Where in the world is... HardDrive?

[Handy Andy]

TRPC - you didn't hurt anything, the mess arrived when "comparisons" got made.

I visited a link to a thread earlier dealing with radio performance - not unlike your thread should have been - but in that thread - it forced one tech to leave because of the conduct....

But for whatever reasons - the thread degraded into a poor representation of what Techs do, and their conduct doing such work and it was all hypothetical in the first place.

This thread, unfortunately is beginning that downward spiral and rehashing over what one tech has already left due to - now it appears as a copy and blatant accusation based upon non-sensical premise. Which if taken out of context - misrepresentation would embarrass the parties involved - even if the vid is "borrowed" for example.

----8<------- Snip here If you don't like rants ----- >8-----

 

[Handy Andy]

He blames the microphone which isn't connected to the radio. The distortion is produced by the radio itself. He does say "But in this case, with this microphone, definitely not a good thing". Very true, but
the customer paid him to remove the Distortion which he was unable to do.
That's part of a "tune".
The customer had four other radios that sounded great with the Palomar SL41 microphone and he told Mike he wanted High Fidelity audio.
High Fidelity isn't possible with any visible amount of distortion. The customer was told to purchase an Astatic 575M6 to remove the lower frequencies which the customer paid for in order to fool the customer into thinking he got his money's worth. I'm sure he's a great repair guy. Tunes are out of his league.

IF people think "stock mics" should work, yes they do, but also take into account that not-all are built for fidelity. (Read: Cheap) the construction of them ranges from simple vibration membrane of a stiff plastic onto something a lot like cellophane and film-strip material. Depending upon it's thickness and surface area to move in, can and will vibrate at it's own resonance - not necessarily the voice resonance and vocal range of the person driving it. So the Cradle, the mounting, the coil design as well as a baffling system - all these and some others are what makes the microphones resonate as they do, they (communication types) are not meant for musical reproduction - but that doesn't mean you can't upgrade the element and receive accolades from your peers

I tried to point out several areas that could have answered a lot of the questions you raised about not just what happened to him, but how the audio quality can be passed or presented - pushed thru the stages of a radio and we hear on the airwaves. IF you folks need help to understand what you're looking at - just ask - but don't drag in other people that know a lot more than all of us combined and think that they didn't know. Then apply that to everyone else as being lumped into that category. Don't judge us - or we'll be right back at you all over again for it.

Doesn't mean we know what he (HD) did - but what we do know was the Mic itself was not stock, and if there were any sort of EQ - either using a simple RIAA EQ amp design from an old stereo system as the preamp - or something more exotic - the tone of the voice gets thru the pileups to be heard.

So for you to claim the vids owner does not know what they are talking about - is a loose and unjustifiable claim that will get people into trouble - this means liability and defamation if that was the premise (remember YOUR judgment against us - it will make it difficult to negotiate your release from causing harm from this).

This was about one tech that people noticed the audio to, you took this to assault as a slant and infer that another tech did not or does not (intent or not) know how or what they were talking about. Yet, others in this thread, even before you posted your work, already had heard the outcome and the admission of the tech (HD) - the one this thread is about - used another type of element (Heil) - and you just went ahead and tried to obtain unwarranted attention by attempting to defame another tech that was not involved in this in the first place.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

 

[rabbiporkchop]

It all reverts back to a simple observation after spending 30 years on a single frequency. There are few good sounding radios, and fewer good techs that can tune. Lots of folks can follow a service manual and do a factory alignment, and blame a microphone or the manufacturer of the radio for any distortion at lower frequencies. That isn't the definition of a tune.
Tuning is forcing the radio to accurately reproduce any sound fed into the Mic socket @ 100% modulation without producing any visible distortion.

 

[Martian]

It all reverts back to a simple observation after spending 30 years on a single frequency. There are few good sounding radios, and fewer good techs that can tune. Lots of folks can follow a service manual and do a factory alignment. That isn't the definition of a tune.

"a single frequency" is nonsense. I nearly fell out of my chair and it's a Monday so I needed a laugh.
Practice what you preached in your video and do not drink the kool-aid.
Single frequency... LOLLERSKATES..... that one made me laugh.

Now.. let me explain the engineering behind this "mythical" tune you refer to.

These CB radios have fixed filter networks on purpose.
Regulatory compliance being one of them.
Obviously spectrum usage is another. It has to fit into the spectrum allocated to a CB channel.

THAT SAID....

There are no controls to adjust the AF filter responses on the above mentioned radio, which is a 40+ year old design. Nor should there be controls to do so.
Therefore, it's not "tunable" because there is nothing to "tune" and that is because it lacks an adjustment in the first place. It's fixed in place. It is what the designer intended.

Now, if you want to change the response of said filter(s) you have to MODIFY them..
That means do some simple math, replace a few parts, test it, etc.
That's not "tuning" it. thats "modifying" it.

Come on Rabbi. Give me something here.
I try to dumb this down as much as possible. I won't go off on a tangent and get into audiophoolery because I argued with audiophools for 20 years before I gave it up because they are never wrong.
They are hilarious however with nitrogen impregnated copper and magnetically aligned power cables.
Or cryogenically created crystalline structured digital to analog converters.
Real audiophool terms. I can't make this BS up.

Fellow engineer Mike Harrison puts it best in the first 15 seconds of this video:

Or... Dave Jones..


Take it away, Dave!

I am sort of with @Handy Andy here... this is about not worth responding to anymore.
You are just trying to bash someone to the benefit of your employer.

 

[rabbiporkchop]

You are just trying to bash someone to the benefit of your employer.

I just don't want folks to get their hopes up.
A guy near me spent over $1000.00 shipping an antique Cobra 138 xlr eight times eight different directions hoping Mike could achieve the same level of fidelity his other radios have. He was in for a big letdown because he disregarded my sound advice. If you want to waste your money, that's on you. If you want to hold on to the religious belief that there is a tech in every town from coast to coast capable of forcing an export radio to produce decent fidelity audio, you are in for a big shock when you seek their services.
Personally, I'll never drink that koolaid and join that cult.

 

[Martian]

How long did it take Fine Tunes to resolve it?
How many times did this person have to ship it to him?
Just the once?

 

[Handy Andy]

"A guy near me spent $1,000.00 on a Cobra 138XLR..."

Ok, let's just stop right there -

Here' is a jpg of the 138 XLR schematic...

http://www.cbtricks.com/radios/cobra/138xlr/graphics/cobra138xlr_sch.jpg

Review it, as you can see it's rather intricate....

Here is the 139XLR...

http://www.cbtricks.com/radios/cobra/139xlr/graphics/cobra139xlr_sch.jpg

Each radio maker does things their way - even amongst the different models they provide. A 138 is different than a 139 - even though they make and use the SAME board and nearly every part is the same value - with minor differences most people can't tell but audio and audible differences will be noticed. (let alone the faceplate)

So for you say this guy got charged $xxx.xx amount but this radio to the same guy costs $X,xxx.xx - ok why is there a difference - because the tech believes in the Adage "...There's one born every minute..." - so it is time to find another tech that's what it means.

Look I'm sorry to hear about your "guys" sorrow and how you pity him, but Gosh Darn It - we all have been there ok? I've been there too!

I'm an advocate for the consumer - they need to take control of their actions and be more responsible for what they use and how it can affect others let alone the performance of said device. Be accountable for it.

Throwing a radio at a tech saying "it doesn't sound like my other radios - can you please help me" - and you are gonna' see the biggest grin on a guys face knowing that he's got you hooked - and so expect the cost to go up.

Ever buy a car? (sure you do - that trash hauler you took pics of with that built in spy camera - yeah - that one) Then you know accessories are the one of many ways to soak you. They are big money makers and repairs are even worse when it comes to ever getting your car out of a hostage situation...

So this is the same old same all - whining doesn't help your situation and what even more nefarious is your whining about someone else sounding better than you? Well, quit whining and do something about it, if you are so smart as to find the right mic element and broadcast that link to all those involved - then quit trying to be a Rat-Shack salesman and do you own work for crying out loud!

 

[rabbiporkchop]

I'm an advocate for the consumer

So am I. This is precisely why I cringe when someone has unrealistic expectations and is willing to throw massive amounts of money at a project and they don't see a return on their investment. It's even worse when I told them exactly how it was going to turn out before they threw their money away and lo and behold after wasting all their money my prediction came true exactly the way I said it would.

 

[Martian]

So am I. This is precisely why I cringe when someone has unrealistic expectations

LOL!
Pot, meet kettle.
Emphasis mine.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Do you honestly expect people to watch this?
There is no way you can get your point across when the viewing audience can't even get past the first 30 seconds. You should make a video of yourself showing the information you want to convey, without the circus act. Seriously.

 

[543_Dallas]

LOL!
Pot, meet kettle.
Emphasis mine.

You can't teach someone that knows everything. He would argue with a phone booth and enjoy it.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

You can't teach someone that knows everything. He would argue with a phone booth and enjoy it.

Why did I just picture Mr. Bean standing in a phone booth?

 

[rabbiporkchop]

How long did it take Fine Tunes to resolve it?
How many times did this person have to ship it to him?
Just the once?

Just for the record fine-tune refused to do business with the guy after doing four radios for him. Out of desperation he contacted Mike and the rest is history.