MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card driver Version 1.0.0.3 Copyright (c) 2004 MixW Team, http://www.mixw.net Using this driver, MixW RigExpert becomes a standard sound card, making possible operating digital modes with any sound card software. It also provides an emulated serial ports for CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) control. The driver works under Windows 2000/XP (should work under Windows 2003, but not tested yet). Supported functions: Audio in/out, CAT. Planned in future: PTT, CW, FSK, Windows 98 support. Known problems: bad samplerate accuracy in some cases (due to Windows resampler bug). With this driver, you may run a single program which supports both audio and CAT functions (such as MixW), or separate programs for each function (for example, MMTTY does audio and DX4WIN controls the radio using CAT function). This driver is NOT NEEDED for software which supports MixW RigExpert directly (such as MixW2 and DigiPan). However, it will work with these programs, if configured. DRIVER INSTALLATION Before installing this driver, please install MixW Rigexpert Virtual Communication Port drivers (see the MixW RigExpert manual). After the installing, please set the Virtual Communication port number as described in the next section. Make sure you have administrative privileges which allow intalling drivers. a) AUTOMATIC INSTALL Run the InstReAudio.exe program and follow the instructions. Continue the installation when Windows warns about digital signature. You may need to restart the computer when driver installation finishes. b) MANUAL INSTALL Windows 2000: Open Control Panel (Go to Start - Settings - Control Panel menu). Click "Add/Remove Hardware" icon. In Add/Remove Hardware Wizard, choose Add/Troubleshoot a device. Wait until Windows finishes searching for new devices. Select "Add a new device" and click Next. Choose "No, I want to select the hardware from a list" and click Next. Select "Sound, video and game controllers" and click Next. Click the "Have Disk" button. Browse for reaudio.inf file. Make sure that "MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card" appeared in the list. Click Next to continue. Continue the installation when Windows warns about digital signature. You may need to restart the computer when driver installation finishes. Windows XP: Open Control Panel (Go to Start - Settings - Control Panel menu). Click "Add Hardware" icon. Click Next button. Wait until Windows finishes searching for new devices. Select "Yes, I have already connected the hardware" and click Next. Choose "Sound, video and game controllers" from the list and click Next. In the next window, select "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)" and click Next. Check "Include this location in the search:", then browse for the reaudio.inf file. Make sure that "MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card" appeared in the list. Select "No, do not connect to the Internet now" and click Next. Continue the installation when Windows warns about digital signature. You may need to restart the computer when driver installation finishes. VIRTUAL SOUND CARD SETUP Open Device manager (Right-click My Computer icon on the desktop, choose Manage, select Device Manager from the list). Find and open "Sound, video and game controllers" in the device tree. Double-click "MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card". Activate the RigExpert tab. Select the appropriate value for "Virtual COM port". This must correspond to the virtual communication port number for MixW RigExpert. Check if the "MixW RigExpert samplerate" setting conforms to the jumper position inside the MixW RigExpert device (10417 by default). Choose the "CAT port". This must correspond to the appropriate settings in the software you wish to use. Some programs allow using an arbitrary value, while the other ones are limited to COM1...COM8 or COM1...COM4. It is necessary to reboot the computer to accept this CAT port change. USING MIXW RIGEXPERT VIRTUAL SOUND CARD The driver acts as a "real" hardware sound card plus a "real" CAT serial port for any Windows software. It allows setting any sample rate (for instance, 11025 or 44100) in mono or stereo modes. Also, it has been tested under Windows 2000 and XP with various amateur radio software (including MixW2, DigiPan, MMTTY, MMSSTV, MT63, STREAM, Hellschreiber, Argo, Domino), as well as other software (Windows Media Player and WinAmp). The PTT output line of MixW RigExpert device is automatically activated once the audio output started. CAT function has been tested with MixW, DX4WIN, TRX-MANAGER, Ham Radio Deluxe. Supported baudrates for CAT are 1200,2400,4800,9600,19200,38400 and 57600 baud. See the following sections for additional settings and troubleshooting. AUDIO VOLUME SETUP Run Windows Volume Control program. Go to Options - Properties menu. Select "MixW RigExpert Wave" as a mixer device. Select Playback (output volume) or Recording (input volume) and click OK. Adjust volume using the sliders. SETTING UP MIXW RIGEXPERT AS A PREFERRED AUDIO DEVICE Some sound card software does not allow choosing a sound device to work with. In this case, set up MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card as a preferred audio device. Open Control Panel (Go to Start - Settings - Control Panel menu). Click "Sounds and Multimedia" icon. Activate Audio tab in the Sound and Multimedia Properties dialog. Select "MixW RigExpert Wave" as a preferred device for playback and recording. However, it is not recommended to do this, since all Windows sounds (dings, etc.) will activate transceiver PTT and will be heard on the air. TROUBLESHOOTING The signal is shown on the spectrum/waterfall, but no decode: In some cases, it is necessary to set the default baudrate to 57600 or 115200, and the receive USB transfer size to 2048 or 4096 bytes for the Virtual COM port which MixW RigExpert uses. See the VCP description from the MixW RigExpert documentation. The received picture is too much slanted on the SSTV screen: This is due to the Windows resampler bug. Please adjust the slant factor in your SSTV software, or (if possible) set up the software to use 10417 or 15625 samplerate. EVENT LOGGING MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card driver logs critical errors (MixW RigExpert device unplugged, etc.) using standard Windows mechanism. Open Event Viewer (Right-click My Computer icon on the desktop, choose Manage, select Event Viewer and then System from the list). At the right side of the window, you will see event messages (if any). View the messages marked with "reaudio" stamp in the Source column. DRIVER UNINSTALLATION Please shut down any software which uses sound cards before performing the driver uninstallation. a) AUTOMATIC UNINSTALL Open Control Panel (Go to Start - Settings - Control Panel menu). Click "Add/Remove Programs" icon. Select "MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card Drivers" from the list. Click Change/Remove button. b) MANUAL UNINSTALL Open Device manager (Right-click My Computer icon on the desktop, choose Manage, select "Device Manager" from the list). Find and open "Sound, video and game controllers" in the device tree. Right-click "MixW RigExpert Virtual Sound Card". Click Uninstall in the menu. VERSION HISTORY 1.0.0.1 Initial version, audio in/out function only. 1.0.0.2 Added CAT function. 1.0.0.3 Fixed minor bug in CAT support. DISCLAIMER This program is provided "AS IS" without any warranty. No liability for consequential damages.