Can digital audio interface be used for mic input to Thetis Through Voicemeeter?

[N7KD]

I am already successfully running Voicemeeter Banana to use both WSJT-X and fldigi. I have a Presonus Audiobox USB896 and I have connected my microphone to the input of the Presonus and can see signal on Stereo Input 1 of Voicemeeter Banana. Is there a way to get Thetis to accept the output of the Presonus as mic input for SSB through Voicemeeter Banana? I tried using the same settings in VAC1 I use for the digital modes and routed the output of the Stereo Input 1 of Voicemeeter to output bus B2 the same as the WSJT-X and fldigi settings but no success.

[w-u-2-o]

What you have is not a DAW, but a digital audio interface. Please edit your first post to change the title so folks are not confused. DAW is "digital audio workstation", i.e. software like Studio One, Ardour, Reaper, Pro Tools, etc.

The short answer to your question is "Yes!"

What you describe doing in Voicemeeter is going in the right direction. However, in your [url=https://community.apache-labs.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4343]original topic[/url], you show that you have WSJT-X assigned to B2 and Thetis assigned to B1. Assuming that has remained the same, then you need to route (send) A1 to B1, not B2.

This topic belongs in the digital virtual audio sub-forum. After your read this and reply, I will be moving it there.

[N7KD]

I have routed A1 to B1 in Voicemeeter but get no audio from the mic on transmit even though the VU graphs on input A1 and output B1 in Voicemeeter show audio signal from the mic. In WSJT-X audio settings the Input is selected as Voicemeeter Out B1 and Output is selected as Voicemeeter Input. In Thetis, audio settings VAC1 the Input is selected as Voicemeeter Out B2 and the Output is selected as Voicemeeter AUX Input. I have even tried routing A1 to B2 in Voicemeeter but get no audio from the mic on transmit.

[w-u-2-o]

In Thetis, audio settings VAC1 the Input is selected as Voicemeeter Out B2 and the Output is selected as Voicemeeter AUX Input. I have even tried routing A1 to B2 in Voicemeeter but get no audio from the mic on transmit.

This is reversed from your original topic, so I guess we'll have to ignore my previous post, which relied on you having not changed it.

So, with Thetis now on B2, of course A1 must have the B2 route turned on.

How are you keying the radio? Make sure that none of the "override/bypass" options are enabled in Thetis > Setup > Audio > VAC1. Also make sure that "stereo" is enabled in VAC1.

If that guidance also does not help you, we are back to having you post screen shots of your setup so we can see specifically what might be wrong.

[N7KD]

Sorry for the confusion.
I am keying the radio with the PTT Input on the rear panel of the radio. Stereo box in VAC1 is checked.

The "Allow PTT to override/bypass VAC for Phone had been checked. I unchecked it and now mic audio is getting through. This was not intuitive to me; I would have thought the opposite would be the case so I never thought to uncheck it. Do you have a suggested PTT solution for this configuration that is better than what I am using?

[w-u-2-o]

The way you have PTT setup is fine the way it is.

The intent of all these "override/bypass" options goes way, way back to the origin of the whole openHPSDR radio architecture.

The original designers thought that they had to provide a custom mic interface in the hardware in order to a) keep the mic audio in the same sample clock domain as the RF and b) they liked the look and feel of a more conventional radio. At the same time, people wanted to use things like software voice keyers during contests. For example the voice keyer in N1MM, where you can prerecord voice CQ calls and stuff like that and then just send them at the push of a button.

This lead to the idea of the override/bypass option. When the voice keyer was banging away and doing PTT via CAT, you could override it with mic audio automatically when you stomped on the hardware PTT switch (or MOX button, etc.) This entire mechanism is really only useful for contesting and running a DX pile-up. That said, this option becomes moot when you are sending your audio over VAC.

[N7KD]

Thanks for the explanation. It makes sense.

When I use the VAC 1 settings for audio and connect my mic through the audio interface and Voicemeeter it appears that the only control of mic gain within Thetis is in the RX TX Gain portion towards the upper right side of the VAC 1 settings window. Am I correct?

[w-u-2-o]

That is correct. My recommendation is to keep that at 0 dB, as well as the gain in Voicemeeter. Set your mic level using the gain control on the Presonus. Only mess with other gain stages if you can't get enough gain out of the Presonus without driving it into clipping.

[N7KD]

Thank you for confirming what I assumed was the case.

Regarding audio levels, I am finding that with Presonus input turned all the way up just short of clipping and Voicemeeter A1 Analog Input fader at 0dB I have to set the TX Gain in VAC1 up to 17dB to get sufficient audio from a Heil Sound PR781 mic.

When I am using VAC1 does the TX Equalizer function still work or does it only work when using the physical mic input on the ANAN?.

[w-u-2-o]

As long as you are in LSB, USB or AM mode, all voice processing still works with VAC (and with cmASIO as well).

There's no way you should need 17dB of additional gain. Something is wrong somewhere!

[N7KD]

At this point I am getting 0dB on the speech peaks as described in Section 7.1 of the Thetis Manual by setting the TX Gain in VAC1 setting tab to +3dB with Presonus input turned all the way up just short of clipping and Voicemeeter A1 Analog Input fader at 0dB. I don't know where the 17dB setting came from; it was severely overdriving the audio. All seems to be well for the moment.

[w-u-2-o]

Good news!