HF receiver or transceiver with sideband squelch??

[KB2GOM]

After a few minutes of listening to the hiss on 11175 USB (waiting for a possible EAM), I began to wonder if there is a current production receiver or transceiver that can be parked on an HF frequency and the noise squelched out until a signal breaks the squelch.

Got any ideas?

 

[Blackswan73]

Tecsun 2200x has a squelch control that can be used on HF

B.S.

 

[N1FKO]

The desktop Icom receivers have both conventional squelch and voice squelch which work on SSB.

 

[KB2GOM]

The desktop Icom receivers have both conventional squelch and voice squelch which work on SSB.

Do you happen to know if the 705 has the same function?

 

[N1FKO]

Do you happen to know if the 705 has the same function?

For SSB the IC-705 has only conventional squelch.

 

[kc2asb]

The only current production desktop receiver from Icom is the R8600, which is about $900 more than the 705.

Not current production, of course, but the squelch on my Icom R-75 functions in SSB mode. It's a dual RF Gain/Squelch control and the S-meter indicates the received signal level necessary to un-mute the speaker. The minimum setting is S-1.

I rarely use the squelch on HF due to the possibility of missing very weak signals.

 

[N1FKO]

Posting after my morning coffee:

the IC-R8600 does voice squelch on SSB the way the OP would like, e.g. muting the noise and (as KC2ASB points out) doing that without running the risk of squelching out weak signals.

The IC-R8500 has similar functionality but it does not work on SSB.

Both radios have conventional squelch which does work on SSB.

 

[EAFrizzle]

The Xiegu G90 has a conventional squelch that works well, though I only use it for FM.

I monitor a lot of HF mil/gov as well, and the hiss and noise can be irritating. I like to back the gain off just a bit to tame the noise; if there's activity on the frequency, you can dial it in fairly well.

If it's mostly the high audio frequencies that bother you, a physical filter on the speaker may help. Foam, paper towel, cloth, etc., will give you attenuation of different levels and frequencies. For the Xiegu G90, a common mod is some velcro and a 1½" PVC elbow to direct the top-fire speaker audio. I have a sponge and a couple other things cut to fit so I can dampen the noise as conditions dictate.

 

[prcguy]

The Icom IC-7100 has voice squelch similar to the R8600. I find it works ok but not as good as some military radios I've had in the past. The Harris RF-5000 series transceivers were fantastic where literally nothing would break squelch except a voice and it would work fine even on really weak signals.

 

[kc2asb]

The Icom IC-7100 has voice squelch similar to the R8600. I find it works ok but not as good as some military radios I've had in the past. The Harris RF-5000 series transceivers were fantastic where literally nothing would break squelch except a voice and it would work fine even on really weak signals.

It's hard for these consumer grade radios to match the performance of the commercial/ military gear used by the government. I think the FCC would use Racal and Harris receivers at their monitoring posts. If any of this gear even turns up on the surplus market, it's very likely well-used after the government and military are done with it.

 

[W8WCA]

Do you happen to know if the 705 has the same function?

The Icom IC-705 has both a Noise Blanker and a Noise Reduction that work quite well
also from Manual:

Noise squelch Rotate until the noise just disappears and the TX/RX indicator goes OFF. LActivates when the squelch level is set to between 30% and 50% in the FM, AM,* or DV mode. * Only when the AIR band is selected. •
S-meter squelch The S-meter squelch disables the audio output from the speaker or headphones when the received signal is weaker than the specified S-meter squelch level. Rotate clockwise to increase the S-meter threshold level

so . . . It does not seem to have the Noise Squelch on SSB - I will check it tonight and report back.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

there is this classic product:

VOS-1 VOICE OPERATED SQUELCH for SSB Single Sideband Radio from Naval Electronics

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

And this one:

The Jet Propulsion Lab's "Smart" Squelch / VOX

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

and yet another..

Adding HF Capability to Your IRLP Node

 

[merlin]

Never seen a decent HF receiver that didn't have squelch other than tone squelch.

 

[kc2asb]

Never seen a decent HF receiver that didn't have squelch other than tone squelch.

The majority of HF receivers made since the 80's did have squelch controls. However, my JRC NRD-515 and Yaesu FRG-7 do not have them. The Kenwood R-1000 lacks a squelch control also. These receivers also do not have FM mode, so perhaps that is why it was omitted.

The successor models (NRD-525, R-2000) did come with squelch controls, as well as FM mode and options for VHF/UHF converters for extended receive range.

 

[W8WCA]

The Icom IC-705 has both a Noise Blanker and a Noise Reduction that work quite well
also from Manual:

Noise squelch Rotate until the noise just disappears and the TX/RX indicator goes OFF. LActivates when the squelch level is set to between 30% and 50% in the FM, AM,* or DV mode. * Only when the AIR band is selected. •
S-meter squelch The S-meter squelch disables the audio output from the speaker or headphones when the received signal is weaker than the specified S-meter squelch level. Rotate clockwise to increase the S-meter threshold level

so . . . It does not seem to have the Noise Squelch on SSB - I will check it tonight and report back.

OK I tried and I must admit: I do not understand the Icom IC-705 Noise Squelch. There does not seem to be a separate control just one Squelch. So it may automatically 'do' Noise Squelch under the conditions stated above?

 

[kc2asb]

OK I tried and I must admit: I do not understand the Icom IC-705 Noise Squelch. There does not seem to be a separate control just one Squelch. So it may automatically 'do' Noise Squelch under the conditions stated above?

I don't own an IC-705, but based on the portion of the manual you quoted, it appears you are correct. Noise squelch works in FM mode or AM/DV on the AIR band.

What happens when you rotate the squelch control in SSB mode? Do you see a bar appear on the S-meter indicating the squelch level? If so, that is exactly how the squelch functions on my R-75. The minimum setting is S-1; any signals that are weaker will be missed.

 

[W8WCA]

I don't own an IC-705, but based on the portion of the manual you quoted, it appears you are correct. Noise squelch works in FM mode or AM/DV on the AIR band.

What happens when you rotate the squelch control in SSB mode? Do you see a bar appear on the S-meter indicating the squelch level? If so, that is exactly how the squelch functions on my R-75. The minimum setting is S-1; any signals that are weaker will be missed.

That is correct it works like that - it has a marker that moves on the S-Meter as you adjust the Squelch

 

[krokus]

What about a digital noise reduction system?

Xiegu GNR1 Digital Audio Noise Filter | Noise Reduction | 22dB | Knob

The Xiegu GNR1 digital audio noise filter is an audio processing device integrating digital noise reduction and digital filtering. It can be widely used in the external audio processing sector of all types of wireless receiving equipment such as radio transceiver, receiver, radio, to effectively...

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