I hate to create a new thread but the posts that touch on this don’t exactly speak to my problem.
I’m running a FT-3DR, have the correct Digirig cable, and running a Win 11 laptop and want to use Winlink with packet (not VARA). The 90 degree end is going to the radio, other end to Digirig audio port. I also want to use Soundmodem and a terminal program later on but tackling Winlink first.
I thought it was going to be essentially plug-and-play, but alas, that’s not the case. Here’s a description of the problem:
I start a Packet Winlink session.
Digirig is seen as a PnP soundcard, good!
I start the session and “something” is making it to the radio but not a full signal for transmit or not a good PTT signal.
PTT does occur but only briefly, very staccato.
Once the connection attempt/packet stops, so does the PTT. (Winlink tries to connect 4 times before it gives up).
During each one of these attempts to send a packet, the bottom toolbar on the radio flashes to the DTMF soft button that usually appears during a full PTT transmit.
It’s basically oscillating between keyed and not keyed many times a second during a transmit attempt.
Not using VOX but the video did help in the fact that it got me to look at my computer audio settings in relation to the Digirig. It turns out that there was some configuration to do with the Windows audio settings. I haven’t gotten it to perfect levels yet (i.e. the input audio from the radio to the computer is blasting) but it is working now. A successful packet Winlink connection was made. A lot of it had to do with the computer audio levels adjustment mentioned in the video.
Once I get it dialed in, I will post screenshots of my settings to help should anyone else encounter this.
Glad to hear you got it resolved. I had a similar problem setting up a new Dell laptop for someone else recently. The culprit was Waves Maxx Audio, which comes bundled with Dell computers. You must disable that in order for audio to be processed correctly by Soundmodem or any other app that gets it’s audio from the Digirig.
And now it’s back to not working. I have a couple suspicions as to what the issue might be.
Here’s a description of what is happening now:
The radio PTTs fine and sends packets. The node answers my packets but then my computer/radio doesn’t send any packets even though the reply packet from the node was decoded and displayed in soundmodem.
I do have to drop the squelch all the way down since the node is far away. It doesn’t break squelch even at the lowest setting.
I know AX.25 tends to be polite and won’t transmit if a channel is busy. I’ve tried it with a strong signal node too. Same thing, won’t go past the handshake exchange.
One of my main questions is, when the digirig is plugged into my radio, should RX audio still be coming out of the HT speaker? This was strange to me as I know when a speaker mic is plugged in, the radio speaker is quiet and sound comes out of the speaker mic.
I’m not sure what next troubleshooting steps should be.
If you use regular audio out (as opposed to aux connection where available), the squelch should be turned off for the digital modes. You should be able to monitor the audio on your computer by temporarily enabling “listen” checkbox for Digirig’s recording device. More on that in the troubleshooting guide.
So, do you hear the static and remote station’s responses on your computer with monitoring enabled?
When I plug the cable into my radio, the audio still comes out of the radio’s speaker in addition to going into the Digirig. I was making a comparison to the fact that when I plug a speaker mic into my radio, the radio’s speaker is muted and the speaker mic is where the audio comes from.
I’m also having issues with Winlink now. It doesn’t make it past the first handshake and just stops. The signal from the station I’m trying to connect to is heard but I can’t get my setup to respond.
On HTs the speaker should be muted anytime you plug anything into the port even if it’s a blank connector with no cable behind it. There is a mechanical switch in the socket that disconnects the speaker. The fact that you don’t get that with the Digirig cable suggests that there may be incomplete insertion. Do you see any significant difference between the connector on your speaker/mic and Digirig cable?
