FM Status Monitor

Beneath the FM Source control is the Status Monitor. This is a status display only, not a control. It shows the instantaneous modulation being computed at the time the display is updated (about 10 times per second default).

Note, however, that this is not the same as the actual modulation at the instant you view it. The samples are computed and sent to a buffer ahead of the time they are needed for output, so this monitor is actually more of a "preview". (You can set the buffer size with the Wave Block control in the Start Preferences dialog.)

This monitor is only useful for very slow modulation rates, where the values don't change too quickly to be read. This is true whether the source is a sine using the FM Mod Frequency control, or a more complex waveform using stream modulation. At fast rates, the monitor is likely to jump around too much to be useful.

Also, if the modulator changes too quickly, the next update may catch it at a point in another cycle that doesn't seem to follow the prior value.

The frequency resolution of this and all Generator frequency displays may be set between 0 and 9 decimal places via the Frequency Places option in the Frequency Step Mode dialog, invoked by clicking the button below the Main Freq control higher up in this FM dialog. (The button shows the current Step Mode, which defaults to Step Direct.)

See also Frequency Modulation, Frequency Modulation Dialog, Waveform Stream Controls