Ideal "line out" attenuation for HT "mic in"?

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1

Hello! I have a QRZ-1 Explorer working with the Baofeng cables. It’s been working great, including with CHIRP.

One of my goals was to improve the sound quality of my transmitted voice. I’ve been unhappy with both the built-in and external mics. On the PC, I can use a quality mic, apply EQ, compression, etc.

My help request: I’m using trial-and-error to determine how much to turn down the Digrig’s “line out” signal for the HT’s “mic in”. Unfortunately, the QRZ-1 has no audio settings (ex. automatic gain) or any indicators of the input level.

Given a 0 dB test tone, is there an educated guess as to how much to attenuate (e. -40 dB) the “line out” signal for the best SNR, without overloading the HT?

Thank you!

2

It would be hard to come up with a one-size-fits all suggestion. See if you can engage a fellow ham with another HT to monitor and correct your signal on the other end. That’s what ultimately matters.

3

Will do. Thank you, K0TX!

4

Any results with this approach?

5

Yeah! I was able to use a local repeater that offers a web stream to listen to my own signal and adjust as needed.

YMMV, but I’ve found somewhere around -27 dB offers the most signal without distortion.

1 Like
6

Thanks for following up with that info. Glad it worked out.