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ICOM 7300 adj freq bleed (normal?)

No radio is bulletproof against adjacent frequency "bleedover". Hams should stay 3kz. apart on SSB. If you are on a given freq. and there is another QSO going on 2kz away .... they are going to kill you. If you are getting bothered by other signals 3kz or a bit more away .... then the other signals may be VERY strong .... or you can look at your bandpass filter settings and play with them a bit. We all struggle with operating on freqs. when a given band is open strong and there's a lot of activity. It's just part of the game. Move around and try and find a clearer place to operate.

This is why I like waterfall displays.
 
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I had a station 3kHz away from me he was S9 when tuned 3kHz down from me. He was giving me a jumping S4-S6 from 3kHz away on the freq I had chosen and been working 45mins ago. How are you meant to work low signal stations S0-S2's that appear on the frequency you have been on with S4-S6 bleed.... those low signals are the most interesting signals in your radio.

This "go where you like" on ham bands has some very frustrating down sides in my experience. You find a spot then get walked over.. whether knowing or most likely unknowingly by the interfering station. There can even start a pile up on your frequency !
Some low station calling and then someone spots it on the internet and you have 3-6 stations calling over you.

Irritating to the highest degree !

It has zero to do with the band being strongly open.. I was out on what was virtually a dead band the other day... and had the perfect example. How does a waterfall display reduce bleed ? I always find a freq ask if it is in use a few times, then start calling. Every time I have been out it is the same thing over and again. It is either ignorance or a just a bad idea that you can go anywhere and mess up others DX chances.

It was a fairly quiet band so that is as good as it gets noise wise (my noise level was a flickering from S0 to 1/2 an S point) what was a fairly dead band (no sun spots).. low activity but I still made some good contacts.
 
Actually you know what.. when I get the chance, if I cannot beat them I will join them.. I am not being walked over.. I will give back what I receive, I start to see how ham bands work now.... "only use enough power to make the contact"... what planet were they living on when they wrote that in the ham training books.... not this one.

OK I see much more clearly now.... power just became important.
 
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Shit happens.
Reason i picked the FT991A for the 1500 Hz roofing filter and analog setup, and noise fighting tools, good audio as well

The 7300 is quite sensitive like all radio's so use RF gain, before the OVL light goes on the reciever and specially the computer is taxed out.
There is a reason radio's have an attenuator and rf gain...
On 160 i run the radio with attenuator, on all the time, no amplifier used on the low bands, maybe 10 and 6 meters depending conditions.
Working Australia on 80 this week, 14.156 KM's shows the antenna's and radio do well without any amplification, bandwidth control is more important.
If you want to listen to AM set it wide open for nice rich audio, on SSB i prefer narrow band reception, kill off sideband splatter only thing i want there is understanding what the other station says not Hi-Fi fidelity on busy bands.
Might not sound nice but it suits the circumstances.
Most in our 160 meter round have good audio, signals are strong so there the audio can be wide open.
But on the busy bands you better learn to use all the tools your radio has to fight noise and splatter.
Works for me, takes time to learn any new radio, read the F ing manual and experiment what works for you.
Your 7300 or my FT991A are not your run of the mill cb radio.
It's easy for me to put on the Heathkit SB-1000 and create my space there, but i run 99.9% of the time just 100 watts from the radio.
Just as i did with the FT2000-D or FT847 with Collins filters.
Buying an radio does not come with operators practice that is what you learn after buying it, learn the limitations of your radio and antenna's.
And some 44 years being ham... ;), before that pirate station, CB etc.
 
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RF gain just pulls back the signal you want to hear as well, there is no advantage - it would mean your RF Gain is non linear which I do not believe it is. I don't agree that it provides a benefit. The band was borderline open, not busy.. it was discourteous operator or just RX deaf. It happens EVERY time I go out, not just on occasion there you happily DXing and then some ignorant station appears and messes your freq up. So once permitted I will be that big signal... no one will be adjacent.

Well it won't be happening again. No one will wish to be 3kHz by the side of me anymore I will make sure of that. I am not putting in time, effort and money to have my RX bled out by an ignorant operator. They shall get some of their own medicine from now on.

They are not run of the mill radios correct..they are go anywhere, non channelized with all the significant enjoyment killing problems that brings. i.e. massive bleed issues all the time.

In fact I am still wondering precisely what makes these radios 6 times the price cause I have yet to experience great differences... swirly noise reduction that is often better OFF, massive bleed over, TERRIBLE ear fatigue inducing narrow filters, radio controls you with the ALC.What is the point of ALC and linearity, harmonic/spurious suppression etc when some hams clearly abuse this by running garbage amps and radios splattering all over the place making your DX hard work.

As I say if you cannot beat them join them which is precisely what I will be doing. Set phasers to stun and rip the knob off.

It is FULL power or don't bother from now on.

If that does not work I will dump the ICOM and get a radio up to the job.
 
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If you are on 14.200 and some chump appears on 14.197 and you were enjoying S0 to 1/2 S point flickers of noise between your calls awaiting interesting signals (yes S0-S3 is where they live) and then when the ignorant chump calls you are subject to S4-S6 of bleed I cannot think of anything that defines "immensely annoying" any more clearly.

So what do you do ? Move frequency.. that's fine if it is quiet, not so if it is busy.

You cannot pop down and say...."Excuse me, would you mind moving as your technically incompetent station is causing gross QRM 3 kHz up."

So what you do you, you turn your Watts up to maximum like everyone else does so the message is clear and the problem is nipped in the bud. You bleed them then they don't come in the first place.

Or possibly and the jury is still out.... get a radio up to the task with filters that are not sounding like a whistling, harsh, ear fatiguing, unlistenable mess whilst producing better selectivity and adjacent station rejection.

This is operating a radio RX, not flying a 747 without autopilot.. I get how to use a radio and filters.

So far this experience very much soured my experience of ham radio. I have never experienced this terrible bleed/QRM on channelized SSB CB. It is a big turn off so far. I am not entirely sure I will be able to put up with it as I have always enjoyed working marginal signals the most, they are most exciting and most challenging. Anyway I will do my best to resolve either with Watts/careful choice of times I come on or a radio that is up to my standards and if not it will be a very short lived brush with amateur radio.

All this explains why digital modes are so popular cause that is the only time you can make any decent contact through the mass of QRM. But to me that is not even radio, it is computers talking to each other with zero engagement, whatever floats your boat mind you, each to their own.
 
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The icom 7300 a computer,
none of my multiple friends that bought them still have them because they don't like the sound,

I agree with you on the sound, I can't stand DSP even on real radios or the sound of SDR, sounds shite,

If I had a 7300 given I would sell it asap, I don't care where it is on sherwengs list,

If you like analogue sound, prefere good vinyl over cd/digital music buy a real radio without robotic ringy DSP,
It will sound sweeter for voice,

The last decent sounding radio was the 950sdx,
after that they ALL lost the plot with DSP in the tx path that you cannot bypass & pumpy ringing robotic audio,

It won't fix the issue with everybody having the same right as you to use any frequency within the band,
If somebody is splattering you either move or put up with it or more likely nowadays start an argument,

I think that like me you don't like what amateur radio has become,

Digital modes, Don't get me started :mad:.
 
Hi Bob I am pretty new to this to be fair, I am young enough to have a bit of fire in my belly and moan a bit, I guess... but I am pretty sharp for a newb.. I know audio pretty well and can tell good from bad.. my issue is without something like an 991A with hybrid analogue front end and the sampling/DSP side by side and a full day literally sitting there flicking and antenna switch WITH SWIRLY NR OFF !! it is very difficult to know if my issues are specifically with the ICOM or if it is more or less similar.... both the filter sound on the audio and how well they select wanted vs unwanted signal adjacent.

I can live with the ICOM Filter 1 on soft... that is ok as soon as you either go Filt2 or Filt 3 you immediately get the resonant horrid whistling sound.. same with the Twin PB where you can narrow each side of the filter... on the IF and increase selectivity. However it starts to sound whistley and harsh FAST. I appreciate filters will have this effect... but this bad this fast ?

I can honestly say I don't find ham radio that gentlemanly so far, other than ridiculous and repetitive call sign announcements... give it a rest.. like your call sign is more important than anything else you have to say !!! It does my nut in to hear and then feel compelled to repeat their and my call every over, we do not have to do that in the UK. It says "The Licence provides that the call sign must be
transmitted as frequently as is practicable during transmissions"... not like a sheep like QSO interupting drone on every over or you will be visited by the regulatory authority and executed.

A few times have been asked if I have finished my over or not...because I don't give call on every over... and rather than it just be obvious.. or sometimes I will say QSL at the end of an over (as in do you acknowledge, which I appreciate is not the perfect use of QSL) but just so I don't have to be overly repetitive with both callsigns.

Whether someone appears adjacent 3kHz knowing or unknowingly it is equally annoying. So yes you are right I do move.. I moved 3 times on what was a fairly quiet day conditions wise. In the end you make a choice... do I like that no I don't... it is not a problem I had on CB with 10kHz channel spacing.

I expect noise it is SSB radio on HF of course there can be noise.. but as I work in low RF noise floor I don't need NR to hear an S0-S3 stations nicely. I appreciate that this is a luxury and many are battling noise, noise, noise at the QTH.. unless you are out in the sticks.

I guess that I am experiencing new issues as well as nice things.. like being able to do some international contacts when DX when 11 is dead.

I always ask if a freq is clear multiple times before I call...and I appreciate that from time to time stations appear who cannot hear you... at last 3 times some pile up has started on my freq.. some remote station only heard on a beam ... someone spots them puts it on the internet and that is game over on the freq. Most times I move, begrudgingly.

I am frustrated by some elements and have to work out what is the radio and what is the way ham radio bands work... and how my preferences of working radio fit in... time wise.

Tommorrow I plan to go out and do some RX only testing, sunspots are gone for now so I will rack up a few S9's and move 3kHz and make a few vids and you will hear and see the issues. Probably only issues most experience.. but leave me tearing my hair out.


I get why the radios cost, lots of functions, filtering, well designed etc. but the end result is all that matters, the longest possible dx is possible on a cheap SSB CB radio. you don't need all the extra stuff at all ! You just need good RX, good ears, and just a little some space to not be bled into by chumps !!!!!!

One thing for sure if I hear a contest is on... my heart sinks. I will be having nothing to do with those.
 
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I agree about the sound of digital filters & its not just the RX,

most modern sets have an issue with pumpy or ringy TX audio that it seems most people are oblivious to, I find it artificial & fatiguing,

Its dog eat dog on the bands,
You may have low noise, I am good for noise compared to my locals & hear more than they do regardless of what top of the range rig they use,

The rig currently at the top of sherwengs list cannot hear what I hear on any of my radios including cb's because a weed grower is 4 doors down from him,

its a similar story with all my other locals, antennas near the house & ears plugged with noise,

because my antenna is not very close to the houses & its well choked at both ends of the coax I hear more than my locals.

The guy jumping on your chosen frequency may have s5-6 of noise & your just not there in his radio,

That does not mean that they are all dickheads even though some of them are,
it just seems like that from where you are sat with s1 of noise hearing much more than they are.
 
Hi Bob I am pretty new to this to be fair, I am young enough to have a bit of fire in my belly and moan a bit, I guess... but I am pretty sharp for a newb.. I know audio pretty well and can tell good from bad.. my issue is without something like an 991A with hybrid analogue front end and the sampling/DSP side by side and a full day literally sitting there flicking and antenna switch WITH SWIRLY NR OFF !! it is very difficult to know if my issues are specifically with the ICOM or if it is more or less similar.... both the filter sound on the audio and how well they select wanted vs unwanted signal adjacent.

I can live with the ICOM Filter 1 on soft... that is ok as soon as you either go Filt2 or Filt 3 you immediately get the resonant horrid whistling sound.. same with the Twin PB where you can narrow each side of the filter... on the IF and increase selectivity. However it starts to sound whistley and harsh FAST. I appreciate filters will have this effect... but this bad this fast ?

I can honestly say I don't find ham radio that gentlemanly so far, other than ridiculous and repetitive call sign announcements... give it a rest.. like your call sign is more important than anything else you have to say !!! It does my nut in to hear and then feel compelled to repeat their and my call every over, we do not have to do that in the UK. It says "The Licence provides that the call sign must be
transmitted as frequently as is practicable during transmissions"... not like a sheep like QSO interupting drone on every over or you will be visited by the regulatory authority and executed.

A few times have been asked if I have finished my over or not...because I don't give call on every over... and rather than it just be obvious.. or sometimes I will say QSL at the end of an over (as in do you acknowledge, which I appreciate is not the perfect use of QSL) but just so I don't have to be overly repetitive with both callsigns.

Whether someone appears adjacent 3kHz knowing or unknowingly it is equally annoying. So yes you are right I do move.. I moved 3 times on what was a fairly quiet day conditions wise. In the end you make a choice... do I like that no I don't... it is not a problem I had on CB with 10kHz channel spacing.

I expect noise it is SSB radio on HF of course there can be noise.. but as I work in low RF noise floor I don't need NR to hear an S0-S3 stations nicely. I appreciate that this is a luxury and many are battling noise, noise, noise at the QTH.. unless you are out in the sticks.

I guess that I am experiencing new issues as well as nice things.. like being able to do some international contacts when DX when 11 is dead.

I always ask if a freq is clear multiple times before I call...and I appreciate that from time to time stations appear who cannot hear you... at last 3 times some pile up has started on my freq.. some remote station only heard on a beam ... someone spots them puts it on the internet and that is game over on the freq. Most times I move, begrudgingly.

I am frustrated by some elements and have to work out what is the radio and what is the way ham radio bands work... and how my preferences of working radio fit in... time wise.

Tommorrow I plan to go out and do some RX only testing, sunspots are gone for now so I will rack up a few S9's and move 3kHz and make a few vids and you will hear and see the issues. Probably only issues most experience.. but leave me tearing my hair out.


I get why the radios cost, lots of functions, filtering, well designed etc. but the end result is all that matters, the longest possible dx is possible on a cheap SSB CB radio. you don't need all the extra stuff at all ! You just need good RX, good ears, and just a little some space to not be bled into by chumps !!!!!!

One thing for sure if I hear a contest is on... my heart sinks. I will be having nothing to do with those.


Next to last paragraph: (Had this radio recommended as the step up from AM/SSB so was glad to read your experience). Your recapitulation.

Sorry for the frustrations.

Reason I post is a question of altitude. As the present flight path is too damned bumpy.

What occurs to me is that closer immersion overwhelms basic conception of Radio as a whole.

“Whats out there” is a reflection of “what’s inside us already”. One must listen for it.

Sorry that this sounds obtuse or fantastical, but it works for me.

i read your posts in this thread where it seems questions overlap into each other. I’ve no practical experience to offer. But the upshot is that I’d want you to be the one trying for clear communications on behalf of others present. The single man with the skills in the room.

Pilots have a saying about not getting behind what the airplane is doing. Choices have to be made well in advance.

Have you gotten too far ahead of what it needs to know in order to align with the course heading desired?

(The Spirit does have its say; make room).

If there’s a Will, there’s a Way.

.
 
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It could be an Analogue/digital, Yaesu/Icom thing regards sound and filters.

I appreciate some cannot hear everyone.. in fact there is a pretty good chance I have missed stations others can work. I appreciate radio can be "error prone" hobby for the operator.. we make mistakes being human and all...as we all hear different things depending on if you are running a massive beam pointing one way or a bit of wire and your geographical location of course.

The QRM I had the other day was from a beam user to it is rather difficult to believe he has high noise.. he was horizontal and you don't tend to set up big beam low down.. so he was possibly running high power and I was off his front lobe. Maybe i am wrong maybe he was in the middle of a city with a beam on the roof of a block.

Anyway it happens over and over so it was not unique I will try and get some field recordings up today of filters, I will try various filters and file share them.

I am going out specifically for a 20m band listen and tech test for RX. It will be time well spent... it is probably is 70pct of the hobby.

It just feels to me that the filters should be more selective with a higher shape factor/Q without sounding like they are ringing and so sharp they are filtering the RX noise floor with a whistling sound.

Digital filters in 2021 can be VERY good..maybe digital filters and close to somewhere between white / pink noise hiss response (which sounds like where RX noise/hiss lies between) does not mix well with digital filters. Maybe they need a DSP programmer who specialize in audio to redo the filters.
 
Ok here are 3 videos of my 20m noise floor, an S0 station at a radio 5 copy, this gives an insight into my usual working conditions. (They will last 7 days from today for download) Noise reduction is off completely as it is no necessary as I have no noise at S0.

Download link :

https://we.tl/t-JcKyh0RZnl

And also some S7/S8 bleed from a station 3kHz away (their on frequency signal is S9 and sometimes +10 over) away.

The bleed simulates what a station can do to a clear freq that I have chosen to call on. From S0 to S8 peaking of bleed QRM. So when I am trying to speak with someone at S0-S3 it would be a battle to hold a QSO.

I go through Filt 1 to 3 and not a massive difference.. not enough to bother with IMO and then suffer the whistling sharp hard to listen to audio. I also twiddle the TWIN PBT and switch between soft and sharp filter edges.

If I have this all wrong please do let me know.

The file will need to be unzipped and there are 3 short mobile/cell phone videos in there.. about 350MB so will take a little time to download.

On the upside.. I heard 2 VK station and Japanese station this morning. Could not get back to one VK as he was in deep QSO with a full licence holder (most likely beam to beam but it telling of my RX at my quiet portable location) here so would have been a bit rude to but in..(was giving an S5 at one stage)

For a reference point I am using a cut and tuned for 20m mono band 1/2 wave vertical EFHW antenna feed point 2m off the ground.

I get that bleed is a thing on ham radio. It is a new and very annoying thing to have to deal with for a station that has a true S0 noise level. So tantalizing S0-S3 signals can easily be washed out when another station knowingly or unknowingly appears just 3kHz up. As I have said before this has happened routinely, every single time I go for some DX... it is a very tiring side of ham radio I was not prepared for, this issue is non existent on SSB CB.. in this regards CB is vastly superior to the ham bands.

I will work DX as I will pick my times to go on which will keep the frustration level down.
 
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Ham, CB, shortwave should all be fun, interesting, enjoyable.If these signals and adjacent stations and operators are so frustrating you should take up a less stressful hobby like growing grass or watching paint dry ! SMH
 
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