Recording Audio via WinWarbler's QSO Info panel

You can use the Audio button in the QSO Info panel on WinWarbler's Main window to initiate and terminate the recording of an audio file in .wav format at 6K bytes per second.

• the audio file's name will be Audio-YYYY-MM-DD-HH-NN-SS.wav (where YYYY-MM-DD-HH-NN-SS is a date-and-timestamp specifying the moment at which recording began)

• the audio file will be saved in the folder MyDocuments\DXLab\QSOAudio, which will be automatically created if it does not yet exist; clicking the Audio Recording Configuration window's Display button will direct Windows Explorer to display the contents of this folder

The QSO Info panel Audio button is located between its Begin and Log buttons:

The icon present on this button indicates the current state of audio recording, and the action that will be taken when the button is next clicked:

In the Recording or Recorded states,

• Shift-clicking the QSO Info panel's Log button will log the QSO and

  1. replace the word Audio in the recorded audio filename with the Call specified in the QSO Info panel, e.g. P5DX-2016-04-01 01:02:03

  2. convey the recorded audio filename in the App_DXKeeper_AudioFile field of the ADIF record saved in the Minilog; if DXKeeper is running, the recorded audio filename is placed in the logged QSO's audio file item, accessible via the Details panel on DXKeeper's Main window's Log QSOs tab

• Alt-clicking the QSO Info panel's Log button will log the QSO and discard any recorded audio or audio file

Setup

1. Display the WinWarbler Audio Recording Configuration window by CTRL-clicking the or button, or by clicking the Audio Recording button at the bottom of the Configuration window's General tab

2. In the WinWarbler Audio Recording Configuration window

   1. check the Enable box to enable the QSO Info panel's Audio button

   2. use the Soundcard selector to select the sound card connected to your transceiver's audio output; you can choose the same soundcard selected for PSK & RTTY Reception on the Configuration window's Soundcard tab.

With Audio Recording enabled, you can also display the WinWarbler Audio Recording Configuration window by depressing the CTRL key while clicking the QSO Info panel's button.

Typical Usage Scenario

To record a DX station's response in case you'll need it for future reference,

1. when the DX station responds to your call, start recording by clicking the button

2. at the end of the DX station's transmission, stop recording by clicking the button

3. then,

   • to immediately discard the recorded audio, depress the Alt key while clicking the button

   • to play the recorded audio, click the button

   • to save the recorded audio without including the audio filename in the logged QSO's audio file item, depress the Shift key while clicking the button; to save the recorded audio and include the audio filename in the logged QSO's audio file item, depress the Shift key while clicking the Log button

Additional Options

If the Automatically start and stop recording option is enabled in the WinWarbler Audio Recording Configuration window, WinWarbler will automatically record each QSO's audio and include the audio filename with the logged QSO:

• inserting a character into the QSO Info panel's Call item, either directly or by capturing the callsign from decoded text, will start audio recording and set the audio recording state to Recording

• invoking the QSO Info panel's Log function by button click, macro command, or keyboard shortcut will log the QSO and

  1. replace the word Audio in the recorded audio filename with the Call specified in the QSO Info panel

  2. log the recorded audio filename in the Minilog via the ADIF App_DXKeeper_AudioFile field; if DXKeeper is running, the recorded audio filename in the QSO's audio file item, accessible via the Details panel on DXKeeper's Main window's Log QSOs tab

  3. set the state to Recorded (so the most recent audio file can be played)

• invoking the QSO Info panel's Clear function by clicking its X button, keyboard shortcut, or directive from another application will stop audio recording and abandon the recorded audio file

To display the WinWarbler Audio Recording Configuration window, depress the CTRL key while clicking the QSO Info panel's button, or click the Audio Recording button at the bottom of the Configuration window's General tab.

If when you direct DXKeeper to delete a QSO you want it to automatically delete the QSO's audio file item, then

1. click the Audio Recording Config button on the General tab of DXKeeper's Configuration window

2. in the Audio Recording Configuration window that appears, check the Automatically delete QSO Audio file button

Recording Audio After a QSO is Logged

To better substantiate your QSO with a DX station, you can use WinWarbler's audio macro commands to record audio of your QSO and the QSO that follows your QSO. To do so,

1. disable the Automatically start and stop recording option in the WinWarbler Audio Recording Configuration window

2. define a LogButKeepRecording macro that includes the commands <log_qso: audio> <clear-qso>

3. define a SaveRecording macro that includes the command <audio_record_stop: complete>

Initiate recording by clicking the QSO Info panel's button or by executing a macro containing a <audio_record_start> command. When your QSO is complete, invoke the LogButKeepRecording macro; WinWarbler will continue to record audio until you invoke the SaveRecording macro, which will save the recorded audio to the file whose filename was logged with the QSO.

Note that if a <log_qso: audio> or <log_qso_eqsl: audio> macro is executed in the Recording state, any subsequent attempt to discard the recorded audio will instead save the recorded audio to the file whose filename was logged with the QSO.

Editing Recorded Audio

The pathname of the file containing a logged QSO's audio is available in that QSO's audio file item, located in the Details panel on DXKeeper's Main window's Log QSOs tab. You can edit the contents of this file using the free-ware Audacity editor.

Recording Audio from Both Left and Right Channels (de Wolf DK1FW)

The audio recorded by WinWarbler is monophonic. To record audio from both the left and right channels, use the free Voicemeeter application, a virtual sound mixer that can select a stereo soundcard as its input and create a virtual soundcard whose monophonic output contains audio from both of the stereo soundcard's channels.

Additional Information

• Moving the My Documents Folder to Another Volume

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