cmASIO feature in Thetis

[w-u-2-o]

I finally got around to playing with this outstanding new feature by Bryan, W4WMT. Thank you, Bryan!

I've found it to work perfectly with Voicemeeter Potato. Working conditions are an ANAN-8000, FW 2.1.18, Windows 10 Pro.

ASIOdrivername is set to "Voicemeeter VAIO3 Virtual ASIO" (without the quotes). That was the Voicemeeter virtual channel I had been using with VAC (until now! ).

For giggles I'm playing with ASIOblocknum now. The default value of 5 works fine. A value of 2 doesn't work so well. Increasing to 3 seems to be pretty good so far, but I need more time on the system to know for sure.

I'm attaching Bryan's cmASIO preliminary instructions here for convenience. They include a link to his "hostsample.exe" utility for identifying ASIO drivers installed on the system.

BREAK

Bryan--do you plan to formalize this with settings available in one of the Thetis setup screens?

cmASIO Guide.pdf

(84.03 KiB) Downloaded 2375 times

[K1LSB]

Thanks, Scott - I was hoping I'd still be able to utilize VM Potato, as I'm using VMP's Hardware Input IntelliPan EQ and Reverb for tailoring my mic audio and I didn't want to give that up.

One question, I haven't been able to find any Thetis mic audio level adjustment that works after I enable cmAUDIO, how are you adjusting your mic input level in Thetis?

Mark

[w-u-2-o]

Mic gain should be set at the very first gain stage. That might be an ASIO audio interface. Or, if using a USB mic with Voicemeeter, at the Voicemeeter hardware input fader. After that first gain stage leave all other adjustments, if any, at nominally 0dB, although small gain adjustments may be necessary after any effects processing either external or internal to Thetis.

[K1LSB]

Scott, can you please post a screenshot of your VAC1 setup?

Thanks,
Mark

[w-u-2-o]

I'm no longer using VAC1. It's not relevant when using cmASIO.

[K1LSB]

Then I'm confused. I'll play with it and see what I can make work.

Thanks,
Mark

[w-u-2-o]

cmASIO creates an audio pipe directly between Thetis and the selected ASIO driver/device. It eliminates the need for VAC. The audio stream is the same one that goes to the built-in CODEC in the ANAN hardware, i.e. it contains a mix of RX1, RX2, SubRX and MON, depending on how the operator has configured the main console UI. This is unlike VAC which forces RX2 audio onto VAC2.

It's only confusing at this point because there is no formal UI to configure the cmASIO connection, i.e. you have to manually determine the name of the ASIO driver/device you want and then manually create a registry key. Just pretend this process takes place on a setup screen

You can continue to use VAC in parallel, but not with the ASIO driver selected in VAC. This is an architectural limitation of Thetis, it only allows a single instance of ASIO to be used.

[W4WMT]

One question, I haven't been able to find any Thetis mic audio level adjustment that works after I enable cmAUDIO, how are you adjusting your mic input level in Thetis?

Mark,

Use the mic slider on the main console window, just like you did before you started using VAC.

73,
Bryan

[K1LSB]

I'm struggling to get mic audio from VM Potato into Thetis for TX. How can I get my condenser mic audio from Voicemeeter Hardware Input #1 into Thetis without using VAC1?

Screenshots attached

Mark

VM Potato.jpg (423.46 KiB) Viewed 75414 times

Audio VAC1.jpg (148.63 KiB) Viewed 75414 times

[W4WMT]

I'm attaching Bryan's cmASIO preliminary instructions here for convenience.

Standby for full instruction guide, which should clear up most questions.
Final draft is being edited and will be released soon.
73!

[Tony EI7BMB]

Thanks for doing this Bryan

[w-u-2-o]

I'm struggling to get mic audio from VM Potato into Thetis for TX. How can I get my condenser mic audio from Voicemeeter Hardware Input #1 into Thetis without using VAC1?

Make sure you are running Thetis 2.10.3.5 pre-release 3 (or newer). Then...

1. Quit Thetis.

2. Run regedit.

3. In regedit look at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ASIO

4. Check that you have an entry called Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO.

5. In regedit look at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\OpenHPSDR\Thetis-x64

6. Right click in the right hand pane of regedit and select New > String Value. Name it "ASIOdrivername" (case sensitive, without the quotes).

7. Double click the new string value ASIOdrivername and give it a value of "Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO" (case sensitive, without the quotes).

It should look like this when you are done (you don't need an entry for "ASIOblocknum", that's just me fooling around):

Capture.JPG (74.66 KiB) Viewed 75164 times

8. Close regedit.

9. Start Thetis.

10. Disable VAC.

At this point you should find audio from Thetis on Voicemeeter channel B1. Any audio sent to Voicemeeter channel B1 will be used for transmit.

[K1LSB]

Thanks Scott, I'm pretty sure that's what I've done (per your instructions) but for whatever reason it wasn't working as I expected. If memory serves (which is not guaranteed at all), I was getting mic audio into Thetis but it wasn't being modified by any of the controls in VM Hardware Input #1 (EQ, Comp, Reverb).

I'll re-try this evening.

Mark

[rbduck]

I'm struggling to get mic audio from VM Potato into Thetis for TX. How can I get my condenser mic audio from Voicemeeter Hardware Input #1 into Thetis without using VAC1?

Make sure you are running Thetis 2.10.3.5 pre-release 3 (or newer). Then...

1. Quit Thetis.

2. Run regedit.

3. In regedit look at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ASIO

4. Check that you have an entry called Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO.

5. In regedit look at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\OpenHPSDR\Thetis-x64

6. Right click in the right hand pane of regedit and select New > String Value. Name it "ASIOdrivername" (case sensitive, without the quotes).

7. Double click the new string value ASIOdrivername and give it a value of "Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO" (case sensitive, without the quotes).

It should look like this when you are done (you don't need an entry for "ASIOblocknum", that's just me fooling around):

Capture.JPG

8. Close regedit.

9. Start Thetis.

10. Disable VAC.

At this point you should find audio from Thetis on Voicemeeter channel B1. Any audio sent to Voicemeeter channel B1 will be used for transmit.

Scott and everyone else. Thank you for the help with this. I'm not having much success. I slowly followed your instructions to the letter. (Several times). I'm not seeing sound from Thetis at B1 after the changes. I'm also not seeing output from Thetis on the "Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO" column which is where I normally see it..

I am getting sound from Thetis, but only with VAC enabled. I'm also seeing what I normally would on "Hardware Input 1" from the microphone.
I'm not sure where I'm going off the rails. I have also rebooted after the change. I know this is not necessary but it was worth a try. I am running Windows 11 and Thetis ver 2.10.3.5 pre-release-3

Edit: I am seeing audio at B1 , but it is only the mic audio. Is that your meaning? I can close Voicemeeter and I am still hearing audio from Thetis. This normally kills the sound from Thetis. I still have to have VAC enabled to hear sound from Thetis.

[Tony EI7BMB]

I'm in the same position Ruben, cant get any audio unless VAC is enabled . I must be missing a step

[rbduck]

I'm in the same position Ruben, cant get any audio unless VAC is enabled . I must be missing a step

This may be something completely unrelated, but since making these changes I can now run VAC at a sample rate of 48000 and Buffer size of 8.
I've never been able come close to this in the past. It's stable and transmissions are outstanding. I know we will get this right with more information. With every small change Thetis is getting better and better!

Edit: I had a temporary moment of clarity. I use a Behringer UMC202HD. I went to the registry and changed the value in ASIOdrivername to the correct value which for this card is "UMC ASIO Driver" I now have Thetis audio with VAC disabled. When I said I followed Scott's instructions precisely, that is what I meant. I'm assuming he is using a different sound card then me. SO, my driver is different. Duh. I feel like an idiot sometimes. I still see no audio level at B1. I'm curious to know what the Sample Rate and Buffer Size. OK.. waiting for more information.

[G3ZQH]

I'm in the same position Ruben, cant get any audio unless VAC is enabled . I must be missing a step

Also no joy here with this. Have reverted to 2.10.3.3. Must be some step that I am missing.
Dave G3ZQH

[K1LSB]

Scott,

One thing I don't understand is why you're using "Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO" as the ASIOdrivername value, as the instructions say to use the ASIO driver name (in my case, that would be "MOTU M Series"). "MOTU M Series" is the driver, while "Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO" is what Windows is defining as a Recording or Playback device.

So, does the ASIO driver name go into that string, or does a Recording/Playback device name go into that string?

Mark

[Tony EI7BMB]

I did not have to revert Dave, just using VAC enabled for now.

I'm in the same position Ruben, cant get any audio unless VAC is enabled . I must be missing a step

Also no joy here with this. Have reverted to 2.10.3.3. Must be some step that I am missing.
Dave G3ZQH

[rbduck]

I did not have to revert Dave, just using VAC enabled for now.

I'm in the same position Ruben, cant get any audio unless VAC is enabled . I must be missing a step

Also no joy here with this. Have reverted to 2.10.3.3. Must be some step that I am missing.
Dave G3ZQH

Mine seems to be working as described after I put what I believe to be the actual ASIO driver name into the string value. Thetis sound functions whether VAC is enabled or not. I'm still getting my mic sound through B1 in Voicemeeter. Now the only way to MUTE the sound is to reduce RX1 level manually.

When I ran hostsample.exe it reported 6 drivers. I tried each one in the string value named "ASIOdrivername" The first one reported is the only one that seems to function closest to Scott's description. All the others cause the sound to stop functioning when VAC is disabled. Whether it is correct now I don't know for sure. I guess we will know more when Scott reports in. I am sure that sound from Thetis is as stable as a rock whether receiving or during transmit.

[w-u-2-o]

I see that I have created mass confusion!

The instructions that I wrote above are specific to Mark and specific to his desire to use Voicemeeter. If it's not working for Mark it's more than likely a Voicemeeter configuration problem and not any problem with cmASIO configuration.

As for the rest of you, the answer is simple: enter the precise name of the ASIO device you wish audio to flow to/from. If that's Voicemeeter, then great. If that's a UMC box, that's good, too. Etc. and so forth...

[K1LSB]

Thanks for clarifying, Scott. I'll dig into my VM configuration when I get home this evening. I do recall utilizing the VM Insert feature some time ago to sidechain the mic stream thru Performer Lite so maybe there's some dangling chad somewhere in VM that needs cleaning up.

I should probably start with a full reset of VM and go from there. I'll post back with results.

Mark

[oe3ide]

For everyone who wants to use VM Asio drivers, the 2 settings on the screenshot are important (thanks to Richie for that information)

The driver names for Voicemeeter are:
B1: "Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO"
B2: "Voicemeeter AUX Virtual ASIO"
B3: "Voicemeeter VAIO3 Virtual ASIO"

73 de Ernst, OE3IDE

vm-settings.png (12.28 KiB) Viewed 75021 times

[w-u-2-o]

Excellent info, Ernst! I did confirm that my Voicemeeter config. is exactly that.

[G3ZQH]

For everyone who wants to use VM Asio drivers, the 2 settings on the screenshot are important (thanks to Richie for that information)

The driver names for Voicemeeter are:
B1: "Voicemeeter Virtual ASIO"
B2: "Voicemeeter AUX Virtual ASIO"
B3: "Voicemeeter VAIO3 Virtual ASIO"

73 de Ernst, OE3IDE

vm-settings.png

Now I'm progressing (thanks to Ernst and Scott)! I have SSB PC audio (headset) using these cmASIO settings for Voicemeeter but I cannot connect to JTDX or WSJT-X for digimodes. Will explore further tomorrow.

I'll be very happy to have a more stable audio link since I have always had problems with running VAC in Thetis.

73 Dave

[W4WT]

I thought I'd give this a try and it worked straight away using my UMC2020. No problems noted. My only question is what the purpose of this is? Is it simply to eliminate having to use VAC to get the benefits of ASIO drivers (not to belittle that time saver!) or is there something else that I don't readily see? I notice that latency seems to be the same with this method as I saw with VAC.

Thanks,

Joe W4WT

[w-u-2-o]

Now I'm progressing (thanks to Ernst and Scott)! I have SSB PC audio (headset) using these cmASIO settings for Voicemeeter but I cannot connect to JTDX or WSJT-X for digimodes. Will explore further tomorrow.

I'll be very happy to have a more stable audio link since I have always had problems with running VAC in Thetis.

73 Dave

Assign your digi software to one of the other virtual channels in Voicemeeter. Then click the appropriate "send" buttons in Voicemeeter to make the connections.

For example, if Thetis is on B1 via cmASIO, then put JTDX on B2. After that, activate the B2 send on B1, and the B1 send on B2.

[K1LSB]

!! Success !!

Scott, I finally got CM-ASIO running as hoped for, using the Registry settings you suggested and the VM settings per Ernst and Richie.

Joe, I've noticed that RX1 and RX2 both utilize CM-ASIO (VAC2 has never been ASIO-capable). Also I've noticed that my laptop consumes a bit less CPU power when using CM-ASIO than when using VAC.

Mark

[W4ATL]

I thought I'd give this a try and it worked straight away using my UMC2020. No problems noted. My only question is what the purpose of this is? Is it simply to eliminate having to use VAC to get the benefits of ASIO drivers (not to belittle that time saver!) or is there something else that I don't readily see? I notice that latency seems to be the same with this method as I saw with VAC.

Thanks,

Joe W4WT

The advantage is the ability to monitor RX2 along with RX1 through the ASIO sound device. VAC can now be dedicated to digital modes.

[K1LSB]

I finally got around to playing with this outstanding new feature by Bryan, W4WMT. Thank you, Bryan!
.
.
For giggles I'm playing with ASIOblocknum now. The default value of 5 works fine. A value of 2 doesn't work so well. Increasing to 3 seems to be pretty good so far, but I need more time on the system to know for sure.
.
.

Scott,

If we were to experiment with the ASIOblocknum value, how would we know if/when we're getting too small?

Thanks,
Mark