Mute for Softrocks

[KU8L]

GA List:

I heard a portion of some discussion on the 40M noon group regarding muting for the Softrock Rx's.  I lived with a manual (mouse click or keyboard) mute for a while but recently, when "formalizi8ng" the install onto the Drake R4B, I looked for a way to have the normal Rx-Tx mute line  (ground to Rx) control the Softrock.  There is a set of enable lines on my SR lite tied directly to a pair of the enable pins on the QSD decoder chip.

Problem is, the chip is a 5V device and most tube-based receiver mute lines float high when not grounded.  In the case of the R4B, it goes to about 44V.

I messed with some ugly ways to do it (relay) but after confirming with Tony Parks, went with his suggestion and used a simple opto-isolator.  It is a couple of resistors, a slight mod on the SDR board, and the opto setting between the Rx mute line and the QSD enable line on the SR.

If you need more info I can provide.  It works swell now!

Curt
KU8L

[KL7OF]

schematic diagram?   I am using the ensemble II  as a stand alone RX...don't know if it uses the same mute line setup....

[flintstone mop]

The Flex Radio Power SDR software has squelch settings on the main screen. What software are you using with your SoftRock card?

Fred

[KU8L]

Using the squelch for TX mute is a pain--especially when trying to work stations across a wide dynamic range.

Plus, the SDR can be overloaded if not muted like a receiver when transmitting and takes too long to recover for CW exchanges..  At least that is my experience over four years of working with the SR.

I will scan the sketch of the muting application.

Curt