David,
I have several thoughts in addition to those already mentioned.
1. Make sure your mic gain is set according to the procedure in the manual. ALC engages differently in this rig than others you¡¯re used to so use the MIC meter and follow the manual.
2. I used the recording feature on my IC-7100 to adjust settings to get the clearest audio. I wrote about my results a couple of years ago. You look over the results at?
/g/Lab599/topic/865249143. Having followed this rig since it¡¯s inception, I can confidently say the TX-500 has more audio issues than most rigs. The audio chipset used often fails more often than it should. By listening to your audio on a recording or web SDR you should be able to determine if it¡¯s OK. My TX-500 had the main board replaced due to garbled audio.
Over the last few weeks, I used the audio settings linked above on both 20 and 40 meters for POTA activations with excellent results. Coast to coast contacts on 20m with 10w and a dipole.
73,
Gary
K8JOK
