Hermes lite faulty?

[Kurt V.]

Hi all,

I have been struggling for a week now to make my hermes lite 2 work. All works but I get clipping in my audio when I'm on the air. 

After one week of trying to make things work, I isolated the clipping to this: when I go into TX, no audio input, USB, any band, any antenna, I hear some relays clicking, and I see every 3 to 10 seconds the ADC 75 and or ADC 100 lights turn on for a fraction of a second. 

I have made a video and you can see it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1YajI14HvQ

I don't think this is a normal behavior. Is it? 

Anyone can help?

De ON7OFF

[Pez]

Hi ON7OF. A low performance PC, or a low performance IP network can cause issues just like this. It might not be the HL2 causing this issue. A few things that might help:

- Is your computer connected via Ethernet (and not Wifi)? 

- Is your PC fast enough to run Thetis (what is the CPU usage?)

- Can you try using a different software package (For example, SDR Console which uses less CPU to run. This will also help eliminate a Thetis setup problem). 

- Can you try a different computer? 

- Can you connect directly to the HL2, with just an Ethernet cable (with no network/router inline etc)...

Good luck. 

[Ron Lewkowicz]

The best way to test HL2 hardware is to use Quisk program and follow the youtube guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pPbQplSBoo.

Some things to look at would be to make sure the SWR for the antenna is tuned well.  RF can get into poorly shielded Ethernet and usb cables. 

[Steve Haynal]

Hi ON7OF,

Thanks for posting a video of the problem. There is a TX buffer inside the HL2. If that buffer empties, the HL2 will return to RX mode. This is to prevent runaway TX. Usually software will keep this buffer filled with ~20ms of data. A network with high jitter, often because there is a wifi link in the mix, can cause this buffer to underflow and you will see clicks like you report as the HL2 is returning to RX mode very briefly. 

Please test with Quisk as already suggested to see if this causes any change to the clicks. With Quisk, you can adjust the latency of this TX buffer all the way up to 80 ms, which you may need to do with your setup.

I am not sure if there is a way to adjust this buffer with Thetis as it is a HL2-specific extension. Maybe a Thetis user can comment. You can adjust this buffer for any software using the secondary hermeslite.py program. See the "Set TX buffer latency" section of:

https://github.com/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/blob/master/software/hermeslite/hermeslite.ipynb

Also see,

https://groups.google.com/g/hermes-lite/c/XVQZ3HZF-ks/m/VN90G4xsAQAJ

The suggestions from Pez and Ron are worth trying too.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[V85NPV]

Hello,

Just watch the video and in fact you have selected RX filter only and no TX filters are selected.

So it is normal when you are in RX the filter and mostly the associated relay is selected according your frequency and band selected. When you are triggering the PTT (means TX) since you have no selected filters for TX the filter board is triggering a by-pass status means use another relay and you will notice a click because of positionning relay from TX to RX and RX to TX differently (Means with and without the LPF filter).

In any case , at least the RX/TX relay is clicking according the PTT or MOX.

For the blinking LED . The are dedicated for the ADC level. So according the A-ATT threshold you my have some blinking when TX and RX . Check your A-ATT setup and try to adjust it in putting more attenuation and the blinking LED issue may disapear. (I just did some test with my Hermes lite plug on a dummy load and moving the A-TT setup cure the ADC LED behaviour)

73

Didier

[G4ZAL]

Hello Kurt, ON7OFF

Looking at your video, I see you are using Thetis for the Anan (Hermes) transceivers and not the Hermes-Lite2 tailored version by mi0bot.

Install this

https://github.com/mi0bot/OpenHPSDR-Thetis/releases/

and then check this

https://github.com/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/wiki/Thetis-Setup

That should get you in the ballpark.

Also, what is the purpose of the phono lead & adapter going into the 3.5mm stereo connector for KEY/PTT on the front of your HL2 as you are using MOX to key up on the video?

I use a footswitch to 3.5mm plug to set my HL2 into Tx - much more convenient.  VOX also works good too (neither need to use the mouse to initiate Tx).

If you still have probelms, post a new, specific thead on here.  As you see, the community help is great.

HTH

Nigel, G4ZAL

[ron.ni...@gmail.com]

If, when you transmit with an HL2, the signal breaks up and you hear relays click or chatter (and not just once at the start of the transmission), it means you have a bad network.  The network is bad, not in speed or bandwidth, but in latency jitter.  If using WiFi, it's a usually problem with your WiFi signal (interference from other WiFi devices, or with router buffering).  So try a non-wireless (ethernet) connection.  Even very fast networks can cause a problem, because they can send UDP packets in high speed bursts, with gaps in between the bursts, which means many UDP packets arrive too late to transmit.  This is not a problem with HL2 receive because SDR software usually has comparatively massive buffering on network input (SDR receiver) data, because the computer has gigabytes of memory available.

73,

Ron

n6ywu

[Kurt V.]

Hi all,

thanks to all in the community for the help. 

I am using a high end laptop i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. 24GB ram. 

The connection is ethernet to ethernet from the laptop to the HL2. I checked and confirm the ethernet interface is telling me 1Gbps connectivity with no errors in the ethernet packets in/out. 

This eliminates issues with the connectivity. The tests I have been doing are done with Thetis v2.9.0.8 and the latest version of Thetis for HL2 as posted a week ago. 

To narrow down the issue, I am just sending a 2 tone and listening to my kenwood  TS-480. Please listen to the RX of the transmission using the 2 tone of the HL2. 

Please note:
- Someone questioned about the cable for PTT. Yes, I have a mike and a home made PTT switch for use of the HL2. 
- The clicking also occurs in SDR Console but not as frequently as it occurs with thetis (once every 30 seconds). 
- CPU usage is Thetis only is 15%, CPU system is around 47%. 

- To eliminate the issue of cable connections, I only use the 2 tone to analyze the issue

- To rule out any RFI (which I am very sure I don't have because my antenna is 100m from the shack) I only TX with the lowest power setting. 
- TS-480 is not connected to any antenna. 
- Antenna used is not having SWR issues. It is my 2 EL quad antenna I have used now for more than 2 years. Never had issues. 

This is how bad the clipping is, not only in RX but also in TX. Check the video. 

using thetis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MrxNte3seQ

using SDR Console

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfN9SPzKVBY

I have back ordered the HL2 companion board. But I have no idea if this will resolve the clipping issue. 

Any suggestions? 

[G4ZAL]

It does sound like network packet loss or audio buffer issues.

On your Thetis, can you try the Windows Direct Sound?

use, Setup > Audio > VAC 1 and in the dropdown for Virtual Audio Cable Setup use

Driver > Windows Direct Sound

Input > Primary Sound Capture

OutPut > Primary Sound Driver

Then, In Windows Sound settings, make sure the defaults are according to your Output and Input devices you want to use for mic and speaker.

Also, turn off all enhancements in Win Sound settings for the devices you use (Input and Output)

Restart Thetis for good measure.

If you have ASIO drivers, they may provide the best, low latency settings, but work through the above first.

Nigel

G4ZAL

[Kurt V.]

I don't think when sending a 2 tone, you still use the audio drivers. I think there is a direct input into the HL2 without having to pass through any audio device (microphone or speakers). 

Why to I still get these clippings? 

[Ron Lewkowicz]

"I don't think when sending a 2 tone, you still use the audio drivers. I think there is a direct input into the HL2 without having to pass through any audio device (microphone or speakers). "

I'm not sure if this is correct.

 To my ears it sounds like audio latency issue as in buffer under run or xrun.  If it were network latency issue I think you would hear relay chatter in the HL2.  I had that one random occasion and a power cycle of my switch fixed it. 

[Kurt V.]

Thanks for the help Ron and Nigel.

The HL2 is connected directly to the laptop, no switch, just a shielded UTP cable from the laptop to the HL2. 

When I check the network speed in Windows network, it sais 1Gbps and  no errors. 

I just might have a faulty unit? 

[Reid Campbell]

Hi Kurt,

What is your setting in Setup|General|F/W Set/RX1 Sample Rate ?

Try it at lower rates to see if the audio break up goes away. I had the same problem at the start but it went away when I got a more direct connection between the PC and the HL2. I was going over several switches, now I just have the one switch in the link.

Cheers 

Reid
Gi8TME/Mi0BOT

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[Steve Haynal]

Hi Kurt,

In addition to lowering the IQ rate to 48kHz as Reid suggested, can you also try CW keying. A two tone test still sends audio data from PC to HL2 and so is subject to buffering settings on the HL2. A CW keying avoids this.

https://github.com/softerhardware/Hermes-Lite2/wiki/External-Connections#key-ptt

Did you try any of the buffer adjustments I suggested?

The companion board is unnecessary.

73,

Steve

kf7o

[Steve Haynal]

Hi Kurt,

Also, please report the output of ping when you ping your HL2 from a command prompt. Ideally, I'd like to see the output of a flood ping:

https://www.mybluelinux.com/psping-windows-icmp-flood-ping/

Since you report fewer problems with SparkSDR, it seems likely it is a network or other configuration issue.

73,

Steve

kf7o