Packet Engine Pro Help

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Sound Card Use
     . Sound Card Interface
     . HF Operations
     . 9600 Operations
     . Receive Problems
     . Transmit Problems

 

Help Date: 21 June 2004

 

 

Sound Card Volume Settings

The Sound Card Volume Settings  screen is only accessible from the Sound Card Tuning Aid screen: on the Radio Port Manager screen, select (or highlight) the sound card port to edit and then, from the menu, select Edit: Tuning Aid or use the Tuning Aid Icon . This will bring up the Tuning Aid Screen. Press the Set Volume button to bring up the Sound Card Volume Settings screen.

Tx Master and Tx Wave (Transmit Audio Volume): The  Tx Master sliders and the Tx Wave volume sliders work together to control the level of the audio going to the radio for transmission. The Tx Master sliders are an over-riding control that further adjust the Tx Wave volume. "Wave" indicates the source of the audio, which in this case means the PE Pro programs and the packet tones it generates.

The left column sliders (first and third) control the left channel or radioport 1 of the sound card. The right column sliders (second and fourth) control the right channel or radioport 2. Initially try setting the sliders 1/3 up from the bottom. Your best setting will depend largely on how well the attenuation circuit in your TX audio cable matches the optimal TX input level of your radio. None of these four sliders should be at or even near the absolute bottom of the scale, since this may stop all audio output.

Rx (Receive Audio Volume): The Rx sliders control receive audio -- the left slider controls the left channel/radioport 1 and the right slider controls the right channel/radioport 2. Again, try setting the sliders 1/3 up from the bottom initially, but be sure not to set them too low since it may stop all input (they don't have to be to the very bottom for audio input to be stopped).

Select Rx Input Line: Select the sound card jack into which you have plugged your Rx audio interface cable. Usually this is the LINE IN or Microphone (MIC) jack. As the screen says, other potential audio sources -- CD, phone, etc -- will be muted to prevent them from distorting the Rx signal.

(If you opt to use the Microphone instead of the Line In for RX in, be sure that you do not use the Microphone Boost option of your sound card. You can check this from the Windows Volume Control program as described below.)

Set These Levels on Start: check this box is you want PE Pro to remember these audio level settings and to apply them whenever PE Pro starts up

Restore Levels on Exit: check this box is you want PE Pro to remember what the audio level settings were before PE Pro started and to restore those prior levels when PE Pro shuts down.

If you use your sound card for programs other than PE Pro, these two options will be helpful. They allow you to set the volume especially for PE Pro and then return them to their previous settings when you exit PE Pro.

When you are done making any settings changes, press OK to save your settings (or Cancel to ignore any changes) and return to the Tuning Aid window.

Note: There is a bug (as of version 2003.1005) which prevents these controls from changing any sound cards other than the first one installed. If you have additional sound cards installed, you must change their settings by using the Windows Volume Control Program (see below).

Using Windows' Volume Control Program to Adjust Sound Card Settings

It's also possible to change the sound card volume settings using the Windows' Volume Control program (but using PE Pro is much easier).

To access that program, double click on the volume control icon Windows Speaker Icon in the system tray on the lower right of your screen. (If you don't see the icon, see displaying the volume control icon below). The Volume Control window that then appears will look something like this (will vary by your computer components):

The sliders in this first window control just Transmit Audio (TX audio) or what it calls "Playback".

The left most Volume Control slider and the Wave volume slider work together to control the level of the audio going to the radio for transmission. The Volume Control slider is an over-riding control that further adjusts the Wave volume. "Wave" indicates the source of the audio, which is this case means the PE Pro programs and the packet tones it generates. Initially try setting the sliders 1/3 up from the bottom. Your best setting will depend largely on how well the attenuation circuit in your TX audio cable matches the optimal TX input level of your radio. None of these four sliders should be at or even near the absolute bottom of the scale, since this may stop all audio output.

Leave all the top Balance sliders in the middle. If you slide the balance to the left, then only the left channel/radioport 1 will send Tx audio.  If you slide the balance to the right, then only the right channel/radioport 2 will send Tx audio.

Mute all other audio output sources ( such as Line In and CD) so only PE Pro (the Wave program) outputs sound, not the other sources.

To set the Receive Audio (RX Audio) - These controls are in a different window, what the Volume Control program calls the Recording Control windows This is very important. Many people do not realize this Recording Control window exists. Incorrect Recording settings can result in problems receiving packets.

To open the Recording volume control window: From the Playback Volume Control window shown above, select the Options menu choice, then Properties. Click on the Recording radio button and then OK to bring up the Recording Control window which will look something like this (will vary by your computer components):

Check mark the Select box underneath the jack where you plugged in your RX audio cable -- either Line In or Microphone.

Set the Volume slider about 1/3 up (soft) initially and then use the Sound Card Tuning Aid's  Sine Wave scope to see how well that setting works.

Leave all the top Balance sliders in the middle. If you slide the balance to the left, then only the left channel/radioport 1 will receive audio.  If you slide the balance to the right, then only the right channel/radioport 2 will receive audio.

If you opt to use the Microphone instead of the Line In for Receive Audio, be sure that you do not use the Microphone Boost (or MIC 20db enable or similar) option if it is offered by your system. You may be able to find this option by using the Options menu to display Advanced button and click on that button.

Have more than one sound card?  You can control the Playback and Recording settings for different sound cards by using the Volume Control Program's Options: Properties menu to bring up the Properties window. In there you can use the Mixer Device field to select a sound card. Click on the down arrow ▼to the right of the field to call up a list of mixer devices. Click on a sound card to select it and press the OK button. This will bring up the Volume Control Playback sliders for that card (the sound card's name will be in the lower left of the window). Use the Options: Properties menu choice again to select the Recording radio button for the Recording Volume Control settings.

Displaying the Volume Control Icon Windows Speaker Icon

  • Windows 98:   Start: Settings: Control Panel: Multimedia: Audio tab and  check   Show volume control on the taskbar.
     
  • Windows ME:  Start: Settings: Control Panel: Sounds and Multimedia: Sounds tabSound Volume box and check  Show volume control on the taskbar.
     
  • n Windows XP: Start: Control Panel: Sounds and Audio Devices: Volume tab and check  Place volume icon in the taskbar.

 

 


Copyright 2004 SV2AGW George Rossopoulos . All rights reserved.