I'm not sure I understand your problem--are you saying that having... a) calibrated the PA b) set the TX output to nominal 100W setting c) set the mic level for normal speech such that it peaks at the zero meter reading
...that the RF power output is not anywhere near the expected 100W level and is, in fact closer to the 1-5W level? I'm curious how you're measuring the output RF Power and whether this is a peak or average reading. Also, what is the significance of the mic level of 40? It is my understanding and experience that the mic level that generates a zero reading on peaks during normal speech varies significantly depending on both mic and soundcard in use: with my current mic, a $20.00 Radioshack Highball-7 600 Ohm dynamic desk mic, I currently set the mic level in PowerSDR to no more than 8 or 9 when using the HPSDR Janus card; previously, I seem to remember it needed a setting closer to 30 when used with the M-Audio Delta44 card. In any event, there is plenty of mic audio available to modulate the TX and I get good audio reports. I'm certain that a level anywhere near 40 with my current hardware config would seriously overdrive the PA. Maybe you're comparing output of the SDR to another rig at the same nominal power setting, same mic, same antenna, same reporting station and getting audio reports consistent with much lower power when using the SDR - if this is the case, that would certainly be curious and worth trobleshooting. Pete, N3EVL ----- Original Message ----- From: "George" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 3:59 PM Subject: [Flexradio] Microphone drive and auto-tuner settings in PowerSDR > Probably one of the most frustrating things about the SDR-1000 is getting > the transmit audio up to a decent output power level. When the > calibration routine is used the digital modes and CW are just fine at near > 100 watts into a dummy load. But transmit audio is always at a 1-5 watt > levels. Which I'll admit it sounds very good at these levels. Cranking up > the mic audio beyond about "40" results in poor sounding audio. Turning > on "mic boost" is about worthless as it just generates lots of white > background noise when transmitting even with the mic unplugged! > > My solution (and probably several others) is to adjust the PA settings to > the point where mic settings below "40" result in a more normal 40-75 > watts output. But this also throws off all other settings as they > obviously reference to the PA calibration settings. Especially the > built-in auto-tuner settings. It seems to be programmed to stay at 15 > watts no matter what the actual power output is. Of course if the PA > settings are tweaked, the auto-tuner doesn't follow suit and when tune is > selected as much as 70 watts can be dumped through the tuner. Which I'm > sure isn't doing it any good. Is there any way of adjusting the > auto-tuner settings? I'm almost ready to yank it out of the radio and go > back to using an external tuner as it's settings are adjustable in setup. > > My current microphone is an MH-31 which is from my FT-847. It is actually > the best sounding mic I've used on this rig. I've tried all sorts of mics > including amplified mics, computer mics, and major amateur brand desk > mics. None seem to have the drive levels that this radio requires. Am I > stuck with purchasing an external mixer? > > I have searched the knowledge base and aside from recommending purchasing > Heil microphone cartridges, I haven't found much in the way of discussion > of levels required by this rig. > > George > N7BUI > > > > > _______________________________________________ > FlexRadio Systems Mailing List > [email protected] > http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz > Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ > Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: > http://www.flex-radio.com/ > _______________________________________________ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List [email protected] http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
