Truck Driver Mobile Perspective
Having knocked myself out installing new coax + antennna mounts on a t680 Kenworth (literally, Texas summer heat on asphalt parking lot was too much), DSP Spkr adds complication to understanding WHAT and HOW improvements “occurred”.
IOW, just might be someone out there adds DSP and rejects the additional information now available by removing and re-installing previous external speaker in a big truck mobile install.
“Too weird”
“Can’t get it quiet”
“Don’t like it”
IOW, we can get down to if the radio is operating properly, and whether or not the operator will accept the different audio qualities.
I haven’t tried a radio where I thought this true, but I’d not be surprised someone backed away from better performance because it sounded different. And that difference was more than they’d bargained for.
Note: This last trip from D/FW to East Cosst and back brought home to me that In some instances I could really point out to radio operators that they not only had too much Echo, but too much Mic Gain or if Talkback was being used. (I can tell if the rig needs adjustment, but I don’t always offer to help fix it over the air).
Was always (before) aware of bad audio, now I could dial them down with precision. Took awhile to understand this wasn’t a fluke. Or, imaginary. IOW, now I think I understand base operator complaints about trucker bad audio as real. I sorta shrugged it off as being an off-center complaint.
Too much Echo (or delay) was always obvious on typical truckers CB with any external speaker. Less so for Mic Gain. Talkback On wasn’t even a category until I heard one hand counsel another and realize I’d been hearing the problem, but not knowing the cause.
If there’s someone new to 11-Meter, get them started with DSP Audio.
Make THIS what is “normal”.
What radio brand/model not nearly as important, IMO. No other radio rig component in 11-Meter mobile is as critical (past antenna system).
Typically poor big truck antenna system doesn’t reveal this as much as when that flaw is treated to best effort.
DSP Audio always better. But when antenna system is improved, this ain’t like my Daddy’s Big Radio!
It’s a hell of a question mark as to whether this damned thing is NORMAL. (Warn ‘em. Tell ‘em it’s more of what one CAN hear with a base where problems have been sorted AND has DSP).
Their beloved trucker radio is better than they thought it was is how I approach it. They just couldn’t use it all. (Kinda like getting a high HP car to hook up).
The guys in large cars with a through-and-through quality radio system are in a special class of performance the fleet-spec company trucks don’t share. They’re the minority these days. Some of the “weirdness” won’t be new as West Coast mirror arms to an all-aluminum cab was always a better ground plane resulting in better antenna performance AND no super-tall condo sleeper blocking signal.
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