Why does no one want to talk to me?

No need to beat around the bush: if you find that people on air fail to engage with you in a meaningful way, and keep the conversation brief, then most likely, your signal is either very weak or your modulation quality is poor.

Personally, I’d rather talk to someone who is loud and clear, than someone barely audible, distorted or muffled. Nothing personal, this is just human nature.

Surely, you’ve noticed that some amateurs sound like professionals. And if they are loud, everyone wants to say hello to them. They are popular on air, and frequently complimented on audio quality.

A perfect sound is not a matter of chance; rather, it is the result of understanding the fundamentals of audio engineering. In many cases, it is also a testimony of significant investment in a high end transceiver, microphone, and pre-processing units in the audio chain. RF filtering is a story for itself. Same goes for band propagation: knowing when to keep it wide and rich, and when to keep it narrow and punchy.

Ensuring you sound pleasant to fellow spectrum users is a sign of maturity and competence. Continuing to transmit a poor quality audio signal after you’ve been told numerous times by numerous people that something is really wrong, is disrespectful and annoying.

Not quite happy with your signal reports? Maybe it’s time to try a different microphone. You may be surprised how differently you will sound using a desktop dynamic microphone instead of a handheld one, supplied with your radio.

DID YOU KNOW…?

That the ICOM accessories catalogue has 88 different microphones on offer? Keep that in mind – if you ever need a new microphone for your ICOM radio (new or vintage!) then most likely, I would be able to help.

Currently, there are also 6 desk microphones in the range, all six in stock, ready for immediate delivery.