There are two ways to deal with improving ham radio receivers, or — for that matter — any sort of receiver. You can filter and modify the radio frequency including the radio’s intermediate frequency, or you can alter the audio frequency output. Historically, RF and IF techniques have been the most valued because rejecting unwanted noise and signals early allows the rest of the radio to focus on the actual signal of interest. However, audio filters are much easier to work with and until recently, DSPs that could handle RF frequencies were expensive and uncommon. However, [watersstanton] shows us how to make what could be the cheapest audio enhancer ever. It is little more than a modified cardboard box, and you can see and hear the result in the video below.
On the one hand, you shouldn’t expect miracles. On the other hand, you probably have box laying around and can try it in the next three minutes so why not give it a go? You can hear a bit of difference when using the box and not using the box.
In particular, you can tell, too, a difference in the position of the box. He also encourages you to experiment with different materials. He likens it to cupping your hand around your ear to direct sound flow. We’ve actually seen passive amplifiers for phones that are not much different than this.
We are firm believers that ham radio doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby. You can scrouge quite a bit of gear using almost nothing.
