[Elecraft] K3S SSB TX monitor - feature request

[Richard Lamont]

On 08/04/17 15:42, Rick WA6NHC wrote:

> I'll make two comments and no insult is intended or implied; its an
> opinion.
> 
> Your 'need' to hear your own voice during transmit is not a common (to
> my experience) requirement.  There is often a slight phase shift and
> it's distracting to most so they simply mute the receiver and are
> satisfied with the silence.

Whether or not there's a 'need' to hear your own voice in the headphones
during transmit depends partly on the headphones. The better the
isolation of ambient sound they provide, the greater the attenuation of
the natural mouth-to-ear path. The two models of headphones I have both
provide excellent isolation of ambient sound. That's partly why I bought
them. (Originally for audio production work, not amateur radio.)
(Sennheiser HD25 and Beyerdynamic DT100.)

I find that so much isolation makes it difficult to speak. It feels as
though I've suddenly gone deaf.

The need to provide one's own voice in headphones, and keep it out of
any speakers in the same room, was recognised by radio broadcasters
decades ago. Pretty well every broadcast studio that's ever been built
caters for it.

I disagree that a 'slight phase shift' is distracting. A delay (of tens
of milliseconds or more) is distracting. Elecraft caters for this with
CONFIG:TXMON NOR or FAST. I use the latter and it sounds great.

> If it is (as you've stated twice now) a 'common sense requirement' I
> daresay that Elecraft would have already implemented it; they're
> rather good at doing that.  Perhaps it's simple to allow, that's an
> unknown.  However stridently insisting that any particular way is
> common sense that is contrary to the majority belief is not the way
> to endear oneself to those that are capable of creating a means to
> have it your way.

I'm not sure quite what your evidence is for any 'majority belief'.
And if the need to keep microphone audio out of the speaker is not
common sense ... then what is? Does not every engineer learn this at his
mother's knee? My pointing this out is not a criticism of Elecraft. (If
anything, Elecraft is ahead of the game by providing voice sidetone at all.)

> There IS a work around and you're aware of it.  The vinegar:honey
> rule applies.  Perfection is an illusion because it's perspective
> based.

I am aware of the workarounds. I am also aware why they don't work for
me. You might not necessarily be aware of the latter, but thank you anyway.


73,
Richard G4DYA