BasicB-003-012-001
What may happen if an SSB transmitter is operated with the microphone gain set too high?
B
Answer
Basic radio theory
Type
A
It may cause harmonic interference on higher bands
B
It may interfere with other stations operating near its frequency
C
It may cause digital interference to computer equipment
D
It may cause interference to other stations operating on lower bands
Answer Notes
Setting the microphone gain too high on a Single Sideband (SSB) transmitter overdrives the audio amplifier and the subsequent RF stages.
Overdriving these circuits causes "clipping" or non-linear amplification. This generates spurious emissions known as "splatter," which broadens the transmitted signal far beyond its normal, legal bandwidth.
Because this splatter spreads out to adjacent frequencies, it creates interference for other stations operating near your frequency. It does not typically cause harmonic interference on entirely different bands, which is a separate technical issue.
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What may happen if an SSB transmitter is operated with too much speech processing?