On Sat, 7 Jan 2006 21:42:48 -0500, "Lenny"
wrote:

Could some kind soul please explain the whole AGC thing to me ?
And keep it simple please.
What does it do?
When should I use AGC Fast?
When should I use AGC Normal?
If I turn off AGC, and manually adjust the RF Gain, what am I doing, and why
am I doing it?
Anything else I should know?
FYI, I have an Icom R75 with all the Kiwa mods, and an Antenna Supermarket
Eavesdropper dipole.
Thanks,
Lenny


Basically, if there is a lot of fading and variability in the signal,
the Automatic Gain Control can smooth it out. It might help you on a
fading and choppy foreign broadcast. It can smooth out a ham SSB
signal. I like to set the AGC to off on CW because then I can hear a
"pop" at the beginning of each dit or dah; otherwise the reception is
smoother and I hear no pop. For RF gain, I like to set it on the
threshold between increasing and decreasing the signal. Any higher a
setting, and atmospheric noise seems excessive, to me. I'd let your
ears be your guide.

The choppier the signal, the more you might use AGC, and the faster
the settings.

The smoother and stronger the signal, the less it might be needed.

RF gain, I just keep at the threshold, and don't diddle with much.

Other ears may vary...

bob
k5qwg