Chapter 1. An Overview of USB Radio Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio Starting USB Radio Scanning FM Channels Auto Scan Operation Manual Scan Operation Configuring the Audio Device Switching between FM Channels Selecting a Channel Number Selecting a Channel Frequency Using the FM Channel List Fine Tuning a Channel Using the Panel Button Using the Setup Dialog box Volume Control Volume Adjustment Disabling the Sound Returning to the Previous Channel Managing FM Channels Customizing a Channel Name Modifying the Frequency Setting Adding New Channels Deleting Undesired Channels Selecting Mono or Stereo Hot Keys
ii Chapter 3. Sound Recording and Playback Setting Recording Options Setting Up Recording Quality Assigning the Save Path for Recorded Files Naming the Recorded Files Performing Sound Recording Playing an Audio File Playing the Last Recorded or Played Audio File Playing the Selected Audio File Changing the Playback Speed Repeatedly Playing the Audio File Using the Language Learning Button Chapter 4. Radio Scheduler Adding or Deleting Schedules Creating a Schedule Deleting a Schedule Deleting All Schedules Modifying a Schedule Chapter 5. Other Features Always Starting Quick USB Radio Preventing Power Management Interrupts Chapter 1. An Overview of USB Radio 1-1 Chapter 1. An Overview of USB Radio With AVerMedia USB Radio, you are allowed to listen to or record live FM radio, play an audio file, change the playback speed, enable the repeat playback function or even specify the repeat section. You can also create various FM schedules in advance in order to activate USB Radio at a specified time for recording or listening to a FM channel. The following lists major features offered by USB Radio: ! Scan FM radio channels ! Listen to live FM radio ! Record live FM radio into WMA, WAV or other audio formats ! Play WMA or WAV files ! Repeat playing the whole or a part of a sound file ! Change the playback speed ! Set FM radio schedules for listening or recording
Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-1 Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio USB Radio provides an easy-to-use interface for users to control FM features. Starting USB Radio There are two ways to run the USB Radio program. Do one of the following: ! Choose Start ! Programs ! USB Radio ! USB Radio. ! Double-click the Quick USB Radio icon
at the lower-right corner of the screen. Then the USB Radio application shown below will appear. 1 2 25 3 7 5 4 6 17 20 16 21 22 15 14 13 11 12 10 8 9 24 23 19 18
Refer to the following for the button functions or meanings of the information displayed on the USB Radio application. 1. Mi ni mi ze 2. Turn Off 3. Edi t Channel Name 4. Channel Up or Tune Up 5. Set Frequency/Channel 6. Channel Down or Tune Down 7. Loop Channel 8. Setup 9. USB Radi o PDF 10. Open Fi l e 11. Stop 12. Pause 13. Pl ay 14. Record 15. Language Learni ng 16. Current Status 17. Seek Sl i der 18. Li nk to AVerMedi a Home Page 19. System Ti me 20. Current Channel Name 21. Current Channel Frequency 22. Current Channel Number 23. Mute 24. Vol ume Up/Down 25. Numeri c Buttons Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-2 Scanning FM Channels Before using USB Radio to record or listen to any FM radio channel, you should search for available FM radio channels in your geographical region with the channel scan function. After finishing scanning operation, the application will memorize the scan result and create a list of FM radio channels in the Setup dialog box. USB Radio provides two SCAN functions, which are described below. Auto Scan Operation When you run the application for the first time, the application will automatically start scanning FM channels. It is strongly recommended NOT to cancel the operation. For more information, refer to the Quick Installation Guide.
Manual Scan Operation Some channels may be missing from the scan result due to weak radio signals or interruptions of environmental electromagnetic factors at the time of scanning. You can re-scan for these FM channels manually later. If you move to another area where FM frequencies are totally different, it is necessary to scan FM channels once again. To manually scan FM channels, do the following: 1. Click . The Setup dialog box will appear. 2. Specify the Scan Level you want, and then click Auto Scan. Selecting a lower scan level will cause the application to search for and memorize those channels which send stronger signals only at the time of scanning. Therefore, the LOWER the scan level, the LESS FM channels are found and listed in the Channel List. If you only want to scan FM channels Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-3 which send strong signals at the time of scanning, select a lower scan level. Configuring the Audio Device USB Radio receives real-time FM radio signals and transmits audio data to your systems sound device. If the sound device is not configured properly, you cannot hear or record the FM radio via USB Radio. To configure the systems sound device: 1. Click . The Setup dialog box will appear. 2. Click the Audio tab. 3. A message box appears. Simply click OK. 4. From the Preferred Audio Device list box, select the sound device physically connected with the USB Radio device. 5. In the Live Radio section, choose the audio jack connected with the USB Radio device (usually Line In or Microphone), and make sure the Volume slider is set properly. 6. Click OK or Apply. Switching between FM Channels You can go to the desired radio channel by changing either the channel number or frequency, or by using the FM channels list. When USB Radio shifts to the channel number mode, you will see displayed on the control panel, indicating that you can switch between channel numbers at present. If USB Radio shifts to the channel frequency mode, you will see
instead. See the following for how to select a specific channel. Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-4 Selecting a Channel Number 1. If USB Radio application is currently in the channel frequency mode, click to switch to . 2. Do one of the following to go to the desired channel. ! Click or to go to the next upper or lower channel number. ! Press the Left or Right arrow key on the keyboard to change channels. ! Input the channel number by clicking the number buttons on the USB Radio application. ! Input the channel number by pressing number keys on the keyboard. Selecting a Channel Frequency 1. If currently USB Radio application is in the channel number mode, click to shift to . 2. Do one of the following to select the desired channel frequency. ! Click or to tune the frequency up or down by 0.05MHz. ! Press the Left or Right arrow key on the keyboard to tune the frequency. ! Input the channel frequency by clicking the number buttons on the USB Radio application. For example, click , and
for FM 92.7. ! Input the channel frequency by pressing number keys on the keyboard. Using the FM Channel List The list of FM channels is created when the first scanning operation is executed and will be refreshed whenever the scanning operation is performed again. The list will list all FM channels that USB Radio has found. You can use the list to go to the desired channel. 1. Click . The Setup dialog box will appear. Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-5 2. Select the preferred channel by clicking on it in the Channel List section. Fine Tuning a Channel If the signal reception is unclear, you can try to tune up or tune down the channel. There are two ways to tune the frequency as shown below: Using the Panel Button 1. If currently USB Radio application is in the channel number mode, click to shift to . 2. Do one of the following to tune up or tune down the current channel. ! Click or to tune the frequency up or down by 0.05MHz each time. ! Press the Left or Right arrow key on the keyboard to tune the frequency. Using the Setup Dialog box 1. Click . The Setup dialog box will appear. 2. Choose the Channel tab. 3. Click on the channel which you want to tune in the Channel List. 4. Click -0.05 or +0.05 to tune down or tune up by 0.05MHz each time. 5. Click Memorize to save the new frequency. Volume Control You can increase or decrease volume, or turn off the sound to meet your own needs. Volume Adjustment Do one of the following: ! Click or to increase or decrease volume. ! Click ! Choose the Audio tab ! Click OK ! Drag the Volume slider in the Live Radio section ! Click OK. Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-6 ! Press the Up or Down arrow key on the keyboard to increase or decrease volume. Disabling the Sound To disable the sound, simply click to make it become . Returning to the Previous Channel The application will memorize the previous channel you chose in the channel number mode. To go back to the previous channel number, click . NOTE: The application is NOT designed to memorize the previous channel you chose in the channel frequency mode, so it is not possible to go back to the previous frequency by clicking . Managing FM Channels You can manually add new FM channels in the FM channel list, delete unnecessary channels, or edit the settings of any existing channels. Customizing a Channel Name There are two ways to set a personalized channel name. Using the Edit Channel Name button: 1. Go to the channel which you want to edit. 2. Click . The Edit Channel Name dialog box appears. 3. Type a new name in the Channel Name text box. 4. Click OK. Using the Setup button: 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click on the channel whose name you want to change in the Channel List section. 3. Type a new name in the Channel Name text box. 4. Click Memorize to save the new name. 5. Click OK or Cancel to exit the dialog box. Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-7 Modifying the Frequency Setting 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click on the channel whose frequency setting you want to modify in the Channel List section. 3. Type a new frequency value in the Frequency text box. Or click -0.05 or +0.05 to tune the frequency. 4. Click Memorize to save the new frequency. 5. Click OK or Cancel to exit the dialog box. Adding New Channels If the desired FM radio channels cannot be obtained through the scanning operation, you can manually add these channels into the list of FM channels. 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click Manual Add Channel. 3. Enter the frequency and channel name you want in the Frequency and Channel Name text boxes respectively. 4. Click Memorize to save the new setting. Or click Cancel (the one next to the Memorize button) to abort the setting. 5. Repeat Steps 2~4 if you wish to add more channels. 6. Click OK or Cancel to exit the dialog box. Deleting Undesired Channels You can remove those channels that you will never listen to from the list of FM channels. 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click on the FM channel that you want to delete in the Channel List. 3. Click Delete. 4. Repeat Steps 2~3 if you want to delete other channels. 5. Click OK or Cancel to exit the dialog box. Chapter 2. Listening to FM Radio 2-8 Selecting Mono or Stereo By default the application is set to Stereo. If the audio quality becomes unstable or poor due to the environmental factors such as the weather condition, you can try to solve such problem by switching Mono to Stereo or vice versa. 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears 2. Click Set Mono to switch the audio mode from Stereo to Mono, or click Set Stereo to switch from Mono to Stereo. 3. Click OK or Cancel to exit the dialog box. Hot Keys The application provides hot keys for you to quickly operate it with the keyboard. Hot Key Description Function "/# Channel Up/Down or Tune Up/Down Press # to go to the succeeding FM channel number or tune the frequency up by 0.05MHz. Press " to go to the preceding FM channel number or tune the frequency down by 0.05MHz. $/% Volume Adjustment Press $ to increase the volume. Press % to decrease the volume. Number keys (0~9) Channel Number/Frequency Selection Use the number keys to enter the channel number or frequency. M Mute Control Turn off/on the sound.
Chapter 3. Sound Recording and Playback 3-1 Chapter 3. Sound Recording and Playback USB Radio allows you to record FM radio programs into WMA, WAV, and more audio formats, play any audio file at different speeds, repeat playing an audio file etc. Setting Recording Options The application allows you to configure the sound recording quality including audio formats (WMA, WAV, and more), sample rates and so on. Besides, you can specify where to save the recorded files by default. Setting Up Recording Quality 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click the Recording tab. 3. You can choose a codec from the Encoder drop-down list. Select either WMA(Windows Media Audio V2 or WMAudio Encoder DMO), WAV(PCM) or others as the default format for audio files that will be recorded afterward. 4. To personalize your own recording quality, simply choose a sampling rate from the Attribute drop-down list. 5. Click OK or Apply. Assigning the Save Path for Recorded Files You can assign a default folder for storing recorded audio files. Chapter 3. Sound Recording and Playback 3-2 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click the Recording tab. 3. Click Browse. The Browse for folder dialog box appears. 4. Specify the path by clicking on the folder you want and then click OK. 5. Click OK or Apply. Naming the Recorded Files You have two methods of naming the recorded files. 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click the Recording tab. 3. Select one of the following options to name the recorded files. ! Auto-generated filename: This option lets the application automatically name the recorded files based on the recording date and time. The filename format is ddhhmmss.xxx as explained below. date (dd), hour (hh), mi nute (mm), second (ss) extension ddhhmmss.xxx
! User-defined filename: With this option enabled, a dialog box will appear for users to specify a filename whenever the recording operation is done. 4. Click OK or Apply. Performing Sound Recording To record the FM radio program, you should switch to the desired FM channel before performing the recording operation. To perform sound recording: 1. Click to start sound recording. 2. To pause the sound recording process temporarily, click . Then click again to continue the recording. Chapter 3. Sound Recording and Playback 3-3 3. Click to end sound recording. Playing an Audio File The application can play an WMA or WAV file. Playing the Last Recorded or Played Audio File 1. Click and the application will immediately play the last audio file which you have recorded or played since the application is activated. 2. To temporarily pause the playback, click . Then click again when you want to continue the playback. 3. To stop the playback, click . Playing the Selected Audio File 1. Click and the Open dialog box appears. 2. Select an audio file you want to play and click Open. 3. The application will start to play the selected file. To temporarily pause the playback, click . Then click again to continue the playback. 4. To stop the playback, click . Changing the Playback Speed You might want to slow down the playback speed of an audio file in order to learn a foreign language. To do so, simply press after the audio file is played. You can assign the playback speed before or after the play command is performed. Changing the speed before playback: 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click the Audio tab. 3. A message box appears. Click OK. 4. Select the speed you want from the Playback Rate list box. 5. Click OK. 6. Play the audio file you want. Chapter 3. Sound Recording and Playback 3-4 7. Click to apply the assigned playback speed. Changing the speed during playback: You can change the playback speed after the playback begins. Refer to Using the Language Learning Button for related information. Repeatedly Playing the Audio File 1. Click . The Setup dialog box appears. 2. Click the Audio tab. 3. A message box appears. Click OK. 4. Enable the Repeat forever check box. 5. Click OK. Afterward the application will always repeat the playback after an audio file is played. If you only want to repeat playing a part of the file instead of the whole file, refer to Using the Language Learning Button for instructions. Using the Language Learning Button The Language Learning button
is designed for you to learn a foreign language. It allows you to change the playback speed, and even assign the audio section to which you intend to repeat listening. The button can be used for the following three applications: ! You want to change the playback speed. ! You want to repeat playing a specific part of the audio file. ! You want to repeat playing a specific part of the audio file at a changed speed. To use the Language Learning button: 1. Click or to start the playback. Chapter 3. Sound Recording and Playback 3-5 2. RIGHT-click over
to make the Language Learning Setup dialog box appear.
3. If you want to change the playback speed, select the desired playback speed from the Playback Rate list box. 4. To learn the effect of the selected playback rate, click Test and the application will immediately play the audio file at the specified rate. 5. If you want to assign the playback repeat section, click Start to set the beginning position, and Stop to set the ending position of the Repeat Section. 6. Click OK to keep the changes or Cancel to abort. 7. Click to apply new settings. Clearing the Setting of Repeat Section To remove the Repeat Section setting from the Language Learning Setup dialog box, follow the steps below: 1. RIGHT-click over . The Language Learning Setup dialog box appears.
2. Choose Clear. 3. Click OK. Chapter 4. Radio Scheduler 4-1 Chapter 4. Radio Scheduler The Radio Scheduler function allows you to create a list of FM radio schedules, activating the application automatically to broadcast or record the real-time FM radio program at a specific time. To run Radio Scheduler, do one of the following: ! Choose Start & Programs & USB Radio & Radio Scheduler. ! Right-click over the Quick USB Radio icon
and select Radio Scheduler from the pop-up menu. ! Press & Edit Scheduler. ! Right-click over .
Adding or Deleting Schedules To add or delete schedules, follow these steps: Creating a Schedule 1. Click New. 2. The Edit Radio Scheduler dialog box will appear. Chapter 4. Radio Scheduler 4-2 3. Select Live for listening or Record for recording FM radio programs in the Action list box. 4. Select Monthly, Weekly or Daily to determine how often will the application be activated to perform the assigned task. 5. Specify the day, time and length for the application to execute the assigned task. ! In the Day list box, specify the date of month or the day of week. This setting is not available if you select Daily in the Type section. ! In the Hour and Minute list boxes, specify the starting time. ! If Record is selected in the Action list box, then you need to specify how long will the recording task last in unit of minutes in the Length list box. 6. Select the desired FM channel in the Channel list box. 7. Type the description in the Description text box if you want. 8. Click OK to add or Cancel to abort the schedule. 9. Repeat Steps 1~8 if you want to add more schedules. 10. Click Save to keep the new schedules. 11. Click Exit to quit Radio Scheduler. Deleting a Schedule 1. Click on the schedule that you want to delete from the list. 2. Click Delete. 3. Repeat Steps 1~2 if you want to delete more schedules. 4. Click Save to save the changes. 5. Click Exit to quit Radio Scheduler. Deleting All Schedules 1. Click Delete All to remove all schedules in the list. 2. Click Save to save the changes. 3. Click Exit to quit Radio Scheduler. Modifying a Schedule To change the settings of an existing schedule: 1. Double-click over the schedule that you want to modify. Chapter 4. Radio Scheduler 4-3 2. The Edit Radio Scheduler dialog box appears. 3. Change the settings of the schedule. 4. Click OK to accept or Cancel to abort the changes. 5. Click Save to save the changes if any. 6. Click Exit to quit Radio Scheduler.
NOTE: It is strongly recommended to run the Quick USB Radio program if you have set any FM schedule in the Radio Scheduler application. Otherwise, the FM schedules will not be executed. For more information, refer to Always Starting Quick USB Radio.
Chapter 5. Other Features 5-1 Chapter 5. Other Features The USB Radio application also provides other features to meet consumers possible needs. Always Starting Quick USB Radio If you do not run Quick USB Radio, those FM schedules (if any) preset in the Radio Scheduler application will not be performed. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to run Quick USB Radio at Windows startup. To make the Quick USB Radio program automatically run in Windows, do the following: 1. Right-click over Quick USB Radio. 2. Enable Run at Windows startup. Preventing Power Management Interrupts While the USB Radio application is under operation, the system power management features, such as Hibernate, Standby or Turn off hard disks, will be automatically disabled. When the USB Radio application is closed, the system will return to the original power management settings.