Left or Right Wave (Stream) Controls Dialog

Controls: Generator Dialog >> Wave Controls
Macros: GenWavL, GenWavR

The Left and Right 'Wave Controls' buttons near the center of the main Generator dialog are used to invoke additional dialogs to control the details of signal generation for each channel.

• Stream Channel and Number
• Stream On / Mod
• Wave
• Tone Freq or Random / Step Timing

• Modulation:
  • Stream Modulation
  • Burst
  • AM
  • FM
  • Phase / Slope / Width
  • Sweep

• Level % or dB
• DC Offset (All or Burst)

The dialog that is invoked is called a 'Stream', and it specifies a complete independent signal generator. Up to four of these separate components (Stream 0 through Stream 3) may be combined to create the overall output for each Left or Right channel, giving a total of 8 different simultaneous signals.

With Multi-Channel Outputs active, you can use any combination of Left and Right streams for any output, giving a total of 8 different simultaneous outputs with an 8-channel sound card. (With a standard stereo card you can only get 2 outputs, but each can still combine Left and Right streams.)

A Stream may be rather complex in itself, with any combination of modulators. For example, one Stream may be a train of sinusoidal tone bursts having an overall rising frequency sweep. Another Stream may be an amplitude-modulated band of noise. Yet another may be a playback of a previously-recorded sound, but played in reverse with an added frequency modulation warble.

Normally, all active streams are summed together to create the respective channel output. Each stream is scaled according to its separate Level control before summing, so you can adjust the relative balance. You must make sure that the total of all Levels is not greater than 100% where signals overlap in time, or the total will be clipped.

Alternatively, if a stream has been designated as a Modulator Source by one of the modulation dialogs, that stream will not be summed directly into the output. Its influence will only be via the modulation it provides to one or more other streams. (However, in Multi-Channel Outputs mode, modulator source streams may be selected for any output channel. This allows, for example, a dedicated output channel from a modulator signal for triggering external devices.)

A stream can only modulate a higher-numbered stream of the same channel, but any Left stream can modulate any Right stream. So L.0 Stream can modulate L.1, L.2, or L.3 or any Right stream, but can never be modulated itself. Conversely, R.3 Stream can be modulated by any other stream but can never be a modulator.

Macro Notes:

GenWavL=1 opens the Left Stream dialog, GenWavR=1 opens the Right. If the opposite channel Stream dialog is already open it will be closed first, including any dialogs that may be open within the Stream.

GenWavL=0 or GenWavR=0 will close the Stream dialog if open for that channel, including any dialogs that may be open within the Stream.

These commands do not support 'x' to toggle, but they do allow IF tests.

See also Signal Generator Control Dialog.