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TWEAKING THE VARIOUS ADJUSTMENTS, NEVER BEING SURE IF ITS OPTIMALLY
ADJUSTED.  EQUALIZATION AND YOUR MICROPHONE LIKE ALL OF THESE
EQUALIZERS, YOUR MICROPHONE WILL MOST LIKELY HAVE LESS THAN A FLAT
RESPONSE, SO YOUR FIRST TASK WILL BE TO ADJUST THE MICROPHONE SO
THAT IT HAS A RELATIVELY FLAT RESPONSE.  THEN, YOU CAN TWEAK THE
SOUND TO ENHANCE THE PORTIONS THAT GIVE YOU THE MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE
FOR ITS INTENDED USAGE.  IF YOURE A CONTESTER OR DXER, THERE WILL BE
DIFFERE EQUALIZATION AND HAM RADIO LINDY WILLIAMS, K6EB IN THE APRIL
2023 ISSUE, I DISCUSSED MICROPHONES AND HAM RADIO.  THE SECOND TOPIC
TO DISCUSS IN SSB TRANSMITTED AUDIO IS EQUALIZATION.  LIKE
MICROPHONES, EQUALIZATION COMES IN MANY DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS.
WITH A LITTLE BIT OF TIME SPENT ADJUSTING THE SOUND OF YOUR STATION,
THE RESPONSE OF THE MICROPHONE, IN ALMOST EVERY INSTANCE, CAN BE
MADE TO SOUND AS GOOD AS A MICROPHONE THAT COSTS THOUSANDS OF
DOLLARS.  HOW IT WORKS EQUALIZATION IS A PROCESS IN WHICH YOU CAN
CONTROL THE GAIN OF INDIVIDUAL FREQUENCIES WITHIN THE AUDIO BAND
PASS OF YOUR TRANSCEIVER.  SOME MICROPHONES, SUCH AS THOSE MADE BY
HEIL SOUND AND SOME SPECIAL PURPOSE MICROPHONES MADE BY SHURE,
ELECTRO VOICE, AND OTHERS, ARE DESIGNED WITH CUTS AND BOOSTS OVER
THE SSB BANDWIDTH TO GIVE YOU AN OPTIMUM RESPONSE FOR THE LIMITED
BANDWIDTH OF THE MEDIUM.  THIS CAN BE A GOOD THING IF YOUR
TRANSCEIVER DOESNT HAVE EQUALIZATION OR HAS LIMITED EQUALIZATION.
THE FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF YOUR AUDIO CHAIN CAN HAVE A MAJOR EFFECT
ON WHETHER THE LISTENER CAN DETERMINE WHAT YOURE SAYING.  THIS ISNT
THE SAME AS HOW GOOD OR NATURAL YOUR AUDIO SOUNDS.  IF YOURE TALKING
WITH ANOTHER HAM AND BOTH OF YOUR SIGNALS ARE FULL QUIETING AND
STRONG, THE INTELLIGIBILITY ISNT NEARLY AS IMPORTANT AS WHEN YOURE
COMMUNICATING ON THE VERY EDGE OF SIGNALS THAT ARE BARELY READABLE.
ALSO, ITS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR CALL SIGN CAN PIERCE THROUGH A PILEUP.
THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY PUTTING MAXIMUM ENERGY INTO THE FREQUENCIES
OF YOUR TRANSMISSION THAT CONVEY INTELLIGIBILITY.  THIS MAY MEAN
THAT YOUR AUDIO WONT SOUND AS NATURAL AS IT WOULD IF YOU WERE HAVING
A LONG CONTACT ITS MORE ABOUT THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF EQUALIZATION THERE ARE NUMEROUS TYPES OF
EQUALIZATION, EACH HAVING A PLACE IN RECORDING, BROADCASTING, SOUND
ENFORCEMENT, AND HAM RADIO.  CUTOFF FILTER THE SIMPLEST FORM OF
EQUALIZATION IS THE CUTOFF FILTER, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS HIGH PASS
AND LOW PASS FILTERS.  THERE ARE ALSO NOTCH FILTERS THAT ATTENUATE A
SPECIFIC FREQUENCY, BUT THEYRE RARELY USED IN HAM TRANSMISSIONS.
THE HIGH PASS AND LOW PASS FILTERS ARE COMMON IN MOST TRANSCEIVERS.
THE AUDIO PREAMPLIFIER IN MOST TRANSCEIVERS IS LIMITED BELOW A
CERTAIN FREQUENCY, GENERALLY ABOUT 150 TO 300 HZ, AND LIMITED ON THE
OTHER END, BETWEEN 2800 AND 3200 HZ.  THIS IS ONLY A FRACTION OF THE
RESPONSE OF THE HUMAN EAR, OR THE RESPONSE OF A HIGH END MICROPHONE.
BECAUSE THE RESPONSE IS SO LIMITED, ITS ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT TO
MAKE THAT RESPONSE AS PRODUCTIVE AS POSSIBLE.
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