One of the most common problems I encounter with beginners to sound card spectroscopy is controlling the volume. This is not so surprising because there are many variables to affect volume.
• Microphone Volume
• Bias Voltage
• Preamplifier Volume (GS-PRO models)
One of the most useful tools is Intune software, it was written by Marek Dolleiser (same author as PRA), it's free and does not require any special installation just download it and run it.
Once you have recorded the sound of your detector from the GS driver you can view the audio trace on the screen, zoom in and analyse the signal. Things like Volume and baseline noise will become obvious to the naked eye.
I often ask beginners to send me a 10 second Intune file, like a blood sample to a pathologist, it tells me how healthy the system is. I can even identify a faulty cable from the trace.
Link to download Intune here:
http://www.gammaspectacular.com/softwar ... ads/intune
Below is an image of how a healthy detector should look.
- Intune Screen Shot
