Shortwavewave
Member
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2007
- Messages
- 514
There have been a few posts about sound card issues.
Weither your needs are Digital Modes, Recording, Waterfall Displays, or speakers even hopfully I can help you.
Fisrt off, as has been said if you have Windows Vista You may ned to check to see if your software is compatible with it.
Windows Xp Supports alot more, if you tell it to, it has a Compatiblity Feature that allows you to tell windows XP if your perticular program need to run as if it were in windows 95, 98, etc. , or in other modes/colors.
Your soundcard, If you are having Issues
1. Open up your Master Volume Control (Note: It does not matter if these are muted or not Master Volume is what YOU hear, NOT what the computer hears)
Click on Options, then Properties.
2. The Properties Box should open, Then you should have two options Playback and Recording, Recording is what your computers hears, choose the input which you are using/want to use. Then Click OK
3. This is the Box you use to control all your inputs, Make sure you have the right one checked in the check box.
Use of the Microphone, If you have a microphone you can use it to decode digital modes, etc. Just Plug it in, and set Next to your radio
(NOTE: Depending on the Type of microphone you have you may or may not need to set the Boost Gain, somtimes called +20db, this can be found in Advanced Controls)
Use of the Microphone Jack using a Cord, this can also be done useing the mic jack.
(NOTE: Depending on your radio, and weither you are using RECORD OUT from your radio, or external speaker, you may need to set the Boost Gain, usally not so for Higher Quality Radios)
Line IN, the same Fallows as for the Mic Jack, but be sure your radio has enough output to use the Line IN.
Stereo and Mono Mix Recording, something alot of people do not know, you can use these settings to record real time audio from your computer, Internet, Chat Rooms, Programs, etc. It can also be used to record audio from a SDR
(software definded radio) if it does not support recording but still feeds through the serial or USB Jack.
Another setting to be sure to check is if your soundcard is in Full Duplex, sometimes called Full Hardware Accleration, this can be found in your control panel.
All soundcards are different, you may need to check for Full Duplex Recording also, refers to for example: 44100khz, 48000khz or 96000khz sampleing rate. some sound cards can goes below and above this and inbetween, the higher the rate the better preformance, the lower the rate the more stable(for slower computers). Also Bit Rate is important, "To an extent" 8 and 16bit are the most common, bit rate is in english "Lets say you have a box of 8 crayons(the bitrate), and a want a speciel color 'forest green' but your box doesnt have that color, go buy a box of 16 colors and it has that color" this is a very simple explaination but high bitrates allow for more smooth, and throughput operation.
If you have onboard sound (build into your mother board) and know its not working, or has very poor quality, you can pick up a cheap GOOD $30 Sound Blaster Sound Card from WalMart which supports 96000khz, and 24bit Sound
Hopefully this will help some, and if you have questions dont hesatate to ask, I can go deeper into detail if you need me too.
Weither your needs are Digital Modes, Recording, Waterfall Displays, or speakers even hopfully I can help you.
Fisrt off, as has been said if you have Windows Vista You may ned to check to see if your software is compatible with it.
Windows Xp Supports alot more, if you tell it to, it has a Compatiblity Feature that allows you to tell windows XP if your perticular program need to run as if it were in windows 95, 98, etc. , or in other modes/colors.
Your soundcard, If you are having Issues
1. Open up your Master Volume Control (Note: It does not matter if these are muted or not Master Volume is what YOU hear, NOT what the computer hears)
Click on Options, then Properties.
2. The Properties Box should open, Then you should have two options Playback and Recording, Recording is what your computers hears, choose the input which you are using/want to use. Then Click OK
3. This is the Box you use to control all your inputs, Make sure you have the right one checked in the check box.
Use of the Microphone, If you have a microphone you can use it to decode digital modes, etc. Just Plug it in, and set Next to your radio
(NOTE: Depending on the Type of microphone you have you may or may not need to set the Boost Gain, somtimes called +20db, this can be found in Advanced Controls)
Use of the Microphone Jack using a Cord, this can also be done useing the mic jack.
(NOTE: Depending on your radio, and weither you are using RECORD OUT from your radio, or external speaker, you may need to set the Boost Gain, usally not so for Higher Quality Radios)
Line IN, the same Fallows as for the Mic Jack, but be sure your radio has enough output to use the Line IN.
Stereo and Mono Mix Recording, something alot of people do not know, you can use these settings to record real time audio from your computer, Internet, Chat Rooms, Programs, etc. It can also be used to record audio from a SDR
(software definded radio) if it does not support recording but still feeds through the serial or USB Jack.
Another setting to be sure to check is if your soundcard is in Full Duplex, sometimes called Full Hardware Accleration, this can be found in your control panel.
All soundcards are different, you may need to check for Full Duplex Recording also, refers to for example: 44100khz, 48000khz or 96000khz sampleing rate. some sound cards can goes below and above this and inbetween, the higher the rate the better preformance, the lower the rate the more stable(for slower computers). Also Bit Rate is important, "To an extent" 8 and 16bit are the most common, bit rate is in english "Lets say you have a box of 8 crayons(the bitrate), and a want a speciel color 'forest green' but your box doesnt have that color, go buy a box of 16 colors and it has that color" this is a very simple explaination but high bitrates allow for more smooth, and throughput operation.
If you have onboard sound (build into your mother board) and know its not working, or has very poor quality, you can pick up a cheap GOOD $30 Sound Blaster Sound Card from WalMart which supports 96000khz, and 24bit Sound
Hopefully this will help some, and if you have questions dont hesatate to ask, I can go deeper into detail if you need me too.
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