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[WriteLog] Sound with sound card

To: <writelog@contesting.com>
Subject: [WriteLog] Sound with sound card
From: aa4nu@ix.netcom.com (Billy Cox)
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 13:56:41 -0600
>There have been a few complaints about the sound when using 
>your sound card for contest exchanges. I find that it works quite well.

Sometimes ... the common word that many use is "sometimes"

Sorry ... I don't want a "sometimes it records, sometimes it sounds
great, sometimes it needs more editing, and sometimes ..."

WL takes a hit here, the *.doc is poor. There's no indication of
IF you are recording, and then this dance of the various parameters,
all to use a sound card ... defeat the purpose of using the software in
the first place. Again I'll offer a solution, just as the W5XD keyer
addresses the keying problem on CW, move up to some form of
a ???? VOICE keyer to address these issues on SSB. Or add the
support for the devices that solve this problem just as the W5XD
keyer does as to solving the WL CW keying issue in Windows.

Writelog is GREAT on RTTY and CW, but SSB ... sadly this is the
software's Achilles' heel.

>After the recording is doe to get the best result you should really edit
>the sound files. You will have clicks and pops and dead spots if you do
>not. This is especially true if you are using the ability to synthesize
>calls by recording all the letters.

I agree ... that's exactly what I noticed also .. but it's unacceptable
to have to now go to ANOTHER software package to "fix this"
or to have to spend TIME editing and re-editing voice messages
when this is not required with other contest software or hardware!

Sorry, I am a contestor ... NO OTHER software requires me to
invest the time to go back and "edit the sound files". The W9XT
or K1EA boards do not require this ... If I have a guest op here,
he should not have to come over the weekend before "to record
his messages, and edit them". I wasted roughly 8 hours this last
weekend trying to work past these issues ... and ended up closing
down WL and going back to TR and my K1EA unit. No pops, no
crackles, and I KNEW when I was recording and playing the DVK.

>It is going to take a good bit of time to get that right.

Yes, it sure will ... IF the sound card is the ONLY option ... All of this
is because we are trying to use a device in a near real-time mode, it
flunks the KISS test badly. Software should SAVE time ... and allow
TRUE "on the fly" recording. Not have to record and edit in order to use
the desired data as a voice message memory in a contest.

This is an area where WL can really make some improvements.

73 Billy AA4NU



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