Weather Fax on SSB

[transmitterdan]

If your combo plug has a tip and 3 rings (4 wires) then the tip is the microphone signal (usually a white wire). This should be connected to the audio out signal from the ICOM.

The ring furthest away from the tip is ground. The two middle rings are for the headphones left and right audio if it is a stereo combo. You don't need to connect anything to these two inner rings for SSB FAX to work. Connect ground ring to the audio ground of the ICOM.

[RedHerring]

Just one (any) side of that stereo to the mic contact should do it. One thing you may discover is that your line out is too strong for the mic input. Another: microphone inputs on computers have phantom power, which means that the mic signal contact in that combo jack is probably +5V to the ground. I've no idea if your tranceiver will like it or not.

If any of these turn out to be a problem - or for anyone who doesn't have any audio input on their laptop - the solution is a USB sound card. They can be bought for anything from $2 (a chinese vendor on ebay) to infinity (professional audio interfaces). Brand name products go for 20-40 bucks.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by roberto11

How should I solder them on the Icom side that has 3 electrical connection ??

The mic wire to both tip and ring and the negative to the sleeve??
It will work???

Yes. The you can either connect the mic wire to both the tip and ring or just use a mono plug on the 706 end.

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

If your combo plug has a tip and 3 rings (4 wires) then the tip is the microphone signal (usually a white wire). This should be connected to the audio out signal from the ICOM.

That isn't the way the 4-conductor combo plugs work. See my post above.

[roberto11]

Phantom power... That is scary!!
Can I test the wire with a multimeter when connected to the computer ??

[roberto11]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Yes. The you can either connect the mic wire to both the tip and ring or just use a mono plug on the 706 end.



That isn't the way the 4-conductor combo plugs work. See my post above.

Thank you Auspicious, mesauring the headphone that i dismantle i found the connection as you said.

Originally Posted by roberto11

As Auspicious said starting from the tip 1 is the + left speaker, 2 + right speaker, 3 common - , 4 + mic.
R.

It will be the wire of the cheap headphone "sturdy" enough or I need something else??
R.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by roberto11

It will be the wire of the cheap headphone "sturdy" enough or I need something else??

It should be fine -- I'd beef up the plug to wire connections with a couple of layers of heat shrink.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by RedHerring

Just one (any) side of that stereo to the mic contact should do it. One thing you may discover is that your line out is too strong for the mic input. Another: microphone inputs on computers have phantom power, which means that the mic signal contact in that combo jack is probably +5V to the ground. I've no idea if your tranceiver will like it or not.

Most computers have mono mic jacks. All combi jacks have mono mic connectors.

"Phantom power," itself a misnomer that would make an electrical engineer groan, isn't something I have seen on laptops. Can you cite an instance?

Levels are definitely an issue. JVCOMM32 and similar wefax software products have modulation indicators so you can set the volume on the radio to the right level. I usually run the audio input level on the laptop at around 2/3 and adjust the radio volume appropriately.

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

That isn't the way the 4-conductor combo plugs work. See my post above.

You are right, I made a mistake. In a 4 wire stereo combo plug for a PC or smartphone the mic is the ring farthest from the tip and ground is next to it. Looks like this:

http://cdn3.howtogeek.com/wp-content...tor-pinout.jpg

[RedHerring]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

"Phantom power," itself a misnomer that would make an electrical engineer groan, isn't something I have seen on laptops. Can you cite an instance?

It's what they call it in the audio world. Who am I to argue?

Last time I looked at computer headsets (some years ago), they mostly used electret microphones with a small buffer inside the mic capsule.

[roberto11]

Working!!
Thanks a lot for your help!
I also made a cable to connect the netbook to the ACC.
If I plug the cable on the headphone jack I automatically mute the speaker of the Icom....
Looks also that the signal is more stable.
I adjusted the audio volume directly on the netbook.
Thanks again!
R.

[unanchored]

"Simple question"...😇😇😇
How do I decide on which station and frequency to use?


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by roberto11

I'm connecting an Asus netbook to an Icom 706 to download weather fax.

The asus has the combo jack and the Icom I believe is stereo.
I believe so because the radio came with a little bag that have two stereo (1/8 and 1/4) jacks inside.

I looked to buy something already done but I didn't find anything.
So I demounted a headphone with mic for an old phone.
As Auspicious said starting from the tip 1 is the + left speaker, 2 + right speaker, 3 common - , 4 + mic.
How should I solder them on the Icom side that has 3 electrical connection ??

The mic wire to both tip and ring and the negative to the sleeve??
It will work???

Thank you
R.

WM2U's Soundcard Interfacing Schemes

[conachair]

Originally Posted by unanchored

"Simple question"...😇😇😇
How do I decide on which station and frequency to use?


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

Have a look here...

National Weather Service om/marine/rfax.pdf

Then use whatever frequency works best.

[transmitterdan]

Originally Posted by unanchored

"Simple question"...😇😇😇
How do I decide on which station and frequency to use?


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

The best frequency depends on the time of day and where you are in relation to the station. NMF is near Boston and NMG is near New Orleans. NMC is in Pt. Reyes, CA. Each has slightly different weather data for its coverage area. So you want to listen to the station that covers where you are located.

I think all of these stations transmit on 3 different frequencies. The same data is sent on each frequency. If it is night at the station and where you are then the lowest frequency will probably be best. If it is light at the station and dark where you are (or vice versa) the middle frequency will probably be best. The highest frequency usually works best when it is day time in both places. These are not hard an fast rules so you can try each one to see which gives the best picture. Often more than one frequency will work unless you are thousands of miles from the station.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

The best frequency depends on the time of day and where you are in relation to the station. NMF is near Boston and NMG is near New Orleans. NMC is in Pt. Reyes, CA. Each has slightly different weather data for its coverage area. So you want to listen to the station that covers where you are located.

I think all of these stations transmit on 3 different frequencies. The same data is sent on each frequency. If it is night at the station and where you are then the lowest frequency will probably be best. If it is light at the station and dark where you are (or vice versa) the middle frequency will probably be best. The highest frequency usually works best when it is day time in both places. These are not hard an fast rules so you can try each one to see which gives the best picture. Often more than one frequency will work unless you are thousands of miles from the station.

Do you know why Boston and New Orleans use different formats? Bostons info was legible all across the Atlantic even with a lot of interference. New Orleans was hard to read unless you could get a perfect signal.


Matt