HFU HF Underground
Technical Topics => Equipment => Topic started by: JCMaxwell on December 14, 2019, 2229 UTC
-
I plan to do some CW decoding on a Dell windows laptop connected (hopefully) to a standalone receiver. The laptop does not have a mic input, like most recent models, but of course it has several USB ports.
I have seen devices on Amazon which purportedly transform a USB jack into a headphone/microphone jack.
Has anyone used one of these devices successfully and if so is there a brand/model you would recommend?
Thank you
-
Get a generic "usb sound card". Don't pay more than a few $$.
~
-
try to get the best one for the buck;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWKDG8VAs4E
http://www.daqarta.com/dw_gguu.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuLABU6tI7Q
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/pluggable-audio-adapters
-
I've had good luck across windows and linux with the Vantec cards.
https://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NBA-200U-External-Channel-Adapter/dp/B004HXGJ3S/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Vantec+NBA-200U&qid=1576387669&sr=8-1 (https://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NBA-200U-External-Channel-Adapter/dp/B004HXGJ3S/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Vantec+NBA-200U&qid=1576387669&sr=8-1)
+-RH
-
Get a generic "usb sound card". Don't pay more than a few $$.
Been down that road, got the t-shirt. Those cheap USB sound devices usually have horribly inaccurate sample rates, and also often drop samples. Caveat emptor.
I have had excellent luck with the Griffin iMic, which you can still find now and then on eBay, often new in an unopened package.
-
Thanks for all the input.
Once I review and decide and get it setup, I’ll report back on my results.
-
He wants it for CW decoding, not recording studio mastering.
~
-
Dropping audio samples can screw up CW decoding. And will be fatal for SSTV decoding, should he go down that route later on.
-
Fatal is a Windows term. A Usb sound card is just a DAC/ADC with a USB 1.0 IF.
If samples are being lost it must be a software problem.
~
-
The [poorly implemented] USB interface is where the samples are lost. You can confirm it's not a software issue by changing the USB sound device and watching the problem go away.
There's other issues with the cheap USB sound devices, such as really poor quality A/D converters. I wonder if some of them are really just 8 bits instead of 16. Kind of like the Pride of China electrolytic capacitors with a smaller, lower value, cap inside the case. Or the AA batteries that are light weight because they really have a AAA battery inside.
(https://i.imgur.com/FtZWwKY.png)
-
Must be a bitch to set up the machines that make those ;D
-
At least they used rubycons.
-
At least they used rubycons.
That's probably a fake shell also, with a fake 100 uF capacitor inside it, and so on and so on... You finally get down to a 47 pF ceramic cap. Chinese Matryoshka Capacitors.
Saving a buck and spending hours of troubleshooting time is not frugal.
-
About AA batteries. I have a radio that takes 3 AA's. I use 2 "Fake" AA's and a 14500 instead. Works perfect.
~
-
Stick with name brand USB sound devices. Anything cheaper than about $30 is garbage. Anything that comes from eBay with the drivers on an unmarked mini cd is bound to be malware. Some of the really crappy ones will destroy the USB port.
USB sound devices should be absolutely plug n play these days until you get up into the high end recording hardware.
-
Should I take that on point by point or just call the whole thing BS
or leave it alone? 8)
~
-
As the OP may I request a moderator to lock this thread? I just wanted some advice.
-
As the OP may I request a moderator to lock this thread? I just wanted some advice.
Lol
You asked. You received.
If you wnat to cheap out, this will work and is safe. https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Labs-70SB173000000-Sound-Blaster/dp/B06XBZ38ZJ/ref=zg_bs_3015427011_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=G1V58R1SX6TP95PS4JAB