Feature Request - Recorded Receive/Transmit Longer than 2 Minutes and Written to Files

Bill Roberts

For numerous purposes, it would be handy to record transmitted or received audio lasting more than the current 2 minute limit.  It would also be useful if those recordings were written to files (like .wav or .aif) that could be retrieved, sent as email attachments, etc.  Today, I heard prolonged obscene language on 7.200 and would like to provide sample recordings to the FCC.  Thanks in advance.

K0UNX

DEFINITELY AGREE!  We'd love to be able to send files via internet to other hams when we're trying to show them samples of microphones that they are testing.

Your comment about foul QSOs is well taken.  There are a number of extremely salty blokes on EVENING 75 Metres here in Colorado.  The morning crew is very polite, but the jerks come out in the evening.  Probably fueled by alcohol.  Trouble is, they seem to ID by NAME rather than CALLSIGN.

If we could record LONGER recordings, we might be able to catch a callsign somewhere along.

K6OZY

You can assign a DAX channel to the slice, install Audacity, configure it to use that DAX sound card, and record that slice's AF for as long as you want.   No time limit!

Frank WA3NHK

What he said. 

This is an obvious feature that has many potential uses.  If SSDR is capable of recording receive audio then why NOT allow the user to capture and retain it for whatever purpose is at hand?  In the interim at least tell us where the file is written so that we can rename it so that it can be saved.

elan

100% Agree  like to have it like the old PSDR ,
ELAN G0UUT

Dan -- KC4GO

Pipe the slice's audio out to a DAX channel then use Marks (AA3RK) FRStacks (see link below) and set the Squelch then use Audacity (see link below) to record in the vox mode. It takes a but of play but it cuts out all the dead air time. If there isn't much dead air just record the DAX channel. It's also good for sharing mike settings as it's flat no equalizer influence. 
Go to www.mkcmsoftware.com then click the FRStack link.
Audacity download at http://audacityteam.org/download/

Oxford English

Definitely agree, particularly ability to save as a named file.

Scott N8UMW

Same here. Smart sdr should be able to do what power sdr did, and then some. Just because the 6000 series uses a new architecture doesn't mean it isn't capable. I could record in the power sdr until my hard drive was full, and play it back in the same software. I could get into the menu and fine tune NR and NB settings to my liking, among other things. It almost makes me wish i had purchased a high end Apache Labs rig. I hope FLEX seriously improves smart sdr in the near future. I realize the new software may be set up for easier use, but for those who like to tinker, all of the previous power sdr options should be available.

K0UNX

Since my Flex 6500 is my first foray into SDR-land, I could be wrong on this, but I think that the 5,000 series let the COMPUTER carry the load, with the radio being just an RF box.  With the 6K series, the heavy lifting is in the RADIO, and the computer becomes a "semi-dumb terminal".  That could also be the limitation of two minutes audio.  The audio might be stored IN THE RADIO rather than on the computer.  It could be limited to the size allocated IN THE RADIO for that purpose.

Please correct me if my assumptions are wrong.
Jim
K0UNX
Littleton, Colorado

K6OZY

These are all future features.  We are still on version 1.x.  PowerSDR is 2.7+.  Patience!

Jay Nation

Jim
Bingo!!!
We have a winner!

K6OZY
Bingo!!!
We have 2 winners!

Divide the prize money any way you like!
73, Jay - NO5J

Cal Spreitzer - N3CAL

I send a DAX IQ channel to the program HDSDR to record receive audio.  HDSDR tracks along with my SSDR slice with omini rig and works great.  HDSDR recordings sound great and are easy to manage.

Cal/N3CAL

Burt Fisher

Right that sounds so simple.

W7NGA

This all sounds grand, but it seems a better approach would be to make use of DAX and pipe the audio to a bona-fide audio capture program like Audacity. I work Michel VE2XK frequently and he always emails me great audio renderings of my signal using Audacity. No fuss ... 

Larry _ NY8T

Audio and Video with BB Flashback, it will be nice when we can direct our transmitted audio in with it. I like to record then post it to youtube and then send a link to the recipient. The  video is nice so they can see the cleanliness of their signal.

http://www.bbsoftware.co.uk/

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Bill
Here is the link to a related idea you may be interested in.  It suggests adding a "black box" recording mode.  A nice thing about this mode is that you would always have the last X minutes already recorded.   Sometimes you wish you had history instead of trying to start the recording in a rush and missing what just happened.  (like when you finally break that big DX pileup)

When the recording feature was initially added, there wasn't a provision to send the audio to the PC.  So the recording was stored on the radio and storage space is limited.  But now since compressed audio is being sent to the PC, it could be saved on the PC in a file of what ever size you would like.  You could dedicate a small or large amount of storage (i.e. 2 minutes, 60 minutes, etc).  Since the audio recording would work like a "black box" the file wouldn't grow beyond what you specified.   

And since the .mp3 file is on the PC, you don't have to do anything special to make a copy of it, or edit it, etc.  

Here is a link to the idea -- if interested you can add your comments and a vote.  It has 17 votes currently and is in the top 20. 

https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/black_box_recording_add_a_looping_option_to_the_rec...

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 - HW......... V 1.5.1.70
SSDR / DAX...... V 1.5.1.152
CAT................... V 1.5.1.0
Win10

elan

May be it will be possible to record to memory stick on one of the usb that can be plug on the back who know

Tim - W4TME

The limit on the audio file size is due to the type of read/writable storage used in the FLEX-6000.  Audio files are not small; they can grow very large very quickly, so we have to proactively manage the available R/W resources in the radio,  We use a micro SD card with limited space for the quick record/playback feature, not a hard drive that can be orders of magnitude greater is storage capacity.

Scott N8UMW

Why not have added a user accessible slot then so we could put in a larger one if we wanted?

Burt Fisher

The complaint is the 6000 series offers less than the 5000 series and I assume you did it this way because most computing takes place in the 6000. In the end the rationale may be good but the user still has less of a benefit

K0UNX

Not necessarily.  By moving the HEAVY LIFTING to the RADIO, this enabled the use of much less bandwidth, AND a very low load on the COMPUTER.  I'd prefer this model to one where the computer has to do all the processing.  The Maestro or an iPad or Surface wouldn't be practical if it had to do all the heavy lifting.  WAN would be a lot less do-able too.  No, I'd prefer it this way.

Jim
K0UNX

Bill -VA3WTB

And as was stated, the recording is not an issue at all. The use of Audicity with dax is very easy, there is no reason not to use it.

DH2ID

Recording audio for slice playback and the I/Q stream for playback of a whole band segment could be done by adding this option to DAX, as the stream passes through it. This would be the easiest way IMHO, as it does not record inside the Flex radio, but to the HDD in the PC.
The recorded file could be either WAV or MP3 for further processing.

I am using Audacity to record audio and CW Skimmer to record I/Q, but this is way too slow if you want to do a fast recording.

73 and merry Christmas,
Alex DH2ID

Al_NN4ZZ

Hi Alex,
For just capturing audio it seems that using the Opus compressed audio stream that was created for "LAN Remote" would be less data to transfer than using the DAX data.  The snapshot below is from the user guide.    Is that what you were also suggesting? 

Since the audio is already transferred for LAN remote, it seems that the SSDR client on the local PC could capture it.   This could be a better option than using yet another third party program.   It would be more efficient to have the record, playback, and looping options integrated in SSDR.  The UI controls are already there in the slice flag.  And with a quick click you can start/stop the recording or playback. 

For Maestro, the radio side capture could still be used since local hard drive storage is not  an option.  The Masetro client will be different than SSDR for the PC anyway. 

  

Its just a SMOP --- and priorities. 

Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 - HW......... V 1.5.1.70
SSDR / DAX...... V 1.5.1.152
CAT................... V 1.5.1.0
Win10

DH2ID

Hi Al, thank you for your suggestion. The question here is: Will the opus audio stream be readable by programs like Audacity, CW Skimmer and HDSDR?
I really think it would be easier to add another feature to DAX, as you would need no new program and DAX incorporates easily ito the existing system.
Alex DH2ID

Al_NN4ZZ

Alex,
My thought is that the SSDR client would take the Opus stream and write out the WAV or MP3 file.  Or at least the SSDR client UI would provide the controls (start/stop record, playback) that directs that to be done.  

The controls already exist in the GUI and are quickly and easily accessible.  This seem like the most efficient way and least error prone from the users perspective.   No change of focus, no third party program to invoke and interact with.  Just trying to optimize the user experience.




Regards, Al / NN4ZZ  
al (at) nn4zz (dot) com
6700 - HW......... V 1.5.1.70
SSDR / DAX...... V 1.5.1.152
CAT................... V 1.5.1.0
Win10

DH2ID

Ok, Al, if this works, this would really be a good solution. Let's see what the FlexRadio programmers come up with ... Regards, Alex DH2ID

Bill Roberts

These guys went out of their ways to repeated vulgarities, said "nobody will do anything about it" and then gave their call signs.... if they were their call signs.  Meanwhile, back to the technical part of this discussion.

Bill Roberts

Good thoughts and several solutions.  Thanks and Merry CHRISTmas to all!