Gary's method will work FB Scott - but there are much easier ways.
1. Plug your station mic directly into your sound board - forever if
you like.
2. Take the output of your sound board through a $3 radio shack
isolation transformer to the mic input of our rig.
There - that's it for hardware and software too. You don't need a rig
blaster or anything else expensive.
Record on the fly. Hit shift and the F key to start recording and end
your recording with the escape key.
It will sound exactly the same live as recorded as the audio path never
changes. You can change the messages by recording on the fly during a
contest - do it here all the time. Hit the escape key with decent
timing and you don't need to trim anything.
The rig is keyed via vox if its on - the F keys and the mic. The rig is
keyed via footswitch if you have one hooked up. The rig is also keyed
through PTT by the F keys if you have a cw interface hooked up - a one
transistor level shifter - you don't need anything fancy for that
either.
73 Hal
N4GG
-----Original Message-----
From: writelog-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:writelog-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Gary AL9A
Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2008 5:01 AM
To: Scott Long; writelog@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [WriteLog] SSB wav files?
Scott,
There are many ways to record audio files for use with WriteLog's F
keys. I
would not recommend using a cheapo external mike plugged into the line
in or
mic jack of your computer. It will sound different than your mike on
the
radio. I know some guys plug their ham mike directly into the computer,
but
I'm not familiar with how they key the rig that way. Here are some
suggestions based on my hook up.
1. Use your ham radio mike connected to the radio, be it a desktop or
headset boom mike, for the recordings.
2. Get your radio and computer hooked up and working first. I pick off
fixed output audio from the ACC jack on the back of my IC-756Pro and
route
it through an old Radio Shack audio mixer I had available in the shack
and
then to the computer's mic jack (my laptop doesn't have a line in). By
picking up audio from the ACC jack the level remains constant and
doesn't
change when you adjust the radio AF gain. The output from the ACC jack
is
way higher than than the sound card input needs, so you will need to
adjust
the record volume level on the soundcard, pad the input with a variable
resistor, or do both to keep from overdriving and distorting the audio
into
the PC.
3. Connect the PC to the radio via some kind of keying interface. You
can
build a simple keying circuit as shown in the WL Help files, or use a
commercial product such as a Rigblaster. This is how you key the PTT
and
get the audio wav files fed into the radio.
4. Once you have the radio/computer interface solved you can start
making
wav files. The Windows Sound Recorder is usable unless you have Vista.
Microsoft pretty much destroyed the Sound Recorder for ham radio use in
Vista. A better option is to download a free audio editing program
called
Audacity. Google it and you will find a download site. I turn my radio
on
and run it to a dummy load and use my boom mike to make the recordings.
With the radio's Monitor turned on, the audio comes out the ACC jack and
is
fed into the PC for recording.
5. Use Audacity to record and save your wav files. Before beginning
work
with Audacity, click on Edit/Preferences and select the Quality tab.
Set
the Default Sample Rate and Sample Format for your recordings. I use
22050
Hz Sample Rate and 16-bit Sample Format. This keeps the file size down,
but
the audio is adequate for use on the radio. All wav file recordings
must
have the same sample rate and format or they will not work properly in
WL.
6. Edit the files in Audacity to trim dead space off at the beginning
and
end of the audio files. Start with the basics. Record all the letters
of
the alphabet A-Z, the digits 0-9 and some audio message files. Save the
letter files as a.wav, b.wav, c.wav, etc. Save the numbers as 0.wav,
1.wav,
2.wav, etc. The messages you use for calling CQ, contest exchanges,
your
call, etc., must be saved in the format msg2.wav, msg3.wav, msg4.wav,
etc.
The number in the file name is the F key used to run it. I usually
record a
long string of audio in Audacity and then use the editing feature to
parse
the bits I want and export them as separate wav files.
7. Once this is done start WL and go to Setup/Ports. At the right hand
bottom of the screen is a button called Wave File Locate... Click on
that
and point WL to the directory where you have your wav files saved.
Click on
one of the wav files to set the path for WL.
8. Put your cursor in the Call field of the Entry window and press and F
key
to see if it keys your rig and transmits the audio. If everything up to
here was working you should be in business.
Read the WL Help files about recording the entire contest for playback
and
review later. This is handy for catching and correcting typos in the
log,
but it also a great way to improve your operating skill. By listening
to
how you actually sound in the heat of battle you can improve on your
on-the-air technique. In addition to the WL Help file, a great WL
resource
can be found at http://k9jy.com/writelog/. Good luck and have fun with
WL.
73,
Gary AL9A
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Long" <k8sm@windstream.net>
To: <writelog@contesting.com>
Sent: March 28, 2008 2:51 PM
Subject: [WriteLog] SSB wav files?
>I am new to WL and was wondering if someone could direct me with
recording
> some wav files for the F keys? What do I need? Mic for the pc?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Scott, K8SM
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> WriteLog mailing list
> WriteLog@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/writelog
> WriteLog on the web: http://www.writelog.com/
_______________________________________________
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http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/writelog
WriteLog on the web: http://www.writelog.com/
_______________________________________________
WriteLog mailing list
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