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Just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

12K views 119 replies 8 participants last post by  mj79 
#1 ·
WEll Im still at square one.. Ive tried to mess with settings in the program to get these nice graphs I see ppl getting but something is just not working for me, and a few others from what I hear as well.. SO.. This is where im at, - a few 100 hairs that I happened to have 8 hrs ago

Just opening REW




Opening up the Soundcard settings



Going thru the process




continuing



Continuing again.. Input levels drop



Finishing up before the graph




The graph itself.. weird....



And after the graph was plotted I hit the "measure" box in the upper left hand corner and got this I believe I had this set from 0-250 hz on this one

 
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#3 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Let's start at the beginning. What's your operating system? What sound card are you using? Are you using the Radio Shack SPL Meter for measuring, or something else?

Regards,
Wayne
Thanks a ton wayne.. Seriously... 10 hrs now.. and Im losing it..


I have a new HP laptop with windows 7 , Running the UCA 202, and the digital RS meter.. But I can NOT for the life of me get my response flattened out
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....


Looks like you're still trying to get a calibration file for the sound card? I just noticed your other thread, and the Soundcard Calibration box is not checked.

I'm fixing to head to bed for the night or I'd be happy to do this myself, but I'd suggest Googling some reviews on the UCA-202, to see of people have been having problems getting it to "play nice" with Windows 7. I did this with several sound cards I was considering, and was able to find out pretty quick which ones were outright clunkers, worked fine with Macs but not Windows, etc. etc. When I found one that people gave good reviews who were using my OS (XP) - that's the one I went with, and it worked fine.

Also, make sure you've downloaded any updated drivers for the UCA.

Regards,
Wayne
 
#6 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Looks like you're still trying to get a calibration file for the sound card? I just noticed your other thread, and the Soundcard Calibration box is not checked.

I'm fixing to head to bed for the night or I'd be happy to do this myself, but I'd suggest Googling some reviews on the UCA-202, to see of people have been having problems getting it to "play nice" with Windows 7. I did this with several sound cards I was considering, and was able to find out pretty quick which ones were outright clunkers, worked fine with Macs but not Windows, etc. etc. When I found one that people gave good reviews who were using my OS (XP) - that's the one I went with, and it worked fine.

Also, make sure you've downloaded any updated drivers for the UCA.

Regards,
Wayne

ive searched everywhere, and some ppl who have win 7 say it works fine for them so I just dont get it.. I dont know if its in my settings or what but I just need to start over from scratch I guess.. Even tho Ive done that 100 times already.. I just dont know what im doing wrong, or what settings i might need to change..?/ Maybe something in the side dropdown tabs ( Details, trace adjustments, target settings , filter tasks ) or what exact settings to use in the soundcard settings either
 
#7 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

also some ppl are using way different settings than the ones provided in the help guide ( On the uca , monitor switch on/off Using left channel instead of right ) .. Ugh Just frustrating
 
#8 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

few more graphs, settings andreadings from REW

heres measured with 4 graphs.. all the same slope down...





Re did the settings so It didnt clip







result





The little soundcard text dialogue box on the upper left says this in the box


sample rate - 44,100
-3db: 0.0 hz, 1.423 khz
Input Device: Microphone ( USB AudioCODEC )
Input: No input selected
Chanel: right
Input Volume: No control
Input RMS Target: -12 dB
Output Device: Speakers ( USB AudioCODEC )
Output: No output selected
Sweep Level: -12.0 dB
20Hz.. 20 kHz flatness: +30.3, -10.1 db
 
#9 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Those graphs just look like the noise floor of an audio input with nothing fed to it. There are a few things to check:

- is your UCA202 selected as the audio input and audio output device in the Windows sounds and audio control panel?
- can you get a signal from the UCA202 through REW? Try connecting the right channel output to the right input of your receiver AUX (or other spare input), open the REW signal generator, select the pink noise (speaker cal) signal and check you can hear that playing through the right speaker
- are you getting a signal from the UCA202 into REW? Connect your RS SPL meter to the UCA202 right line in, open the VU meters on REW and talk into the meter to see if the right input VU meter bar moves
- are you using the correct input on the UCA202? Make sure your cables are on the right side input channel
 
#10 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Just for the record...I have 20 years of electronics experience. I also used to calibrate electronic test equipment in the Navy. I am very computer literate. But I have not been able to get my Behringer UCA202 to work on my windows 7 laptop. I didn't spend a ton of time trying to get it to work...but I admit I may be missing something simple.

However...I can take that same soundcard and use it on my XP machine no probem...I spent all day yesterday taking measurements...(yeah..I dragged an old XP desktop down into my basement HT). I'd rather use the Windows 7 laptop though.

If anybody finds the trick to getting it work with Windows 7 please let me know..

YMMV
 
#11 · (Edited)
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

I agree with Wayne.
You are measuring the noise floor of your UCA202, because no signal is getting through, which means that the graph is meaningless.

In a moment, I'll hook mine up and see what you might have overlooked.
I'm running 32bit Vista, so I can't address a Win7 specific issue.

Your left/right input meters are low when you are outputting in loopback.
What you should see, is input nearly equal to the output, minus any loss.
I think this my first post at this forum, so I won't be posting any photos or screenshots here.
If need be, I'll put the photos in your thread at that other place...something, something Science forum.

I'm off to try my setup.
I'll be back once I check it out.

Oh, Wayne had a good idea for you to try.
Rather than loopback, hook up to your rig and see if you really are outputting any sound.
Your output meter shows what your device thinks it is putting out, but your left/right input meters show that nothing but the noise floor is coming in.

The solution may be as simple as using Windows control panel/audio devices and adjusting the volume on the input or more likely, the output.

Then too, there's looking at device drivers in Control Panel/Device Manager/audio something and see if the device drivers are loaded and working properly, and no conflicts.

Oops!
I meant JohnM said you are measuring the noise floor of your device, and I agree. My bad. Sorry.
 
#12 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

thanks so much to everyone.. Well Its off to start day #2 of working on this thing, And Ill re check my settings and try things out and be back shortly :hissyfit:
 
#13 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Check Control Panel/Sound.
You should see Playback Tab Speakers USB Audio Codec, Working and a Green Checkmark.

Rcording tab Microphone USB Audio Codec, Working and a Green Checkmark.

Click on the audio codec mic, then click Properties, then click the Levels tab.
My level is set at 50 % and it seems to work okay that way.

I am about to continue my setup and start REW, but that's as far as I got for now.
 
#15 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Check Control Panel/Sound.
You should see Playback Tab Speakers USB Audio Codec, Working and a Green Checkmark.

Rcording tab Microphone USB Audio Codec, Working and a Green Checkmark.

Click on the audio codec mic, then click Properties, then click the Levels tab.
My level is set at 50 % and it seems to work okay that way.

I am about to continue my setup and start REW, but that's as far as I got for now.
That seems to all look good

Under the playback tab. Speakers ( usb audio codec ) is the default device Then in properties of it, 50% levels, no enhancements running 16 bit 44100 cd quality


And under the SOund section>recording tab click on Microphone ( default usb audio codec ) .. under properties Playback through this device is "default playback device" with an option for speakers usb audio codec , levels 50% , 16 bit 44100 cd quality
 
#14 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Those graphs just look like the noise floor of an audio input with nothing fed to it. There are a few things to check:

- is your UCA202 selected as the audio input and audio output device in the Windows sounds and audio control panel?

Not to sure , there are a bunch of settings for it, Ill post a few pics


- can you get a signal from the UCA202 through REW? Try connecting the right channel output to the right input of your receiver AUX (or other spare input), open the REW signal generator, select the pink noise (speaker cal) signal and check you can hear that playing through the right speaker

OK , I opened up REW, opened up the soundcard settings tab, went down to the " Level" section, clicked on " use main speakers to check set level", Didnt see where it said pink noise tho .. clicked check levels, and Im getting pink noise out of my right channel


- are you getting a signal from the UCA202 into REW? Connect your RS SPL meter to the UCA202 right line in, open the VU meters on REW and talk into the meter to see if the right input VU meter bar moves

Im getting nothing... :/


- are you using the correct input on the UCA202? Make sure your cables are on the right side input channel

yessir, If I switch to left, i make sure "left was clicked in the input settings in the main settings menu but for the most part, Im always on R channel[/quote]


So the input is my issue somewhere i think, gonna try to find something in my windows setup
 
#16 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Hmm When I hook up the RS meter, and go to the REW screen with the graph, and hit the spl button and open VU i get no measurements, on spl or the VU, Until i click the RS meter OFF , then i can see the vu meter move up, like it saw some sort of signal when I turned it off
 
#18 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Hey, I just noticed your location--San Antonio/Duluth.

Now, I've gotten lost before, but I usually have it narrowed down a little better than that. :D
Just kidding.
Still rebooting.
"This may take several centuries."
No, I'm not impatient.
Not me.
 
#19 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Hey, I just noticed your location--San Antonio/Duluth.

Now, I've gotten lost before, but I usually have it narrowed down a little better than that. :D
Just kidding.
Still rebooting.
"This may take several centuries."
No, I'm not impatient.
Not me.
haha, impatience and REW dont go together :D


San antonio in the summer and Duluth MN in the winter , talk about extremess huh :coocoo:
 
#25 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Hi mj79

I feel for you / things like this are really, really frustrating / but on the brighter note, they're at least a learning experience . :crying: ( Following this thread lead me to a discovery , so keep reading ) .

I'm wondering if there's a problem with one of your ( "not recognized" ) USB drivers blocking the USB port that you're presently plugged into .

- I mention this , because out of interest this morning I went to the Behringer site / downloaded their zipped "BEHRINGER_2902_WIN32_2.8.40 driver" / starting reading the "Read Me" file / & got to a section that made me decide I didn't want to have the driver on my "XP" computer .

- Here's the text that stopped me from installing the 2902_WIN32_2.8.40 driver .

Behringer said:
3. IMPORTANT NOTES:
-------------------
-> Driver will be installed ONLY on USB port where your hardware is connected while installation!

-> After installation ALL other audio drivers are blocked on this USB port!

-> For using different drivers: Connect your USB audio hardware to a different USB port.

-> Alternative drivers which work fine with the named hardware products:
Win XP only: ASIO2KS (from the BEHRINGER U-CONTROL Download page)
Win XP + Vista + Windows 7: ASIO4ALL (see providers homepage)
- If you installed this driver & If REW doesn't recognize this class of driver & If you still have the UCA202 plugged into the same USB port that it was in when you installed the 2902_WIN32_2.8.40 driver / then according to the above text / no other sound driver will work ( as long as the UCA202 remains plugged into that one USB port .

- This train of logic suggests you should try your UCA202 on a different USB port .
- Reboot , and start the process again.
- If by chance this works ( & you're good to go ) I'd "uninstall" that Behringer driver ( get the ASIO4all ) .


- FWIW, to this discussion, I had previously downloaded ( from Behringer ) the ASIO4all driver for my own UCA222 / but REW didn't recognize it as a valid sound driver for use with the REW program ( fwiw, HOLMImpulse does ) .
- Fortunately, installing ASIO4all didn't seem to limit my choice of what device I get to plug into my USB ports ( & for what purpose ) .


<> thought you should know this , EarlK
 
#32 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

I'm wondering if there's a problem with one of your ( "not recognized" ) USB drivers blocking the USB port that you're presently plugged into .
EarlK--I am so glad you posted this.
Folks, if you are going around in circles, chasing your tail and getting nowhere, read Earl's post #25 in this thread.

Since you said that Earl, I moved my device to another USB port, and I got the exact same kind of result that our friend MJ79 is getting on his setup.
Meaning, the output meter in REW indicates that something is happening, but there is no activity on the Left/Right input meters.

Also, when I then checked the Control Panel/Sound settings--weird--the in/out codecs were chosen, supposedly active but, they were at the bottom of the list.

I move the USB connector back to the original port and--a note pops up saying the device driver is being loaded, followed by another message saying the device is now ready for use.
I did not get that message while connected to the other USB port.

Plugged into the original USB port and looking at Control Panel/Sound settings--the in/out codecs are selected and they are at the top of the list, and REW is working properly now, once again.

Earl, you just saved me a whole lot of future frustration, and probably a lot of other people, too.
I could easily have used a different USB port on another occasion and in a short time I'd have been ready to pull hairs out of MJ79's head, too!
 
#26 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Hey, thanks alot Earl for posting that! There are so many little things you might never even figure out unless someone has run across the issue themselves.. It is a huge pain , but I just hope I can get this thing working today.. Already blew the whole weekend on it so whats a few more hrs:scratch:


Im really wondering if it is something to do with my drivers because I get pink noise output when its was connected to my receiver out my right channel, but nothing ever for the input.. ugh , Back to the grind, Ill re read your post and see if any of that helps, thanks again!!:T
 
#29 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

So, have you fixed it, so that you now have input through your sound card into REW ?

If so, what did you do different ?

<> cheers
lol, ohh nononono.. :( That was just a reply to this post from PassingInterest


Check this--Sound/Playback/USB Audio Codec, Properties, "Levels" tab, make sure there is no red slash across the speaker icon--indicating that the output it muted.
 
#30 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

mj79 said:
lol, ohh nononono.. That was just a reply to this post from PassingInterest
Ahhh, gotcha . :T Well, good to see you still have some sense of humour left . :help:

It's worth the hassle to get it going somehow so that you can use REW .

JohnM has written some stellar software here ( & not just because it's gratis do I say this )

<> cheers EarlK
 
#31 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Ahhh, gotcha . :T Well, good to see you still have some sense of humour left . :help:

It's worth the hassle to get it going somehow so that you can use REW .

JohnM has written some stellar software here ( & not just because it's gratis do I say this )

<> cheers EarlK
yea It LOOKS to be great stuff. Just getting it setup is the issue :huh: But hopefully it gets up and running , SOON :doh:
 
#33 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

So, if you haven't done so already MJ79, try different USB ports on your laptop.
Hopefully, one of them will give you a message, saying that it is loading your device drivers, followed by the message that your device is now ready for use.

If not, it could be a Windows 7 specific issue and I can't help you there, since I have Vista32 on my laptop.
 
#34 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Hmmm I noticed this same thing too.. it was at the bottom of the sound settings, then I put it in a different usb, rebooted , now the ( usb audio codec ) is at the top of the list in Control panel > sound > playback list.. hmmmm.. What settings do you have in your pull down tabs in the soundcard settings menu ??







 
#35 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

My options are different from yours MJ, because of different hardware and drivers, but the USB Audio Codec should be selected for input and output devices.

I think Earl got you on the right track.
I sure didn't figure it out.
 
#36 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

passinginterest said:
Earl, you just saved me a whole lot of future frustration, and probably a lot of other people, too.
I could easily have used a different USB port on another occasion and in a short time I'd have been ready to pull hairs out of MJ79's head, too!
Glad to help !

Hopefully this scenario also describes MJs' roadblock ( ie; an unused/"benched" USB driver deciding to play LineBacker all over the "chosen" USB driver that's been handed the ball ) .


>< cheers
 
#37 ·
Re: just about ready to give up on REW and the whole calibration deal ....

Ok , here we go.. Heres a pic of what my sound settings look like, And the ( usb codec is only at the top of this list when im in my new usb port, otherwise it goes to the bottom, if I switch it to the original usb.. Maybe Ill have to uninstall the drivers and start from scratch

 
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