K3 NR

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K3 NR

Roy Morris-6
I have read the discussion on K3 noise reduction with interest.   I believe the best SSB noise reduction can be found on the Omni VII.  SSB signals on the Omni VII stand out and sound very good with no harshness while giving the appearance of reducing the background noise.  NR on my Omni VII is so good I can leave it on all the time without compromising the quality of the signal.  I find objectionable resonances when using NR in SSB mode on my K3.  The best way for me to minimize these resonances is to use the SHIFT/LO.  Apparently NR is best used in the CW mode on the K3.  Conversely, NR is somewhat mushy in the CW mode on the Omni VII.  I guess you can't have it both ways.  It may be an AGC thing.  Roy Morris  W4WFB

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Re: K3 NR

P.B. Christensen
> I have read the discussion on K3 noise reduction with interest.   I believe the best SSB noise reduction can be found on the Omni VII"
 
It's interesting to hear the differing opinions on this subject.  While I found the NR on the O7 to be good, it wasn't exceptional.  I thought the NR function attenuated the desired signal, even at the least aggressive setting. 
 
The best DSP NR I've heard came from the Omni 6+ as well as the LMS algorithm used in the W9GR DSP box.  Both DSP NR occurs in these devices at the AF level, rather than I.F. 
 
Just curious, does the K3 implement a true LMS algorithm at I.F. in one of its menu-selected NR routines?  Lyle?   I've never been too impressed with some of the other "contour optimized" NR routines like that used in the FT-1KMP series. 
 
Paul, W9AC
 
 
 
 

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Re: K3 NR

KK7P
> Just curious, does the K3 implement a true LMS algorithm...?

Yes, the K3 NR implements the "Leaky" LMS algorithm.  There are other NR
algorithms, and each has strengths and weaknesses, proponents and
detractors.

73,

Lyle KK7P
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Re: K3 NR

Grant Youngman
In reply to this post by P.B. Christensen
It's remarkable how on any list for any radio, NR is the bugaboo.  Everyone expects magic.  There ain't no stinkin' magic.   To Bill's point, it is far less effective -- to the fact of almost being unnoticable at relatively narrow CW bandwidths.

Having used virtually every 3rd party box known to man in the search for nirvana,  and been in on much of the use, discussion and some analysis of another high end radio's NR function, I find the K3 NR to be extremely effective on SSB and CW, when the conditions (be they band or radio settings) are right for NR to be effective, which they are not always.  As for the conjuration of it all, it's just dynamic filtering, not something mystical  (that is what at LMS algorithm does -- there's nothing mystical about LMS, either).

Grant/NQ5T



It's interesting to hear the differing opinions on this subject.  While I found the NR on the O7 to be good, it wasn't exceptional.  I thought the NR function attenuated the desired signal, even at the least aggressive setting. 
 
The best DSP NR I've heard came from the Omni 6+ as well as the LMS algorithm used in the W9GR DSP box.  Both DSP NR occurs in these devices at the AF level, rather than I.F. 
 
Just curious, does the K3 implement a true LMS algorithm at I.F. in one of its menu-selected NR routines?  Lyle?   I've never been too impressed with some of the other "contour optimized" NR routines like that used in the FT-1KMP series. 
 
Paul, W9AC
 
 
 
 
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Re: K3 NR

K7TV
I find the K3 NR to be rather good, but what strikes me the most is how I can't find a favorite setting, but I always have to go through the available settings to find something that suits a given signal. That would suggest that even more settings could be useful, if they bring anything new to the table. I have to say that I have been rather impressed listening to sample files from BHI LTD:
 
 
If I am not mistaken, I think some time ago I saw some of their promotional materials boasting that they used an algorithm based on neural networks. It would be interesting to know if such an approach can be shown to be equivalent to the approach used by Elecraft, or if it offers a useful variation.
 
Another thought: Many noise reducers including the K3's do seem to attenuate the high frequencies, sometimes just slightly and sometimes excessively. Much of what we perceive as irritating noise seems to be in the higher frequencies, and just cutting those off using bandpass or equalizer might have a similar effect. To make it easier to determine whether a particular NR setting is useful, it might be helpful if each of the settings would include filtering that would emphasize the highs to compensate for the highs lost in NR. I am guessing that the effect of the NR would then appear more subtle, but also more honest. Of course the design parameters might not easily translate to the effect of audio frequency response, and that response may vary with the momentaneous characteristics of the wanted signal and the noise, but at least it should be possible to measure the signal and noise characteristics in real time.
 
73,
Erik K7TV

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Re: K3 NR

K7TV
To be more clear: While we cannot measure the original signal independently of the noise, the processed signal's frequency content can be determined (I am assuming voice), and if it is lacking in highs compared to an average human voice then the processing could be made to crank up the highs. I think the algorithm could automatically determine the general pitch of the voice (such as male vs female) and vary the adjustment accordingly. Of course this would not fit every voice with a given general pitch, and the user could be given various settings with different amounts of high emphasis, that would be parametric based on the general pitch (not like the existing equalizer).
 
73,
Erik K7TV
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 9:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3 NR

I find the K3 NR to be rather good, but what strikes me the most is how I can't find a favorite setting, but I always have to go through the available settings to find something that suits a given signal. That would suggest that even more settings could be useful, if they bring anything new to the table. I have to say that I have been rather impressed listening to sample files from BHI LTD:
 
 
If I am not mistaken, I think some time ago I saw some of their promotional materials boasting that they used an algorithm based on neural networks. It would be interesting to know if such an approach can be shown to be equivalent to the approach used by Elecraft, or if it offers a useful variation.
 
Another thought: Many noise reducers including the K3's do seem to attenuate the high frequencies, sometimes just slightly and sometimes excessively. Much of what we perceive as irritating noise seems to be in the higher frequencies, and just cutting those off using bandpass or equalizer might have a similar effect. To make it easier to determine whether a particular NR setting is useful, it might be helpful if each of the settings would include filtering that would emphasize the highs to compensate for the highs lost in NR. I am guessing that the effect of the NR would then appear more subtle, but also more honest. Of course the design parameters might not easily translate to the effect of audio frequency response, and that response may vary with the momentaneous characteristics of the wanted signal and the noise, but at least it should be possible to measure the signal and noise characteristics in real time.
 
73,
Erik K7TV


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