Beta Test: Multitone Loopback Analyzer software

[Rantapossu]

Changes in 1.1.10​

• Add: Noise floor display in Spectrum plot selected by ‘Show Noise Floor’ setting

Thanks!

There's a minor bug:

If you first activate the noise floor line and then the error graph line, the noise floor line disappears. It won't come back even if you deactivate the error graph, you'll have to manually refresh the screen. The screen capture function does the same when using the noise floor and error graph lines.

It works correctly if you first activate the error graph and then the noise floor line. It works too ok if both lines are actived before the measurement.

 

[Rantapossu]

Changes in 1.1.10​

• Change: added automatic driver refresh on any audio device change (was previously disabled because it caused intermittent hangs)

I can't get this working with any of my cards. Plugging and unplugging the cards and changing the WASAPI sample rate still reguires the manual refresh from the menu. Is this now activated or is this a leftover line from the 1.1.9 announcement?

 

[Rantapossu]

Changes in 1.1.10​

• Change: removed clipboard zoom level setting from the Specturm Chart properties window

This one?

It's still visible to me...

 

[Sokel]

This one?

View attachment 361259

It's still visible to me...

To me too.

 

[pkane]

Thanks!

There's a minor bug:

If you first activate the noise floor line and then the error graph line, the noise floor line disappears. It won't come back even if you deactivate the error graph, you'll have to manually refresh the screen. The screen capture function does the same when using the noise floor and error graph lines.

It works correctly if you first activate the error graph and then the noise floor line. It works too ok if both lines are actived before the measurement.

Thanks, @Rantapossu, the refresh chart button

will help in this case. I'll see if I can make noise floor stay put when other things are enabled/disabled on the chart without processing data.

 

[pkane]

You guys are thorough (and I truly appreciate it! )

I can't get this working with any of my cards. Plugging and unplugging the cards and changing the WASAPI sample rate still reguires the manual refresh from the menu. Is this now activated or is this a leftover line from the 1.1.9 announcement?

That's a fix that didn't make it into this release due to the auto-refresh causing infinite cycle of driver updates. I'll remove it from the feature list until I have a way to reproduce this issue.

This one?

View attachment 361259

It's still visible to me...

Hmm. I know I removed it, but now I see it's still there. I'll fix this, ASAP. The idea was to reduce the number of settings in the chart section, as it was growing quite long.

 

[Rantapossu]

Hi @pkane !

Could you streamline a little bit the process of changing the curve color in the history window?

If the curve is already selected with the check box, MTA recalculates the curve when you just touch the color selector section of the selected measurement. When the recalculation is done, the color selector menu opens and closes by flashing a little uncontrollably way a couple of times and then you can select the color you want. After the color selection MTA recalculates the graph again.

You can snip half of the time off by NOT selecting the graphs with the check boxes before touching the color selector. Then the recalculation happens only once after the color is selected and you tick the check box on to show the graph.

When using large FFTs and a lot of averages it takes easily 45 seconds for the one recalculation and 90 seconds to change the color of the graph, if you have the measurement already checked.

So:

- Is the first recalculation really necessary when changing the color of already checked measurement?
- Could the color selector menu just open when you click it and not flash on and off couple of times and then remain in the off state, so you must click it once more time to really open it?

Thanks!

 

[pkane]

Hi @pkane !

Could you streamline a little bit the process of changing the curve color in the history window?

If the curve is already selected with the check box, MTA recalculates the curve when you just touch the color selector section of the selected measurement. When the recalculation is done, the color selector menu opens and closes by flashing a little uncontrollably way a couple of times and then you can select the color you want. After the color selection MTA recalculates the graph again.

You can snip half of the time off by NOT selecting the graphs with the check boxes before touching the color selector. Then the recalculation happens only once after the color is selected and you tick the check box on to show the graph.

When using large FFTs and a lot of averages it takes easily 45 seconds for the one recalculation and 90 seconds to change the color of the graph, if you have the measurement already checked.

So:

- Is the first recalculation really necessary when changing the color of already checked measurement?
- Could the color selector menu just open when you click it and not flash on and off couple of times and then remain in the off state, so you must click it once more time to really open it?

Thanks!

Some of the extra calculations are caused by the fact that I didn't want to write huge files for each history entry (they are already big!) so some of the data needs to be recalculated from originally captured samples. But certainly color change shouldn't require a recalculation. I'll see what I can do to speed this up and reduce the number of recalculations.

 

[pkane]

Hi @pkane !

Could you streamline a little bit the process of changing the curve color in the history window?

If the curve is already selected with the check box, MTA recalculates the curve when you just touch the color selector section of the selected measurement. When the recalculation is done, the color selector menu opens and closes by flashing a little uncontrollably way a couple of times and then you can select the color you want. After the color selection MTA recalculates the graph again.

You can snip half of the time off by NOT selecting the graphs with the check boxes before touching the color selector. Then the recalculation happens only once after the color is selected and you tick the check box on to show the graph.

When using large FFTs and a lot of averages it takes easily 45 seconds for the one recalculation and 90 seconds to change the color of the graph, if you have the measurement already checked.

So:

- Is the first recalculation really necessary when changing the color of already checked measurement?
- Could the color selector menu just open when you click it and not flash on and off couple of times and then remain in the off state, so you must click it once more time to really open it?

Thanks!

While not perfect, hopefully a step in the right direction. Should be a bit faster on history color changes:

https://app.box.com/s/ue7ll9xmvwogst817x2l1xg09opvgy47

 

[Rantapossu]

While not perfect, hopefully a step in the right direction. Should be a bit faster on history color changes:

https://app.box.com/s/ue7ll9xmvwogst817x2l1xg09opvgy47

Oh wow, so much better! Thanks!

The waiting time dropped from 90 seconds to under 5 seconds...

Do you think you could tweak the opening of the color selector menu too? It works, but it's not pretty.

This is the start position (There's no down arrow):

When you click the color, the color selection menu opens for half a second:

But it closes right away and the arrow appears:

You'll have to open the menu again and now you can select the color you want:

Now the graph has the color you wanted:

If this process could be done with one click without reopening the menu, it would be perfect!

 

[pkane]

Oh wow, so much better! Thanks!

The waiting time dropped from 90 seconds to under 5 seconds...

Do you think you could tweak the opening of the color selector menu too? It works, but it's not pretty.

This is the start position (There's no down arrow):
View attachment 361402
When you click the color, the color selection menu opens for half a second:
View attachment 361404
But it closes right away and the arrow appears:
View attachment 361407

You'll have to open the menu again and now you can select the color you want:
View attachment 361409
Now the graph has the color you wanted:
View attachment 361410

If this process could be done with one click without reopening the menu, it would be perfect!

Try the new version. Should open with a single click (except for a bit of initial flashing). More testing is needed with different versions of Windows and different speed PCs and laptops, as this control can behave differently depending where it's used.

https://app.box.com/s/ue7ll9xmvwogst817x2l1xg09opvgy47

 

[Rantapossu]

Try the new version. Should open with a single click (except for a bit of initial flashing). More testing is needed with different versions of Windows and different speed PCs and laptops, as this control can behave differently depending where it's used.

https://app.box.com/s/ue7ll9xmvwogst817x2l1xg09opvgy47

Thank you!

It's better, but not perfect yet.

The color menu opens now with a single click every time, but sometimes it leaves the color selector open when the graph is updated and then you have to close the selector manually.

Like this:

You can click anywhere inside the history window to close the color selector. It could be the just selected color, the down arrow, the title bar, the next measurement, etc. Just press the left mouse button and the color selector closes down.

The funny thing is that it doesn't do it every time. If you select the color for the measurement without the "Select" -tick box selected, it leaves the selector open every time.

 

[pkane]

but sometimes it leaves the color selector open when the graph is updated and then you have to close the selector manually.

That's by design The not every time is what I'm a little concerned about. I'll see if I can adjust it to be every time.

 

[Sokel]

Way better now on my quantum machine

It takes one click to open but it also takes a click to close after choosing.

 

[Sokel]

Just curious,but can someone please explain to me how the volume control (through Windows,here set at 20%) of EMU can fool the noise measurement so much?

Good thing it's the only parameter that fools,the others (SNR,etc) are correct.

(Analog measurement for the ones who don't know,0204 has no digital outputs and only USB input)

 

[pkane]

Just curious,but can someone please explain to me how the volume control (through Windows,here set at 20%) of EMU can fool the noise measurement so much?

View attachment 362622


Good thing it's the only parameter that fools,the others (SNR,etc) are correct.

(Analog measurement for the ones who don't know,0204 has no digital outputs and only USB input)

Hmm, RMS value is -136.8dB -- that's the noise level, no fooling. You have the chart displaying dBr, but noise line is in dBFS.

The noise line is actually only valid for single or multitone signals. I'll make a change to hide it for other test signals, since it's not really being computed there.

 

[Sokel]

Hmm, RMS value is -136.8dB -- that's the noise level, no fooling. You have the chart displaying dBr, but noise line is in dBFS.

The noise line is actually only valid for single or multitone signals. I'll make a change to hide it for other test signals, since it's not really being computed there.

It's the same with 1Khz thought,I just posted silence to be more evident.

 

[Sokel]

...and both at dbFS:

 

[pkane]

...and both at dbFS:

View attachment 362626

I'm not sure what your concern is.. RMS of noise signal was -136dB -- that's noise level in absence of all signal. Are you concerned with -133.4dB shown on the 1kHz chart?

 

[Sokel]

I'm not sure what your concern is.. RMS of noise signal was -136dB -- that's noise level in absence of all signal. Are you concerned with -133.4dB shown on the 1kHz chart?

No,-136db noise for Emu is unreal in any condition,best I have ever managed is -113db in normal conditions.
I think it's Volume control management through windows does something similar with what REW did with the "manual fundamental" setting.

I'm just curious,it's weird!