IC-718 no computer audio to radio

Hello,

I’m trying to help my father-in-law connect his IC-718 to the computer for remote operation.

We installed the digimode-4 usb to CI-V adaptor but with wfview connected to the radio we can’t hear the audio from the radio or transmit audio to the radio. The on/off function also don’t work.

I’m not sure what isn’t configured correctly or do serial connection not allow for audio to be transmitted?

Hi Mark,

What operating system is the server side?

What audio devices are selected under “Radio Server”?

I too have an IC-718 set up for remote operation, it works pretty well. The power off function doesn’t exist as a command on that radio, nor is it possible to read out the transmit power and SWR. So, there are some limitations but I find it works out well overall.

–E
de W6EL

Hello Eliggett,

The server side is windows 7. Is it correct that locally on the server I can not hear Rx or send out Tx?

I tried all options in the Port Audio tab until I was able to hear the Rx on the remote computer. So something is working at this point. We were able to reach someone on the radio with the ICOM mic but couldn’t get any audio to be transmitted from the remote computer. PTT is working.

For the “radio server” I chose USB audio device which I assume is the digimode-4? There are three usb audio device listed from the dropdown menu.

At this point the only thing I can think of is to try all combinations of Tx Audio output on the server and Audio input from the remote computer?

Hi Mark,

You’re close. A few tips:

On the client-side wfview, you can verify that you have chosen the computer’s microphone by selecting “TxAudio” as the secondary meter. This will display the microphone level in wfview, even when you are receiving. You can choose this under Settings, on the User Interface page. With this method, you will 100% know if you have selected the microphone and if it is working. Again, QT Audio is recommended unless you find that it does not work. Note that you must disconnect from the radio when changing audio systems and audio devices. Play with the audio settings until you can definitely hear the IC-718 receive audio (which I think you already are), and you can definitely see the microphone moving the audio meter in wfview.

On the server-side, under Radio Server, you need to make sure that you’ve chosen the correct “TX Audio Output” device. Do not change the RX Audio Input, as that seems to be working fine. While we generally recommend QT Audio for windows, if you have found that Port Audio or RT Audio works better for you, stick with it, at least for now.

One more thing, we have not tested this much at all under Windows 7. But, if you got this far, it may be ok. We also are aware of a bug where the (server-side) “Send RTS for PTT” setting is not always recalled correctly, so be sure to check that setting box whenever you launch wfview on the server side.

Alright, give the above a try and let me know how it goes.

Thanks,

–E
de W6EL

Success!

We slowly worked through the settings and the secondary meter were all very good for keeping us on track. Yesterday night we made contact with someone over the air using the traditional mic and were able to speak with them using wfview to confirm it’s working.

We are hoping to connect with someone so we can try to optimize the volume settings etc on the computer for the audio clarity of the transmission.

for windows 7 when QT audio is selected there are no options in the drop down menu, so we went ahead with the port audio option.

Thanks for all the help!!

1 Like

Hi Mark.

Good news that you got it working. I suspect the lack of devices in QT Audio is because we force it to only use WASAPI compliant audio devices and I suspect that you don’t have a WASAPI compliant driver for your device?

Thanks

Phil

Hi Mark,

Fantastic! Glad to hear it!

Levels can be tricky and you’re on the right track to do an on-air test. Ultimately that is the most important judge.

I would probably start by optimizing the mic gain in the windows control panel on the client side. Try and get voice peaks at -12 to -6 dBfs. The last thing you want is to have the gain set poorly and transmit a lot of noise or clipping.

I do not recall if the IC-718 mic gain adjustment in the radio menu effects the ACC input, but I suspect it does. Also keep in mind that you need to unplug the mic on the rig when using ACC, otherwise the mic audio gets mixed with the accessory audio (basically a design oversight IMO). Anyway I would adjust the mic gain until you see the ALC moving on voice peaks. You might start and observe the rig mic ALC behavior and then try and replicate that with wfview audio.

—E
de W6EL