Pole Hill.
I'm no avionics engineer but I have known light aircraft radios to have markedly different reception characteristics between a 50kc spacing, (a frequency ending in, say, 123.750), to a freq like 119.525 or 118.625 which may sound c**p! Particularly the older Narco models in some Cessna's. I guess it's something to do with wether the radio tunes to those frequencies 'spot on'. As 055166k says, we're using a radio and a 'lovely' Radio Shack quality headset so between us speaking in our BBC announcer like voices, and the message getting to you, the words go through alot of wires! As has been said, there is no problem with you asking us to 'say again'. I'm just wondering if you were speaking to my colleague from Belfast who had a cold! Mainecoon is right by the way, no eating or drinking in the Ops room or the 'Tea Police' 'll get ya, and it's up to the Headmasters study with a book down your kecks!! I always tell him 'a bigger boy made me do it', but it never does any good.
Spiney
P.S. You weren't near Winter Hill were you? I haven't known R/T degredation in that area, but it plays havoc with GPS for about a 15nm radius! God knows what it does to the 'family jewels'!