Hello Everyone,
I have been using RM Noise for 10 days now.
I have spent ALL of my waking hours on my 7300 with RM Noise.
In a nutshell I can tell you that on CW TX you MUST only be able to hear live audio side-tone on CW and be able to easily hear a small amount of unfiltered audio AND filtered audio at the same time in order to tune in the SSB station.
This is required especially the closer you get to 100% filtering.
On CW the reason is the 250ms latency makes CW impossible if you can hear filtered audio coming back to you a quarter of a second later hence you need to kill filtered audio on CW TX only.
I have a solution to both of these issues that is simple to add and it will make your CW and SSB operating a real pleasure.
I have several suggestions which I will post here in a few days.
I am VERY impressed with this app - no question.
For today, this tip on connecting to the 7300.
There is no need to use the USB port for your audio from the radio.
I have used a Beherenger audio mixer for many years and I will explain how I use it with RM Noise later.
I have integrated RM Noise into my mixer and added the required switching to make it all work.
My additions make operating SSB and CW a piece of cake.
For now, I will tell you that I take my audio from pin 12 of the ACC 13 pin DIN socket on the back of the 7300.
See page 12-1 of the basic manual, the pin out of the ACC DIN socket.
It is a fixed (adjustable) line output 5kohm impedance up to 300mV.
The line level output audio level is adjustable in the 7300 menu (Connectors) and mine is set at 60% and fed to the mixer & the PC line input.
I feed the PC input AND output audio to the mixer so I can hear as much or as little of the raw audio as needed to tune an SSB station.
Trust me, you NEED to have both filtered AND raw audio available to make this really user friendly....the raw audio is set much lower in level than the filtered audio and using the external mixer makes this super easy and user-friendly.
The balance control on the mixer is your friend.
I will make a rough sketch showing the connections and once you grasp the added functionality that the mixer brings, I am sure that it will prove very popular with many 7300 users.
Yes, you could hit the BYPASS button but that does not give you what the mixer gives you.
If you are listening to SSB filtered audio, it is very difficult to tune the station because of the latency BUT if you have a small amount of raw audio to tune the SSB, its a smile and a happy face!!.
I have a small amount of raw audio in my left ear and filtered audio in my right ear with absolute control over ALL level settings.
Works well on speaker also.
I also use the mixer to boost the mid-range audio around 2500Hz
I have several audio speaker options, all switchable from my operating position.
More later but for now......use pin 12 of the ACC socket.....simple and it works.
My operating has now changed and I could never go back to the lousy noise floor that I have at my QTH
55 years with lousy band noise and now RM Noise - NOT going back.
73 for now de Ray - VE7CY
I have attached a picture of the 802 Mixer that I use.
My description of the operation will follow and make reference to the controls in this picture.
RM Noise - How I hooked it up to my Icom 7300 with a few additions for ease of use on SSB & CW.
RM Noise - How I hooked it up to my Icom 7300 with a few additions for ease of use on SSB & CW.
- Attachments
-
- IMG_7441.jpg (943.69 KiB) Viewed 7378 times
Last edited by VE7CY on Fri Mar 15, 2024 2:46 am, edited 10 times in total.
IC-7300 audio routing for the RM Noise client for SSB & CW.
Hello folks, as promised last week, here is the way I have configured my station to make RM Noise user friendly FOR ME.
I stress that this is how I have done it for myself and I felt that others might be interested in my approach.
Others may have their way but we are all here to learn, experiment and play ..... that is our hobby.
Please note that NOTHING I say here is intended to be negative.
I take my hat off to Randy for this fantastic app and thank him from the bottom of my heart for his efforts.
I have not been as excited about anything in ham radio since I received my advanced license when I was 19 years old.
I am now 74 years old and have had everything from Collins, Drake, Henry, Hallicrafters, Kenwood, Icom etc ... you name it.
I have tried the MFJ-1026 noise reduction box and was not impressed.
Then, 3 weeks ago, while surfing on YouTube regarding the MFJ that I was installing, when I was left staring at the RM Noise video.
I removed the MFJ and 15 minutes later had downloaded the RM client, installed & activated it and was astonished at what I was hearing or actually what I was NOT hearing.
I have a very high noise level depending on the band and time of day.
Anything from S2 to S9+5db.
The old adage "if you can't hear them, you can't work them" is unquestionably true.
I was now hearing stations that I previously passed by because they were below my noise floor.
I am a 90% CW and 10% SSB operator and I started playing with the RM client on SSB.
I am currently running an ICOM IC-7300 to a Drake L-4B to a HyGain TH3 tri-bander at 50ft and fan dipole for 40m and 80m with the apex at 60 feet.
After the initial playing and testing, I started to integrate RM Noise into my setup.
I already use an audio mixer, a Behrenger 802 which has an audio equalizer that allows me to boost the mid-range audio around 2500Hz
This adds clarity to the SSB audio.
Note where ALL mid-range equalizer controls are boosting 2500Hz audio.
I use headphones and I can select 3 speakers to my mixer.
A powered studio monitor, a smaller speaker with much less bass response and an even smaller speaker with zero bass response.
I can switch between the 3 speakers as required depending on what I am listening to.
I also use headphones ... all driven and adjustable levels from the mixer.
Although I am a Canadian, I follow US politics very closely and my TV is always on a specific US news channel.
That audio is also passed through the mixer.
Any audio goes to a pair of Bluetooth earbuds so that I can walk around the house and still listen to my choice of audio source(s) when I need to do something and not miss what I am listening to.
I have wired the mixer such that I can control what I hear on headphones or one of 3 speakers in front of me.
I have several monitors for CCTV cameras, PC monitors etc in front of me.
The sources for the above audio / video are the IC-7300, Win4Icom, Simons Map for Greyline etc and satellite TV etc.
I can have any combination of audio in my right and left ears or the same audio in both ears.
Likewise I can have any combination of video in front of me on multiple video monitors.
I am telling you this so that you will understand how I have incorporated RM Noise into my current setup.
On mixer input #1 I have TV audio.
On mixer input #2 I have filtered 7300 audio out of my PC running the RM Noise client.
On mixer input #3 I have raw audio out of pin 12 of the rear panel ACC 13 pin DIN socket on the IC-7300.
This pin 12 audio IC 7300 audio level can be set in the menu.
I set mine to around 40% after monitoring the graphs in the RM client.
I also feed PC output filtered audio to the left channel of mixer input #3.
With the balance control on input #3, I can slide between 100% unfiltered audio to 100% filtered audio and adjust the level #3.
The way SSB is tuned and the narrow passband of the filtered audio from the PC, tuning an SSB station quickly and accurately requires a very small amount of unfiltered audio to be present in my speaker or headphones.
Once the SSB is tuned correctly, the #3 balance is turned slightly clockwise to hear 100 filtered audio to the exclusion of all unfiltered audio.
Conversely I can turn down #3 level to zero and turn up #2 which only has filtered audio out.
Trust me..... it works and takes a few seconds to understand and operate.
Its a real pleasure to operate CW at 25wpm and hear the other side of the QSO as if it was an FM signal at full quieting!!
A very strange concept but you soon get used to it.
I note Randy's comments that at this time, he has no plans to provide a stand alone version of the client that could be used locally.
That is a pity because I cannot conceive of having to operate again on CW or SSB and put up with the S9 noise level that RM provides.
The server latency can be heard when listening to both filtered and unfiltered audio.
It is not distracting at all - in fact it enhances the ability to tune an SSB signal.
Some may say "well you can hit the bypass label or lower case "b" or move the slider down to zero" but that takes time, requires you to move your hand to the pointing device and does not give you the flexibility I have described above.
My boosting of the midrange audio around 2500Hz is very effective, especially on filtered audio but even more so the closer you get to 100% filtering where the audio gets more base content.
That is how it works on SSB.
On CW its a whole other story.
In order to operate CW on the 7300 you must enable BEEP audio output on pin 12 if you want to hear CW sidetone on TX.
Then comes the issue of trying to operate CW and have your sidetone come to you with 250 milliseconds latency in filtered audio
Trust me, it does NOT work!!
Here is my solution to the CW sidetone problem...... and it works really well.
You need to lose the filtered audio during TX and hear only unfiltered audio / CW sidetone in real time.
This operation HAS to be automatic.
Here is my simple solution.
I have a DPDT relay through an opto-isolator driven from the SEND RCA jack on the rear of the 7300.
The SEND jack keyed the amplifier and now the new relay keys the amplifier.
One set of contacts keys the Drake L-4B amplifier.
The second set of contacts interrupts the filtered audio so that you are prevented from hearing the CW sidetone that is 250 milliseconds behind your transmitted CW.
You now hear only unfiltered CW sidetone when in CW TX and back to FM quality CW from your contact when in RX
A simple SPST switch needs to be flipped to go from CW to SSB
The switch is placed across the audio relay contacts that interrupt the audio on CW which is not needed on SSB.
ALLOW filtered audio on SSB - DENY filtered audio on CW (same as ALLOW only unfiltered audio on TX)
In order to avoid many wires going to and from the mixer inputs with adapters, I use 2 RCA distribution blocks to unclutter the installation.
I am attaching a rough sketch of the mixer 7300 RM Noise client interfacing.
The relay PCB is a $10 Amazon purchase.
Any questions?
Feel free to ask.
This makes me very happy and it works for me on SSB and CW.
Thank you Randy!
73 de Ray VE7CY
PS. I just tried to attach a pdf of the wiring layout but it seems that .pdf is not permitted.
Later tonight I will attach a jpg and see if that works.
OK .jpg files seem to be ok.
I apologize for the quick hand drawn sketch.......but it gives you the concept to back up the written story.
Glad to answer any questions.
PS. I also have Audacity on my PC and from the mixer I can record an entire QSO and play it back to the originator while toggling the BYPASS so that they can hear the effect of the RM Noise client on the received signal.
I will also be promoting and singing the praises of RM Noise on my website that will soon be accessible from my QRZ page.
I stress that this is how I have done it for myself and I felt that others might be interested in my approach.
Others may have their way but we are all here to learn, experiment and play ..... that is our hobby.
Please note that NOTHING I say here is intended to be negative.
I take my hat off to Randy for this fantastic app and thank him from the bottom of my heart for his efforts.
I have not been as excited about anything in ham radio since I received my advanced license when I was 19 years old.
I am now 74 years old and have had everything from Collins, Drake, Henry, Hallicrafters, Kenwood, Icom etc ... you name it.
I have tried the MFJ-1026 noise reduction box and was not impressed.
Then, 3 weeks ago, while surfing on YouTube regarding the MFJ that I was installing, when I was left staring at the RM Noise video.
I removed the MFJ and 15 minutes later had downloaded the RM client, installed & activated it and was astonished at what I was hearing or actually what I was NOT hearing.
I have a very high noise level depending on the band and time of day.
Anything from S2 to S9+5db.
The old adage "if you can't hear them, you can't work them" is unquestionably true.
I was now hearing stations that I previously passed by because they were below my noise floor.
I am a 90% CW and 10% SSB operator and I started playing with the RM client on SSB.
I am currently running an ICOM IC-7300 to a Drake L-4B to a HyGain TH3 tri-bander at 50ft and fan dipole for 40m and 80m with the apex at 60 feet.
After the initial playing and testing, I started to integrate RM Noise into my setup.
I already use an audio mixer, a Behrenger 802 which has an audio equalizer that allows me to boost the mid-range audio around 2500Hz
This adds clarity to the SSB audio.
Note where ALL mid-range equalizer controls are boosting 2500Hz audio.
I use headphones and I can select 3 speakers to my mixer.
A powered studio monitor, a smaller speaker with much less bass response and an even smaller speaker with zero bass response.
I can switch between the 3 speakers as required depending on what I am listening to.
I also use headphones ... all driven and adjustable levels from the mixer.
Although I am a Canadian, I follow US politics very closely and my TV is always on a specific US news channel.
That audio is also passed through the mixer.
Any audio goes to a pair of Bluetooth earbuds so that I can walk around the house and still listen to my choice of audio source(s) when I need to do something and not miss what I am listening to.
I have wired the mixer such that I can control what I hear on headphones or one of 3 speakers in front of me.
I have several monitors for CCTV cameras, PC monitors etc in front of me.
The sources for the above audio / video are the IC-7300, Win4Icom, Simons Map for Greyline etc and satellite TV etc.
I can have any combination of audio in my right and left ears or the same audio in both ears.
Likewise I can have any combination of video in front of me on multiple video monitors.
I am telling you this so that you will understand how I have incorporated RM Noise into my current setup.
On mixer input #1 I have TV audio.
On mixer input #2 I have filtered 7300 audio out of my PC running the RM Noise client.
On mixer input #3 I have raw audio out of pin 12 of the rear panel ACC 13 pin DIN socket on the IC-7300.
This pin 12 audio IC 7300 audio level can be set in the menu.
I set mine to around 40% after monitoring the graphs in the RM client.
I also feed PC output filtered audio to the left channel of mixer input #3.
With the balance control on input #3, I can slide between 100% unfiltered audio to 100% filtered audio and adjust the level #3.
The way SSB is tuned and the narrow passband of the filtered audio from the PC, tuning an SSB station quickly and accurately requires a very small amount of unfiltered audio to be present in my speaker or headphones.
Once the SSB is tuned correctly, the #3 balance is turned slightly clockwise to hear 100 filtered audio to the exclusion of all unfiltered audio.
Conversely I can turn down #3 level to zero and turn up #2 which only has filtered audio out.
Trust me..... it works and takes a few seconds to understand and operate.
Its a real pleasure to operate CW at 25wpm and hear the other side of the QSO as if it was an FM signal at full quieting!!
A very strange concept but you soon get used to it.
I note Randy's comments that at this time, he has no plans to provide a stand alone version of the client that could be used locally.
That is a pity because I cannot conceive of having to operate again on CW or SSB and put up with the S9 noise level that RM provides.
The server latency can be heard when listening to both filtered and unfiltered audio.
It is not distracting at all - in fact it enhances the ability to tune an SSB signal.
Some may say "well you can hit the bypass label or lower case "b" or move the slider down to zero" but that takes time, requires you to move your hand to the pointing device and does not give you the flexibility I have described above.
My boosting of the midrange audio around 2500Hz is very effective, especially on filtered audio but even more so the closer you get to 100% filtering where the audio gets more base content.
That is how it works on SSB.
On CW its a whole other story.
In order to operate CW on the 7300 you must enable BEEP audio output on pin 12 if you want to hear CW sidetone on TX.
Then comes the issue of trying to operate CW and have your sidetone come to you with 250 milliseconds latency in filtered audio
Trust me, it does NOT work!!
Here is my solution to the CW sidetone problem...... and it works really well.
You need to lose the filtered audio during TX and hear only unfiltered audio / CW sidetone in real time.
This operation HAS to be automatic.
Here is my simple solution.
I have a DPDT relay through an opto-isolator driven from the SEND RCA jack on the rear of the 7300.
The SEND jack keyed the amplifier and now the new relay keys the amplifier.
One set of contacts keys the Drake L-4B amplifier.
The second set of contacts interrupts the filtered audio so that you are prevented from hearing the CW sidetone that is 250 milliseconds behind your transmitted CW.
You now hear only unfiltered CW sidetone when in CW TX and back to FM quality CW from your contact when in RX
A simple SPST switch needs to be flipped to go from CW to SSB
The switch is placed across the audio relay contacts that interrupt the audio on CW which is not needed on SSB.
ALLOW filtered audio on SSB - DENY filtered audio on CW (same as ALLOW only unfiltered audio on TX)
In order to avoid many wires going to and from the mixer inputs with adapters, I use 2 RCA distribution blocks to unclutter the installation.
I am attaching a rough sketch of the mixer 7300 RM Noise client interfacing.
The relay PCB is a $10 Amazon purchase.
Any questions?
Feel free to ask.
This makes me very happy and it works for me on SSB and CW.
Thank you Randy!
73 de Ray VE7CY
PS. I just tried to attach a pdf of the wiring layout but it seems that .pdf is not permitted.
Later tonight I will attach a jpg and see if that works.
OK .jpg files seem to be ok.
I apologize for the quick hand drawn sketch.......but it gives you the concept to back up the written story.
Glad to answer any questions.
PS. I also have Audacity on my PC and from the mixer I can record an entire QSO and play it back to the originator while toggling the BYPASS so that they can hear the effect of the RM Noise client on the received signal.
I will also be promoting and singing the praises of RM Noise on my website that will soon be accessible from my QRZ page.
- RM-Noise_setup-VE7CY-3.jpg (331.42 KiB) Viewed 3261 times
- IMG_7441.jpg (943.69 KiB) Viewed 3260 times
Re: IC-7300 audio routing
I am in the process of tidying up the wiring etc and I forgot to mention one thing.
I also have a 132ft EFHW.
It is SO noisy that I never bothered to use it.
RM Noise changed that instantly.
I can hear stations that I never heard before on the EFHW.
73 de Ray VE7CY
I also have a 132ft EFHW.
It is SO noisy that I never bothered to use it.
RM Noise changed that instantly.
I can hear stations that I never heard before on the EFHW.
73 de Ray VE7CY
Re: IC-7300 audio routing
Glad to hear. Also, thank you very much for posting your writeup.VE7CY wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:11 pm I am in the process of tidying up the wiring etc and I forgot to mention one thing.
I also have a 132ft EFHW.
It is SO noisy that I never bothered to use it.
RM Noise changed that instantly.
I can hear stations that I never heard before on the EFHW.
73 de Ray VE7CY
Re: RM Noise - How I hooked it up to my Icom 7300 with a few additions for ease of use on SSB & CW.
Was pointed to this project by Ray, VE7CY. Here are my steps to getting it to work with my Icom IC-7300:
Settings on 7300:
I have previously installed the Silicon Labs USB driver and the USB Audio Codec following Icom's instructions and connected the 7300 to my Windows 10 computer using a USB-A to USB-B cable. The following are changes from my default SSB operating settings:
1. Press FIL1 until it opens its menu, then Push BW and use Tuning Knob to set filter to 2.8 and at right Sharp; Push FIL1 and hold down to exit and save these settings.
2. Be sure that NB and NR are set to OFF.
3. Save these setting on your SD card as "RM Noise" so that you can easily Load them in the future.
Settings on RM Noise:
AI Filter: Select 1 for Voice SSB
Options: Check Filter at the server from INPUT DEVICE as Microphone: USB Audio Codec and Check Listen to my signal on the OUTPUT DEVICE as Speakers High Definition Audio. Be sure to click Activate Settings to save your settings.
Start with Volume as 0.0 and Filtered as Original 0.00. Push the MUTE button for now.
Tune into a station with severe noise and turn down the radio volume to zero.
Push the MUTE button to start the audio on RM Noise and adjust the Volume and Filtered as desired!
Really NICE!
Settings on 7300:
I have previously installed the Silicon Labs USB driver and the USB Audio Codec following Icom's instructions and connected the 7300 to my Windows 10 computer using a USB-A to USB-B cable. The following are changes from my default SSB operating settings:
1. Press FIL1 until it opens its menu, then Push BW and use Tuning Knob to set filter to 2.8 and at right Sharp; Push FIL1 and hold down to exit and save these settings.
2. Be sure that NB and NR are set to OFF.
3. Save these setting on your SD card as "RM Noise" so that you can easily Load them in the future.
Settings on RM Noise:
AI Filter: Select 1 for Voice SSB
Options: Check Filter at the server from INPUT DEVICE as Microphone: USB Audio Codec and Check Listen to my signal on the OUTPUT DEVICE as Speakers High Definition Audio. Be sure to click Activate Settings to save your settings.
Start with Volume as 0.0 and Filtered as Original 0.00. Push the MUTE button for now.
Tune into a station with severe noise and turn down the radio volume to zero.
Push the MUTE button to start the audio on RM Noise and adjust the Volume and Filtered as desired!
Really NICE!
Last edited by W7ML on Thu Apr 25, 2024 1:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.