********* IMPORTANT ****************************************************
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* The project has moved to GitHub. Please get all future updates from
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* https://github.com/k3it/qsorder/releases
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********* IMPORTANT ****************************************************
qsorder.exe - a console app for audio recordig of N1MM contest QSOs.
v2.9 - Sept 7, 2016
this is an external "plug-in" for N1MM which adds a QSO audio recording function. qsorder maintains a buffer in memory and listens for "Contact" UDP broadcasts sent by the logging program. The broadcasts trigger a dump of the audio buffer to a file after a specified delay time (default is 20 secs). The delay helps with capturing a tail-end after a QSO was entered into the log.
Basic usage
Download and unpack both the qsorder executable and lame.exe to the directory which will contain the contest audio (e.g. c:\contest-qsos\). If prefer to save uncompressed WAV files instead of mp3's then simply delete lame.exe. ('Lame' is a very fast, free MP3 encoder)
Download qsorder from the SourceForge project page
Find the [ExternalBroadcast] section in your N1MM Logger.ini and include the lines below. This enables local QSO info UDP broadcast. For more info see N1MM UDP documentation. Restart N1MM after making changes.
(also see here: http://n1mm.hamdocs.com/tiki-index.php?page=Third+Party+Software#QSOrder_by_Vasily_K3IT_ )
N1MM+: files should be extracted to ..Documents\N1MM Logger+\QsoRecording in order to play correctly from the N1MM+ log window.
[ExternalBroadcast]
DestinationIPs=127.0.0.1
DestinationPort=12060
IsBroadcastContact=True
Alternate broadcast configuration example (N1MM v13 and up):
[ExternalBroadcast]
BroadcastContactAddr=127.0.0.1:12060
IsBroadcastContact=True
Start qsorder.exe. If prompted by the Windows Firewall software make sure you allow local network communication. qsorder should tell you which audio input was selected. If it's not the right one, go to windows audio settings and change the "Default Recording Device" to the one you like. (note: rec input selection flag is not yet implemented)
Make QSOs in N1MM.
Pressing a HOTKEY (CTRL+ALT+M or specified with --hot-key option) will save the current audio buffer to a file in AUDIO_YYYY directory. The hotkey should be recognized even when qsorder window is not in focus. Use this key whenever you hear something interesting, outside of a normal QSO (even when N1MM is not running!)
the audio files are saved to a subdirectory <contest>-<year>. Note that only a parital file name is printed to save screen space.
ReplayGain indicates the perceived loudness of the recording as reported by lame. This info is also embedded to mp3 files.
to stop qsorder either close the command window or Ctrl-Break. (the window may not react to a Ctrl-C right away - this is normal;)
This is it. For any feedback please post a comment at the SF or email k3it
Advanced usage
qsorder supports optional command line flags:
Usage: qsorder.py [options]
Options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-D, --debug Save debug info[default=False]
-d DELAY, --delay=DELAY
Capture x seconds after QSO log entry [default=20]
-i DEVICE_INDEX, --device-index=DEVICE_INDEX
Index of the recording input (use -q to list)
[default=none]
-k HOT_KEY, --hot-key=HOT_KEY
Hotkey for manual recording Ctrl-Alt-<hot_key>
[default=O]
-l BUFFER_LENGTH, --buffer-length=BUFFER_LENGTH
Audio buffer length in secs [default=45]
-C, --continuous Record continuous audio stream in addition to
individual QSOs[default=False]
-P PORT, --port=PORT UDP Port [default=12060]
-p PATH, --path=PATH Base directory for audio files [default=none]
-q, --query-inputs Query and print input devices [default=False]
-S, --so2r SO2R mode, downmix to mono: Left Ch - Radio1 QSOs,
Right Ch - Radio2 QSOs [default=False]
-s STATION_NR, --station-nr=STATION_NR
Network Station Number [default=none]
Multi Multi Configuration Example N1MM Logger.ini file
Station 0 should be DestinationPort=12060
Station 1 should be DestinationPort=12061
Station 2 should be DestinationPort=12062
And use --port option
Alternatively set staion NR using --station-nr option
(tnx ve2ebk)
Additional info
written in python 2.7, using threading and pyaudio libraries:
Main Thread - listens for UDP broadcasts from N1MM on port 12060
Sound card I/O thread - maintains a double ended FIFO audio buffer of the specified length (default: 45 secs)
File I/O thread(s) - dump_audio function saves the buffer to a wav file and (optionally) converts to mp3 using lame encoder. This function uses threading.timer module for scheduling
python script is repackaged into a windows executable with pyinstaller.
Tips for audio input: when possible use an isolation transformer (salvage from an old modem). For Mic In recordings use an attenuator to prevent hiss and clipping.
Change history:
v2.9
- minor bug fixes
- restructured code in prep for the qtgui version
- xml parsing exception handling
v2.8
- uninterrupted recording mode (with the -C or "--continuous" flag), parrallel to recording of individual QSOs
hourly audio files are saved in the AUDIO_YEAR directory, a new mp3 file is created at the top of each hour.
Extra Disk space required for this option: ~360 MB per 24 hours
- increased sampling rate from 8000 to 11025
- pyaduio library updated to version 0.2.8 https://people.csail.mit.edu/hubert/pyaudio/
- allow cp1251 character set in the recording device names (tnx ua9lif)
v2.7
- pyinstaller updated to 2.1 https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/wiki
v2.6b
input selection options, debug option, skip old qsos
- new flags -q, -i, -D to allow sound input selection and the debug log.
- skip udp packets for old QSO, for example ignore QSO edits
v2.5b
- fixes for N1MM integration issues. Play Contact now works for phone contests
- SO2R Mode (--so2r flag). Connect Left Radio to Left audio channel, Right Radio to the Right channel.
In this mode QSORDER will downmix the "active" audio input to MP3 mono, and mute the "inactive" radio input.
In other words - Radio 1 QSOs will be recorded from the Left Ch, Radio 2 QSOs - from the Right Ch.
without this flag both Left and Right channels are saved to a stereo file.
HOT KEY - always saves in stereo
- yet another change of the default global hot-key (to CTRL-ALT-O)
- see BUGS.txt for known issues with qsorder
v2.4b
change to CTRL-ALT-M as the default hot-key.
Bug fix in mp3 conversion routine
v2.3b
added a global hot-key (default CTRL+ALT+R).
pushing the hotkey immediately saves the current audio buffer to a file.
(qsorder window does not need to be in focus).
improvement in file/directory naming
v2.2b
added UDP --port and --station-nr options for Multi-Multi setups
v2.1b
added optional -l (buffer length), -d (delay), -p (path), command line flags
added conversion to mp3 with (included) lame.exe encoder
fix handling of / in callsigns
add ReplayGain indicator to the output
save audio files into a <contest-year> directory
v2.1a
initial version (tnx n4zr,dk8nt,n2ic and others)
Future plans:
Audio input selection - DONE
Integration with N1MM log GUI (if N1MM team's time permits) - DONE
Integration with iTunes (just kidding)
73!
Vasiliy k3it
