Digital Audio

[buddrousa]

Before trashing ANY DIGITAL SCANNER for audio look at the source of the audio.
A radio system sounds no better than how the users of the system operate on it please take the time to watch this 15 minute video and share with your local departments.

Say It Loud and Clear - Two Way Radios - Motorola Solutions Video Library Update (Catalogue)

Clear communications are critical to first responders. Motorola Solutions works with the International Association of Fire Chiefs to develop best practices to maximize intelligibility and overcome background noise on portable and mobile radios.

video.motorolasolutions.com

 

[MStep]

I would never trash any digital scanner. To me, the most telling lesson from this video is that analog is superior for clarity to digital, even when digital is being used correctly.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I would never trash any digital scanner. To me, the most telling lesson from this video is that analog is superior for clarity to digital, even when digital is being used correctly.

Many decades of "wide band" LMR and it never became this big an issue until P25. I remember doing a radio coverage acceptance test for a new P25/CAI system and some police testers went into a loud bar. The resulting audio sounded just like "intermod".

 

[MStep]

Many decades of "wide band" LMR and it never became this big an issue until P25. I remember doing a radio coverage acceptance test for a new P25/CAI system and some police testers went into a loud bar. The resulting audio sounded just like "intermod".

Maybe my ears are getting too old, or maybe digital is not refined enough. I will admit hearing some great sounding digital systems, but for 24/7 listening, they are just not as "comfortable" as analog.

 

[12dbsinad]

I try to avoid watching anything put out by Motorola, but I'll take it as the gist is analog is superior than digital by the comments here. Well duh.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Maybe my ears are getting too old, or maybe digital is not refined enough. I will admit hearing some great sounding digital systems, but for 24/7 listening, they are just not as "comfortable" as analog.

I scan a local P25 phase 2 PS system and the audio quality is all over the place. A few radios once sounded as good as analog and it threw me for a loop because the /\/\ systems are no longer dual mode. But usually dispatch sounds muffled and the field units vary quite a bit. Yes, my ears are old, but not that bad.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I try to avoid watching anything put out by Motorola, but I'll take it as the gist is analog is superior than digital by the comments here. Well duh.

Its just Motorola saying folks are using their radios all wrong. Until P25 I guess everyone used the radios correctly.

 

[MStep]

It might also be the quality of the current digital scanners we are using. Let's face it--- I imagine a digital system sounds much better on a $3000 or $4000 Motorola portable. Kudos to Uniden and Whistler for refining reception for us "listeners" as well as they did. It's pretty amazing that we receive so many different systems as well as we do. I imagine that if you listening to digital on a "professional" radio, it would be quite a different experience. Or would it ? Perhaps some folks here who are hobbyists but are also exposed to the professional digital arena can comment.

 

[buddrousa]

I try to avoid watching anything put out by Motorola, but I'll take it as the gist is analog is superior than digital by the comments here. Well duh.

Motorola did not make the video if you would take the time you would see it is from the International Fire Chiefs Association.
It is just hosted on the Motorola Site. No it sounds the same way on NXDN DMR and P25 if Lazy users do not care that is what it sounds like.
You have to be willing to listen to change and try.

 

[KevinC]

Many decades of "wide band" LMR and it never became this big an issue until P25. I remember doing a radio coverage acceptance test for a new P25/CAI system and some police testers went into a loud bar. The resulting audio sounded just like "intermod".

That's interesting. One complaint I've heard numerous times is the LACK of background noise on certain P25 subscribers. They complain they can't tell the temperature of a situation since they can't hear what's going on in the background when an officer talks.

 

[KC3ECJ]

Its just Motorola saying folks are using their radios all wrong. Until P25 I guess everyone used the radios correctly.

I've used Motorola DMR radios at a couple different places and I'm not impressed. However one other place used a DMR capable Motorola on analog and the range was better than the older Motorola it replaced.

 

[KC3ECJ]

It might also be the quality of the current digital scanners we are using. Let's face it--- I imagine a digital system sounds much better on a $3000 or $4000 Motorola portable. Kudos to Uniden and Whistler for refining reception for us "listeners" as well as they did. It's pretty amazing that we receive so many different systems as well as we do. I imagine that if you listening to digital on a "professional" radio, it would be quite a different experience. Or would it ? Perhaps some folks here who are hobbyists but are also exposed to the professional digital arena can comment.

I don't think price matters much.
I mean somebody will say "oh the radio wasn't setup right" but I've had not so great audio on a Motorola DMR, and good audio results on a Retevis RT73 on DMR.
I'm in general not impressed by digital, but out of the box that Retevis seems to sound about as good as these digital radios can be.
I've also cross mode linked over a network to somebody using a Yaesu Fusion C4FM radio and his audio was about as good as mine.

 

[Omega-TI]

I have one P25 frequency (Washington State Patrol) on 155.850 and whenever they come on, which is very infrequent, my ears perk up because it's the cleanest, sharpest, "in the room" type reception I've ever heard in my life. Bloody Awesome!

 

[MStep]

Another thing for all to consider is that as a scanner community, we are more or less radio "perfectionists"--- radio is our thing. For the typical cop or firefighter or other person at the other end of the radio, the radio is simply another tool to accomplish a task---- a means to an end, so to speak. Most cops, firefighters and others are not analyzing the signal the way that us hobbyists are. If they get their messages through, back and forth, they're happy campers.

 

[buddrousa]

As a 38 year paid fulltime firefighter my radio is my life so I take it very serious also I have a electronics degree and do all the work on the departments radios so I push be herd and understood by others. Our local law just went digital and I am starting to work with some of them on this same subject. You say Analog is better well if you are too lazy to move the MICROPHONE to your mouth you just have low audio with DIGITAL you have unintelligible audio.

 

[KC3ECJ]

As a 38 year paid fulltime firefighter my radio is my life so I take it very serious also I have a electronics degree and do all the work on the departments radios so I push be herd and understood by others. Our local law just went digital and I am starting to work with some of them on this same subject.

I seem to remember with a radio I used that there was a delay from when the PTT is hit to when it actually transmitts so the beginning of the speech is cut off if you don't plan ahead and wait.

 

[buddrousa]

Yes that is true with REPEATERS and TRUNKING SYSTEMS your audio is not sending until you capture the system.

 

[KC3ECJ]

Yes that is true with REPEATERS and TRUNKING SYSTEMS your audio is not sending until you capture the system.

It's one thing if you're into amateur radio like me and know you're going to use a repeater or simplex, it's another thing to be given a radio at work and not be told much about it.
Places where you should have simplex as a backup but nobody tells you if it even exists.

 

[buddrousa]

One of my old standby tricks all of our radios are set up in 16 channel groups all the way to the left REPEATER all the way to the right SIMPLEX and do blindfold mayday drills.

 

[MStep]

As a 38 year paid fulltime firefighter my radio is my life so I take it very serious also I have a electronics degree and do all the work on the departments radios so I push be herd and understood by others. Our local law just went digital and I am starting to work with some of them on this same subject. You say Analog is better well if you are too lazy to move the MICROPHONE to your mouth you just have low audio with DIGITAL you have unintelligible audio.

I think you are confusing transmitted with receiving. From my own experience, listening to analog is a lot more comfortable on the ears than listening to digital. Moving the microphone to the proper position is the responsibility of the person doing the transmitting. Has nothing to do with receiving or the person on the receiving end.

I am a firefighter as well. One thing you probably realize is that when you are "in the heat of battle", thinking about positioning one's microphone just exactly precisely right is not high on the priority list when the flames are licking at your butt. It's mostly put the mike near your mouth and hope someone hears ya.