Batboard

This is probably kinda stupid, but I'm wondering if the squelch in these radios has any smarts - does it do any automatic adjustment based on a sampling of ambient background noise?

I know you can set the squelch threshold via RSS, but is that just a constant value?

BTW - thanks for the education - this is a wonderful resource and has saved my bacon a few times.

Bradley

That's about all it does, just like a front panel squelch pot would work. No smarts. If the noise level should change, so might your squelch setting. Usually radios with RSS-settable squelch have a monitor button on the side or top that, when pressed, will open the squelch.

Once you program the radio for PL or DPL access, the squelch setting is usually a moot point. But on some radios, if the squelch is set really tight, it will keep you from hearing weak signals, so usually you want to set it a couple of steps above threshold, especially if it's for amateur use.

Bob M.

Also, if you set it so low in the RSS/CPS, it will be just like having the knob all the way down on any other radio. Without PL/DPL, you will hear the noise. With PL/DPL, the busy light will be on and it will probaby slow scanning.

Some Motorola radios have what is called Squelch Adders in the RSS that add a tighter squelch on one or more channels, MODEs.

On a radio such as the Saber, you may need to adjust the Squelch on the worst case channel for best perfomance using the Service section of the RSS.

Squelch 101 The squelch circuit samples the noise above the normal audio range, 3000hz frequency and above. When the receiver begins to 'hear' a signal, the high frequency noise decreases below a set squelch threshold that is used to enable the receivers audio. The accual noise sampling is shaped/filtered to match the receiver charictoristics, some radios have different charictoristics.

Thanks everyone --
Very informative and helpful, as usual!