Table of Contents
Introduction
Have a radio and trying to configure the audio on a software application, maybe for digital modes? It can be troublesome and extremely confusing. The vast combinations of hardware and software drivers make this a challenging task. Hopefully this post will help ease the pain of figuring this out and shorten the time to configure so you can get to the main task faster!
Legal Warning
Remember, in the United States, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Part 97, transmitting music is prohibited. (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/part-97/section-97.113#p-97.113(a)(4)):
Music using a phone emission except as specifically provided elsewhere in this section; communications intended to facilitate a criminal act; messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except as otherwise provided herein; obscene or indecent words or language; or false or deceptive messages, signals or identification.
I provide this reference to remind you that you are responsible for what you transmit, knowingly or unknowingly. When selecting hardware devices, be certain your computer’s audio uses a different audio device or is completely disabled so that you are not inadvertently transmitting system sounds or streaming music accidentally.
The Hardware
The first part of this exercise is to figure out what hardware your computer is aware of. I write is aware of because if you do not have the correct driver installed, you may have unexpected results such as not seeing an audio device you are expecting to see.
If the audio device you are expecting to see is not present or there are so many options that it’s hard to determine the exact audio device, it may be necessary to unplug the device, view the audio devices, then plug the device back in and view the audio devices again. It is assumed that the available devices will populate with options while the audio device is plugged in.
For the examples below, I have used a Plugable USB Audio Adapter for some computers or used the built-in sound devices for System audio. I used an ICOM IC-7300 transceiver to provide an input and output audio device for Radio use, but the same workflow works for built-in audio devices. As mentioned in the Legal Warning above, you do not want to inadvertently transmit audio through your radio.
When selecting audio devices, separate the System audio from the Radio audio. System audio is for system sounds and Radio audio is what you use to connect your radio to the application.
Windows 11
Device Manager
Open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and expand Sound, video and game controllers. Verify the audio devices you are expecting to use show up here. This indicates that Windows recognizes your audio devices as a usable sound controller. You can see in the screenshot below, the built-in System audio device, Realtek(R) Audio, as well as the Radio audio device, the USB Audio CODEC.
Output
Open Settings > System > Sound. Verify the Output is configured to the device you expect.
Notice I have two listings for Speakers in the example. One is the USB Audio CODEC and the other is Realtek(R) Audio. As you can see, I have selected the Realtek(R) Audio as the default Output device on my computer. If you use external speakers with a volume control, set this higher.
Select the greater than symbol to open the Properties of the audio device intended to use for your radio and software. In my example, it is the USB Audio CODEC.
The Set as default sound device is set to Not used as a default. This is for the Radio audio and not the system. (The System device should show Is default for audio.)
Depending on your computer, there may be Audio enhancements and Spatial sound settings. Both of these settings should be turned Off. We want the sound to the radio to be unaltered in any way.
Input
Open Settings > System > Sound. Verify the Input is configured to the device you expect. You may have to scroll down depending on the size of your screen.
Notice I have two listings for Microphone Array in the example. One is the USB Audio CODEC and the other is Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones. As you can see, I have selected the Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology for Digital Microphones as the default Input device on my computer. I have also configured the Volume to 100%.
Select the greater than symbol to open the Properties of the audio device intended to use for your radio and software. In my example, it is the USB Audio CODEC.
Notice the Set as default sound device is set to Not used as a default. (If this setting is not visible, go back to the other Input device, select the Properties and configure the Set as default sound device as Use as default for communications.)
Also, depending on your computer, ensure any Audio enhancements are turned off.
At this point, your System audio is configured. There are examples on how to configure software application audio at the end of this post.
Windows 10
Device Manager
Open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and expand Sound, video and game controllers. Verify the audio devices you are expecting to use show up here. This indicates that Windows recognizes your audio devices as a usable sound controller. You can see in the screenshot below, the built-in System audio device, High Definition Audio Device, as well as the Radio audio device, the USB Audio CODEC.
Output
Open System > Sound. Verify the Output is configured to the device you expect.
Select the device intended for System audio, in my case, the High Definition Audio Device, as the default Output device for the computer. If you use external speakers with a volume control, set the Master volume higher.
Input
Open System > Sound. Verify the Input is configured to the device you expect.
Select the device intended for System audio, in my case, the High Definition Audio Device, as the default Input device for the computer.
Audio Enhancements
For the System audio, audio enhancements are no issue and can present you with a better listening experience. For Radio audio, however, we want the sound to be unaltered as best as possible.
Open the Sound Control Panel.
On the Playback tab, choose the audio device intended for the Radio and select Properties.
Select the Enhancements tab and select Disable all enhancements.
macOS
Audio Devices
To view available audio devices, open Applications, expand Utilities, and select Audio MIDI Setup. Ensure the device you expect to see is present.
Here we can see the Output tab is selected for USB Audio CODEC 1.
Here we can see the Input tab is selected for USB Audio CODEC 2.
Output
To choose the Output device, open System Settings and select Sound. Make sure the audio device for the radio is not configured in the Sound Effects or Output & Input sections. Choose the Output tab in the lower portion of the window and verify the configured output audio device.
Input
To choose the Input device, open System Settings and select Sound. Make sure the audio device for the radio is not configured in the Sound Effects or Output & Input sections. Choose the Input tab in the lower portion of the window and verify the configured input audio device.
Linux – Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS
Open the Terminal.
To find input devices, use the following command.
arecord -larombaut@ubuntu-vm:~$ arecord -l
**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 0: AudioPCI [Ensoniq AudioPCI], device 0: ES1371/1 [ES1371 DAC2/ADC]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: CODEC [USB Audio CODEC], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0I added the bold above to make it easier to find, but what I really want to call attention to is the card number, 1 in this example, and the device number, 0 in this case. Those two numbers identify this audio device.
To find output devices, use the following command.
aplay -larombaut@ubuntu-vm:~$ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: AudioPCI [Ensoniq AudioPCI], device 0: ES1371/1 [ES1371 DAC2/ADC]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: AudioPCI [Ensoniq AudioPCI], device 1: ES1371/2 [ES1371 DAC1]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: CODEC [USB Audio CODEC], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0I added the bold above to make it easier to find, but what I really want to call attention to is the card number, 1 in this example, and the device number, 0 in this case. Those two numbers identify this audio device.
Open Settings and select Sound. Verify the Output Device and Input Device are configured with the appropriate System audio device and the the device intended for the Radio.
Raspberry Pi 5
On the Raspberry Pi 5, open the Terminal.
To find input devices, use the following command.
arecord -larombaut@raspberrypi:~ $ arecord -l
**** List of CAPTURE Hardware Devices ****
card 2: CODEC [USB Audio CODEC], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0I added the bold above to make it easier to find, but what I really want to call attention to is the card number, 2 in this example, and the device number, 0 in this case. Those two numbers identify this audio device and will be used when configuring the software. See examples later in this post.
To find output devices, use the following command.
aplay -larombaut@raspberrypi:~ $ aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: vc4hdmi0 [vc4-hdmi-0], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: vc4hdmi1 [vc4-hdmi-1], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0 [MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 2: CODEC [USB Audio CODEC], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0I added the bold above to make it easier to find, but what I really want to call attention to is the card number, 2 in this example, and the device number, 0 in this case. Those two numbers identify this audio device and will be used when configuring the software. See examples later in this post.
Right-click on the Volume control icon and ensure the audio device for the radio is not configured for the system sounds.
The Software
There are endless solutions for software. I will go over a few options that I have experimented with. The short story is once you have identified the hardware device that is known to your computer, you choose the appropriate device in the software you are configuring. This may take a little trial and error, unfortunately.
One thing I have found is that some software presents better options than others at identifying audio devices. You may need to open one application and record the devices from a working configuration to use on the other software program. The downside is that you can usually only have one program open at a time to take advantage of the chosen audio device. Mileage may very, however.
I have a Plugable USB Audio Adapter to provide a separate input and output for some computers, but the same workflow works for built-in audio devices. You may also find that you want to use a Digirig, Mobilinkd TNC4, SignaLink USB, or some other audio device. The same workflow will apply, identify the hardware, then configure the software.
Fldigi and Windows
On the Fldigi configuration window, expand Soundcard, select Devices, select PortAudio, and select the appropriate Capture (input) and Playback (output) devices.
Fldigi and macOS
I am using an Apple M1 Pro. On the Fldigi configuration window, expand Soundcard, select Devices, select PortAudio, and select the appropriate Capture (input) and Playback (output) devices.
One thing to note regarding macOS security, you may receive what seems like a never ending pop-up regarding Security of allowing access to the microphone. Continue to select Allow until they no longer pop-up (yes, really!).
Fldigi and Linux
On the Fldigi configuration window, expand Soundcard, select Devices, select PortAudio, and select the appropriate Capture (input) and Playback (output) devices.
Notice the (hw:2,0)? Those correspond to the output we gathered when looking at hardware devices above.
card 2: Device [Plugable USB Audio Device], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0Fldigi and Raspberry Pi 5
On the Fldigi configuration window, expand Soundcard, select Devices, select PortAudio, and select the appropriate Capture (input) and Playback (output) devices.
Notice the (hw:2,0)? Those correspond to the output we gathered when looking at hardware devices above.
card 2: CODEC [USB Audio CODEC], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
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