 kHz of bandwidth (instead
of a normal 2.4).Â* Add in a nasally New York accent and there you have it.Â*
Each handicap on it's own isn't too bad but combined they add up
to "failure".
Maybe it's fine for ragchewing with other transplanted audiophiles and
friends.Â* Hell, maybe it's even better than fine for ragchewing with other
transplanted audiophiles and friends.Â* Just maybe that 6 kHz wide, nasally,
all bass east coast accented audio will keep DX away from their operating
frequency?Â* Hmmm.Â* Maybe I'm the dummy around here after all because maybe
that's exactly what they want to do!
But to use that stuff in a DX pileup?Â* Good luck with that.