Editing SimTX Guide/Transmitting

{{SimTX Guide navigation}}
The '''Transmit''' tab puts a signal on the air from one of your stations. The setup is on the left; the '''Radio deck''' and the '''Sessions''' list are on the right.

== Transmit a signal ==
# Under '''Station''', choose the station in '''Transmit from''', then its '''Antenna''' and '''Radio'''.
# Under '''RF signal''', set '''Frequency''', '''Power (W)''' and '''Modulation'''.
# Under '''Source''', choose what to send.
# Press '''Start TX'''.

If something is missing, a message beside '''Start TX''' says what, with a button that fixes it. See [[SimTX Guide/Troubleshooting#Before Start TX|Troubleshooting]].

== Station ==
[[File:SimTX Guide Transmitting station.png|thumb|center|636px|alt=Station section with Transmit from Demo hilltop, Antenna Roof Yagi, Radio HF transceiver, Track a satellite Off, a rotator dial at 300 degrees with Aim on map, and an SWR graph around 14.225 MHz.|The Station section with a rotator antenna chosen, showing the Rotator dial and the SWR around the frequency.]]
{| class="wikitable"
! Control !! What it does
|-
| '''Transmit from''' || The station the transmission runs from. It sets your callsign and location. '''Create a station''' appears if you have none.
|-
| '''Antenna''', '''Radio''' || The station's antenna and radio to use. The first radio is the default.
|-
| '''Edit station''' || Opens the station editor.
|-
| '''Track a satellite''' || Corrects Doppler for a satellite, and points a rotator at it. See [[SimTX Guide/Rotators and tracking|Rotators and tracking]].
|-
| '''Rotator''' || Turns an antenna on a rotator. Shown only for rotator antennas.
|-
| '''SWR around your frequency''' || The antenna's SWR near the transmit frequency.
|}

[[SimTX Guide/Stations|Stations]] covers creating stations, antennas and radios.

== RF signal ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Control !! What it does
|-
| '''Frequency''' || The carrier or dial frequency. The unit menu switches between Hz, kHz and MHz.
|-
| '''Power (W)''' || Transmitter power. The label shows ''up to'' the radio's power cap.
|-
| '''Modulation''' || The mode, for example AM, SSB, FM or a data mode. See [[Modulation Modes]].
|-
| '''Bandwidth (Hz)''' || The transmitted bandwidth. '''Auto''' uses the usual bandwidth of the mode.
|-
| '''Low-cut (Hz)''' || Removes audio below this frequency.
|-
| '''WFM input''' || For wide FM: '''MPX composite (channel 1)''', which needs a source at 192 kHz or more, or '''Mono baseband''' with a '''Pre-emphasis''' of none, 50 µs or 75 µs.
|-
| '''Transmitter imperfections''' || Final drive, compressor, frequency error and AM index for this transmission. They start from the radio's values. See [[Advanced Transmitter Settings]].
|}

The line ''Wire rate'' shows the audio sample rate sent to the server. Modes from an extension show their own controls here.

== Source ==
[[File:SimTX Guide Transmitting source.png|thumb|center|636px|alt=Source section with the menu open, listing Audio file, Input device, White noise, PipeWire and GNU Radio IQ.|The Source menu with the five source types.]]
{| class="wikitable"
! Source !! Sends !! Settings
|-
| '''Audio file''' || An audio file or stream. || '''File or URL''', '''Choose…''', '''Loop playback'''
|-
| '''Input device''' || A microphone or other audio input. || '''Input device''', '''Capture rate (Hz)'''
|-
| '''White noise''' || A test signal generated by the server. || '''Tone (Hz)'''
|-
| '''PipeWire''' || Audio from the PipeWire graph on Linux. || '''Capture rate (Hz)'''
|-
| '''GNU Radio IQ''' || Complex baseband from GNU Radio, for modulation '''IQ'''. || '''IQ port (127.0.0.1)'''; set the GNU Radio sink to the rate shown.
|}

'''Audio gain''' sets the level of the source. [[Transmission Sources]] has more on each source.

== Presets ==
'''Presets''' at the top saves and loads complete transmit setups.
* To save, type a '''Preset name''' and press '''Save'''. A preset with the same name is replaced after you confirm.
* To load, choose a saved preset from the list.
* '''Load from file…''' and '''Save to file…''' use a preset file anywhere on disk. '''Open presets folder''' shows where saved presets are kept.

Presets from other users are in the '''Catalog''' tab; see [[SimTX Guide/Catalog and add-ons|Catalog and add-ons]].

== Radio deck ==
[[File:SimTX Guide Transmitting adjust on air.png|thumb|center|792px|alt=Radio deck with Adjust while on air expanded, showing Frequency, Power, Bandwidth, Final drive, PA headroom, Compressor and Audio gain fields.|Adjust while on air, opened under the Radio deck meters.]]
[[File:SimTX Guide Transmitting radio deck.png|thumb|center|792px|alt=Radio deck for DEMO1 USB on 14.2250 MHz on Demo hilltop, with FWD, REF, SWR, ALC, TEMP and BUF meters, Adjust while on air, and Listen to own TX.|The Radio deck for a running USB session, with its meters and the Pause and Stop buttons.]]
Select a session in the '''Sessions''' list to show it in the radio deck.
{| class="wikitable"
! Meter !! Shows
|-
| '''FWD/W''' || Power leaving the transmitter.
|-
| '''REF/W''' || Power reflected by the antenna.
|-
| '''SWR/:1''' || How well the antenna matches. The higher it is, the less power reaches the antenna. See [[SWR and Transmitter Protection]].
|-
| '''ALC/dB''' || How much the level control is reducing the signal.
|-
| '''TEMP/C''' || Temperature of the final amplifier. See [[Power Amplifier Behaviour]].
|-
| '''BUF/s''' || Audio waiting at the server. Near zero, listeners hear gaps.
|-
| '''DEV/kHz''' || FM deviation, with a reference tick.
|-
| '''MOD/%''' || AM modulation depth.
|-
| '''DRV/%''' || IQ drive level.
|}

* '''Pause''' silences the session without ending it; '''Resume''' continues.
* '''Stop''' ends the session.
* '''Adjust while on air''' changes '''Frequency''', '''Power (W)''', '''Bandwidth (Hz)''', '''Final drive (dB)''', '''PA headroom (dB)''', '''Compressor (dB)''' and '''Audio gain''' without stopping. Type a value and press Enter.
* '''Listen to own TX''' plays your signal as transmitted, before propagation. '''Stop listening''' ends it.

== Sessions ==
[[File:SimTX Guide Transmitting sessions.png|thumb|center|791px|alt=Sessions list with Stop all and Clear finished, and four sessions: DEMO1 USB running, DEMO1 AM paused, DEMO1/P FT8 queued 2 of 3, and DEMO1 CW finished.|The Sessions list with a running, a paused, a queued and a finished session.]]
Each '''Start TX''' adds a session to the list, with its label, number, state and frequency. '''Stop all''' ends every session after you confirm. '''Clear finished''' removes ended sessions.

{| class="wikitable"
! State !! Meaning
|-
| '''Starting''' || Connecting to the server.
|-
| '''Queued''' || Every transmitter slot on the server is taken. It starts by itself when one is free.
|-
| '''Running''' || On the air.
|-
| '''Paused''' || On the air but silent.
|-
| '''Stopped''' || Ended by you.
|-
| '''Finished''' || The audio file ended.
|-
| '''Failed''' || Ended by an error. The message says why.
|-
| '''Kicked''' || Ended by the server, for example by a moderator, or because the station was deleted or its satellite reentered. The message gives the reason.
|}

== Push-to-talk ==
Push-to-talk pauses and resumes your transmission with a key or mouse button while the app window is in front.
# Open '''Settings''', '''Push-to-talk'''.
# Choose the '''Mode''': '''Toggle''' switches with each press, '''Hold to talk''' transmits while the button is held.
# Press '''Bind''' next to '''Key''' or '''Mouse button''', then press the key or click the button.

If nothing is on the air, pressing push-to-talk starts a session with the current setup.

== Keyboard ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Action !! Windows and Linux !! macOS
|-
| Start TX || Ctrl+Enter || ⌘↵
|-
| Set TX frequency || Ctrl+Shift+F || ⌘⇧F
|-
| Set TX power || Ctrl+Shift+W || ⌘⇧W
|-
| Set modulation || Ctrl+Shift+M || ⌘⇧M
|-
| Listen to own TX || Ctrl+Shift+L || ⌘⇧L
|}

In the command palette (Ctrl+K or ⌘K), typing a frequency such as <code>14.230</code> or a power such as <code>100 W</code> offers to set it. See [[SimTX Guide/Settings and shortcuts|Settings and shortcuts]].

[[Category:SimTX Guide]]