New Ham Tips - Splatter. What is is it? Why is it bad? How to avoid it.

I've noticed many HAMs are obsessed with power but ignore the quality of their audio. If you are running a thousand watts but sound like you are calling bingo at the fair, you are easy to ignore.

 

Sadly it's harder to ignore if they're running a kilo and suffocate the signal you're trying to listen to.

 

ALC and compressor settings are rig dependent, so not all these conclusions apply. Sometimes, rigs from the same manufacture require different settings. My modern Icom rigs require the compressor (adjusted as required) and a fair amount of ALC to sound decent. My older Kenwoods required almost no ALC at all. Also, amplifier mis-tuning/overdrive for the tuning setting can increase IMD substantially even though the rig is setup perfectly. So we have to be careful with all these blanket statements.

 

But you also said these things, which were what my reply was addressing. I agree with most of what you said, but these don't always apply.

 

The nasal quality.

 

Terrific video. My take away from the entire discussion is to...stay with CW.

 

Baaahaha,,,,,indeed...good one

 

Good Job of explaining splatter (non-linear) in amplification and the proper use of ALC circuity on ham radio transmissions. I hope more ham will read and practice proper ALC settings on not only voice but also digital modes.

 

It seems to me that there is just as high of a percentage of wide, clicky CW signals as there is of wide, splattering SSB signals. Regardless of the mode, poor quality signals are usually caused by misadjustment of the transmitter by the operator. However, certain rigs are notorious for transmitting clicky CW, the FT-1000MP probably being the most infamous.

 

Thank you, great info

 

Is your 7300 not showing you your signal in the waterfall? It looks like the ALC is doing a good job. Using your SDR to monitor your sig could let you see your sig and verify if when you overdrive you are in fact splattering or not. Thoughts?

 

Great video!

 

I get so tired of doing ssb (hf digital such as PSK31, rtty, olivia and others) and seeing splatter and sidebands all over the place. These idiot operators don't seem to understand that when their signals are loud with sidebands takes away the other guy able to decode that mess of a transmission, especially on modes like PSK31. On the ham exams and Part 97 but spurious transmissions are illegal and that is what we are talking about. Running too much ALC or over modulating is illegal and whether you are running voice or digital signals, transmitting a dirty signal with distortion and sidebands is rude and illegal. It is a shame that many of them don't even realize nor have the ability to know they are transmitting junk.

 

Very nice video, and still very relevant.
It would be great if you could update it for the new Yaesu radios FTDX101, FTDX10, FT710
These do not work right on alc. Any alc meter movement causes lots of splatter.
AMC is a new feature which may help with that, but no manufacturer guidance on where to set it.
https://wireless-girl.com/Projects/FTDX101D_AudioSetup.html