[TenTec] close talking was Scout,Omni,TS 850 transmit

[Mike Hyder -N4NT-]

You don't say if you do it, but lots of us talk (or used to talk) across the
front of the microphone -- at a right angle to it instead of directly into
the microphone.  If you have not tried that, you might see what difference
it makes.

73, Mike N4NT

----- Original Message -----
From: "robert k stephens" <bstephens1@mindspring.com>
To: <geraldj@isunet.net>
Cc: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 25, 2002 1:47 PM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] close talking was Scout,Omni,TS 850 transmit


| I realize this thread is somewhat off topic but I think of it as : "How
can
| I  transmit the best ssb possible with  my Scout", so I hope this is more
| or less on topic for the list.
|
| I have listened to my transmitted signal.
|
| At 6 inches away from the mic I think that the Ten Tec hand mic in
| combination with my voice and the Scout sounds mildly bassy. It's ok,
| fairly pleasant, but is really  not what I prefer.
|
| At 4 inches away from the mic I sound more bassy and at 2 inches from the
| mic I sound like a blues singer. The effect is less with the Tram mic. I
| did not hear my own signal using  the D-104 but I was told it sounded good
| at about 3 or 4 inches.
|
| I have read, and ssb contesters have told me that it is best to backoff
the
| mic gain and close talk the mic because this will improve the signal to
| noise ratio. I often have significant background noise; in the car it
might
| be the fan or maybe even my dog- at my alternate base there might be a
| crowd of people in the room having conversations. I typically talk about 3
| to 4 inches from the mic but sometimes in very noisy locations I have
| turned the mic gain way down and talked 1 inch from the mic in an attempt
| to improve the S/N .
|
| If close  talking a mic both improves the S/N and increases the bassiness
| then I guess an EQ unit could be used to reduce the bassiness of a close
| talked mic or a mic without proximity effect could be chosen. I could be
| wrong but I thought the Heil HC 4 and HC5 elements were designed for close
| talking ?
|
| I'm told that the D 104  sounded fine at 3 to 4 inches. I was using the
| D-104 with the amp turned off and careful not to over drive the Scout.
| I'll get some more reports on the D-104/Scout/my voice combination on my
| local Tues night net and see I'll see what they say.
|
| tnx 73
| Bob, KB1CIW
|
|
| Dr Gerald N. Johnson Electrical Engineer wrote:
|
| >[snip]
| >
| >Back off from the microphone to reduce bassiness. Most microphones have
| >a proximity effect that enhances bass. That's why singers try to swallow
| >their hand microphones.
| >
| >The amplified D-104 will definitely tend to overdrive a ham rig. It was
| >made for CB where the radio makers intentionally kept the audio gain low
| >to prevent over modulation (and generally prevented adequate
| >modulation). The original crystal D-104 is so high impedance that when
| >coupled to a solid state radio it has very poor audio balance. It will
| >be even more unbalanced towards highs than what its design was.
| >
| >73, Jerry, K0CQ
| >--