MON function works with my 6500 under 2.0 and my Heil Headset. It does not

Keith Pugh

Version 2.0.17 in a 6500.  MON function works OK with my Heil Pro 7 and the basic radio/computer configuration.  I recently hooked up my iPad Pro to the system with SmartLink and added a Radio Sport RS55SL Headset to the iPad Pro.  I can transmit and receive OK with the new setup but the MON function doesn't work.  A friend of mine has a similar problem with his 6500 in the basic configuration and an unknown headset.  Is there something we haven't configured correctly?

ThisUserDoesNotExist

Keith, the MON function is a feature of the Radio, not the App. The Radio simply doesn't sent back any audio to any Client (SmartSDR for Windows or iOS) when using the MON button.

So I am wondering if you really can Monitor your Audio with your Heil Headset and the basic radio/computer configuration as you said.

That shouldn't work, not even on SmartSDR for Windows.

As far as I remember, there were some other posts here on the forum on how to perform Monitoring remotely with SmartSDR.

In the past I was wondering if this could be a feature request for a future release of the Radio Firmware but after thinking further, I don't think this would make much sense as this would mean that the received Audio Signal (from the remote Microphone - Headset in your case) would be mixed into the audio signal which is sent back to the Client (SmartSDR). This would mean that Audio is encoded (in the Client), decoded (on the Radio), encoded again (on the Radio) and finally decoded again (in the Client). The quality would suffer quite a bit and the latency would be doubled. Thus, I don't think that such a feature would make sense.

But maybe I am missing a point here.

73,
Marcus, DL8MRE

Keith Pugh

Yes, I really  can MON with the basic radio and my Heil Headset.  I behaves exactly like I would expect.  It can be switched on/off and the level controlled.  I agree it is probably a function of the basic radio.  It's conceivable that it might be some sort of grounding/RF anomaly but it works the same with an antenna attached and with a dummy load on the Flex   It's not a big issue and I will continue to look into it.  If I can find an adapter, I will try it with the Radio Sport Headset and the basic radio.

ThisUserDoesNotExist

Keith, when you say it behaves exactly like expected, how do you connect the Heil Headset? To the Radio or to the PC ?

73,
Marcus

Ken - NM9P

MON will work if your headphones or speakers are connected directly to the rig, but not through the computer sound card, either for windows or the IOS app.  At present, sending the transmit audio from the computer to the rig and then back to the Windows or IOS client would introduce far too much delay between your speech and what you hear, making the monitor ineffective.

The MON when directly connected to the rig is tapped BEFORE any of the processing or TX EQ, so what you hear is the raw Mic audio, and not what your are actually transmitting.

There are two work-arounds, if you want to test and adjust your TX audio when running remote:

1) Using SSDR/Win, you can hit "Record" for a transmission, and then play it back.

2) You can use the 2-slice, Full Duplex (FDX) method and transmit into the XVTR port while monitoring your own audio in your second slice.  There will be a delay in the received audio, but you can get used to it.
Check my YouTube Tutorials for more details.

NOTE:  At present, you cannot activate the FDX Mode from within SSDR-IOS...BUT you can work around that as well by creating and saving a Global Profile in SSDR/Win with two pans & two slices with FDX already activated.  I put both slices on the same frequency (50.200 MHz USB) and set the TX antenna to XVTR and the RX antenna to ANT1.  When you have this running correctly, SAVE It as a Global Profile called FDX TEST or something else appropriate.

Now, when you run SSDR-IOS, you can select the "FDX TEST" Global Profile and you are off and running with two slice, full duplex, audio testing.  Now you can make adjustments to your iPad/iPhone mic transmit audio and save some new Mic Profiles.

ADDITIONAL NOTE.....

When adjusting your Mic profiles, be aware that the SSDR-IOS has three settings that affect your Mic input level.....

1) On the Bottom Menu Line:  Settings>Audio>Microphone Volume Adjustment = a slider that controls the overall sensitivity of the mic input to the program.

2) On the bottom menu line:  Flex-6500 settings (or whatever your rig is listed) >Radio Settings>Phone - there is a slide switch for the "Mic Boost"  This adds +20 dB to the Mic gain.

3) Once in the main program, in the Right Hand pull-in menu, right under the Level and Compression meters, is the Mic Level gain slider.  

If you can't get the Mic gain under control, you will need to adjust #1 & #2 to keep it in line.
I find it is better to adjust them so that your proper Mic level runs about mid-range, between about 30-70 on the scale.  But your mileage may vary.  I also have noticed that I need to run a little further below the "Red" line on the IOS app than I do on the Windows app.  If I run too close to the Red "0" dB line, I begin to hear some distortion beginning, even though I'm not ever "in the Red."  My best audio seems to be when I peak about -5 to -10 BELOW the red line.

I hope this helps.

Ken - NM9P
Tutorials:  www.YouTube.com/NM9P

ThisUserDoesNotExist

Thanks Ken.
And this reminds me to add the missing FDX button.
It is now top on the list.
73,
Marcus, DL8MRE

Keith Pugh

Marcus,

I connect the Heil Headset directly to the Radio.

73 - Keith, W5IU

Keith Pugh

Thanks, Ken. Great explanation!  I'll try this when I get a little more familiar with the operation.

73 - Keith, W5IU

ThisUserDoesNotExist

Thanks Keith, and this is exactly what Ken and I meant. If you connect the Headset directly to the radio, the MON button works as expected but if you connect it to either your PC (using SmartSDR for Windows) or your iPad/iPhone it won’t work as the Radio doesn’t send the Monitoring Audio to and Client -it’s just local. I think we can consider this subject as solved. 73, Marcus

Keith Pugh

Marcus,

Yes, I believe we can consider this closed.  By the way, I also connect the speakers for the radio directly to the radio.  I'll use Ken's suggestions to evaluate my transmit audio through the iPad.  

Thanks,

73 - Keith, W5IU