Posted: 7/2/2011 5:05:44 AM EDT
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Just got my callsign yesterday and was on the backporch grilling chicken trying to chat on the repeater. Other guy said my signal was real strong to the repeater but he had to turn his volume all the way up just to barely hear me.
I'm on a Yaesu FT-270R 2m HT with a MJF super flex 1/4 wave antenna. Rubber duck has same result. Check my deviation control and it's set to wide. The 270 is supposed to be 3ft waterproof, do I need a separate mic? I know first thought is talk louder into mic panel, tried that. Any ideas? |
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Sounds like you are hitting the repeater just fine. Curious why he said you had a strong signal but he had to turn his volume up all the way.
I have the same HT and I was told to talk closer to the mic. I haven't tried an external mic yet. When I connected my HT to my truck antenna I was told I had full quieting. Same with the Slim Jim on the roof of my house. Antenna makes a huge difference. |
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Quoted:
Your original post was a classic example of plenty of carrier but not enough modulation. In the HF world I'd give that 29.
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Put the radio right in your face. A lot of the waterproof radios have a seal over the mic element and require close (1/2-3/4") talking. I figured the waterproof membrane was the problem- I was worried about distortion, so I was probably 6" away. My VX-6R is the same way. Much more than an inch or two away and the modulation goes way down. Get close to it. It don't bite. |
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Antenna and signal strength has absolutely nothing to do with how loud the audio is in an FM communications system.
If there's no mic gain control in the radio, your options are to talk louder, get closer to the mic, or use an external mic with higher sensitivity. This seems to be a common issue with waterproofed mic elements. Quoted:
Quoted:
Put the radio right in your face. A lot of the waterproof radios have a seal over the mic element and require close (1/2-3/4") talking. I figured the waterproof membrane was the problem- I was worried about distortion, so I was probably 6" away. No radio is designed for that much speaking distance. Try 1-2" in a normal speaking voice. Sound quality is usually a little better if you angle the radio so that you're talking across the mic element and not directly into it. |
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Then there's signal to noise. It might just be room echo. You hear this many times with a person on the phone speaking via speakerphone... and you have to wonder who is listening in.
This happens with a desk mic, and the operator has the gain up so he can lean back in his chair. You hear the room echo and likely the air conditioner, other noises. Or with an HT, backing off the mic, if you were to crank up the audio gain others would hear more wind noise, traffic, etc. |