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Re: [CQ-Contest] Wireless Headphones?

To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Wireless Headphones?
From: Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: k9yc@arrl.net
Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2017 20:15:07 -0800
List-post: <mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
On 11/22/2017 10:11 AM, garyk9gs wrote:
If you read postings by hams the consensus is that there is too much of a 
delay, making CW use difficult or impossible.

Latency happens with digital systems, and is greatest with various forms of data compression. Latency is simply processing time -- the time it takes to convert the analog output of a radio to a digital signal (A/D) to be transmitted, the time it takes to convert the received signal back to analog (D/A) to drive the headphones. Most consumer digital systems use data compression to reduce the required bandwidth, and it takes time to compress the data before transmitting it and more time to un-compress the data. It also takes time to convert from one digital format (or data rate/bit depth) to another.

.wav format files are not compressed, so the only latency is the A/D and D/A time. .mp3 format IS compressed, so that time is added. Bluetooth is also compressed, and there are several Bluetooth protocols. One of the newer protocols has a LOT less latency than older ones.

Systems that are entirely analog have no latency. The oldest wireless headphone systems were analog. The audio simply fed an FM transmitter and was received by a small FM receiver. Latency is the speed of light (damn little). :)

You'll find it impossible to monitor your sending through a signal path with even very small latency. Monitoring our own voice starts to get uncomfortable with more than about 20 msec; in my sound reinforcement work, I've heard very experienced announcers slow down and stop speaking with latency greater than 60-80 msec. When you see an artist singing on the field in a stadium, they're wearing ear phones that feed them undelayed audio of both themselves and their accompaniment. Sound travels in air at roughly 1 ft/msec, so it often takes 150-200 msec for the sound from the main sound system to reach them.

73, Jim K9YC

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