WFGUI User Documentation

Index
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
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22.

Preface by Matthias Klumpp........................................................................................................... 2

What is WFGUI ? ............................................................................................................................ 2
Communities & discussions............................................................................................................ 2
Download ........................................................................................................................................ 2
Further improvements..................................................................................................................... 2
System requirements ...................................................................................................................... 2
Accuracy ......................................................................................................................................... 3
GUI overview .................................................................................................................................. 4
Signal (sound card) input................................................................................................................ 4
Start / Stop button ........................................................................................................................... 5
Center frequency ............................................................................................................................ 5
Signal quality indicator .................................................................................................................... 5
Signal level meter ........................................................................................................................... 5
Frequency counter .......................................................................................................................... 6
Display range .................................................................................................................................. 6
RMS% value ................................................................................................................................... 6
W&F evaluation method ................................................................................................................. 6
Peak value (needle instrument + numeric display)......................................................................... 8
Maximum value............................................................................................................................... 8
Oscilloscope.................................................................................................................................... 8
Version history ................................................................................................................................ 8
Internet links with additional technical information ......................................................................... 9

Author
Contributors

Alex Freed
Matthias Klumpp
Alex Nikitin

Software development, technical realization

Testing, accuracy check, documentation
Testing, accuracy check

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WFGUI User Documentation

1.

Preface by Matthias Klumpp

We, the contributors, want to thank the author for his excellent work he has spent on developing
and improving this tool. It provides a very good base for all the analog audio enthusiasts,
especially those working on vintage equipment, to keep their units in good working shape

2.

What is WFGUI ?
WFGUI (Wow & Flutter Graphical User Interface) is a tool that provides possibilities to adjust
speed and measure speed fluctuations real-time by software means that in former times
needed to be done by hardware Wow & Flutter meters.
It can be used for turntables, audio cassette decks or open reel tape decks by playing a
reference disk or tape with either a 3000Hz or 3150Hz tone.
The output signal of the audio device is then input to the PC's soundcard and evaluated by
WFGUI.
Note:
This software is provided in good faith, but supplied "as is" without any warranty of any kind.

3.

Communities & discussions

WFGUI was presented in several internet forums.
English:
Tapeheads:

http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=32287

DiyAudio:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analogue-source/254453-software-wf-meter.html

German:

4.

New-Hifi-Classic:

http://new-hifi-classic.de/forum/index.php?topic=7328.0

Bandmschinenforum:

http://forum2.magnetofon.de/board7-digitale-audiotechnik/board84anwendung-und-praxis/15584-wfgui-wow-flutter-echtzeitmessung-persoftware/ - post166946

Download
WFGUI can be downloaded from the following sites:

5.

Alex Nikitin's page:

http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/index.php?cat=post&qry=library

New-Hifi-Classic Server:

http://uebergabe-daten.hificlassic.at/httpdocs/kuni/WFGUI/WFGUI_Test_WAV_Files.zip

Further improvements
The author is spending his spare time on developing this tool without charging anything.
Please be aware that he has no obligation for anything, but hopefully will continue to work on
further suggestions and improvements.
The a.m. communities can be used to report problems and suggestions.

6.

System requirements
WFGUI was tested with Win XP / 7 / 8 and should flawlessly run on these platforms.
The PC system should have at least a 1,6GHz dual core processor and - of course - a sound
card.
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7.

Accuracy
WFGUI's accuracy was initially tested with several WAV files taken from audio cassette decks.
The results were compared to hardware W&F meters.
Sony
WM-D6C

Sony
TC-D5M

Tandberg
TCD-310

ASC
AS-3001

Tandberg
TCD-3014

Speed
-0,01%

-0,65%

-0,02%

+0,09%

-0,06%

(3149,7Hz)

(3129,6Hz)

(3149,5Hz)

(3152,8Hz)

(3148,0Hz)

-0,02%
0%

-0,70%
-0,60%

-0,04%
0%

1)

1)

1)

+0,08%
-

-0,08%
-

W&F (DIN)
WFGUI (peak)
Woelke ME106
Philips PM6307
Kenwood FL140

0,11%
0,12%
0,10%

0,08%
0,08%
0,06%

0,29%
0,30%
0,26%

1)

1)

1)

0,28%
0,30%
-

0,08%
0,09%
-

W&F (unweighted)
WFGUI (peak)
Woelke ME106
Philips PM6307
Kenwood FL140

0,36%
0,44%
0,40%

0,18%
0,30%
0,10%

0,37%
0,38%
0,35%

1)

1)

1)

0,52%
0,50%
-

0,13%
0,20%
-

WFGUI
Woelke ME106
Philips PM6307
Kenwood FL140

1)

Just little or no difference (<5% of the value measured) found in reading between WFGUI and
the Kenwood FL-140 in all modes except in non-weighted peak measurements (still less than
10% of the value measured).

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8.

GUI overview
9

13

12
10

19

14
15

11

17

16

20

9.

18

Signal (sound card) input

The sound card device for input signal capturing can be selected here (drop down box shows
one entry per detected sound card).
WFGUI only shows the primary recording channel (as selected in the control panel) of each
device.
A selection of the various input/recording channels of a sound card (e.g. microphone, line etc.)
can't be done directly from within WFGUI.
Win XP:
Input/recording channel selection can be done with the sound mixer control.
Win 7 / 8:
Win 7 / 8 doesn't offer a sound mixer with selection of the recording channel anymore.
Instead, this needs to be done in the sound settings of the control panel.
Note:
-

Just setting the wanted recording channel to "default" might sometimes not be recognized
correctly by WFGUI. This seems to depend on the hardware.

In such cases, all unwanted recording channels need to be deactivated instead.

By selecting "Stereomix" for recording, this provides a way to analyze also WAV files while
playing them e.g. with Audacity.
Note:
Data capturing is done with standard 44.1kHz / 16 bits.
WFGUI applies a general input filter with 600Hz bandwidth to the incoming signal.

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10. Start / Stop button
By these buttons the measurement can be started, stopped and re-started.
11. Center frequency
Defines the center frequency WFGUI is using for its analysis.
The setting can be changed during a running measurement.
3000Hz setting: Frequencies <2850Hz or >3150Hz are ignored (valid range: 5%)
3150Hz setting: Frequencies <2992,5Hz or >3307,5Hz are ignored (valid range: 5%)
The accuracy of the test frequency (3000 / 3150Hz) will have no effect at all on W&F
measurements within the 5% valid range.
12. Signal quality indicator
If the signal quality is good for WFGUI to analyze W&F, then the "lamp" is green.
Level needs to be higher ~ 24mV / -30dBm
Frequency must be in valid range
Otherwise the "lamp" is grey and a message is shown in the box.
The indicator only works when the measurement is started.
13. Signal level meter
Shows the applied signal level.
With sound mixer level sliders all set to 100%, full range is ~ 170mV / -13dBm (absolute value
may depend on the hardware).
The signal level doesn't have any impact on the calculation accuracy as far as the level is high
enough for data capturing.
The level meter only works when the measurement is started.
Note:
There are intentionally no voltage levels given on the level meter.
WFGUI doesn't control the mixer gain, it therefore has no way to determine the absolute level.
Read samples are internally within a range of 32767 (16 bit sampling resolution).
If they are < 50 WFGUI simply declares the level being too low.

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14. Frequency counter
Currently measured frequency.
For speed adjustment the measured frequency should equal the reference frequency specified
for the played reference tape or disk.
Frequency outside the valid range (5%) of the center frequency:
-

Frequency display is still updated, but then rounded down to 5Hz

This mode is useful to adjust speed deviations near to 0%

The speed of the audio device needs to be adjusted prior to do any W&F
measurement in order to get into the valid range again for further analysis of W&F.

Frequency inside the valid range (5%) of the center frequency:

-

Accuracy is a lot more precise as indicated by the format with a decimal point.

This is mode is required to reliably measure W&F.

Note:
WFGUI's frequency counter relies upon the sound card oscillator
Some sound cards may give very accurate results, but some may give an error.
It's therefore recommended to test the used sound card in this respect.
Anyway the accuracy of the reference crystal in the sound card will have no effect at all on
W&F measurements within the 5% valid range.
15. Display range
Display range for scope and needle instrument.
The setting can be changed during a running measurement.
16. RMS% value
RMS (root mean square) value in % of the currently evaluated Wow & Flutter.
The result depends on the selected W&F evaluation method.
17. W&F evaluation method
Specifies according to which standard the W&F shall be evaluated.
The setting can't be changed anymore if the measurement was started.
If it is to be changed, WFGUI needs to be stopped, closed and re-opened.
For details about the filters, refer to the diagrams below.
DIN (weighted):
Applies a weighting filter according to the German Industry Standard (Deutsche IndustrieNorm)
Unweighted:
th

Applies a Bessel bandpass filter, 4 order, -3dB frequencies: 0,3 - 200Hz

Wow:
th

Applies a Bessel bandpass filter, 4 order, -3dB frequencies: 0,3 - 6Hz

Flutter:
th

Applies a Bessel bandpass filter, 4 order, -3dB frequencies: 6 - 200Hz

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Weighting filters used by WFGUI:
General characteristics of different weighting filters:

In detail the weighting filter according DIN 45507 with allowed tolerances:
st

nd

Bessel filter (0,2Hz to 200Hz) consisting of a 1 order low pass and 2 order high pass filter.

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18. Peak value (needle instrument + numeric display)
Peak (current) value in % of the currently evaluated Wow & Flutter.
The result depends on the selected W&F evaluation method.
The dynamics of the needle instrument are adjusted to simulate attack and decay of a real
analog hardware instrument.
19. Maximum value
Maximum value of RMS and (quasi) peak in % during the evaluation period of the last 10s.
Re-calculation of these values starts newly, if WFGUI is stopped and re-started.
Note:
If the signal is not steady (i.e. turned off and on while capturing), the first 20s will not show
reliable values. These values should therefore be discarded.
20. Oscilloscope
The scope screen shows ~200ms of the demodulated signal (period of the last 125 samples).
E.g. when testing with an artificial 2Hz sine modulated 3150 Hz you can clearly see the sine
wave going between 0.5 for 0.5% Wow.
This therefore not only shows the real peaks but also gives a good idea of the nature of the
Wow & Flutter.
The result depends on the selected W&F evaluation method.
21. Version history
wfgui_4_60.exe
First public beta version with capability of signal real-time processing directly from sound card.
wfgui_6_00.exe
Changed ranges to 0,1%, 0,4%, 1% and 4%
Changed the meter color to light yellow
Added saving of raw "demodulated" data in a file "WF_out.dat" in the current directory:
-

The program mimics the structure of a hardware tool.

The input filter applied to the raw 3 (or 3.15) KHz data is always present but is pretty flat
around the center frequency and should not affect the demodulated signal's spectrum
much.

Then the signal is frequency demodulated by calculating time between consecutive zero
crossings and subtracting the "perfect" interval.

This demodulated signal is optionally saved before being processed by the next filter.

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22. Internet links with additional technical information
Measuring method for W&F as per DIN 45507 (German):
http://www.theimann.com/Analog/Misc_Tech/Mess_TB/Teil2.html
Schematic for a W&F meter (German):
http://www.theimann.com/Analog/Misc_Tech/TonSchwMess/index.html
Article "Speed, pitch and timing errors in tape recording and reproducing" by John McKnight
(English):
http://home.comcast.net/~mrltapes/mcknight_speed.pdf

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