[Elecraft] Compression and noise - was W2IHY 8 band equalizer and EQ Plus

[John King]

> 
> And do remember, more compression brings up background noise between
> words by the amount of the compression value.   Hence with 10 dB of
> compression, a background noise level that would normally produce and
> output of 1 watt will then sound like 10 watts of noise.
> 
> 73
> Bob, K4TAX
> 

Bob's comment above is right on the money and is well worth re-reading.

Professional announcers use proper mic technique *and* they work in 
sound booths or acoustically inert studios. Sports announcers who must
work in noisy environments use headsets with high quality noise-canceling 
mics inches from their lips, followed by processors far more sophisticated
than any used by hams.

A tip to the phone contest fellows: prepare your CQ loops in a quiet
room well in advance of the event. I am always astounded at the poor
quality of the CQ loops in contests - many from the well known big
gun stations who should know better. I wonder about the impact on the
Q-rate when the listeners (especially those whose native language is 
other than English) have difficulty understanding the CQ loop.  

73,
  john WA1ABI