Probably very true, Wes -- for the K3. I have two
mitigating factors which pushed me to Signalink USB:
* I do PSK31 with my K3 and with my older K2/100
(though not much with that anymore)
* My 10.1" $280 HP notebook may or may not have
an adequate sound card; but access to AF in
and out is via a 4 conductor plug and I really
hate messing with those guys. The Signalink
USB with the Tigertronics-provided cables is
just an easier road to follow. I even have a
set for my KX3, though I've not yet tried it
on PSK31.
So far I've not ventured into JT65, just PSK31. No
RTTY yet -- well not for about 30 years, when the
technology was very different:-)
73, Phil W7OX
On 11/12/14 2:01 PM, Wes (N7WS) wrote:
Operationally, at least with a K3 and the modes
I operate I've seen no difference between the
built-in sound card on my Lenovo T400, a TASCAM
US-100 or a SignaLink.
Admittedly, I haven't yet tried the digital
modes that dig out imaginary signals from the
noise, but on RTTY and PSK I simply can't see an
advantage to a better sound card. My T400 is
what I use. I sold the SignaLink, so I can no
longer compare but I just did a quick test on
the other two.
Using Spectrum Lab and listening to my Elecraft
XG2 on 14 MHz with the K3 line out into the
sound card, the SNR with either the T400 or the
Tascam is about 50 dB. This is with the XG2 set
to low power (~S3), AGC off, 400 Hz crystal
filter. The filter shape is easily seen and
disconnecting either card drops the baseline
noise about 30 dB. I say "about" because about
is good enough. The T400 is slightly
microphonic but this is only seen with no audio
input.
IMHO, the SNR is set by the receiver and the
defects in any practical sound card are, excuse
the pun, in the noise. I'm looking at a couple
of KHz of audio, why would I need a 192KHz, 24
bit card? (Actually, the T400 card is such)
All of the other hand wringing about PTT,
Windows sounds, etc, are just that, hand
wringing. Turn off Windows sounds, turn on VOX
and enjoy.
Wes N7WS
From: "David Orman" <[email protected]>
To: "elecraft" <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 7:08:12 PM
Subject: [Elecraft] Suggestions for good 192kHz
external sound card for digital modes
Hi,
Splitting off from the Signalink thread, since
it's actually a different
question, what are the current external sound
cards that people suggest
(that are supported in Linux if known - if not -
that's ok)?
I see the Tascam mentioned in the PDF in the
other thread, so I'm looking
into those (the ones that support 192kHz now,
that is) - are there any
other suggestions to look into? I operate on a
lot of digital modes, but my
Lenovo Thinkpad T400's built in sound card adds
a lot of noise to the
signal I'm receiving. I have a Native
Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 which
works much better, but it is USB powered (it
seemed to be indicated this
was a no-no for best decoding in digital modes
in the other thread).
There are a lot of options out there now, so
it's hard to sift through them
all, and make a guess as to which are best for
HF radio digital
communication, so I thought a thread would be
helpful in getting some ideas
on what is tested/true. If Linux support is
unknown, that's ok - I can do
that research - but it would be great to have a
list to start looking at
that are known good performers with low noise.
Thanks!
David/K5DJO
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