What Souncard or Rig Interface you use?

YV5WZ

Fighting to RF, I am wondering if adding a Individual PCI Sound Card to PC o buy a Rig Interface would be improve my signal, lower noise and RF....... What do you think?....What Soundcard or Rig Interface you use with your Flex 6XXX ?

Cheers...Happy Sunday!


George,
YV5WZ

K9DUR

George, You do not use a hardware interface. SmartSDR comes with a program called DAX (Digital Audio eXChange) which emulates several "soundcards" in software. You select one of the DAX channels in your digital mode software. 73, Ray, K9DUR

YV5WZ

Thank you Ray......!!   I appreciate your time and care of answering me.....
I was wondering if I add a new soundcard (best than I actually have)  my signal would be better.
RF gonna drives me crazy...

73, George

KF4HR

George,

This may help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVOhj244e30

KF4HR

K9DUR

No, using a soundcard of any type only degrades your signal. To use a hardware interface & soundcard, the digital signal has to be converted to analog, passed through the interface, & converted back to digital. The D/A & A/D conversions add a small amount of distortion by their very nature. Using DAX, everything is kept in the digital realm & therefore no distortion due to the conversions. -- 73, Ray, K9DUR

YV5WZ

Thank you Ray......I appreciate it 

YV5WZ

Thank you Ralfh (KF4HR)!

I appreciate your care about my business....Great video...Cristal!

Bill Turner

One of the best things you can do to reduce RFI in the shack is to go to a wireless keyboard and mouse. The wires act like little antennas and pick up RF just where you don't want it. I use Logitech but there are others.

73, Bill W6WRT

James Del Principe

George, I had issues with RF and hum until I added ground wires to my ground bus for my computers. Each piece of equipment has a short, heavy, # 8 stranded wire to a copper bar which then goes to my ground electrode just outside my shack. This is in addition to the 3 wire cords which provide a safety ground. It did work for me.     73, Jim

YV5WZ

Thanks Bill I have Mouse and Keyboard logitech too

KY6LA_Howard

@George

I suggest you read my paper on How to Build a Quiet Station...

Here’s a link to PowerPoint “How to Build a Quiet Station V2.pptx” in my Dropbox for a talk I gave at the San Diego DX ca club in July 2014.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/d2yturid60n...

Here’s a link to PDF “How to Build a Quiet Station V2.PDF” in my Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kffp92esffo...

Remember you can never had too many Ferrites on your station.

DEFINITELY DO NOT USE a SOUND CARD or EXTERNAL RIG INTERFACE

They only make things WORSE.

George KF2T

If there is a problem that an undue number of ferrites is not curing, though, you need to root out the source.

DH2ID

James, I couldn't have said it better ;-)
If HF is not where it belongs, string heavy ground wires!
All my equipment is grounded and I use different power supplies for the TRX
and my inferfaces and TNC's, when operating PACTOR or using my TS2000.
I have never had problems with HF and my equipment, although I regularly
blasted external equipment, like mice and lamps, until I used a lot of ferrite beads on them :-)
73, Alex - DH2ID

DrTeeth

AIUI, the OP is asking if fitting a better sound card will produce a better signal on tx or improve the rx analogue signal sent to the decoding program than the integrated one.

Could be wrong, would not be the first time <blush>.

James Del Principe

Alex, I think it comes from my 42 years in medical x-ray, building and fixing cardiac cath labs. We needed to keep equipment current leakage down in and around the patient for 1.5 meters. We could get it down to about 5 or 6 microamps if you were very careful.  I have never needed ferrite beads in any of my stations and I have run some serious power ( currently run 1200 watts). Also, a truly balanced antenna system really helps.      73, Jim

James Del Principe

EXACTLY correct, George. Get to the cause of the problem. High common mode current on coax may be a problem for him.     73, Jim

DH2ID

QED

YV5WZ

Thanks James....I'm working on it

YV5WZ

Thanks Howard.....I have your paper just at side of my Bible.....I read it...and I will read again.....more ferrites are coming

YV5WZ

That was the hidden part of my question.....Thanks Guy
I have read some sound card may decode -26 even -29....and others barely reaches -14

KY6LA_Howard

To Quote Ray:

"using a soundcard of any type only degrades your signal. To use a hardware interface & soundcard, the digital signal has to be converted to analog, passed through the interface, & converted back to digital. The D/A & A/D conversions add a small amount of distortion by their very nature. Using DAX, everything is kept in the digital realm & therefore no distortion due to the conversions."

So you are already doing your best with DAX and your 6000 Series.. a Sound Card will only make it worse

FYI - I have consistently  seen decodes of -29 with my 6700.  

A couple of years ago Rob WA3IHV and I ran some tests of a Signal Link and a IC-7700 vs a 6700... the 6700 and DAX consistently would decode at least -6dB better than the Signal Link.. we did not test the Signal Link on the 6700 because of the obvious degradation of the Digital to Analog to Digital process

YV5WZ

Roger That!....(Thumb up)