Old School vs New School CBs: Which do you like ??

[Rwb]

i bought a new president mckinnly. worse p.o.s. i ever owned tune tone sounds great but its to low volume to hear in a big truck. set it oppsiste and its loud sharp crackly like sound very crappy sounding.

 

[Rick330man]

Definitely old school for me. Base #1 is a Realistic TRC 465 with a Johnson desk mic. Base #2 is the Realistic TRC 490 seen in my banner. I bought it brand new in 1981. It been running with its Turner Super Side-kick ever since. My marine mobile is Cherokee AH-100 AM/SSB walkie talkie.

Old school all the way.

 

[Onelasttime]

old school all the way,
The features of new radios are nice but my ears can't stand the sound of modern CB's

Don't get me started on how the robotic pumpy ringadingzing newer dsp hf radios sound

What the heck does this even mean "robotic pumpy ringadingzing newer dsp hf radios sound"? I am guessing from context this is a bad thing but not sure. LOL

 

[N8YX]

What the heck does this even mean "robotic pumpy ringadingzing newer dsp hf radios sound"? I am guessing from context this is a bad thing but not sure. LOL

The best way I can describe DSP artifacts is that it sounds like you're talking under water. Very low levels of DSP filtering (just enough to remove the most bothersome background noise) aren't that objectionable. Get more aggressive with the filtering and it's definitely noticeable.

 

[BC Coyote]

Very low levels of DSP filtering (just enough to remove the most bothersome background noise) aren't that objectionable. Get more aggressive with the filtering and it's definitely noticeable.

Which is why all but the cheapest CB and ham rigs have adjustable levels of DSP. On my Anytone 5555N2 for example, there are five levels.......1 is just enough DSP to take out some hiss, but not enough to distort voice. At about level 3 you start to get that "underwater" effect you are talking about. Level 5 is very aggressive and makes people sound like robots.

But here's the rub.......under normal operating conditions the DSP stays on level 0 or 1. The only time I ever turn it up is if I have bad powerline noise or other QRM. At that point having the DSP, even if I have to turn it to 5, is very worthwhile as without it conversation would be impossible! That's the beauty of DSP....communication is possible under conditions that would be impossible with an old-school radio with just a basic NB/ANL, and that includes older ham rigs. My IC-735 and TS-140S both have essentially useless noise blankers.