Begin with the Radio turned OFF. Open the Windows sound control panel (double click on the
little yellow speaker icon in the task bar) and un-
mute the “wave” output and the left hand
“Volume Control” output. Set the virtual “Volume” and “Wave” sliders to a position one notch
down from the top. Also set the virtual balance sliders to the center.
If computer speakers are hooked up and they have a volume control knob, turn that knob
down, but not completely off. In the case there is not a volume knob, the speakers may be too
loud and consider turning them off after verifying the sound card level is high enough for the
speakers to be at a comfortable level.
Turn ON the
RIGblaster Pro
,
the “process” Switch (F10) is OFF, and the “level set” Knob (F5)
is all the way counterclockwise. Set the software to Transmit or Tune. The
RIGblaster Pro
“c.s.” LED (F7) and “ptt” LED (F11) should be ON. If using software, such as WinPSK, that will
bring up both RTS and DTR when set to transmit, the CW LED (F12) may also come on. If
these LEDs do not come on, recheck the serial port software setting for PTT control. The
RIGblaster Pro
PTT is always controlled with the RTS.
If the “c.s” and “ptt” LEDs are on, then
the “level” LED (F6) should also be ON, indicating there is sufficient audio from the sound
output of the PC being delivered to the
RIGblaster Pro
to adequately modulate the radio. Now
refine the wave output setting on the Windows sound control panel to the point just past the
“level” where the LED has just come on. Set the software back to Receive.
Turn ON the radio for the remainder of this procedure.
Use your normal mic gain setting for SSB radios. Turn OFF the speech compressor and set
the transmitter RF drive (power control) all the way up. Start with a dummy load for this
procedure. If using PSK software, make sure that the transmit audio is between 500Hz and
2500 Hz, otherwise it may be outside the limits of the response of the radio causing transmit
problems. Set the software to Transmit or Tune.
Then slowly turn up the “level set” Knob (F5)
on the front of the
RIGblaster Pro
to the point where the ALC just starts to move or a normal
RF power output is achieved. The final setting must produce less than full RF power output
from your radio.
Warning:
Do not exceed the AM, FM or RTTY power rating of the radio. After this
setting is completed, check to ensure the ALC meter is below limiting. Even if the radio
is rated at full output and continuous duty, do not set the audio to full output.
Take care that if running the computer sound output at maximum or close to maximum, and
the
RIGblaster Pro
“level set” turned way down, there may be distortion from the computer
sound and a poor quality signal. Generally the wave and volume sliders should be between 1/3
and 2/3 open and the
RIGblaster Pro
“level set” knob should be between 1/8 and 7/8 open.
With an FM rig, set the au
dio level with the “level set” knob using a deviation meter or by
comparing the level of the transmit audio to other stations using another radio.
For a more information about Computer Sound Cards, see the article titled “The In’s and Out’s
of a Sound Card” in October 2003 QST. Also available in PDF format on our Web Site at:
http://www.westmountainradio.com/pdf/Ins&Outs.pdf
Summary of Contents for RIGblaster Pro
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