[Flexradio] Flexradio Google Theme
It 'think' the Flex5K/DDUt theme has finally been added to Googles theme list. Anyway, I 'think' if your use Google Desktop Themes, a search on Flex5K/DDUt should give your the simple them I created. -- --- Watch where you point that thing, Tom said carefully. --- Bill H. in Chicagoland webcams at http://w9ol-towercam.webhop.org weather at http://hhweather.webhop.org live weathercam chat hhweather.chatango.com ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
See the following: http://kc.flexradio.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50478.aspx The Mixer gain is essentially the input gain control for the codec. I have done a lot of experimentation with it and this is what I think sounds best, but the difference is almost imperceptible. I use outboard audio hardware (channel strip) ,making sure that I generate most of the AF gain using the class A mic preamp (tube). By doing so, I ensure that I will have a good clean high SNR source signal. Making up gain later in the audio chain degrades SNR. As Rob indicated, I arbitrarily set the MIC GAIN to a mid-value, like 35 so I have some headroom to work with. I then adjust the MIXER GAIN so that I am not over driving the codec input which would degrade the SNR. For my setup, the MIXER GAIN is at ~30% of scale. Like I indicated, I have used lower MIC GAIN with higher MIXER GAIN (and vice-a-versa) and I really can't tell a lot of difference. Methinks having a lower MIXER GAIN setting sounds cleaner. Ideally, I'd like to see what the actual input signal is coming from the mic or outboard equipment so I could match the output and inputs properly and not overdrive (exceed O dB) that AF input first stage. As noted the key is to never over drive a single stage because that degrade your SNR. One thing to make sure you pay attention to. You really need to listen to yourself in a 2nd receiver over the air. Most "legacy" radios have narrow RX filters (~2.9K) and listing to yourself in the monitor (wide band) can mislead you into what others are hearing. Since I have two FLEX SDRs, I make sure I match the RX filter width to the TX filter width when adjusting the EQ. I adjust using several TX filter widths; 2.6K (DX/contest), 3.0k (SSB), 4.0K (ESSB) 5K (AM) and 8K (FM). Start wide (FM) and work your way down. If you EQ correctly, what sounds *really* good at 8K should sound good at 3.0K and 2.6K should have good communication clarity characteristics. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Mike Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 7:38 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain Is the Mixer dropdown in the console the very first gain stage in the Flex5000A and if so, what is the decending order of variables...does it follow in sequence with the TX Meter dropdown settings? [Mixer], MIC, EQ preamp, Leveler, CPDR/DX button? 73 Mike, K4EAR -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Larry Otto Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 5:37 PM To: W1AEX - Rob; flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain Thanks Rob - Very well written. Are Flex folks great, or what? 73 Larry - Original Message - From: "W1AEX - Rob" To: Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 3:16 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain Larry, I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire manual? What I came up with is pasted below. 73, Rob W1AEX -- Audio Gain Distribution Inside PowerSDR: I have encountered lots of Flex/SDR users on the air who sound great in every voice mode. However, it's not uncommon to hear stations who seem to have a lot of grit, distortion, and harshness in their audio in all the voice modes. As it turns out, many of these stations are completely unaware of the multi-function TX meter and how to use it to correctly set the audio gain distribution throughout the Power SDR audio chain. It's not unusual to find that one of the stages is inadvertently running at maximum gain while another stage is set near the minimum to compensate. This can invoke strange events such as ringing in the audio, distortion, and aggressive ALC action with pumping and audio artifacts. I certainly don't know everything there is to know about squeezing the most out of the audio functions in Power SDR, but I did find that balancing the gain from start to finish has brought very satisfactory results for me and a number of others who were becoming very frustrated. Pages 77 and 78 of the 2.x.x Power SDR manual "sort of" infer the information given below, but I have found that many users are completely unaware of any audio level settings beyond the front panel Mic slider. Hopefully the steps below will help someone to avoid a disappointing result when they start to transmit! 1. Connect the Flex to a 50 ohm dummy load and select one of the voice modes in Power SDR. Make sure that you have a TX profile selected that has your bandwidth set as you deem appropriate for the phone mode you
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
Is the Mixer dropdown in the console the very first gain stage in the Flex5000A and if so, what is the decending order of variables...does it follow in sequence with the TX Meter dropdown settings? [Mixer], MIC, EQ preamp, Leveler, CPDR/DX button? 73 Mike, K4EAR -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Larry Otto Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 5:37 PM To: W1AEX - Rob; flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain Thanks Rob - Very well written. Are Flex folks great, or what? 73 Larry - Original Message - From: "W1AEX - Rob" To: Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 3:16 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain Larry, I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire manual? What I came up with is pasted below. 73, Rob W1AEX -- Audio Gain Distribution Inside PowerSDR: I have encountered lots of Flex/SDR users on the air who sound great in every voice mode. However, it's not uncommon to hear stations who seem to have a lot of grit, distortion, and harshness in their audio in all the voice modes. As it turns out, many of these stations are completely unaware of the multi-function TX meter and how to use it to correctly set the audio gain distribution throughout the Power SDR audio chain. It's not unusual to find that one of the stages is inadvertently running at maximum gain while another stage is set near the minimum to compensate. This can invoke strange events such as ringing in the audio, distortion, and aggressive ALC action with pumping and audio artifacts. I certainly don't know everything there is to know about squeezing the most out of the audio functions in Power SDR, but I did find that balancing the gain from start to finish has brought very satisfactory results for me and a number of others who were becoming very frustrated. Pages 77 and 78 of the 2.x.x Power SDR manual "sort of" infer the information given below, but I have found that many users are completely unaware of any audio level settings beyond the front panel Mic slider. Hopefully the steps below will help someone to avoid a disappointing result when they start to transmit! 1. Connect the Flex to a 50 ohm dummy load and select one of the voice modes in Power SDR. Make sure that you have a TX profile selected that has your bandwidth set as you deem appropriate for the phone mode you are using. 2. If you have either the "DX" or "Compander" button selected on the front panel of Power SDR, unselect it now. 3. The "Mic" slider on the Power SDR front panel GUI is scaled from 0 to 70. Place it at the mid-point value of 35. 4. In the upper right corner of the Power SDR interface use the TX dropdown in the meter to select "Mic". This allows you to view the level of the first audio stage of your Flex. 5. From the dropdown menus along the top left edge of the Power SDR interface, select "Mixer" and position it on your desktop so you can access it easily. With the Flex connected to a dummy load, key the transceiver and speak into the microphone at the voice level you typically use on the air. Observe the TX meter "Mic" level and adjust your level up or down with the "Mic" input level slider (or the slider for whichever input you are using) in the Mixer so that the maximum peaks reach no more than -2 dBm. 6. Now set the TX meter to "EQ". This allows you to view the level of your second audio stage. From the dropdown menus along the top left of the Power SDR interface, select "Equalizer" and position it on your desktop so that you can access the Transmit Equalizer easily. I would suggest that you enable the 10 band equalizer function at this time, if you have not already done so. 7. Observe the TX meter "EQ" level as you speak into the microphone and adjust the "Preamp" slider in the EQ interface so that your maximum peaks reach no more than -2 dBm. 8. Set the TX meter to Leveler. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the AGC/ALC settings page. As you transmit and speak into the mic, adjust the "Leveler" setting upward or downward from the default setting of 5 but make sure that peaks on the TX meter do not exceed 0 dBm. You can further adjust the attack/decay/hang times if the Leveler is not responding quickly enough, or if it seems slow to release. This is largely trial and error, but I found the default decay and hang times to be too long, and reducing them smoothed things so that there was no audible pumping or excessive periods of gain reduction. (Pages 156 - 157 of the PowerSDR 2.x manual provide more details) 9. Set the TX meter to ALC. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the AGC/ALC se
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
On 5/10/2011 12:16 PM, W1AEX - Rob wrote: I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire manual? What I came up with is pasted below. Rob, Thanks for putting that together. I just plugged a mic in, adjusted a few basic settings and got good reports, so I left it at that. You have certainly provided some good info, and I suspect my dummy load will see some use over the next day or so! On a related matter, the 'Scope' display option works on transmit, although I'm not sure what the vertical scale actually represents. I can definitely see a difference when using the CPDR or DX settings. 73 Alf NU8I Scottsdale AZ DM43an ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
Thanks Rob - Very well written. Are Flex folks great, or what? 73 Larry - Original Message - From: "W1AEX - Rob" To: Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 3:16 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain Larry, I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire manual? What I came up with is pasted below. 73, Rob W1AEX -- Audio Gain Distribution Inside PowerSDR: I have encountered lots of Flex/SDR users on the air who sound great in every voice mode. However, it’s not uncommon to hear stations who seem to have a lot of grit, distortion, and harshness in their audio in all the voice modes. As it turns out, many of these stations are completely unaware of the multi-function TX meter and how to use it to correctly set the audio gain distribution throughout the Power SDR audio chain. It’s not unusual to find that one of the stages is inadvertently running at maximum gain while another stage is set near the minimum to compensate. This can invoke strange events such as ringing in the audio, distortion, and aggressive ALC action with pumping and audio artifacts. I certainly don’t know everything there is to know about squeezing the most out of the audio functions in Power SDR, but I did find that balancing the gain from start to finish has brought very satisfactory results for me and a number of others who were becoming very frustrated. Pages 77 and 78 of the 2.x.x Power SDR manual "sort of" infer the information given below, but I have found that many users are completely unaware of any audio level settings beyond the front panel Mic slider. Hopefully the steps below will help someone to avoid a disappointing result when they start to transmit! 1. Connect the Flex to a 50 ohm dummy load and select one of the voice modes in Power SDR. Make sure that you have a TX profile selected that has your bandwidth set as you deem appropriate for the phone mode you are using. 2. If you have either the “DX” or “Compander” button selected on the front panel of Power SDR, unselect it now. 3. The “Mic” slider on the Power SDR front panel GUI is scaled from 0 to 70. Place it at the mid-point value of 35. 4. In the upper right corner of the Power SDR interface use the TX dropdown in the meter to select "Mic”. This allows you to view the level of the first audio stage of your Flex. 5. From the dropdown menus along the top left edge of the Power SDR interface, select “Mixer” and position it on your desktop so you can access it easily. With the Flex connected to a dummy load, key the transceiver and speak into the microphone at the voice level you typically use on the air. Observe the TX meter “Mic” level and adjust your level up or down with the “Mic” input level slider (or the slider for whichever input you are using) in the Mixer so that the maximum peaks reach no more than –2 dBm. 6. Now set the TX meter to “EQ”. This allows you to view the level of your second audio stage. From the dropdown menus along the top left of the Power SDR interface, select “Equalizer” and position it on your desktop so that you can access the Transmit Equalizer easily. I would suggest that you enable the 10 band equalizer function at this time, if you have not already done so. 7. Observe the TX meter “EQ” level as you speak into the microphone and adjust the “Preamp” slider in the EQ interface so that your maximum peaks reach no more than –2 dBm. 8. Set the TX meter to Leveler. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the AGC/ALC settings page. As you transmit and speak into the mic, adjust the “Leveler” setting upward or downward from the default setting of 5 but make sure that peaks on the TX meter do not exceed 0 dBm. You can further adjust the attack/decay/hang times if the Leveler is not responding quickly enough, or if it seems slow to release. This is largely trial and error, but I found the default decay and hang times to be too long, and reducing them smoothed things so that there was no audible pumping or excessive periods of gain reduction. (Pages 156 - 157 of the PowerSDR 2.x manual provide more details) 9. Set the TX meter to ALC. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the AGC/ALC settings page. Apply audio and observe that the maximum level of peaks does not exceed 0 dBm. If everything in the preceding stages has been set correctly, you should see that your maximum peaks will end up between -5 dBm and -1 dBm. You can also adjust the attack/decay/hang times of the ALC if you see a peak sneaking through now and then. Again, I found that by reducing the decay and hang times in small steps I could find a setting that resulted in smooth audio without pumping or extended periods of gain reduc
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
Thank you Rob! Bob N4HY On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 3:16 PM, W1AEX - Rob wrote: > Larry, > > I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a > possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I > did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The > necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's > not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire > manual? What I came up with is pasted below. > > 73, > > Rob W1AEX > > -- > > Audio Gain Distribution Inside PowerSDR: > > I have encountered lots of Flex/SDR users on the air who sound great in > every voice mode. However, it’s not uncommon to hear stations who seem to > have a lot of grit, distortion, and harshness in their audio in all the > voice modes. As it turns out, many of these stations are completely unaware > of the multi-function TX meter and how to use it to correctly set the audio > gain distribution throughout the Power SDR audio chain. It’s not unusual to > find that one of the stages is inadvertently running at maximum gain while > another stage is set near the minimum to compensate. This can invoke strange > events such as ringing in the audio, distortion, and aggressive ALC action > with pumping and audio artifacts. I certainly don’t know everything there is > to know about squeezing the most out of the audio functions in Power SDR, > but I did find that balancing the gain from start to finish has brought very > satisfactory results for me and a number of others who were becoming very > frustrated. Pages 77 and 78 of the 2.x.x Power SDR manual "sort of" infer > the information given below, but I have found that many users are completely > unaware of any audio level settings beyond the front panel Mic slider. > Hopefully the steps below will help someone to avoid a disappointing result > when they start to transmit! > > 1. Connect the Flex to a 50 ohm dummy load and select one of the voice > modes in Power SDR. Make sure that you have a TX profile selected that has > your bandwidth set as you deem appropriate for the phone mode you are using. > > 2. If you have either the “DX” or “Compander” button selected on the front > panel of Power SDR, unselect it now. > > 3. The “Mic” slider on the Power SDR front panel GUI is scaled from 0 to > 70. Place it at the mid-point value of 35. > > 4. In the upper right corner of the Power SDR interface use the TX dropdown > in the meter to select "Mic”. This allows you to view the level of the first > audio stage of your Flex. > > 5. From the dropdown menus along the top left edge of the Power SDR > interface, select “Mixer” and position it on your desktop so you can access > it easily. With the Flex connected to a dummy load, key the transceiver and > speak into the microphone at the voice level you typically use on the air. > Observe the TX meter “Mic” level and adjust your level up or down with the > “Mic” input level slider (or the slider for whichever input you are using) > in the Mixer so that the maximum peaks reach no more than –2 dBm. > > 6. Now set the TX meter to “EQ”. This allows you to view the level of your > second audio stage. From the dropdown menus along the top left of the Power > SDR interface, select “Equalizer” and position it on your desktop so that > you can access the Transmit Equalizer easily. I would suggest that you > enable the 10 band equalizer function at this time, if you have not already > done so. > > 7. Observe the TX meter “EQ” level as you speak into the microphone and > adjust the “Preamp” slider in the EQ interface so that your maximum peaks > reach no more than –2 dBm. > > 8. Set the TX meter to Leveler. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the > AGC/ALC settings page. As you transmit and speak into the mic, adjust the > “Leveler” setting upward or downward from the default setting of 5 but make > sure that peaks on the TX meter do not exceed 0 dBm. You can further adjust > the attack/decay/hang times if the Leveler is not responding quickly enough, > or if it seems slow to release. This is largely trial and error, but I found > the default decay and hang times to be too long, and reducing them smoothed > things so that there was no audible pumping or excessive periods of gain > reduction. (Pages 156 - 157 of the PowerSDR 2.x manual provide more details) > > 9. Set the TX meter to ALC. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the > AGC/ALC settings page. Apply audio and observe that the maximum level of > peaks does not exceed 0 dBm. If everything in the preceding stages has been > set correctly, you should see that your maximum peaks will end up between -5 > dBm and -1 dBm. You can also adjust the attack/decay/hang times of the ALC > if you see a peak sneaking through now and then. Again, I found that by > reducing the decay and hang times in small steps I could find a setting that > resulted in smooth audio without pumping or exte
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
I put the great article by Rob on the Flexradoiowiki.com site so its there if you ever need it again! Thanks Rob for the excellent work, Neal On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 3:46 PM, Ted Trostle wrote: > I think these are excellent instructions and advice !! > > Ted, WB2LOU > > On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 3:16 PM, W1AEX - Rob wrote: > > > Larry, > > > > I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a > > possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I > > did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. > The > > necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, > it's > > not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the > entire > > manual? What I came up with is pasted below. > > > > 73, > > > > Rob W1AEX > > > > -- > > > > Audio Gain Distribution Inside PowerSDR: > > > > I have encountered lots of Flex/SDR users on the air who sound great in > > every voice mode. However, it’s not uncommon to hear stations who seem to > > have a lot of grit, distortion, and harshness in their audio in all the > > voice modes. As it turns out, many of these stations are completely > unaware > > of the multi-function TX meter and how to use it to correctly set the > audio > > gain distribution throughout the Power SDR audio chain. It’s not unusual > to > > find that one of the stages is inadvertently running at maximum gain > while > > another stage is set near the minimum to compensate. This can invoke > strange > > events such as ringing in the audio, distortion, and aggressive ALC > action > > with pumping and audio artifacts. I certainly don’t know everything there > is > > to know about squeezing the most out of the audio functions in Power SDR, > > but I did find that balancing the gain from start to finish has brought > very > > satisfactory results for me and a number of others who were becoming very > > frustrated. Pages 77 and 78 of the 2.x.x Power SDR manual "sort of" infer > > the information given below, but I have found that many users are > completely > > unaware of any audio level settings beyond the front panel Mic slider. > > Hopefully the steps below will help someone to avoid a disappointing > result > > when they start to transmit! > > > > 1. Connect the Flex to a 50 ohm dummy load and select one of the voice > > modes in Power SDR. Make sure that you have a TX profile selected that > has > > your bandwidth set as you deem appropriate for the phone mode you are > using. > > > > 2. If you have either the “DX” or “Compander” button selected on the > front > > panel of Power SDR, unselect it now. > > > > 3. The “Mic” slider on the Power SDR front panel GUI is scaled from 0 to > > 70. Place it at the mid-point value of 35. > > > > 4. In the upper right corner of the Power SDR interface use the TX > dropdown > > in the meter to select "Mic”. This allows you to view the level of the > first > > audio stage of your Flex. > > > > 5. From the dropdown menus along the top left edge of the Power SDR > > interface, select “Mixer” and position it on your desktop so you can > access > > it easily. With the Flex connected to a dummy load, key the transceiver > and > > speak into the microphone at the voice level you typically use on the > air. > > Observe the TX meter “Mic” level and adjust your level up or down with > the > > “Mic” input level slider (or the slider for whichever input you are > using) > > in the Mixer so that the maximum peaks reach no more than –2 dBm. > > > > 6. Now set the TX meter to “EQ”. This allows you to view the level of > your > > second audio stage. From the dropdown menus along the top left of the > Power > > SDR interface, select “Equalizer” and position it on your desktop so that > > you can access the Transmit Equalizer easily. I would suggest that you > > enable the 10 band equalizer function at this time, if you have not > already > > done so. > > > > 7. Observe the TX meter “EQ” level as you speak into the microphone and > > adjust the “Preamp” slider in the EQ interface so that your maximum peaks > > reach no more than –2 dBm. > > > > 8. Set the TX meter to Leveler. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to > the > > AGC/ALC settings page. As you transmit and speak into the mic, adjust the > > “Leveler” setting upward or downward from the default setting of 5 but > make > > sure that peaks on the TX meter do not exceed 0 dBm. You can further > adjust > > the attack/decay/hang times if the Leveler is not responding quickly > enough, > > or if it seems slow to release. This is largely trial and error, but I > found > > the default decay and hang times to be too long, and reducing them > smoothed > > things so that there was no audible pumping or excessive periods of gain > > reduction. (Pages 156 - 157 of the PowerSDR 2.x manual provide more > details) > > > > 9. Set the TX meter to ALC. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the > > AGC/ALC settings page. Apply aud
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
I think these are excellent instructions and advice !! Ted, WB2LOU On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 3:16 PM, W1AEX - Rob wrote: > Larry, > > I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a > possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I > did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The > necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's > not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire > manual? What I came up with is pasted below. > > 73, > > Rob W1AEX > > -- > > Audio Gain Distribution Inside PowerSDR: > > I have encountered lots of Flex/SDR users on the air who sound great in > every voice mode. However, it’s not uncommon to hear stations who seem to > have a lot of grit, distortion, and harshness in their audio in all the > voice modes. As it turns out, many of these stations are completely unaware > of the multi-function TX meter and how to use it to correctly set the audio > gain distribution throughout the Power SDR audio chain. It’s not unusual to > find that one of the stages is inadvertently running at maximum gain while > another stage is set near the minimum to compensate. This can invoke strange > events such as ringing in the audio, distortion, and aggressive ALC action > with pumping and audio artifacts. I certainly don’t know everything there is > to know about squeezing the most out of the audio functions in Power SDR, > but I did find that balancing the gain from start to finish has brought very > satisfactory results for me and a number of others who were becoming very > frustrated. Pages 77 and 78 of the 2.x.x Power SDR manual "sort of" infer > the information given below, but I have found that many users are completely > unaware of any audio level settings beyond the front panel Mic slider. > Hopefully the steps below will help someone to avoid a disappointing result > when they start to transmit! > > 1. Connect the Flex to a 50 ohm dummy load and select one of the voice > modes in Power SDR. Make sure that you have a TX profile selected that has > your bandwidth set as you deem appropriate for the phone mode you are using. > > 2. If you have either the “DX” or “Compander” button selected on the front > panel of Power SDR, unselect it now. > > 3. The “Mic” slider on the Power SDR front panel GUI is scaled from 0 to > 70. Place it at the mid-point value of 35. > > 4. In the upper right corner of the Power SDR interface use the TX dropdown > in the meter to select "Mic”. This allows you to view the level of the first > audio stage of your Flex. > > 5. From the dropdown menus along the top left edge of the Power SDR > interface, select “Mixer” and position it on your desktop so you can access > it easily. With the Flex connected to a dummy load, key the transceiver and > speak into the microphone at the voice level you typically use on the air. > Observe the TX meter “Mic” level and adjust your level up or down with the > “Mic” input level slider (or the slider for whichever input you are using) > in the Mixer so that the maximum peaks reach no more than –2 dBm. > > 6. Now set the TX meter to “EQ”. This allows you to view the level of your > second audio stage. From the dropdown menus along the top left of the Power > SDR interface, select “Equalizer” and position it on your desktop so that > you can access the Transmit Equalizer easily. I would suggest that you > enable the 10 band equalizer function at this time, if you have not already > done so. > > 7. Observe the TX meter “EQ” level as you speak into the microphone and > adjust the “Preamp” slider in the EQ interface so that your maximum peaks > reach no more than –2 dBm. > > 8. Set the TX meter to Leveler. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the > AGC/ALC settings page. As you transmit and speak into the mic, adjust the > “Leveler” setting upward or downward from the default setting of 5 but make > sure that peaks on the TX meter do not exceed 0 dBm. You can further adjust > the attack/decay/hang times if the Leveler is not responding quickly enough, > or if it seems slow to release. This is largely trial and error, but I found > the default decay and hang times to be too long, and reducing them smoothed > things so that there was no audible pumping or excessive periods of gain > reduction. (Pages 156 - 157 of the PowerSDR 2.x manual provide more details) > > 9. Set the TX meter to ALC. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the > AGC/ALC settings page. Apply audio and observe that the maximum level of > peaks does not exceed 0 dBm. If everything in the preceding stages has been > set correctly, you should see that your maximum peaks will end up between -5 > dBm and -1 dBm. You can also adjust the attack/decay/hang times of the ALC > if you see a peak sneaking through now and then. Again, I found that by > reducing the decay and hang times in small steps I could find a setting that > resul
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 12:16 PM, W1AEX - Rob wrote: > Larry, > > I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a > possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I > did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The > necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's > not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire > manual? What I came up with is pasted below. > You don't need to mail it to Neal. The whole idea of the Wiki is that you can put it in there yourself. -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
Larry, I emailed a step-by-step article to Neal today for consideration as a possible addition to the Flex Wiki. Most people do exactly what you and I did, plug in a mic, adjust the mic slider in the GUI, and run with it. The necessary information is spread throughout the manual, but as I recall, it's not all in one place. Besides, how many Flex users actually read the entire manual? What I came up with is pasted below. 73, Rob W1AEX -- Audio Gain Distribution Inside PowerSDR: I have encountered lots of Flex/SDR users on the air who sound great in every voice mode. However, it’s not uncommon to hear stations who seem to have a lot of grit, distortion, and harshness in their audio in all the voice modes. As it turns out, many of these stations are completely unaware of the multi-function TX meter and how to use it to correctly set the audio gain distribution throughout the Power SDR audio chain. It’s not unusual to find that one of the stages is inadvertently running at maximum gain while another stage is set near the minimum to compensate. This can invoke strange events such as ringing in the audio, distortion, and aggressive ALC action with pumping and audio artifacts. I certainly don’t know everything there is to know about squeezing the most out of the audio functions in Power SDR, but I did find that balancing the gain from start to finish has brought very satisfactory results for me and a number of others who were becoming very frustrated. Pages 77 and 78 of the 2.x.x Power SDR manual "sort of" infer the information given below, but I have found that many users are completely unaware of any audio level settings beyond the front panel Mic slider. Hopefully the steps below will help someone to avoid a disappointing result when they start to transmit! 1. Connect the Flex to a 50 ohm dummy load and select one of the voice modes in Power SDR. Make sure that you have a TX profile selected that has your bandwidth set as you deem appropriate for the phone mode you are using. 2. If you have either the “DX” or “Compander” button selected on the front panel of Power SDR, unselect it now. 3. The “Mic” slider on the Power SDR front panel GUI is scaled from 0 to 70. Place it at the mid-point value of 35. 4. In the upper right corner of the Power SDR interface use the TX dropdown in the meter to select "Mic”. This allows you to view the level of the first audio stage of your Flex. 5. From the dropdown menus along the top left edge of the Power SDR interface, select “Mixer” and position it on your desktop so you can access it easily. With the Flex connected to a dummy load, key the transceiver and speak into the microphone at the voice level you typically use on the air. Observe the TX meter “Mic” level and adjust your level up or down with the “Mic” input level slider (or the slider for whichever input you are using) in the Mixer so that the maximum peaks reach no more than –2 dBm. 6. Now set the TX meter to “EQ”. This allows you to view the level of your second audio stage. From the dropdown menus along the top left of the Power SDR interface, select “Equalizer” and position it on your desktop so that you can access the Transmit Equalizer easily. I would suggest that you enable the 10 band equalizer function at this time, if you have not already done so. 7. Observe the TX meter “EQ” level as you speak into the microphone and adjust the “Preamp” slider in the EQ interface so that your maximum peaks reach no more than –2 dBm. 8. Set the TX meter to Leveler. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the AGC/ALC settings page. As you transmit and speak into the mic, adjust the “Leveler” setting upward or downward from the default setting of 5 but make sure that peaks on the TX meter do not exceed 0 dBm. You can further adjust the attack/decay/hang times if the Leveler is not responding quickly enough, or if it seems slow to release. This is largely trial and error, but I found the default decay and hang times to be too long, and reducing them smoothed things so that there was no audible pumping or excessive periods of gain reduction. (Pages 156 - 157 of the PowerSDR 2.x manual provide more details) 9. Set the TX meter to ALC. Open up the PSDR tab for DSP and go to the AGC/ALC settings page. Apply audio and observe that the maximum level of peaks does not exceed 0 dBm. If everything in the preceding stages has been set correctly, you should see that your maximum peaks will end up between -5 dBm and -1 dBm. You can also adjust the attack/decay/hang times of the ALC if you see a peak sneaking through now and then. Again, I found that by reducing the decay and hang times in small steps I could find a setting that resulted in smooth audio without pumping or extended periods of gain reduction. If your ALC levels are exceeding 0 dBm on any peaks, reduce your “Mic” level by using the slider on the Power SDR front panel GUI.
Re: [Flexradio] Looking for a 5000A
Tim, thanks! Sent from my HTC Touch Pro2 on the Now Network from Sprint®. -Original Message- From: Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 12:38 PM To: paul glassman ; FlexRadio Reflector Subject: RE: [Flexradio] Looking for a 5000A Flex will probably be having some deals starting next week for Dayton. If it is the same as last year, you do not have to be at Dayton to get the special pricing -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of paul glassman Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 11:58 AM To: FlexRadio Reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Looking for a 5000A Hi all, I just sold my 5000C and want to replace it with a 5000A. Second rx is a must, however Antenna tuner is not necessary. Tuner can be in the package, but is not a deal breaker. 73 Paul w8jn ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/ ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Looking for a 5000A
Flex will probably be having some deals starting next week for Dayton. If it is the same as last year, you do not have to be at Dayton to get the special pricing -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of paul glassman Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 11:58 AM To: FlexRadio Reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Looking for a 5000A Hi all, I just sold my 5000C and want to replace it with a 5000A. Second rx is a must, however Antenna tuner is not necessary. Tuner can be in the package, but is not a deal breaker. 73 Paul w8jn ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/ ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
[Flexradio] Looking for a 5000A
Hi all, I just sold my 5000C and want to replace it with a 5000A. Second rx is a must, however Antenna tuner is not necessary. Tuner can be in the package, but is not a deal breaker. 73 Paul w8jn ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
[Flexradio] TX Audio Chain
Hello All: Have been reading K0DAN's explanation of the "many adjustments points in the TX audio chain." At the risk of seeming too "Amateurish" is there a Knowledge Center article that sets out a step by step procedure in setting up good quality audio? I must confess I basically plugged in the mic, set the mic slider, and that was about it. Running a 5000a. 73 W8LO Larry ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] ATU Problem on flex-5000a
Hi Tim, Actually, Klaus pinged me last night and it turns out it wasn't a hardware problem but a EEPROM config issue... although installed correctly, it was configured for the older version of the ATU and not the new rev B board. Once the EEPROM was corrected it immediately started tunnig correctly for every band. None of the documentation indicated that the install procedure was different so I had no idea. Regardless, thanks for the response and I'm a very happy Flex owner! :) -richard, N5YOO On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 6:42 AM, Tim Ellison wrote: > For hardware related issues, your first step should be contacting FlexRadio > support (supp...@flexradio.com) and having Dudley triage the issues. > > > -Tim > > > -Original Message- > From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz > [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Richard Yoo > Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 12:41 AM > To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz > Subject: [Flexradio] ATU Problem on flex-5000a > > I own an Flex-5000a with a factory installed RX2... I just received the ATU > for it and installed it but I"m having some trouble with it. > I've tried scouring the flex kb, the forums, and the archives of this list > and haven't found anything that fixes my issue... I figured I'd try here > before I gave Flex a call directly about it. > > The ATU seems to be installed correctly as SDR 2.0.22 finds it just fine and > shows that its installed. However, when I try to tune any band with my G5RV > antenna it says "Tune Failed: Could Not Bring Down SWR". > > Here are some datapoints: > > * Flex-5000A is running firmware 2.0.15.3 and the firewire driver on the win7 > 32-bit PC is 3.5.5.10185 > > * The G5RV I have tunes up fine with an LDG IT-100 tuner on an Icom > IC-7000 on every band. > > * The Setup -> Transmit -> Tune -> Drive is set to 10w (although I've tried > 2w and 50w) > > * If I connect the G5RV to the Flex and have SDR tune it will go through the > entire tuning cycle (lots of clicking) and kicks back and says "Tune Failed: > Could Not Bring Down SWR" - despite the fact that I can see on the SWR meter > of SDR that its definitely less than 3.0:1 (the ATU SWR Threshold in SDR is > set for 3.0:1) > > Any idea what may be wrong? > > Thanks for any insight, > > -Richard, N5YOO > > ___ > FlexRadio Systems Mailing List > FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz > http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz > Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ > Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/ > ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] ATU Problem on flex-5000a
For hardware related issues, your first step should be contacting FlexRadio support (supp...@flexradio.com) and having Dudley triage the issues. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Richard Yoo Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 12:41 AM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] ATU Problem on flex-5000a I own an Flex-5000a with a factory installed RX2... I just received the ATU for it and installed it but I"m having some trouble with it. I've tried scouring the flex kb, the forums, and the archives of this list and haven't found anything that fixes my issue... I figured I'd try here before I gave Flex a call directly about it. The ATU seems to be installed correctly as SDR 2.0.22 finds it just fine and shows that its installed. However, when I try to tune any band with my G5RV antenna it says "Tune Failed: Could Not Bring Down SWR". Here are some datapoints: * Flex-5000A is running firmware 2.0.15.3 and the firewire driver on the win7 32-bit PC is 3.5.5.10185 * The G5RV I have tunes up fine with an LDG IT-100 tuner on an Icom IC-7000 on every band. * The Setup -> Transmit -> Tune -> Drive is set to 10w (although I've tried 2w and 50w) * If I connect the G5RV to the Flex and have SDR tune it will go through the entire tuning cycle (lots of clicking) and kicks back and says "Tune Failed: Could Not Bring Down SWR" - despite the fact that I can see on the SWR meter of SDR that its definitely less than 3.0:1 (the ATU SWR Threshold in SDR is set for 3.0:1) Any idea what may be wrong? Thanks for any insight, -Richard, N5YOO ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/ ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
