Laptop Audio Problems

Oxford English

I have a Flex 6300 running SSDR 1.4.16.

On my desktop computer (I7/8gb RAM/Win7 Pro 64bit) I use a Sennheiser PC7 usb headset which works very well - I always get nice audio reports.

I want to go out and about /P with the Flex so I thought I would prepare a 'clean' laptop with a new copy of Windows 7, correct drivers and a fresh install of SSDR which I finished this morning.

The laptop is a reasonable spec; Intel I3 runinng at 2,4GHz, 3Gb RAM and the performance index is 4.4. Not bad for a laptop I thought.

I am using wired ethernet ans SSDR runs absolutely fine, the display is smooth, no stuttering or jerkiness. BUT I cannot use the Sennheiser - I am getting dreadful audio reports when I make a contact.

I assumed it was probably a latency problem so I switched to a good quality headset on the mic / headphone in/out sockets. No difference at all!

So I got another laptop out - and tried a clean install of W7 and SSDR - same result.

Tried laptop number 3 (I a have a few laptops!!) this time I tried XP Pro (32bit) - same result again.

I am not a big fan of the FHM1 mic - to be honest I think it lets the Flex down and I prefer to use a headset.

So, my question is this - is there a known problem with laptops, sound and SSDR or Flex?

Any ideas of how to get round this problem?

I am pretty computer literate and have no problem hacking registry entries and as I can reinstall W7 in 10 minutes, don't mind messing around.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Tim

Bill -VA3WTB

Turn DAX off and select on board device. Dax is not used for remote

Oxford English

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the suggestion but it has not helped. DAX was already switched off and I have gone a little further and disabled it completely.

I have tried recording my own output using SSDR record facility and there is definitely an audio problem. The audio stream is being broken up into about 750ms of audio and a silence of about 125ms. The effect is quite 'orrible!

I can only think that this is a latency problem but I want to know how it is that some people seem to be able to run SSDR on fairly low spec computers without this problem. Or could it be that they don't use the PC soundcard?

I wonder if using an outboard soundcard would help?

I have 3 desktop machines that all run perfectly, my I7, an I3 running at 3GHZ and a Core Duo which runs at 2.8GHz.

I think that the I3 laptop is at least as good as the Core Duo in terms of raw power.

It's no big deal as I can easily take the Core Duo on the road, which is nice because it is an All-In-One with a touch screen, just not as convenient as a laptop.
If the worst comes to the worst I'll use a microphone and speaker direct into the 6300 but for me that really is a last resort.

Tim

AA0KM

Might try to shrink the smartsdr software window and turn down display gain and rate of the water fall and works for me on an older laptop with voice audio.

In my case had turned off waterfall basically and shrunk it down as small as the window would let me.

I had just 456kbps streams down from the 2.4 Mbps streams.

And this is all wired 1Gb cat6 connections.

Hope this helps.

73 AA0KM

John n0snx

I had all the same issues and solved mine by NOT using the onboard wireless connection and switched to an ASUS (USB-AC56) WiFi adapter and no more issues.... It has to do with the chipset of the onboard wireless...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FB45USW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s...

Tim - W4TME

"So, my question is this - is there a known problem with laptops, sound and SSDR or Flex?"

No there is not.  However, since the Remote LAN feature depends on the Windows sound system, this is where third-party hardware and audio devices factor into the mix and we lose a significant amount of control over the user experience.

I recommend some basic troubleshooting techniques.

1.) Make sure the PC and the 6300 are using a wired connection to eliminate marginal network throughput performance that is more inherent in wireless networks than wired.  CHeck your Network Health indicator panel to monitor latency and drops; there should be no drops and the latency (RTT) should be low and consistent.  And full green bars all the time.

2.) Since the LAN Remote feature depends on your PC sound card, update the drivers to the latest version.

3.) Since the mic is a USB type mic, make sure you have updated your PC's chipset drivers.

4.) If your PC sound card software supports audio processing features, turn them off.

5.) Try a factory reset of the 6300.  Then do a cold boot of the radio (power down normally, remove DC power for 15-30 seconds then power up the radio normally)

6.) Run LatencyMon to see if the PCs can support real-time audio streaming.  If it won't, it will tell you so. (https://helpdesk.flexradio.com/hc/en-us/articles/202118698-Using-LatencyMon-to-collect-DPC-Latency-D...)

7.) Also, Windows XP is no longer supported, so I'd confine your serious testing to Win7 and above.

If all that does not provide any insight into your issue, I'd open a HelpDesk support ticket.