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What Souncard or Rig Interface you use?

YV5WZ
YV5WZ Member ✭✭
edited December 2019 in FLEX-6000 Signature Series
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

Answers

  • K9DUR
    K9DUR Member ✭✭
    edited January 2017
    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
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    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
    KF4HR Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    George,

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

    KF4HR

  • K9DUR
    K9DUR Member ✭✭
    edited January 2017
    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
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    Thank you Ray......I appreciate it 
  • YV5WZ
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    Thank you Ralfh (KF4HR)!

    I appreciate your care about my business....Great video...Cristal!
  • Bill Turner
    Bill Turner Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016

    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
    James Del Principe Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019
    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
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    Thanks Bill I have Mouse and Keyboard logitech too
  • KY6LA_Howard
    KY6LA_Howard Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2019

    @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
    George KF2T Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2016
    If there is a problem that an undue number of ferrites is not curing, though, you need to root out the source.
  • DH2ID
    DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2016
    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
    DrTeeth Member ✭✭
    edited December 2019
    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
    James Del Principe Member ✭✭✭
    edited April 2016
    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
    James Del Principe Member ✭✭✭
    edited April 2016
    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
    DH2ID Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2016
    QED
  • YV5WZ
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    Thanks James....I'm working on it
  • YV5WZ
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    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
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    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
    KY6LA_Howard Member ✭✭✭
    edited April 2016

    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
    YV5WZ Member ✭✭
    edited December 2016
    Roger That!....(Thumb up)

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