Here's a 10 MB mp3 audio file I recorded with the SDR-1000 last
night of some ESSB operators on 3630 kHz.

It's amazing what excellent sound some of these experimenters are
getting out of single sideband. For years -- decades really -- only
(highly modified to broadcast standards) AM gear was getting this
kind of audio quality on amateur radio. But improved techniques have
really made SSB sound better than ever!

For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or
headphones:

http://liberty.3950.net/W9AD-KU8R-K9...%20Hz%20bw.mp3


73,


Kevin, WB4AIO.
--
http://nationalvanguard.org/
http://kevinalfredstrom.com/

On 9/4/12 13:10 , Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:
Here's a 10 MB mp3 audio file I recorded with the SDR-1000 last night of
some ESSB operators on 3630 kHz.

It's amazing what excellent sound some of these experimenters are
getting out of single sideband. For years -- decades really -- only
(highly modified to broadcast standards) AM gear was getting this kind
of audio quality on amateur radio. But improved techniques have really
made SSB sound better than ever!

For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or headphones:

http://liberty.3950.net/W9AD-KU8R-K9...%20Hz%20bw.mp3



73,


Kevin, WB4AIO.


That's impressive. Frequency response is one thing. But this audio has
quite good harmonic integrity. Quite rare in SSB.

Good balance and clarity.

Nicely done.

On Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:10:53 -0400, Kevin Alfred Strom
wrote:

*Here's a 10 MB mp3 audio file I recorded with the SDR-1000 last
*night of some ESSB operators on 3630 kHz.
*
*It's amazing what excellent sound some of these experimenters are
*getting out of single sideband. For years -- decades really -- only
*(highly modified to broadcast standards) AM gear was getting this
*kind of audio quality on amateur radio. But improved techniques have
*really made SSB sound better than ever!
*
*For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or
*headphones:
*
*http://liberty.3950.net/W9AD-KU8R-K9...%20Hz%20bw.mp3
*
*
*73,
*
*
*Kevin, WB4AIO.

That sounds absolutely great, the intelligibility increases much more than the
static. Thanks for posting this, it's all I need as an incentive to exchange my
Dutch licence for a Panamanian one and get active again.

Jan (ex-PA0DGL)

On 9/4/2012 5:56 PM, D. Peter Maus wrote:
On 9/4/12 13:10 , Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:
Here's a 10 MB mp3 audio file I recorded with the SDR-1000 last
night of
some ESSB operators on 3630 kHz.

It's amazing what excellent sound some of these experimenters are
getting out of single sideband. For years -- decades really -- only
(highly modified to broadcast standards) AM gear was getting this
kind
of audio quality on amateur radio. But improved techniques have
really
made SSB sound better than ever!

For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or
headphones:

http://liberty.3950.net/W9AD-KU8R-K9...%20Hz%20bw.mp3




73,


Kevin, WB4AIO.


That's impressive. Frequency response is one thing. But this audio
has quite good harmonic integrity. Quite rare in SSB.

Good balance and clarity.

Nicely done.



Thanks. To get harmonic integrity on high fidelity SSB, everybody in
the group -- and your receiver -- has be within maybe four Hz of
each other. Anything more than that, if you have a good ear, and you
start to notice that it doesn't sound quite right.

The SDR-1000 is just barely passable for such use, but I am planning
to modify it to use a rubidium frequency standard -- then it should
be within a milliHertz or two of perfect accuracy. At that point,
I'll only have to worry about the other stations!

Here's a screen shot of the virtual front panel:

http://liberty.3950.net/Flex_first_LN.jpg

I added the TMC logo to the panadapter -- my favorite old-line HF
radio manufacturer.


All the best,


Kevin, WB4AIO.
--
http://nationalvanguard.org/
http://kevinalfredstrom.com/

On 9/5/2012 1:13 AM, Arid ace wrote:
On Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:10:53 -0400, Kevin Alfred Strom
wrote:

*Here's a 10 MB mp3 audio file I recorded with the SDR-1000 last
*night of some ESSB operators on 3630 kHz.
*
*It's amazing what excellent sound some of these experimenters are
*getting out of single sideband. For years -- decades really -- only
*(highly modified to broadcast standards) AM gear was getting this
*kind of audio quality on amateur radio. But improved techniques have
*really made SSB sound better than ever!
*
*For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or
*headphones:
*
* http://liberty.3950.net/W9AD-KU8R-K9...%20Hz%20bw.mp3
*
*
*73,
*
*
*Kevin, WB4AIO.

That sounds absolutely great, the intelligibility increases much more than the
static. Thanks for posting this, it's all I need as an incentive to exchange my
Dutch licence for a Panamanian one and get active again.

Jan (ex-PA0DGL)



Great, Jan; glad it inspired you to get back on the air. I always
liked good audio on amateur radio -- it allows subtlety of meaning
and expression and personality to come through -- and disliked the
pinched, distorted sound that was the SSB norm for a long time.

Once I get the transmit side of my station set up (I am building the
audio and control interface now and I need to put up a good transmit
antenna) I will be back on the air for the first time since 2000.

Hope to work you someday. Guess I'll have to put up a good low-angle
radiator!


73,


Kevin, WB4AIO.

--
http://nationalvanguard.org/
http://kevinalfredstrom.com/

On 9/5/2012 3:49 AM, Bob Dobbs wrote:
Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:

For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or
headphones:

Wouldn't a noise blanker eliminate some of the static crashes?



There are two noise blankers in the software, but I have never had
much liking for them (or any noise blanker). They do okay with
impulse noise, such as from nearby engine ignition systems, at the
cost of some distortion. But thunderstorm static doesn't have a fast
enough rise time to be much affected by them, in my experience.

All the best,


Kevin, WB4AIO.
--
http://nationalvanguard.org/
http://kevinalfredstrom.com/

On 9/5/2012 1:01 PM, Bob Dobbs wrote:
Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:
On 9/5/2012 3:49 AM, Bob Dobbs wrote:
Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:

For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or
headphones:

Wouldn't a noise blanker eliminate some of the static crashes?



There are two noise blankers in the software, but I have never had
much liking for them (or any noise blanker). They do okay with
impulse noise, such as from nearby engine ignition systems, at the
cost of some distortion. But thunderstorm static doesn't have a fast
enough rise time to be much affected by them, in my experience.

All the best,


Kevin, WB4AIO.

The blankers I've had experience with have all had threshold adjustments to keep
them from misinterpreting voice for static and creating distortion. As to
lightning crashes and their static, I thought the rise time was about as fast as
anything, certainly fast enough for a blanker to act upon. The plasma noise I
get here in the inner-city from arcing poke hardware is the most difficult and
occasionally I've had luck using a canceling arrangement with a separate
antenna. (ANC-1) Of course the neighbor's compact fluorescent porch bulbs
generate quite a bit of QRN as well.




The ANC-1 is something I'd like to try, once I save up enough pennies.

Based on what you said, I'll try some more experimentation with the
two blankers in PowerSDR.

One thing I've definitely noticed: The last few decades have seen a
very noticeable rise in the noise floor, particularly below 10 MHz.
I blame the proliferation of badly-filtered consumer electronic
devices (which the FCC could have done something about but didn't),
especially switching power supplies which, even when you can't
detect the buzzies from any specific one, just generally raise the
broadband hash level unless you live thousands of feet from the
nearest building. Even at an isolated location, they in their tens
of millions raise the hash level whenever there is any skywave
propagation at all.

Oh well, at least we don't have those power line networking
monstrosities they suffer from in Britain.


73,


Kevin, WB4AIO.

--
http://nationalvanguard.org/
http://kevinalfredstrom.com/

On Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:53:54 -0400, Kevin Alfred Strom
wrote:

*On 9/5/2012 1:13 AM, Arid ace wrote:
* On Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:10:53 -0400, Kevin Alfred Strom
* wrote:
*
* *Here's a 10 MB mp3 audio file I recorded with the SDR-1000 last
* *night of some ESSB operators on 3630 kHz.
* *
* *It's amazing what excellent sound some of these experimenters are
* *getting out of single sideband. For years -- decades really -- only
* *(highly modified to broadcast standards) AM gear was getting this
* *kind of audio quality on amateur radio. But improved techniques have
* *really made SSB sound better than ever!
* *
* *For best results, listen on a high fidelity set of speakers or
* *headphones:
* *
* *
http://liberty.3950.net/W9AD-KU8R-K9...%20Hz%20bw.mp3
* *
* *
* *73,
* *
* *
* *Kevin, WB4AIO.
*
* That sounds absolutely great, the intelligibility increases much more than
the
* static. Thanks for posting this, it's all I need as an incentive to exchange
my
* Dutch licence for a Panamanian one and get active again.
*
* Jan (ex-PA0DGL)
*
*
*
*Great, Jan; glad it inspired you to get back on the air. I always
*liked good audio on amateur radio -- it allows subtlety of meaning
*and expression and personality to come through -- and disliked the
*pinched, distorted sound that was the SSB norm for a long time.

I didn't like the sound of SSB pressed through a 2.3 KHz bandpass filter either
Kevin. With 3 KHz it was somewhat acceptable if your design cut the lower
200 Hz so the audio was from 200...3200 Hz.

*
*Once I get the transmit side of my station set up (I am building the
*audio and control interface now and I need to put up a good transmit
*antenna) I will be back on the air for the first time since 2000.

With SDR an entirely new field has been opened up and AM modes could sound
better than ever before. When the synchronous demodulation module is written as
a subroutine, it can be active simultaneously on adjacent channels, calculate
the interference caused on the channel listened to, and eliminate it. Long ago
the issue was how to realize that in hardware (complicated and mostly
theoretical) but in software it's perfectly doable now. Similar treatment for
other types of interference. So a great opportunity to revive the AM modes.

*
*Hope to work you someday. Guess I'll have to put up a good low-angle
*radiator!
*
*
*73,
*
*
*Kevin, WB4AIO.

The 80 meter longwire in my garden gives S9 + 40 dB for many US ham operators
but the QRN is too high for comfort so I'll have to experiment with separate RX
antennas (loops, small horizontal dipoles etc.) to minimize that. But once it's
solved, I'll build a 6 KHz SSB TX and adapt a receiver for it. No doubt we'll
have QSO.

73s,
Jan