Hello, All!
I don't think all of the perceived differences in the 'loudness' of reed
relay clicks comes from differences in the transceivers.
Mechanical 'clicks' have a lot of high frequency content to them, and those
who have lost significant high frequency acuity tend not to hear them.
In our world many people suffer a great deal of loss of high frequency
hearing loss as a function of age.
This is however quite variable in terms of severity, the age at which it
begins and the rate of loss, the characteristics of the frequency roll-off,
and the degree to which this loss is noticed by the individuals who have it.
Furthermore, some people are more 'bothered' by clicks than others, even
when hearing acuity is similar.
We run into this when we implant mechanical heart valves into people.
Fortunately, many of the patients who get these valves are old enough that
they are not bothered by the clicks, as they have lost the high frequency
acuity that would allow them to hear the clicks. And most of those who hear
the clicks understand that they are a necessary part of the life-saving
device that they now house. But some [fortunately a rare few] really
complain about them. And one [fill in the blank here] even sued because he
claimed 'wasn't warned' that the clicks would be extremely bothersome to
him, and claimed the clicks caused him extreme emotional harm.
So now we tell everyone about the clicks in gory detail. "YOU WILL HAVE
CLICKS AND SOME PEOPLE SAY THEY HAVE BEEN DRIVEN CRAZY BY THEM!!!"
If you have good high frequency hearing and stand next to someone with such
a valve, it basically sounds like a watch ticking.
It has been my personal experience that those who will complain about the
valve clicks seem to be more accurately identified pre-operatively when
categorized from a psychological standpoint than from an acoustic acuity
standpoint. Translated, 'some people are just complainers', and future
behaviour can be predicted with a high degree of reliability from past
behaviour.
So if you are 'bothered' by your relay clicks, be happy that you have good
enough hearing to perceive them. And ask someone else if you tend to
complain a lot ;)
73,
Roger Rehr
W3SZ
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