My N2 works somewhat similarly. There is always a signal on the S meter around 3 to 4 and the S meter seems a bit lazy after S-8. I run the NR at 2 with the Hi Cut on and back off the RF gain and turn up the volume. I understand your frustration but luckily here I do not have any other radios to compare it with. I still find it hears everything through the extension speaker very well. The radio has plenty of sensitivity and volume to compensate the reduced RF gain. Perhaps there is something in the system menu that will solve this issue but for now I can live with it. For sure I would not be happy listening to the radio with the NR set on 5. I am running a Diamond switch mode PSU.
With the antenna removed and all knobs to the right, no reading at all on the meter and very little volume at all from the speaker..in fact nothing. I do run a 6 element beam at 120' and that could well be part of the problem. Just might be overloading the poor thing! NR on 3 and Hicut on takes away all the noise in the speaker. I will just keep the RF gain down and not worry about the meter too much. Everybody is 5 and 9.
Good news, the new mic plug arrived today and I was able to replace the original one with few issues. I swapped wires for pins 1 and 2 when I wired up the new one and the D104 now works on the Anytone. And I just heard about a great deal on another desk mike I may just try. This is worse than my 40 year golfing addiction before back issues relieved me of that hobby.@ TimmyTheTorch
"But since the wires for pins 1 and 3 are actually touching, I don't think this D104 will work with any radio at the moment, including the Anytone."
Yes that is a problem....
Another problem is that your D-104 mic plug is not wired correctly for a Cobra.
The White wire currently on Pin 1, needs to be switched to pin 2 and the Blue/shield on pin 2 needs to be switched to pin 1
Good Luck.
My AT-5555Nii is not behaving anything like what you have described. NorHi, and thanks again for your response and the previous one.
The first thing I did last Wednesday after noticing the issue I have described, is disconnect the antenna. Radio displayed zero signal with zero noise, as it should.
This is why I was so sure that I have a faulty receive in this radio. With the antenna plugged in, I thought SURELY this can't be "normal" for this radio. I have owned more radios than most people ever dreamed of, and even collected them at one time. Sold off most of them over the last 20 years, but this transceiver is the first one ever to behave this way. With a big noise floor indicated, when there ISN'T one.
But then again, this radio seems to do other things that are different, as well. I can often hear voice "artifacts" from a particular signal as I scroll through the frequencies, even in big steps on the 10 Khz step setting. And this is not coming from a "ginormous" local or skip signal, which would make bleedover a normal thing. This sounds more like "digital artifacts" from a voice signal on another frequency, for lack of a better way to describe it.
It's not just your basic "adjacent channel" type of interference, from a strong signal. It's more like hearing a weak signal from a station, but hearing it all over with equal strength, as I scroll all around. I realize that this radio is much different than old school, with all SMT, no internal adjustments, etc... It shows other weird stuff, like delays in everything. Even a delay when using RF Gain. Turn your RF Gain down rapidly, and watch how slowly the bars drop off. None of my other radios have ever done this.
Try making adjustments in the menu. Many of the functions are "sluggish" in their response, as you make changes. I guess it's because everything is changed by the computer, rather than the instantaneous changes that physical switches produce. But my other menu-driven radios don't act this way. Everything is instantaneous on them.
That being said, I don't really mind this aspect of the radio, but was just mentioning it, because it's one of the quirky things I've noticed while dinking around with it. The only two things that really bother me are these:
1) Radio has a stingy S-meter when it comes to real (actual) signals, and yet it has a phony noise floor of 5 S-units, when there ISN'T one. The S-meter is definitely screwball, no matter how you slice it. And there was another poster who mentioned that his does the same thing, and he described how he deals with it. I will address him after I finish with this post.
It's a good thing that this radio comes with DNR, because I NEED it, in order to make it tolerable to listen to, with that ridiculous 4-5 S-unit noise floor. The DNR does removes a lot of the noise, but unfortunately (as is the case with most DNR in transceivers), it imparts a "wavery" sound effect to the voice, which I'm not a real fan of. I can see why others have settled on 2 or 3 for their DNR setting. That makes listening tolerable, but doesn't destroy the fidelity of the audio like 5 does.
That guy (Scott) from Scott's Radios (on YouTube) uses the "5" DNR setting. At least he did during his "live QSO" video. That's how he deals with the crazy artificial noise floor. Without it, he can't stand the noise either.
2) The other major annoyance with this radio, is the step change layout. With a Ranger or HR2510, it's so easy to change step and scroll anywhere you want, rapidly. If you are a ham and use the radio on 10 meters, you can probably relate. Most CB'ers won't be bothered by it, because they'll just leave in on the 5 (or 10) KHz step. Only occasionally changing down to 1 KHz to get in-between "channels". Usually on the freeband.
But the good thing is, I bought the radio predominantly as a SHTF communications back up. I will continue using my IC-7610 for day to day hobby type communications. And no, I would never expect a radio like the 5555N2 to compare to a real radio, but I do expect it to behave normally, as does the HR2510, the Ranger, and the Emperor. And most other 10/11 meter rigs, as well.
Ironically, one of the reasons I bought this radio over the 6666, was because I liked the big display and the triple meter layout. But the S-meter SUCKS. And when the radio is placed in the AM mode, watch your power meter (on the radio). This one pegs the entire meter to the 100W mark when modulating, even though I know it's actually peaking just under 60W according to the outboard PEP meter.
Again, I know that it's a cheap radio. I don't expect a miracle... lol. Just not sure why it does that. Because the dead key reading on AM is accurate. But the PEP reading hammers the whole meter. No big deal whatsoever. Just another observation.
I will say this, if it wasn't for the issue with the ALWAYS present 4-5 S-units of noise floor, this would be my favorite 10/11 meter radio of all time. Yes, it has a cheap feel to it, compared to old HR2510, and even the Ranger, but as far as features go, this one is the best, aside from the crap with the phony noise floor, and the seeming necessity to run the DNR that just ruins it for me.
I do like the transmit on it, and it's stock mic is usable, albeit not optimal by any stretch. I will be getting a better microphone for it. I have an old mic from a Galaxy 949 that I will try out on it, once I get the adapter for the RJ45, which is my only other real dislike of this radio, but as the other guy mentioned before, it's manageable. Just need to get an adapter.
I'm not a fan of echo, but this radio actually has a very good echo on it. And if used with just tinge of echo sounds very nice. The full scale echo settings is pretty impressive, as far as "built-in" echoes go. But obviously, that's just something to play with for a minute or two, and then turn off... lol.
At any rate, I am going to reply to that other poster who responded to my initial post. The guy who said that his radio behaves much like mine. The quandry that this puts me in, is this:
IS my radio defective? Or is it "normal" for THIS radio? The guy I am responding to in THIS post seems knowledgeable, and says NO, this is definitely not normal, which was MY opinion, as well. But the other guy seems to have the same issue, as did Scott in one of his YouTube videos.
So... $hit! I don't know!
Not mine. And if it did, it would likely affect all my radios on 10 meters and not just the new one.
I definitely value your opinion, especially after perusing your QRZ page. I'll try addressing a few of your points, one at a time.
Yes, I did look at your videos after you first referred me to them. Personally, the FTDX10 (in my view) works far and away better than the 450 and the 5555. But that's somewhat expected, considering the price differences. And that comes from someone who isn't a fan of the FTDX10, or it's big Bro, the 101. They are not "bad" radios at all, they're just not for me. I much prefer Icoms and Kenwoods, but again, it's all about personal preference. Which is why I run the 7610.
Your 5555 does appear to work much better than mine. I notice that you too, seem to prefer having the NR on. I realize that this is what it's "for", per se, but I've always thought of NR as something that gets used in situations where you are subjected to man made noise nearby, rather than using it as a full time solution to atmospheric background noise, which (at least in my case) is ridiculous on this radio, as compared to the nice quiet receive of my other 10M rigs, and of course, the 7610.
Something you said: "Regarding the bleed over "artifacts" you mentioned? Turn OFF your NB (Noise BLANKER) - this has been discussed here in this thread at length already."
Yes, I know that it's been discussed, but for me, it was a non issue, because I do not use the NB at all, finding zero difference with it on, verses off. It was happening with NB and NR both off. When I mentioned the "bleedover", this is a term that I would normally use to describe adjacent channel interference. But for this condition I'm hearing, I used the word "artifact" because it sounds "digital", and "bleeds over" with equal (albeit low) strength, even when cruising around, up or down in frequency, unlike traditional bleedover, which gets stronger as you approach the channel that it's coming from, and weaker as you move away.
Not sure if you will follow what I'm saying here, but that's about the only way I can describe it. It's not "normal" bleedover" in the usual use of the term. The fact that other people have noticed the phenomenon indicates that I'm not imagining things. But it's really a moot point, because it doesn't really bother me, but it is strange, as compared to my other radios which have no such anomalies.
You said: "A quick push on the VFO knob and you are in Step mode. Press it again to change to whatever step you want."
Well well... You just told me something I was completely unaware of. VERY cool! Because I thought I had to go back into the menu to find (and change) EVERY step change I want to make. Maybe you can see how that WOULD suck. I didn't even know that I could push the VFO knob to make any step changes, until you pointed that out. I thought it was only used (pushed) when inside the Menu.
So that little snippet of info you provided was extremely useful. Thanks.
You said: "Scott's Radios do a great job - I haven't seen the video you talk about, but running the NR on 5 is crazy - it isn't useable there. Set to 3 at absolute maximum."
Here is the video I am referring to. And yes, it's actually the CRT SS7900V, But it's the same radio as the AT5555N2 in every way I can see. Correct me if I'm wrong, please. He's getting 3 S-units of noise floor at all times, and he leaves his NR on 5, which I agree with you about. It's too much:
Here's another QSO video on his YouTube page. It's very difficult to see, because you're getting the perspective from a guy he's talking to (on a 5555), from HIS end, who turns the video on it's side after the initial intro. But try and pay attention to the very brief times the radio is not keyed up, and before the distant station keys up. You can see that his noise floor is like mine. However, it IS possible that he does have an RFI problem at his QTH, which I do not.
So I am starting to think that it may be "normal" for this radio, and that some might do it worse than others.
You mentioned: "you will need to look closer at your installation if the problems persist on a replacement radio."
If I were to purchase a replacement radio and it does the exact same thing, I would be far more apt to just accept the fact that this is just the way they "work". Because I am a veritable expert when it comes to RFI and hunting it down. I've been an Extra-Class Amateur for a long time. I've worked in broadcast radio my entire adult life, both on air and in engineering, and I'm 60 years old.
Add to that the fact that I have 4 other radios all indicating a nice non-existent noise floor, while this 5555 indicated 5 and is noisy, while the others are quiet. Now don't get me wrong, there are times when the noise floor here legitimately IS elevated during the day, with either more atmospheric noise floor, or someone in the neighborhood running something electronic and jacking it up. Today, when the real noise floor was about 1 S-unit on 10 meters with my other radios, the phony noise floor on the 5555 was bouncing between 6 and 7, on a clear frequency with no activity.
This is why I thought that maybe they just made these radios with an "always on" pre-amp. As you know, a lot of hams do use pre-amp a lot on the high bands, depending on conditions. And that's what this radio LOOKS like is going on, except for the fact that REAL signals are not ALSO "pre-amped". Just the noise floor looks pre-amped.
Anyway, my shack is very well put together, grounded well, and all high quality equipment. The only radio that is acting this way, is the one in question.
So, I'm still mulling this over, but you definitely helped when you mentioned the Step change and the VFO push. I was completely unaware of that. Now that I know about it, that eliminated one thing I really didn't like. I'm sure if you were under the impression that you must make all changes in the Menu, you would have dislike that as well...
I just get this radio 2 days ago, so I'm still weeding through everything. My single biggest concern is the original one I mentioned, and that is the phony elevated noise floor which only shows up on this ONE radio, and none of my other radios.
I'm taking a break, but will get back to that other gentleman who responded in a bit. His post was interersting, because his radio sounds like mine, but maybe not quite as bad.
I am absolutely not doubting that the problems you are having are real, I just can't replicate them here. I know that's frustrating, because our situations appear very similar. We have a similar background in our industries, similar shack setup, similar radio's to compare, and if your low noise floor is like mine, genuinely low, then that's similar too.
That makes me think (even more) that this issue resides in the radio design. But like I mentioned previously, some being worse than others. That other forum member "PEZ" seems to have gotten a good one.
Al good OM.
I cant replicate the "bleed over" or the increased noise floor, or the noisy RX (with or without NR enabled). Mine performs as it should.
I also have a SS7900V, and apart from some minor firmware and CPU configuration differences, they are exactly the same from an RF perspective.
All good on the VFO Step! It's a pretty cool feature!
Scotts radios does have a high noise floor at his QTH - I have heard him mention this in a few videos.
Regarding the FTDX10 - Its not my favorite radio either, Overall, I much prefer the RX of my TS-990S, and even an old 101E. But, for my AT-5555Nii to be so close to the FTDX10, is fairly remarkable.
FYI, I am not running the NR because I have too, to quieten the RX or anything like that. I still have a quiet RX with it OFF, I just really like how nice the resolved audio is with the NR set at 2. It's like butter to my ears
If I were you, I would try another radio. Your's just doesn't seem right. There are so many happy users of the AT-5555Nii now, so we can't all be crazy! hihi
73
What antenna are you using and have you tried it with another antenna or dummy load as opposed to no antenna. It looks like our radios came from the same production run. I also hear those noises you speak of..I assumed from the NR as it reacts to incoming signals or settles down after changing channel or after tx. I agree something is not quite right but I hadnt thought too much about it until you brought it up. I will test the 5555 plus radio I have which was purchased at the same time and listen carefully to compare. Something is going on when a signal is present. But while it could be annoying to some..I can live with it. Hopefully not due to a component issue. Its good you have brought this up so Anytone can set about fixing it...whatever it is that is causing it.
