USB Sound Card/Mixer for IRLP, DV-Dongle, and Linux Sound Modem Use

[N3GWG]

Fellow Amateurs,

Having recently purchased a DV-Dongle, I was advised to get a USB based sound card so that I would have a much more qualitative level of audio for the DV-Dongle. However, it also occurred to me that doing so would help me get a setup for Linux Sound Card Modem usage as well as for IRLP, Skype, Podcasting, etc...

I am interested in recommendations from people that have experience with external sound card hardware within the specifications I have laid out. If your posting is going to start out asking why I want what I want and am not going to breadboard my own sound card or some other nonsense, perhaps it is not worthy of being posted in response and might just serve to elicit a terse response. Kindly, lets avoid that entirely.

1) A USB based sound card

2) Must be compatible with Linux and Linux Sound Card drivers for packet modems
Note: If it is compatible with Windows or MacOS too, all the better, but Linux compatibility is a must.

3) Something that offers an ability to connect an external commercial grade microphone to the mixer

4) A Mixer that provides some level of audio adjustment (an equalizer, input level gain, etc...)

5) A product that not only can accept a microphone input but also has at least one "line-in" input

Nice to haves (but not required)
-------------------------------

6) Preferably, but not required, something that can take as inputs two microphones not just one

7) Windows and/or MacOS compatibility


Thanks and 73,

Stuart, N3GWG

[NA4IT]

I really believe just about any USB based sound card device will work on Linux.

That said, you may have to get a USB sound card and a standard mixer separately. You might look at http://www.behringer.com and even email support to see if their devices will work on what you want to do.

[N3GWG]

I really believe just about any USB based sound card device will work on Linux.

That said, you may have to get a USB sound card and a standard mixer separately. You might look at http://www.behringer.com and even email support to see if their devices will work on what you want to do.

Interesting, you are the second person to mention behringer in terms of using it with the DV-Dongle. I believe (I will have to contact them) that their device assert presentation of a Sound Blaster compatible device to the OS, which would (ostensibly) make it compatible with the DV-Dongle and the Linux Sound card packet modem device drivers.

I also like that it lets you equalize the audio a bit, which would be nice for podcasting and perfecting my audio for DV-Dongle and Linux Sound Blaster packet operations too. The only thing is the bahringer makes no attempt to deal with asserting PTT when it would synthesize the audio (as more expensive ham radio oriented USB sound cards would), but, there are other ways of dealing with that which are quite minor in design (and I have not been on packet in 20 years, so, its not as important to me as having good audio for DV-Dongle operations).


73,

Stuart, N3GWG