Mic Equalizer?

[Mark - W5EZY]

I was spinning across 20m SSB segment and heard this
"outstanding" signal with the best sounding audio I've
ever heard.  I called this station(I think it was an
XE1) and asked him about his great sounding audio.  He
replied by saying he was using a W2IHY 8-band
Equalizer.  Then, I started wondering if any K2'ers
out there have ever used one of these on their rigs.
So how 'bout it?  Are their any caveats about using
this type of device on a K2?


=====
Mark Baugh
W5EZY
Grenada MS


               
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[Augie "Gus" Hansen]

Hello Mark,

> I was spinning across 20m SSB segment and heard this
> "outstanding" signal with the best sounding audio I've
> ever heard.  I called this station(I think it was an
> XE1) and asked him about his great sounding audio.  He
> replied by saying he was using a W2IHY 8-band
> Equalizer.  Then, I started wondering if any K2'ers
> out there have ever used one of these on their rigs.
> So how 'bout it?  Are their any caveats about using
> this type of device on a K2?

For several years I have used a "Julius Box" (named for Julius Jones, W2IHY)
with a variety or Icom and Yaesu rigs. If used correctly it really does a
great job of enhancing the audio quality by compensating for weaknesses in
an operator's voice or in the passband of the transmitter. The mike is a
garden variety dynamic stage vocal type (RS 33-3001, ~$50 US).

Because I had wired my K2 for the 8-pin Foster connections used by Icom
radios it was natural that I would try to run the EQ into the K2. It sounded
fine according to the operators I talked to. Some recorded my signals and
played them back on the air. Due to the K2's relatively narrow passband on
both transmit and receive (tops out at about 2.2 kHz for mine), it doesn't
"sparkle" the way some of the wider rigs do, but it sounded quite good. I
listened to the playbacks on my IC-775DSP (80-2900 Hz filter settings) and
found the lows to be smooth and unexaggerated and the mid-range to have good
punch. The signal lacked the high end luster that you typically hear on the
hi-fi signals, but it has excellent communication quality.

Just avoid the use of too much gain on the low frequency end (<= 100 Hz) and
the high frequency end (> 2400 Hz). Excessive lows muddy your audio and
excessive highs are either not transmitted or, if the transmitter is driven
too hard, can cause significant IMD products to be generated. I just add a
few dB at 2400 Hz for articulation and cut about 6dB at 100 and 2dB at 200
Hz to get the crisp sound that I prefer.

By the way, in the field I usually use a simple Radio Shack 2-lead electret
condenser element (about $2.00 plus tax) wired to the K2 mike jack and have
been told it sounds nearly as good as the previously described setup at less
than 1/100 the cost. NOTE: The K2 has to be wired to provide the B+ (2-10
volts) used by the element's built-in FET preamp. The electret is a
permanently polarized condenser element so it doesn't require any polarizing
voltage. It has very flat output and sounds crystal clear on the air. Of
course without an EQ in the path you can't easily tailor the response.

73, Gus Hansen

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