Testing... 1 2 3 Can You Hear Me Now?

This is episode whatever of the Field Day Setup Blog...

So it turns out this DVK thing is pretty cool. The hard part is getting it setup properly. Using it during a contest will actually work out well, as long as you pay attention to the radio..

The other thing that is kinda difficult is getting your audio levels setup properly. Mike W1ECT turned me on to a nifty audio editing program called GoldWave, which actually overcomes many of the weaknesses of every other audio program known to man. This little gem will do anything. Problem is, you need to be an audio engineer to even understand what half the tools are. For christ's sake, I haven't seen a Parametric Equalizer since the '70's. This has one built in. A Flanger. Compression/Expansion. All I need to find is the Cry Baby wah-wah pedal and I can sound like Jimi Hendrix. (EDIT - turns out this program called Audacity has wah-wah, I may need to try this. Brad has this installed on one of his computers...)

But seriously folks, you will discover every weakness in your audio system while running this program. Fortunately, there is a tool built-in to overcome every weakness found in your system. Now all I need to do is find a decent microphone to plug into the laptop to record all the exchanges I need to record. It will be kinda neat to get this setup, I can already envision how this is gonna go at Field Day. Problem is, what to do when you switch operators...

N1MM has a neat feature that configures things (like audio and CW messages) when you change operators, all you need to do is remember to tell the program when you switch. It stores your exchanges in a seperate folder for each operator. Chances are we will end up recording each operator's exchanges in a seperate file folder and resetting the program each time we switch.

N3FJP 2.8 is pretty straightforward, currently I have it setup with 4 DVK messages, CQ Long, CQ Short, Exchange, and Thanks QRZ. Chances are I will need to setup a couple more, and I might even set them up similar to the N1MM scheme just to keep things similar. I think I need to find a better microphone first though.

I have a nice Shure downstairs, but I am leaning towards using one of the Heil mics I have just so I can have a good base to build on. The GoldWave program allows some pretty neat adjustments, I might even throw in some reverb to make Alan N1LSZ happy. 10-4 good buddy...

Problem is there are so many differences it will be tough to fine one with the appropriate response characteristics. Then you have the problem of impedence matching, and ultimately it is all very, very dependent upon the soundcard you are plugging into, in my case it is a Sigmatel High Definition Audio. I can't recall the exact model number of the device (just looked it up... SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio) but I will bet it will work oooh so much better with a cheap-ass Dollar Store mic than with any other conceivable divice I might be able to plug into it. Chances are a cheapo condenser will outperform a $1K Sennheiser...

I wonder if I can plug a mic into the USB port...