DSD W/Diamond XS71 Sound Card - Problem

[KC1UA]

Hello,

After reading that the Diamond XS71 sound card seemed to be a good match for Ubuntu Linux and DSD I purchased one off of eBay for about $20. It arrived brand new in the box.

Expecting it to plug and play as described in other DSD threads I disabled my onboard AC97 sound after installing the XS71 and booted into Ubuntu 10.04. Well, the XS71 outputs audio to my speakers just fine, but it doesn't hear any audio via the line in jack.

I've been through this enough with Ubuntu at this point to know I'm making the right selections. Xoscope shows nothing. DSD's scope feature shows nothing. I have confirmed good cables between discriminator output and line input.

I read in one location on the web (not RR, I believe it was the Ubuntu forums) of another person having the same problem. I am unable to find a driver for this card for Ubuntu, and I'm just running it with whatever Ubuntu installed when it saw the card. It does not identify it by name, instead just as "Internal Audio, 1 output/1 input, analog stereo duplex".

Ugh! Can anyone shed any light? Thanks in advance.

 

[offsite]

Tried XS71 for input just now... doesn't work here, either.

Proven config is USB audio adapter for input, XS71 for output.

Works great that way!

Linux and sound cards... oh, well....

 

[KC1UA]

I'll give that a try. I have numerous USB sound devices. Are you referring to the 99 cent version or something else? I have a Soundblaster Live! 24 bit external, an older Soundblaster, a generic, and numerous 99 centers.

Thanks.

 

[offsite]

Best results in our area so far come from using the UA-25EX, an expensive (for this application) external USB adapter from the music industry.

In clearly an 'off label' application of this device, its success here seems tied to its ability to adjust input signal levels via knobs on the front panel vs. the s/w only approach available elsewhere.

This adjustability also allows unloading the receiver output by inserting a 100 K resister and 10 uF cap in series ahead of the adapter input... which essentially eliminates signal sag.

I'm sure there are other (more suitable) external adapters, as well, but this one was at hand, and is said to work very well.

My understanding is that some apps actually work better with separate input and output adapters because their input and output sample rates may be different.

-rb-

 

[KC1UA]

At about $250.00 on eBay for the UA-25EX, I'll find another alternative. I haven't tried the resistor and cap on the output yet. I'd have to build it into a box with jacks as I'm experimenting with several different discriminator taps, some built in such as the PCR1000 and the AR5000A+3, others such as a BC246T and a BC700A that have obviously been modified for discriminator output.

I'll keep playing with combinations of cards. The closest I've got thus far is using the onboard AC97 audio as both input and output with the discriminator output of the PCR1000. I have to crank down the line in level as low as it goes to get any intelligibility at all for a P25 signal, and then it's at best spotty.

 

[gariac]

I use the XS71. I use it on opensuse, so I can't help with ubuntu. However, it you have alsamixer, then I might be able to help. Alsamixer is ugly but it does allow every feature of the card to be set. If you run KDE, you can use kmix to set up the card. Half the battle is to make sure the line input is set up to "capture".

I have to laugh at the 99 cent usb soundcards. I can't say I ever saw one. I have seen 3 for a dollar usb cables. ;-)

The XS71 worked in rev "21" of alsa. I had to update by notebook to rev "23" to get the usb card to work semi-correctly. [It seems to decode based on the text, but I just get clicks for the demod audio.] Updating alsa is ugly since it involves updating the kernel.

 

[KC1UA]

Success! Rather than cross-posting, here's what is getting me over the top: http://forums.radioreference.com/1333150-post153.html

 

[gariac]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9700/5.0.0.714 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

You probably have a mixer issue. If you run KDE, use kmix. (Maybe kmixer, I forget.) Otherwise use alsamixer.

I run opensuse, so I really can't help with ubuntu. Unfortunately, you don't get yast with ubuntu.

 

[KC1UA]

I've actually wound up using a Hewlett Packard T5720 Thin Client booting from 4GB memory stick with Ubuntu installed and the 5720's on board sound device. This has been the best by far for me; I'm getting nearly error free P25 copy with it, and some MotoTrbo as well. Funny how this simple little machine gets the job done better than anything else, but it's a fact. It's an exclusive DSD box for me now. Its audio output is patched into my mixer.Works like a champ; proof that you never know until you try.