Hello folks
I wanted to respond to the responses I saw about the Mauldulator. I will try to respond in chronological order. First off, I will plead guilty in advance to some bias because I am the one that designed the asymmetry circuit used in this device. I was there the first night of the proof of concept, and the proof was dramatic. I am also the person that came up with the receive mod on the 148 that several people have performed and are happy with
Next, I would like to point out that the mauldulator allows you to have a blank palette, meaning that whatever you put in is what you get out. Whatever MMM puts in to it, it is what he wants to sound like. He is in the broadcast business and routinely tunes the processing at commercial stations and has a reputation. I agree that I don't always like the sound, and I don't like reverb, but he likes it. The first night we had the circuit going, we had absolutely no low or high pass filtering. We could literally go down to 5 Hz and we did go all the way up to 30 KHz input signal. When we put in a 30 KHz signal, we saw a dead carrier 3 channels above and below the channel we were on. I hope that established the bonafides of the fidelity possible with this thing. We had to intentionally roll off the high end and low end, but they are well beyond the bandpass of all the radios listening
My first direct response is to this comment --> "asymmetrical modulation is what an "NPC" mod produces." This comment is technically true, but has little to do with the mauldulator. Negative peak clipping does produce an asymmetrical result, but the clipping that occurred also introduced unnecessary distortion. Furthermore, whatever asymmetry is produced still has the limit of radios internal circuitry for whatever positive peaks can be reached. Finally, you are still limited to the fidelity of the radios circuitry even with the distorted asymmetry.
The mauldulator suffers from none of the problems. None of the internal audio circuitry is involved at all, and the RF stage is directly modulated. While it is true that asymmetrically modulating the envelope is technically distortion in itself, at least you don't need to have multiple stage of distortion with the mauldulator. The perception of loudness is definitely there, and broadcast stations routinely use asymmetry with 125% positive peaks. They would not be doing it if it did not have a benefit. The only downside I have experienced so far is that in some radios, the rapid envelope growth is perceived by the noise blanker to be noise and it causes a problem. If this is happening, the signal is strong enough that the noise blanker is not required. There is a youtube video showing the envelope growth from a customer at
YouTube - DSCF1727
"ive got far better and more important things to spend $800 bucks on" was one comment I have seen. That is a personal preference and not really a reflection of the quality of the mauldulator. "seems for $800 a ham radio converted to 11 meters would be a much better and cost effective option , not to mention much more frequency and mode options" Again, this comment is not speaking to the quality of the mauldulator, but the priorities of the writer. This product was not meant for you. Hell, I designed this thing and I don't even use it on CB, but that is because I can't get into the lingo. It has nothing to do with the technical merits. I challenge you to come up with a ham radio that can beat this system on AM. Of course that challenge is meaningless in a discussion that is filled with subjective terms. That is one of the downfalls of discussions like this because so many things are in the ears of the beholder.
"all you need to do an NPC-RC mod is a resistor and a diode. LOL". You can do that, but again, this has nothing to do with the mauldulator. It's like saying a skateboard is like a Lotus because they both have four wheels.
"Everytime I've heard MMM in dx he's always had his lips clipped and it only gets worse with his bass reverbatronoplastisizer software. imho he sounds like shit." I like this answer actually. He called it his opinion. I don't always like MMMs audio either, but HE DOES! I did not buy my radio for your enjoyment, I bought it for my enjoyment. I did not paint my car for the opinion of others, I chose the color I liked. Of course others can have an opinion, but the point is you can make the mauldulator sound like whatever you want. Also, you mention every time you hear MMM. I wonder how many of you have ever been heard by him.
I need to comment on the "plastiszer" comment also. I have my share of tube equipment, but I am slowly phasing it out. Part of the reason is because of this mauldulator and how it works. Yes, I will be using it on the amateur bands where I am comfortable. This whole project came about because people were saying that you could not make a "plastic radio" sound good. That theory has been invalidated. Again, this is a blank palette, even more than a high level plate modulated tube rig that has the limitations of the transformer to deal with.
"he's 59 when the band is open here and is trounced regularly". Sounds like you are discussing signal strength and not audio quality. That being said, he has got to get more attention than anybody else that is using a lowly 5/8 ground plane 1 foot off the roof.
"Booty you hit on the way to get "broadcast" audio. Get a Yaesu (just an example) or similar radio where the mic plugs into the rear and it keys when you start speaking. That way you can run your mic through all kinds of rack gear, delays, eq's etc. and have as a result a full range audio". You bring that stock ham radio over here, and if it can even match, not beat, the mauldulator, I'll put a $100 bill in your hand.
Tink
