Soft Rock exciter update

[Mike O'Dell]

Frank Gentges wrote:
  With a little effort, we may
> have really great expertise on the problem within the group and can zero 
> in on what sound cards are able to do. They should be:
> 
> 1.  cheap
> 
> 2.  best choice in performance for SDR duty.

there are several web sites which discuss which audio interfaces
of sufficient quality to use for SDR purposes.

<RANT>

this is a sterling example of the huge difference between
"inexpensive" and "cheap". the "audio interfaces" on most
PC are most charitably described as "junk".

luckily, the explosive interest in making music with computers
has produced another class of audio interface which is designed
for audio quality without breaking the bank.  they do, however,
cost more than the $10 whiz-bangs you see at computer shows.

i have an M-Audio "2496" which does 24-bit 96 kilosample stereo
input and output. the distortion and noise floor are much, much
better than any PC "soundcard" interface i've heard.
yes, the price rounds up to $100, but you get what you pay for,
and i bought it for my Power Mac - PCs have equal or better choices
for equal or less money.

one of the things to look at closely are firewire audio
interfaces. they are outboard pods so they can be shielded
much better up front and they need it less because they
are outside the RF Soup that is inside a modern PC.
several of the SDR experimenters are using firewire interfaces.

</RANT>

	cheers,
	-mo