Ubuntu

Cannot get mike input with Pulseaudio

Asked by Alex Emelianov

I am running Hardy (8.04) amd64. I configured pulseaudio as described in https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PulseAudio.

My media files play fine to my speakers. I can use pulseaudio manager to switch the output to my USB headset (though it does not seem to respect the "headphone" switch in Volume Control applet).

The problem is, input from my USB headset mike is a steady rattling noise.

The same headset works fine under Windows or with ALSA.

What troubleshooting steps should I take?

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Brewster Malevich
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Best Brewster Malevich (brews) said : 		#1

Have you checked that all the valves are open? (Right clicking on the little sound icon on the panel, select "open volume control")...Look at the bottom of the "Capture Mix" on the 'Playback' tab, and at the bottom of the 'Recording' tab, be sure those little icons along the bottom aren't x-ed out. Those are off by default.

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Alex Emelianov (aemelianov) said : 		#2

No, that does not seem to be the source of my problem.

When I open PulseAudio Volume Meter on the device I believe to be my USB headset (it reads as ALSA PCM on hw:1 (USB Audio) via DMA), signal is proportional to what I set in the volume control applet. But the signal itself is noise, modulated by ~6Hz envelope.

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Alex Emelianov (aemelianov) said : 		#3

Thanks Spike the Dingo, that solved my question.

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Alex Emelianov (aemelianov) said : 		#4

I found out that a hardware "mute" control was engaged. Sorry.

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Brewster Malevich (brews) said : 		#5

It happens to everyone at least once, sometimes twice. :-) Happy to help.