Flex 6xxx monitoring audio over remote

Robert Rawson

Hi

I have a newly acquired 6300 and have it set up running WSJT-X in FT8 mode.

All works okay but I cannot fathom out how to monitor audio when working remotely. It's easy sat in front of the radio but using it miles away or even in another room is difficult.

My WSJT software is allocated to DAX RX1 input and DAX AUDIO TX for output. Im driving this with Ham Radio Deluxe CAT

How can I have a separate audio stream simply for listening please in digital or SSB

Thanks

Robert
M0RCX

K1UO Larry

Robert..   Have you enabled the PC audio button in SSDR ?  (Top bar in SSDR ..  Button is just to the right of where it says FlexRadio)  This button should be highlighted in blue.   

Robert Rawson

Hi Larry,

It is greyed out and when I hover over it it says invalid default playback device selected.. How do I change that if DAX is used for FT8

Thanks

Mark WS7M

It is your default windows playback device.  You need to set it to either your headphones or your speakers, down in the lower right of windows task bar.

K1UO Larry

Mark is correct...  You need to set your default playback device for SSDR to either headphones or speakers using PC audio control panel.  This will allow you to hear the radio audio stream.

Doug Hall

Robert,
For some reason the default playback device sometimes gets set to the wrong device when SmartSDR is installed. Probably more specifically when DAX is installed. Open the Sound control panel and find your speakers, click on them, and then click Set Default as shown below:



73,
Doug K4DSP

Robert Rawson

Hi guys I tried to set in the windows sound settings to pc speaker but the box is still grayed out. I’ll persevere and update when I can. Thanks Robert

Russ Locke

Robert, I've had some of the same issues, finally just gave up on FT8, remote or otherwise.  I need to hear my computer and can't seem to get both to work at the same time.  I was able to work SSB remotely though, using a headset/mike and a laptop last summer.

Russ K5FJR

Neal Pollack, N6YFM

Not sure I understand the real problem statement.   Since listening to FT-8 is very similar to listening to
an almost steady annoying tone, I just turned off my audio approx 5,400 contacts ago, and have not
missed a thing.
I watch the progress bar at the bottom of WSJT-X, and the decodes window for knowing when to pounce.

Neal

Larry Loen WO7R

You are ultimately going to want to operate WSJT-X itself at the local PC.  Even in the best remote installations, there can be delays and dropouts in audio.

Now ,if you just want to listen, there are solutions.  But, for effective deployment of digital, nothing beats using the local PC next to the machine.  That will require you to deploy Teamviewer or TightVNC or RealVNC, but I recommend on of those solutions for best results.

Doug Hall

I must respectfully disagree. Granted, I have not done detailed A/B comparisons, but running wsjt-x on my PC at work with SmartLink back to my Flex at home has yielded satisfactory results, at least from my point of view. Certainly good enough to work some new ones when they were on.  I do have fast pipes at both locations, and fairly low latency between both sites.

Has your experience been different?

73,
Doug K4DSP

Ray - K6LJ

Hi Larry - I have been using FT8 from Taiwan and China for the last couple of months remotely and yes I get a dropouts once in a while but it works great. I use neither Teamviewer or TightVNC and I have audio as well plugged into my headset. but mostly turned down all the time. Usually after changing an audio configuration on the laptop I have to log off then back in to get it working after making the change. 73 RFay

Larry Loen WO7R

My experience (over several years now) is that even with high speed bandwidth, latency can be variable.

It can be great for months at a time, and then something changes and it goes bad.  Or, it goes bad at the congested times of day (e.g. early evening).  Your "internet speed test" (even from fairly remote locations to both sites) can show good results, but your latency issues can still defeat you.  It is perhaps a little better on digital, but even small latency problems can render CW, in particular, extremely marginal.

I have friends with a non-Flex remote site who have recently concluded the same thing.  They are going to run their digital on the machine next to their rig, too.

So, a few A/B tests don't prove much.  I don't know what the end of "net neutrality" is going to mean over time, but I have found my installation very sensitive to change and more is coming and change happened often enough before that.

I've had to work with my ISP techs a couple of times to get satisfactory performance.  If you have interests like contesting or DXing, I suggest that you really can't tolerate these problems erupting when you least expect it.  I use CWX a lot to make sure CW (on the sending side, at least) stays good.

Steven WA8Y

Only Windows Pro, using Remote Desktop will send audio.

Robert Rawson

Hi Guys, Thanks to all those that replied. The issue was a sound card driver being lost after the recent windows update. I can now hear audio remotely. Robert M0RCX