Cracking/popping noise on band changes

Tim K9WX

I’m two weeks and 500 QSOs into my Flex 6600 with a Maestro.  Most of those QSOs are CW with some FT8 and RTTY.

I have a number of questions based on my experiences to date, especially today when I operated SO2R CW for the first time.  I will raise those questions here as a series of postings, so that anyone with advice or insight can respond selectively.

The operating setup is identical for all questions.

·        SmartSDR 2.2.8

·        N1MM+ 1.0.7201.0

·        Windows 8.1

·        Headphones are plugged into the radio, not the Maestro, speakers are not used

·        Paddles are plugged into the key jack on the radio and the Iambic setting set to Enabled and to B

Q1: When toggling back and forth between the Slice A entry window in N1MM+ and the Slice B entry window using the Pause key on the keyboard, there will occasionally be a cracking or popping sound in the headphones.  The slices are on two different bands.  This is not the mechanical sound of the relays switching in the radio but is audio being generated as part of the radio’s audio stream.  It is similar to the sounds mentioned in this post:

https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/6300-transients-snaps-and-cracks-continue-in-1-38

and the associated YouTube video.  Aside from being annoying, it problematic if a weak station begins to call during the noise.

Tim K9WX

Mark WS7M

Tim,

Did you really mean to post the same content under so many different subjects?

I think you might get better responses if you posted specific stuff to each subject.  Some might think it is kind of like Spam to do it this way.

Mark - WS7M

Tim K9WX

Each post is different and deals with a different and specific question, although the operating environment (which I describe in the first few sentences)  is the same.  I thought posting 5 different questions in the same posting would invite confusion.  Folks would reply "works fine for me here" and I would not know what specific question they were referring to.

k3Tim

Makes sense to me....

Bill -VA3WTB

But the problem is, many of the post will soon move off the page as it goes down. If all the questions are asked together, then as people comment , the thread stays alive longer.

Mark WS7M

Hi Tim,

I was not trying to pick on you.  But quite frankly in this digital world rarely do people read beyond the first several lines.

So people see your subject: "Cracking/popping noise on band changes" and if they are interested they open your post and begin to read.  If they have read one of your others I'd bet a number of people bail after reading the 500 QSO paragraph thinking it is a cross post.

Just my 2c

Mark WS7M

Now to try an work on your question:

First lets eliminate some obvious things:

1) Headphones directly to radio - good
2) Duplicate the behavior in the radio alone, IE without N1MM.

N1MM may when changing windows be sending something to the radio that causes this behavior.  This is one way to find out.

ctate243

Let me see if I can get to the bottom of this..  

can you give me a bit of background on your network and PC?  what is your network speed, 100 mbit?  1000mbit?  Is your 6600 connected to the same network switch as your computer?  Is your computer on the same lan as your 6600? are you using any other 3rd party flex utilities like DDUTIL or pegasus?  What kind of computer hardware are you using and how is it connected?

I have been using my 6600 for a year, including multiple contests in SO2R environments (a couple of winners for that matter) from early alpha and we used to encounter an occasional pop or two but that was greatly improved with later versions of the software and the version you are using should be ok.  other things I would be interested is your agc settings, etc. 

also, try cntrl right arrow and cntrl left arrow.. does the pop still happen?  how about smart CAT, how have you set it up, any chance of a conflict with another port for your OTRSP setup?   we just want to ensure all our virtual serial connections are clean and problem free.

I would be more than happy to work with you to get you squared away.  We have a number of SO2R cw power users on the 6600 platform.. there are a few issues but that one has not been experienced for a while and a few versions now so I am hoping we can get you fixed up.

73
Chris
N6WM   

ctate243

btw Tim feel free to contact me off list I am good on qrz..    heck you know where to find me we have worked like a zillion times.

Tim K9WX

Thanks Mark and Chris for these suggestions. I’ve had to step away from the radio for the weekend. I will follow up on these ideas when I a back home on Monday.