Power SDR Crashing On Flex 5000

[ka7niq]

You have VAC1 turned on. You only need VAC1 ON if you use your PC for a Speaker to listen to the Flex or if you use your PC as a MIC for transmitting.
OR you want to run a Digital Mode of some kind.
So Turn VAC1 OFF and that we free up your PC's default speaker and Mic

Darrin

I run self powered Fostex Broadcast Monitor Speakers, and they will not work for me, unless I have VAC 1 on. They are plug into the back of my computer.

[ka7niq]

I use these broadcast monitor speakers with my computer, to listen to music, so I thought they could do double duty as speakers for the Flex 5000.
However, I am not married to them, and I can easily grab a powered speaker, dedicated to the Flex 5000.

[ka7niq]

I bought a studio monitor to be dedicated the the Flex today! So, I will be turning off VAC1 today!
I really like powered studio monitors, especially good ones!
A single one of these just hit Facebook Marketplace today, for only 50.00 !
Of course, I jumped on it, since I only need one speaker for the Flex 5000
Plus, it has RCA Cable inputs, as well as XLR, kind of unusual for a studio monitor. Most studio monitors are XLR only.
This monitor is a few years old, but it was highly regarded in it's day https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... r5/reviews

[ke9ns]

I did not know you were running the audio out from PowerSDR to your PC. Thats OK to leave VAC1 on if your using your PC speakers to play PowerSDR audio.

The Flex-5000 can use stereo speakers for a few different reasons. When running SSB, you can click on the BIN button and you will hear the I and Q (left and right channels) OR you can run VFOA and VFOB in Left and Right channels (with or without RX2), or VFOA and the MultiRX (Sub receiver) Those slider on the PowerSDR let you adjust main and Sub receivers into left/right channels. Obviously it works better with headphones. but the Left/right does come in handy

Darrin

[ka7niq]

Yes, my setup includes a 32 inch 4K HDTV, flanked by a pair of Fostex Broadcast Monitors. They are my computer speakers, and I mainly use them for listening to YouTube Music Video's.

[ka7niq]

Question ?
What will make Power SDR crash, when you are receiving ?
I was just on 20 meters just listening, and the program stopped, for no reason.
So, I re started, and it did the same thing, a few minutes later,

[ke9ns]

Did PowerSDR close completely or did the Panadapter freeze?

[ka7niq]

Did PowerSDR close completely or did the Panadapter freeze?

The program just turned itself off, so I had to re start it

[ka7niq]

Update! Power SDR has not crashed, since I unchecked the box that allows Windows to close it. I just sold that External Speaker I bought to a friend, and I am using the external speakers that are hooked to my computer. Of course, that requires VAC1 to be on, but so far, so good!
Question ?
Would it be better to use the Banana instead of VAC1 ?

[ke9ns]

I forgot about the "Allow windows shutdown". That was an attempt to allow windows to close PowerSDR automatically when you closed Windows itself. But didn't work correctly (I need to fix it or remove it).

VAC1 is the PowerSDR end of the Virtual RCA audio Cables (with your PC as the other end of the virtual RCA audio cables).
VAC1 requires 2 virtual cables: From PC (mic) to PowerSDR, and from PowerSDR to PC (speaker)

The Sound card in your PC automatically provides 2 virtual cables from the Red (mic) and Green (speaker) TRS connectors
they dont become active until you plug in speakers and a mic

Voicemeeter Banana provides another set of virtual cables, so you can link a Digital mode program like WSJT-X (FT8) to PowerSDR



Darrin

[ka7niq]

Question, what is the current firmware for the Flex 5000, and does the KE9NS software automatically upgrade it for you ?

[ke9ns]

If there is a firmware update for the radio itself, it will be contained in the PowerSDR software update.
the Software will notify you of the update and do it automatically

[ka7niq]

My radio has been working perfectly lately! I did most of the suggestions on your web page. The leveler adjustment gave me more talk power, and I went to the real time setting, but it seemed to have caused crash, so I went back to high.
I went up from 48000 to 196000, and it works great, except it seems to have made the panadaptor window smaller.

[ke9ns]

The Panadapter window does not get smaller, but your ZOOM controls allow you to zoom out to see almost 200khz of the band at 1 time, so each signal appears to be very narrow unless you zoom out.