‰ NOW 35 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM DECEMBER 2013 QST PAGE 43‰ AUDIO QUALITY THERE HAVE BEEN CRITICAL COMMENTS CIRCULATING ABOUT THE TRANSMITTED AUDIO QUALITY, WHICH SOME HAVE CATEGORIZED AS MUFFLED. THIS WAS CAUSED BY THE MEMBRANE THAT IS APPARENTLY INCORPORATED INTO THE MICROPHONE TO ALLOW FOR SOME MEASURE OF WATER RESISTANCE. WHILE THE FIRST PRODUCTION UNITS HAD THE THICKER MEMBRANE, ICOM WAS QUICK TO IMPLEMENT A FIX WITH AN UPGRADE PLAN THAT SOLVED THE ISSUE IN SHORT ORDER. YOU CAN TELL IF YOU HAVE THE NEW MATERIAL BY LOOKING INTO THE MIC OPENING. IF IT IS WHITE, IT IS THE NEW MEMBRANE. I LOOKED THE TEST UNIT HAS THE WHITE MEMBRANE AND THE AUDIO WAS NOT AT ALL MUFFLED. YOU CAN CHECK YOUR TRANSMITTED AUDIO BY TWO METHODS. BY USING THE ECHO FUNCTION ON YOUR LOCAL D STAR REPEATER, YOU CAN HEAR YOUR AUDIO REPEATED BACK TO YOU. OR, YOU CAN RECORD TRANSMISSIONS AND INDEED BOTH SIDES OF A COMPLETE QSO BY USING THE RADIOS RECORD FUNCTION RECORDINGS ARE MADE ONTO A MICROSD CARD THAT IS INSERTED INTO A SLOT ON THE SIDE OF THE RADIO. THERES EVEN A VOICE RECORDER FUNCTION FOR SIMPLY RECORDING YOUR OWN NOTES REMINDERS, LISTS, ANYTHING. YOU CAN EVALUATE YOUR OWN AUDIO AND COMPARE IT TO OTHERS PARTICIPATING IN THE QSO. I TRIED BOTH METHODS, AND THE AUDIO QUALITY SEEMED ABSOLUTELY FINE TO ME. REVIEW OF FUNCTIONS SOME MIGHT QUESTION THE UTILITY OF RECORDING YOUR QSO ONTO YOUR RADIOS SD CARD, BUT I IMMEDIATELY ‰ END OF 35 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ