Re: [Flexradio] Fw: HELP
I have already contacted Mike privately, but for the sake of the archive, Ill give a summary. A good test for hardware failure in the transmit chain of the nature described below is to unplug the audio cables, startup the software and hit the MOX button. If you get power output without any audio connection, then there is a hardware problem with either the driver on the RFE or the 100W PA. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Michael Freedman Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 6:32 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Fw: HELP I am seeing something strange with my SDR. I notice nowwhen I hit the MOX button in USB or LSB modes I am seeing full output WITHOUT talking. I have done a number of alignments on two diferent computers both using the sameFirebox. what I have now are: 160 62.3 80 49.0 60. 55.6 40 49.0 30 46.4 20 49.1 17 50.9 1549.4 12 45.9 10 44.6 EVEN if I pull the lineoutput out of the back of the SDR I am still getting the same full output when I push the MOX button. Receive works perfectly. I can even see my transmit audio on the sdr's software screen. What is wrong Does this call for a service trip to Texas?? Mike VE3BGE
Re: [Flexradio] Master's Thesis Defense
Jon: AWESOME. If you are allowed to share you Matlab scripts that would be very cool as well. We can make sure they actually run under octave to reach a wider audience. Not everyone gets the student discount on Matlab! Congratulations! Bob N4HY Jon Beckwith wrote: Hey folks, just wanted to let everyone know that my digital comm/SDR project is nearly complete! Thanks for all the help along the way. Master's Thesis Defense A MATLAB AND SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO APPROACH TO TEACHING DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS Jonathan A. Beckwith Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Friday, 9 December 2005, 1:00PM-3:00PM 301 Morse Hall Increasing complexity of communication protocols, especially modulations, requires expensive signal generation and demodulation equipment for meaningful lab experiences in communication engineering courses. Pure software simulation can simulate most real-world modulations and impairments, but it still lacks the .feel. of real hardware and channel impairments. Software radio, which uses hardware for analog and software for baseband processing of the signal, is attracting lots of attention in commercial as well as military circles. Using a software radio platform, one can achieve control of the simulation with real hardware, while maintaining flexibility for many environments. To this end, a series of digital communication lab exercises is presented which is based on the principles in software radio and uses an open Matlab code suite and a commercial RF front end, the FlexRadio Systems SDR-1000 transceiver. The lab exercises include realistic implementations of synchronization sections as well as modulation and demodulation subsystems. The flexibility of the SDR allows for not only labs for current EE 757 and EE 758 classes, but also future ones, which have different modulation requirements. As the system has not yet been implemented, a complete evaluation of its effectiveness has yet to be completed. Only the students using it can provide a complete assessment and evaluation of the SDR Teaching System. This will be done in the semester following its completion. Dr. M. Carter, Thesis Advisor Dr. Thomas Miller Dr. Jianqiu Zhang -- Laziness is the number one inspiration for ingenuity. Guilty as charged!
Re: [Flexradio] SSB vs CW transmit paths
Yuk. This is painful. The only ways I see to do this are to have CWToneGen modified to CWToneGen4Port and to give it two frequencies. It generates a two IQ sample sample time ring buffer. One contains the side tone,a nd the other contains the sidetone modulated to the IF frequency of interest. This tone exchange way of doing this which does not run through the dttsp calls at all was necessitated by the lack ofa jack like thing under Windows. Bob Bill Tracey wrote: Warning: boring technical details of software internals follow - posted here as others playing in the code may find it of interest. Been poking at PowerSDR and the DttSP code to see how to support transmit with SoftRock style hardware. SSB is pretty straight forward, and I've gotten that working by setting the DttSP TXOsc appropriately when going into xmit mode. Works like a charm. The problem comes when trying to do CW (the perennial SDR problem child mode). It appears that for modes other than CW the audio code in PowerSDR (Callback1 in audio.cs) calls ExchangeSamples (dsp.cs) which in turn maps to audio_callback in DttSP/winmain.c to feed data to DttSP. This copies and moves that data around and eventually results in process_samples in DttSP/sdr.c being called. In here do_tx is called and DSP magic is performed and finally the DttSP transmit osc is applied in do_tx_post. For CW the path is a bit different. Callback1 in audio.cs calls CWtoneExchange that maps to CWtoneExchange in DttSP/keyd.c. All CWtoneExchange does is pull data from the ringbuffer being filled by send_thread_keyd in keyd.c. The data never gets passed through the tx signal processing hain in sdr.c's do_tx, so the transmit oscillator is never applied,. so with a SoftRock style transmitter one ends transmitting at the fundamental frequency. Ooops, that's not what was supposed to happen! Any suggestions on how to go about fixing this? I could add the TX Osc mixer into the send_tone code in keyd.c - although I think the buffers being sent back via this path are also used for sidetone generation. I wonder if two sets of buffers need to be sent back - one to be sent to the transmit hardware and one to be used for sidetone. Or perhaps a better performer would be to change the freq of the CWToneGen osc, or run two of them if two buffers need to be returned to handle sidetone. Also, it would appear IQ correction does not happen in the transmit path for CW - probably want to figure out how to put that in the CW chain as well. Regards, Bill (kd5tfd) ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz -- Laziness is the number one inspiration for ingenuity. Guilty as charged!
[Flexradio] Delta-44 SC question
Hi there. I just installed a Delta-44 in my computer to use with my SDR-1000. I wanted to check the basic functionality of the SC so I connected it to a set of PC speakers and a PC mic. I'm getting sound through the speakers but the mic appears not to be working. I've checked all of the normal settings and don't see anything odd. Does the Delta-44 supply the DC bias for the PC microphone as do regular PC sound cards ? 73 de Hugh VA3TO www.va3to.com
Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load
There is a lot of confusion here. Let me attempt to straighten it out. 1) The extra noise occurs (as the original note said) when SPUR REDUCTION IS OFF. This is because the hardware is tuned EVERY time the dial is changed. 2) Spur reduction ON, does NOT move the spur out of band. It does something quite different and clever. There are good frequencies where the spur generation which is caused by truncation of the phase word and by the number of bits that can be applied to the DAC are minimized. If you are not on the good frequencies the phase accumulator has fractional parts that are not exact values to give the DAC in the synthesizer. This leads to walking on and off an exact DAC value in the DDS. This walking on and off of the good points is a periodic process and and because the amplitude and phase are just a little off when you are not exactly on a table phase (DAC bits are nonzero but the rest are zero), this little bit of amplitude and phase distortion generated spurs. Spur reduction recognizes this process and limits the HARDWARE DDS oscillator settings to these good frequencies. The remainder of the tuning is then done in the perfect software oscillator inside the code. So when spur reduction is ON, and the frequency request changes by 3051.7578125 Hz from one of these good frequencies, we move the hardware frequency only then. This approach has pluses and minuses but it is felt the pusses outweigh the minuses. You can still hear spurs from the DDS but these are due to DAC nonlinearities and clock leakage and mixing in the AD9854. These are almost gone in the AD9954 and really gone in the AD9958. Analog is learning along with the rest of us. Bob N4HY Jiri Sanda wrote: OK - so if I understand it well one should run it without the reduction unless there is a problem - a spur audible - and than switching on might help ? 73 ! Jiri OK1RI On Mon, 5 Dec 2005, Ahti Aintila wrote: Jiri, My understanding is that the spur. reduction moves the spurious signal generated by the DDS away from your listening passband. There is a good probability that another spurious signal does not hit the same frequency. 73, Ahti OH2RZ - Original Message - From: Jiri Sanda [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 7:04 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load I do not understand ? If the transmitted noise get so much worse when spur. reduction is on why is it there at all ? What positive it does ? 73 ! Jiri OK1RI On Mon, 5 Dec 2005, Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio wrote: Jeff nailed this one on the head. The jumping around is because when spur reduction is turned on, the radio hardware is only tuned every ~3.051kHz. We do the fine tuning using a software oscillator. Also worthy of note is that we use an 11kHz IF. So what you are seeing is the junk around DC on the left side of the spectrum. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz -- Laziness is the number one inspiration for ingenuity. Guilty as charged!
Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load
OK Bob, it clears the topic - thanks. We have to wait for an upgrade to some newer chip 73 ! Jiri Ok1RI On Tue, 6 Dec 2005, Robert McGwier wrote: There is a lot of confusion here. Let me attempt to straighten it out. 1) The extra noise occurs (as the original note said) when SPUR REDUCTION IS OFF. This is because the hardware is tuned EVERY time the dial is changed. 2) Spur reduction ON, does NOT move the spur out of band. It does something quite different and clever. There are good frequencies where the spur generation which is caused by truncation of the phase word and by the number of bits that can be applied to the DAC are minimized. If you are not on the good frequencies the phase accumulator has fractional parts that are not exact values to give the DAC in the synthesizer. This leads to walking on and off an exact DAC value in the DDS. This walking on and off of the good points is a periodic process and and because the amplitude and phase are just a little off when you are not exactly on a table phase (DAC bits are nonzero but the rest are zero), this little bit of amplitude and phase distortion generated spurs. Spur reduction recognizes this process and limits the HARDWARE DDS oscillator settings to these good frequencies. The remainder of the tuning is then done in the perfect software oscillator inside the code. So when spur reduction is ON, and the frequency request changes by 3051.7578125 Hz from one of these good frequencies, we move the hardware frequency only then. This approach has pluses and minuses but it is felt the pusses outweigh the minuses. You can still hear spurs from the DDS but these are due to DAC nonlinearities and clock leakage and mixing in the AD9854. These are almost gone in the AD9954 and really gone in the AD9958. Analog is learning along with the rest of us. Bob N4HY Jiri Sanda wrote: OK - so if I understand it well one should run it without the reduction unless there is a problem - a spur audible - and than switching on might help ? 73 ! Jiri OK1RI On Mon, 5 Dec 2005, Ahti Aintila wrote: Jiri, My understanding is that the spur. reduction moves the spurious signal generated by the DDS away from your listening passband. There is a good probability that another spurious signal does not hit the same frequency. 73, Ahti OH2RZ - Original Message - From: Jiri Sanda [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Monday, December 05, 2005 7:04 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load I do not understand ? If the transmitted noise get so much worse when spur. reduction is on why is it there at all ? What positive it does ? 73 ! Jiri OK1RI On Mon, 5 Dec 2005, Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio wrote: Jeff nailed this one on the head. The jumping around is because when spur reduction is turned on, the radio hardware is only tuned every ~3.051kHz. We do the fine tuning using a software oscillator. Also worthy of note is that we use an 11kHz IF. So what you are seeing is the junk around DC on the left side of the spectrum. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz -- Laziness is the number one inspiration for ingenuity. Guilty as charged!
Re: [Flexradio] Delta-44 SC question
Hugh, The Delta 44 does not include a microphone preamp, and therefore the input values when driving it with a typical microphone are fairly low. We compensate for this in the PowerSDR software, but other software packages will not likely apply the kind of gain that we allow. The best way to make sure that you are getting input into the Delta 44 is to watch the Monitor Mixer tab on the Delta 44 Control Panel. Even with low input, you should be able to see the green indicators jump if you thump the mic or yell into it (careful that no loved ones are nearby). ;) Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Hugh VA3TO Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 12:17 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Delta-44 SC question Hi there. I just installed a Delta-44 in my computer to use with my SDR-1000. I wanted to check the basic functionality of the SC so I connected it to a set of PC speakers and a PC mic. I'm getting sound through the speakers but the mic appears not to be working. I've checked all of the normal settings and don't see anything odd. Does the Delta-44 supply the DC bias for the PC microphone as do regular PC sound cards ? 73 de Hugh VA3TO www.va3to.com ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
The present Noise Blanker works great. I had read many weeks ago that Alex had a "killer" noise blanker in the "Rocky" software. My question is, will it be added to the PowerSDR softwaresometime in the future? Also, this may have been asked and answered sometime in the past but, why is the PowerSDR console size not able to be madefull screen size? Again thanks for a great radio. It "just keeps getting better!" Dave, W9DR, Punta Gorda, Florida
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
I can speak to the second question. The PowerSDR console was designed so that the whole console could be seen when running in an 800x600 resolution. This was mainly to help those with vision impairments, but this was also the standard until only a year or two ago. Today, 1024x768 is more of the standard, and even that is becoming small for many users today. We have tried playing with the console to make it resizable, but initial testing proved that the built in .NET features for resizing a control were somewhat lacking. The work involved in getting a single control to look correct at various resolution/size/DPI was astounding. For this reason, we have left the PowerSDR at the locked original size. Clearly going forward, a larger display (among other form related features) will be considered in future designs. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dave Nancy Ridge Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 12:49 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size The present Noise Blanker works great. I had read many weeks ago that Alex had a killer noise blanker in the Rocky software. My question is, will it be added to the PowerSDR softwaresometime in the future? Also, this may have been asked and answered sometime in the past but, why is the PowerSDR console size not able to be madefull screen size? Again thanks for a great radio. It just keeps getting better! Dave, W9DR, Punta Gorda, Florida
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Clearly going forward, a larger display (among other form related features) will be considered in future designs. The existing SDR display is already too large when running with a contesting or logging program. A resizable screen would be the preferred solution. 73 Terry - AB5K - Original Message - From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 'Dave Nancy Ridge' [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 1:23 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size I can speak to the second question. The PowerSDR console was designed so that the whole console could be seen when running in an 800x600 resolution. This was mainly to help those with vision impairments, but this was also the standard until only a year or two ago. Today, 1024x768 is more of the standard, and even that is becoming small for many users today. We have tried playing with the console to make it resizable, but initial testing proved that the built in .NET features for resizing a control were somewhat lacking. The work involved in getting a single control to look correct at various resolution/size/DPI was astounding. For this reason, we have left the PowerSDR at the locked original size. Clearly going forward, a larger display (among other form related features) will be considered in future designs. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dave Nancy Ridge Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 12:49 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size The present Noise Blanker works great. I had read many weeks ago that Alex had a killer noise blanker in the Rocky software. My question is, will it be added to the PowerSDR software sometime in the future? Also, this may have been asked and answered sometime in the past but, why is the PowerSDR console size not able to be made full screen size? Again thanks for a great radio. It just keeps getting better! Dave, W9DR, Punta Gorda, Florida ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
Yes. The larger values indicate that something is seriously wrong. It sounds like the soundcard is setup for +4 dBU output (instead of -10dBv). Look at the Delta 44 Control Panel on the Hardware Settings Tab. This needs to look just like the pictures shown in the Delta 44 Quick Start guide seen here: www.flex-radio.com/delta44/delta44.htm. Eric -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:00 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning
Hello Wally, when hiting TUN the carrier gets on (10W), then comes the red led and after abt 1s the red goes off. After a fraction of a second the red geos on again while the relays start clicking. After abt 1s the green led starts to flicker. Then the relays stop clicking and at the same time the red gets off and the green stays on permanently. Then the carrier gets off and after a fraction of a second the green led gets off. During the whole time the VSWR stays unchanged (e.g. 1:3) and the power meter moves a little bit. So I guess the behaviour of the tuning cycle seems to be ok but still it does not tune. (I also located and checked the jp1 jumper pads: the resistance reads infinity). Any suggestions? 73 Chris, HB9AJP Wallace Watson schrieb: Greetings Christoph, I also experienced the problem you have described when I obtained my SDR-ATU and installed it in the SDR-1000 in May 2005. My version of the ATU did not contain the red and green LED's which indicate the status of the ATU. After several exchanges with Gerald Youngblood, he advised that several of the early ATU Z-100's obtained from LDG were assembled without the addition of these LED's. This I corrected by obtaining the LED's from Gerald at Flex-Radio and installing them on my ATU unit. In order for the ATU to function correctly, you must be using PowerSDR verion 1.4.5 Beta 6 or later due to a software bug discovered in the earlier versions of software. What indication on the RED and GREEN LED's are you observing when you tune the SDR? The problem that I eventually discovered was a solder bridge short on the bottom of the 100W Amp board at the point of the ATU jumper pads. I read a .2 ohm short with the jumper cut and should have read infinity on my digital ohmmeter. I discussed this discovery with Gerald from Flex-Radio and we concluded that a short must exist, Gerald advised the procedure for removing the 100W amp from the SDR case and removal of the printed circuit board from the Amps heat-sink. Upon performing this disassembly I found a blob of solder bridging the jumper pads on the bottom of the 100W Amp circuit board. I removed the solder bridge and reassembled the AMP circuit board with the heat-sink and remounted the Amp in the SDR radio cabinet. The ATU then performed flawlessly when tested subsequent to this troubleshooting and correction. I am presently on Holiday at my future retirement home in Florida until after Christmas, after which my spouse and I return to the U.K. and resume work. Advise if I can be of additional assistance in troubleshooting your ATU unit? 73's, Wally - M0ZAZ. At 09:12 PM 12/4/2005 +0100, you wrote: My ATU is not working properly: I hear the relays but when finished, there was no tuning. Is there a way to test the ATU manually or is there a toubleshooting procedure? I am using the sdr-100O with 100W and ATU installed, purchased in September 05, Delta44, v1.4.5 Beta7. Actually it never worked until now, was not sure from the readings if I still should wait for updates(?). Chris, HB9AJP ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz _ Wallace A. Watson - [EMAIL PROTECTED] _
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
And I again lay prostrate to the Master. :-) This explains several things I have observed recently. I had originally used the quick start guide for the initial setup. I had not changed anything in the D44 control panel, but lo and behold the settings had changed. I'm not sure what application I ran that did it, but I now know what to look for. Thanks Eric. -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:12 PM To: Tim Ellison; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Yes. The larger values indicate that something is seriously wrong. It sounds like the soundcard is setup for +4 dBU output (instead of -10dBv). Look at the Delta 44 Control Panel on the Hardware Settings Tab. This needs to look just like the pictures shown in the Delta 44 Quick Start guide seen here: www.flex-radio.com/delta44/delta44.htm. Eric -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:00 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] tvi
Hi all..I'm having a problem with TVI on my own tv set..anything between 160-30 meters on receive causes channel 5 local tv station to go nuts..I have tried beads and filters with no help at all..any ideas? Bob
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
I have witnessed this myself, and yet could not reproduce it or tie it to any other single application. If you find out what did it, please let us know. Another key setting to check is the DMA Buffer Size on that same tab. This was set to 2048 at the same time the output got changed in my experience. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: Tim Ellison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration And I again lay prostrate to the Master. :-) This explains several things I have observed recently. I had originally used the quick start guide for the initial setup. I had not changed anything in the D44 control panel, but lo and behold the settings had changed. I'm not sure what application I ran that did it, but I now know what to look for. Thanks Eric. -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:12 PM To: Tim Ellison; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Yes. The larger values indicate that something is seriously wrong. It sounds like the soundcard is setup for +4 dBU output (instead of -10dBv). Look at the Delta 44 Control Panel on the Hardware Settings Tab. This needs to look just like the pictures shown in the Delta 44 Quick Start guide seen here: www.flex-radio.com/delta44/delta44.htm. Eric -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:00 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] VAC and MMSSTV
OK, this is probably simply, but I can't figure it. I have Digipan and MixW working fine, but trying to configure MMSSTV (and MMRTTY), I can't get them to work. I tried the setup in the SDR_VAC pdf file. I have no audio. BUT, if I select Audio device 1 in the MMSSTV config, I can receive, but not transmit. If I select device 0, I can transmit, but not receive.. With device setr at -1, as the instructions say, I get neither. As I said, MixW and Digipan work fine (as does PSK31 in Ham Radio Deluxe.) -- _____ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ John L. Sielke ( W )( 2 )( A )( G )( N ) http://w2agn.net \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ CRUSTY OLD CURMUDGEON, AND PROUD OF IT
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
Just in case things should ever get screwed up in the computer here - what should be the default/recommended settings of the various buffers? Thanks! - Jeff, WA6AHL -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:14 PM To: 'Tim Ellison'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration I have witnessed this myself, and yet could not reproduce it or tie it to any other single application. If you find out what did it, please let us know. Another key setting to check is the DMA Buffer Size on that same tab. This was set to 2048 at the same time the output got changed in my experience. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: Tim Ellison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration And I again lay prostrate to the Master. :-) This explains several things I have observed recently. I had originally used the quick start guide for the initial setup. I had not changed anything in the D44 control panel, but lo and behold the settings had changed. I'm not sure what application I ran that did it, but I now know what to look for. Thanks Eric. -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:12 PM To: Tim Ellison; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Yes. The larger values indicate that something is seriously wrong. It sounds like the soundcard is setup for +4 dBU output (instead of -10dBv). Look at the Delta 44 Control Panel on the Hardware Settings Tab. This needs to look just like the pictures shown in the Delta 44 Quick Start guide seen here: www.flex-radio.com/delta44/delta44.htm. Eric -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:00 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
It depends on the system, but a good set of general defaults are: Audio: 2048 DSP: 1024 Delta 44 DMA: 512 These can be adjusted downward depending on system speed and latency/filter requirements. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Jeff Anderson Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:29 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Just in case things should ever get screwed up in the computer here - what should be the default/recommended settings of the various buffers? Thanks! - Jeff, WA6AHL -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:14 PM To: 'Tim Ellison'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration I have witnessed this myself, and yet could not reproduce it or tie it to any other single application. If you find out what did it, please let us know. Another key setting to check is the DMA Buffer Size on that same tab. This was set to 2048 at the same time the output got changed in my experience. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: Tim Ellison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration And I again lay prostrate to the Master. :-) This explains several things I have observed recently. I had originally used the quick start guide for the initial setup. I had not changed anything in the D44 control panel, but lo and behold the settings had changed. I'm not sure what application I ran that did it, but I now know what to look for. Thanks Eric. -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:12 PM To: Tim Ellison; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Yes. The larger values indicate that something is seriously wrong. It sounds like the soundcard is setup for +4 dBU output (instead of -10dBv). Look at the Delta 44 Control Panel on the Hardware Settings Tab. This needs to look just like the pictures shown in the Delta 44 Quick Start guide seen here: www.flex-radio.com/delta44/delta44.htm. Eric -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:00 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Clearly going forward, a larger display (among other form related features) will be considered in future designs. The existing SDR display is already too large when running with a contesting or logging program. A resizable screen would be the preferred solution. 73 Terry - AB5K An alternate solution might be to park the console display into the tray (so it is more than merely minimized). I don't know what, if any, functional enhancements would be needed to make that realistic, but if the CAT command set is complete enough, this might be enough and so would allow the display size to not be constrained by contesting -- or even MixW RTTY ragchewing. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
I can speak to the second question. The PowerSDR console was designed so that the whole console could be seen when running in an 800x600 resolution. This was mainly to help those with vision impairments, but this was also the standard until only a year or two ago. Today, 1024x768 is more of the standard, and even that is becoming small for many users today. Unless you can come up with a variant for parking the display into the system tray that really works for contesting, MixW et. al., this is not really going to be a good solution for many of us. I already have three basic displays that I use for my 80m DX quest. I have the Power SDR console. I have the regular MixW display for logging, primarily. I have the MixW DX cluster display up. That's minimum. I also often have a browser running so I can do immediate QSL lookups of interesting calls. I'm running 1280 x 1024 and I find today's setup marginal. For ordinary DXing, never mind contesting. Moreover, I suspect that as our direction seems to be [i]toward[/i] third party code for a variety of functions, that there is nothing atypical about what I'm doing today that everyone won't be doing tomorrow. Whatever you do, please don't assume we can dedicate the machine to the SDR console. We already aren't. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] VAC and MMSSTV
I had a similar problem with DXLab's WinWarbler that had nothing to do with the VAC. The problem is that the D44 input and output channels are not equal. Many programs that use sound cards expect the input and output ItemIndex number to be the same. If they are not, the symptom you listed will occur. Below is an example of the problem on my system. These are the sound devices listed by a program called MixerInfo16. Wave-in Devices' list: Microsoft Sound Mapper SB Audigy Audio [FEE0] M-Audio Delta 44 Multi M-Audio Delta 44 1/2 M-Audio Delta 44 3/4 M-Audio Delta 44 Mon. Mixer Santa Cruz(tm) (Note: ItemIndex 5) Wave-out Devices' list: Microsoft Sound SB Audigy Audio [FEE0] M-Audio Delta 44 Multi M-Audio Delta 44 1/2 M-Audio Delta 44 3/4 Santa Cruz(tm) (Note ItemIndex 4) Note the Santa Cruz ItemIndex numbers. They are not equal because the D44 has 4 in devices and 3 out devices. Any devices after the D44 will have different ItemIndex numbers for their input and output devices. Programs that use a separate setting for the In device and the Out device will work correctly. Unfortunately, if a program expects the ItemIndex to be equal there appears to be no way around the problem (that I know of, Help anyone!) except to define the device as the default device which will move it up the list so that it occurs before the D-44 devices. I haven't figured out what Windows XP uses to determine the order, but it does not appear to be based on device installation order. You can force a temporary order change while installing a driver, but on reboot the order will be as determined by Windows XP. 73, Bill NJ1H -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of w2agn Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 5:17 PM To: FlexRadio Reflector Subject: [Flexradio] VAC and MMSSTV OK, this is probably simply, but I can't figure it. I have Digipan and MixW working fine, but trying to configure MMSSTV (and MMRTTY), I can't get them to work. I tried the setup in the SDR_VAC pdf file. I have no audio. BUT, if I select Audio device 1 in the MMSSTV config, I can receive, but not transmit. If I select device 0, I can transmit, but not receive.. With device setr at -1, as the instructions say, I get neither. As I said, MixW and Digipan work fine (as does PSK31 in Ham Radio Deluxe.) -- _____ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ John L. Sielke ( W )( 2 )( A )( G )( N ) http://w2agn.net \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ CRUSTY OLD CURMUDGEON, AND PROUD OF IT ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
What about minimizing the main screen into the system tray, but leave a mini display that contains frequency display, tuning controls and meters? -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 5:59 PM To: Terry Gerdes Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size Clearly going forward, a larger display (among other form related features) will be considered in future designs. The existing SDR display is already too large when running with a contesting or logging program. A resizable screen would be the preferred solution. 73 Terry - AB5K An alternate solution might be to park the console display into the tray (so it is more than merely minimized). I don't know what, if any, functional enhancements would be needed to make that realistic, but if the CAT command set is complete enough, this might be enough and so would allow the display size to not be constrained by contesting -- or even MixW RTTY ragchewing. Larry WO0Z ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning
Hello Christoph, your observations of the leds seem to be ok I think. But where do you connect your SWR-meter ? The only way to check the correct function of the installed ATU is to observe the reflected power on the power-sdr multimeter. Set the TRX to a frequency on which you know that your antenna has bad swr. Switch transceiver to cw-mode and read reflected power while ATU is off(before high-swr-warning appears). Then start full tuning and key transceiver in cw again. The reflected power should be much lower than before. Simple Built-in antenna Tuners only show 50Ohms on the PA-side but mostly not on the coax-cable (antenna output).The only job of these ATU's is to show the pa the correct output impedance and allow the pa to give full output. There is nearly no change in swr on an external swr-meter. Martin DL5YEJ
Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning
Sorry, I forgot as precaution: set output power to low value (eg. 10W) before transmitting in high-swr antennas Best regards Martin - Original Message - From: Christoph - HB9AJP [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Wallace Watson [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 10:25 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning Hello Wally, when hiting TUN the carrier gets on (10W), then comes the red led and after abt 1s the red goes off. After a fraction of a second the red geos on again while the relays start clicking. After abt 1s the green led starts to flicker. Then the relays stop clicking and at the same time the red gets off and the green stays on permanently. Then the carrier gets off and after a fraction of a second the green led gets off. During the whole time the VSWR stays unchanged (e.g. 1:3) and the power meter moves a little bit. So I guess the behaviour of the tuning cycle seems to be ok but still it does not tune. (I also located and checked the jp1 jumper pads: the resistance reads infinity). Any suggestions? 73 Chris, HB9AJP Wallace Watson schrieb: Greetings Christoph, I also experienced the problem you have described when I obtained my SDR-ATU and installed it in the SDR-1000 in May 2005. My version of the ATU did not contain the red and green LED's which indicate the status of the ATU. After several exchanges with Gerald Youngblood, he advised that several of the early ATU Z-100's obtained from LDG were assembled without the addition of these LED's. This I corrected by obtaining the LED's from Gerald at Flex-Radio and installing them on my ATU unit. In order for the ATU to function correctly, you must be using PowerSDR verion 1.4.5 Beta 6 or later due to a software bug discovered in the earlier versions of software. What indication on the RED and GREEN LED's are you observing when you tune the SDR? The problem that I eventually discovered was a solder bridge short on the bottom of the 100W Amp board at the point of the ATU jumper pads. I read a .2 ohm short with the jumper cut and should have read infinity on my digital ohmmeter. I discussed this discovery with Gerald from Flex-Radio and we concluded that a short must exist, Gerald advised the procedure for removing the 100W amp from the SDR case and removal of the printed circuit board from the Amps heat-sink. Upon performing this disassembly I found a blob of solder bridging the jumper pads on the bottom of the 100W Amp circuit board. I removed the solder bridge and reassembled the AMP circuit board with the heat-sink and remounted the Amp in the SDR radio cabinet. The ATU then performed flawlessly when tested subsequent to this troubleshooting and correction. I am presently on Holiday at my future retirement home in Florida until after Christmas, after which my spouse and I return to the U.K. and resume work. Advise if I can be of additional assistance in troubleshooting your ATU unit? 73's, Wally - M0ZAZ. At 09:12 PM 12/4/2005 +0100, you wrote: My ATU is not working properly: I hear the relays but when finished, there was no tuning. Is there a way to test the ATU manually or is there a toubleshooting procedure? I am using the sdr-100O with 100W and ATU installed, purchased in September 05, Delta44, v1.4.5 Beta7. Actually it never worked until now, was not sure from the readings if I still should wait for updates(?). Chris, HB9AJP ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz _ Wallace A. Watson - [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning
Hi Chris, Where are you measuring the SWR? If it is external to the SDR1000, I don't believe you will see a change. The SWR should change at the 100W amp output. The only way to check this is to read the FWD and REV power readings on the PowerSDR console and do a SWR calculation. When the ATU is installed, PowerSDR does not provide an SWR reading. It seems that it could do the calculation, but a SWR output meter reading is not provided. 73, Bill NJ1H -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Christoph - HB9AJP Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:26 PM To: Wallace Watson; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning Hello Wally, when hiting TUN the carrier gets on (10W), then comes the red led and after abt 1s the red goes off. After a fraction of a second the red geos on again while the relays start clicking. After abt 1s the green led starts to flicker. Then the relays stop clicking and at the same time the red gets off and the green stays on permanently. Then the carrier gets off and after a fraction of a second the green led gets off. During the whole time the VSWR stays unchanged (e.g. 1:3) and the power meter moves a little bit. So I guess the behaviour of the tuning cycle seems to be ok but still it does not tune. (I also located and checked the jp1 jumper pads: the resistance reads infinity). Any suggestions? 73 Chris, HB9AJP Wallace Watson schrieb: Greetings Christoph, I also experienced the problem you have described when I obtained my SDR-ATU and installed it in the SDR-1000 in May 2005. My version of the ATU did not contain the red and green LED's which indicate the status of the ATU. After several exchanges with Gerald Youngblood, he advised that several of the early ATU Z-100's obtained from LDG were assembled without the addition of these LED's. This I corrected by obtaining the LED's from Gerald at Flex-Radio and installing them on my ATU unit. In order for the ATU to function correctly, you must be using PowerSDR verion 1.4.5 Beta 6 or later due to a software bug discovered in the earlier versions of software. What indication on the RED and GREEN LED's are you observing when you tune the SDR? The problem that I eventually discovered was a solder bridge short on the bottom of the 100W Amp board at the point of the ATU jumper pads. I read a .2 ohm short with the jumper cut and should have read infinity on my digital ohmmeter. I discussed this discovery with Gerald from Flex-Radio and we concluded that a short must exist, Gerald advised the procedure for removing the 100W amp from the SDR case and removal of the printed circuit board from the Amps heat-sink. Upon performing this disassembly I found a blob of solder bridging the jumper pads on the bottom of the 100W Amp circuit board. I removed the solder bridge and reassembled the AMP circuit board with the heat-sink and remounted the Amp in the SDR radio cabinet. The ATU then performed flawlessly when tested subsequent to this troubleshooting and correction. I am presently on Holiday at my future retirement home in Florida until after Christmas, after which my spouse and I return to the U.K. and resume work. Advise if I can be of additional assistance in troubleshooting your ATU unit? 73's, Wally - M0ZAZ. At 09:12 PM 12/4/2005 +0100, you wrote: My ATU is not working properly: I hear the relays but when finished, there was no tuning. Is there a way to test the ATU manually or is there a toubleshooting procedure? I am using the sdr-100O with 100W and ATU installed, purchased in September 05, Delta44, v1.4.5 Beta7. Actually it never worked until now, was not sure from the readings if I still should wait for updates(?). Chris, HB9AJP ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz _ Wallace A. Watson - [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Whatever you do, please don't assume we can dedicate the machine to the SDR console. We already aren't. Why not? Just to play Devil's advocate, let's assume you were using a traditional radio with a front panel, knobs and controls. It has a PC interface, and you run your MixW, logger, DX spotter, whatever on the PC. Life is good. You add the SDR-1000 to the mix, the PC display is crowded. But what if you tried to add the logger, MixW etc. onto your old radio's front panel and not use the PC display? Make the radio display all the PC screen information? It wouldn't fit! Even if the radio is an FTdx9000 or IC-7800. The problem is that the PC is now a *part* of the radio, and the SDR-1000 is *part* the radio. Many people think of the SDR-1000 as being the radio; it's not. It's only half of the radio. To be fair, you should be using a *dedicated* PC for the SDR-1000. Most folks don't, and leverage an existing PC into being the radio as well as the PC. Or buy a new PC for the SDR-1000 and leverage it into being their shack computer as well. Something has to give. Modifying the SDR-1000 occupied screen real estate is a possible solution, but I bet there are as many opinions as to what should be kept and what shouldn't, as there are SDR-1000 owners. However, many PCs have video cards with two display connectors, or can accept such a video card. You can easily and inexpensively double your effective screen pixel count. I put two screens on my desktop PC because I needed the pixels. I had to replace the existing video card with a new one for $39 so it would accommodate two screens. I added a pair of 1600x1200 LCD displays, only because I could not find 1920x1200 displays for less than several hundred dollars each. If you use a desktop PC, you can add a second, usable LCD display for under $200 these days. If a laptop, most in the last few years have allowed the use of an external display that extends the desktop over both displays, so you can have the extra pixels work for you. It's no longer either/or. My next desktop PC (I keep telling myself) will have two physical video cards that can each drive two physical monitors, and I'll end up with four active displays. And wish I had more... Enjoy! Lyle KK7P
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
I will come with my 2c. I am seriously interested in contest operation mostly. I do not see how to operate the radio-SDR and contesting in same computer. You want to tune the radio write calls, key etc. and believe me there is no time to take care about switching active windows ! As I do believe the V31 operation of some gyus did show this nicely. So as for today situation i.e. tunig is done by USB device (again I can hardly imagine to use mouse only it is for playing around - serious operation is not possible that way) emulating keyboard - so to tune you MUST have SDR win active, to operate you MUST have logger window active. So forget one computer - you need to have TWO. OK - I can imagine some of you smart guys here will write dedicated driver for some of the USB gadgets or desing special one i.e. connect some optocoupler directly to a port and we might tune without SDR WIN active but until. Two monitors or even three with MATROX G750 are no solution. It is not money it simply does not work out to be usable for contesting or DX-pedition work - of course for casual operation or DX work it is fine - one computer+2monitors will do nicely. 73 ! Jiri OK1RI On Tue, 6 Dec 2005, Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio wrote: This is essentially equivalent to just minimizing the current console. The only difference would be that the program would be in the tray rather than the program list. I'm confident that when we release the new console, many, perhaps even most users will be happy with it. Those that are not happy will at that point have much better leverage to create your own flavor of the console. So if you are not the coding type, make friends with a programming ham or two and start buttering them up. ;) Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:59 PM To: Terry Gerdes Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size An alternate solution might be to park the console display into the tray --snip-- Larry WO0Z ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Personally I like, and am considering the idea of having a dedicated PC for the SDR. But then how do you get it to talk to the other computer for telnet clusters...logging programs...digital programs...etc. Using the network card? Would need setup tab for that on the console? Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Philip Covington Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:01 PM To: Lyle Johnson Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size On 12/6/05, Lyle Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Whatever you do, please don't assume we can dedicate the machine to the SDR console. We already aren't. Why not? Just to play Devil's advocate, let's assume you were using a traditional radio with a front panel, knobs and controls. It has a PC interface, and you run your MixW, logger, DX spotter, whatever on the PC. Life is good. You add the SDR-1000 to the mix, the PC display is crowded. But what if you tried to add the logger, MixW etc. onto your old radio's front panel and not use the PC display? Make the radio display all the PC screen information? It wouldn't fit! Even if the radio is an FTdx9000 or IC-7800. The problem is that the PC is now a *part* of the radio, and the SDR-1000 is *part* the radio. Many people think of the SDR-1000 as being the radio; it's not. It's only half of the radio. To be fair, you should be using a *dedicated* PC for the SDR-1000. Most folks don't, and leverage an existing PC into being the radio as well as the PC. Or buy a new PC for the SDR-1000 and leverage it into being their shack computer as well. Something has to give. Modifying the SDR-1000 occupied screen real estate is a possible solution, but I bet there are as many opinions as to what should be kept and what shouldn't, as there are SDR-1000 owners. However, many PCs have video cards with two display connectors, or can accept such a video card. You can easily and inexpensively double your effective screen pixel count. I put two screens on my desktop PC because I needed the pixels. I had to replace the existing video card with a new one for $39 so it would accommodate two screens. I added a pair of 1600x1200 LCD displays, only because I could not find 1920x1200 displays for less than several hundred dollars each. If you use a desktop PC, you can add a second, usable LCD display for under $200 these days. If a laptop, most in the last few years have allowed the use of an external display that extends the desktop over both displays, so you can have the extra pixels work for you. It's no longer either/or. My next desktop PC (I keep telling myself) will have two physical video cards that can each drive two physical monitors, and I'll end up with four active displays. And wish I had more... Enjoy! Lyle KK7P My thoughts exactly, when reading this! With people shelling out the bux for a SDR-1000 w/ antenna tuner, 100 watt amp, transverters, $150 D44 sound card, 12 Volt power supply, etc... there should not be any squealing about purchasing an extra LCD monitor and video card for under $300. Imagine the Panadapter display when you can take advantage of ALL of a 1280x1024 (or larger) display... Phil N8VB ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning
If you run Ham Radio Delux I believe it calculates the SWR and displays it on the screen in the upper left corner. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of William Bordy Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:16 PM To: 'Christoph - HB9AJP'; 'Wallace Watson'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning Hi Chris, Where are you measuring the SWR? If it is external to the SDR1000, I don't believe you will see a change. The SWR should change at the 100W amp output. The only way to check this is to read the FWD and REV power readings on the PowerSDR console and do a SWR calculation. When the ATU is installed, PowerSDR does not provide an SWR reading. It seems that it could do the calculation, but a SWR output meter reading is not provided. 73, Bill NJ1H -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Christoph - HB9AJP Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:26 PM To: Wallace Watson; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning Hello Wally, when hiting TUN the carrier gets on (10W), then comes the red led and after abt 1s the red goes off. After a fraction of a second the red geos on again while the relays start clicking. After abt 1s the green led starts to flicker. Then the relays stop clicking and at the same time the red gets off and the green stays on permanently. Then the carrier gets off and after a fraction of a second the green led gets off. During the whole time the VSWR stays unchanged (e.g. 1:3) and the power meter moves a little bit. So I guess the behaviour of the tuning cycle seems to be ok but still it does not tune. (I also located and checked the jp1 jumper pads: the resistance reads infinity). Any suggestions? 73 Chris, HB9AJP Wallace Watson schrieb: Greetings Christoph, I also experienced the problem you have described when I obtained my SDR-ATU and installed it in the SDR-1000 in May 2005. My version of the ATU did not contain the red and green LED's which indicate the status of the ATU. After several exchanges with Gerald Youngblood, he advised that several of the early ATU Z-100's obtained from LDG were assembled without the addition of these LED's. This I corrected by obtaining the LED's from Gerald at Flex-Radio and installing them on my ATU unit. In order for the ATU to function correctly, you must be using PowerSDR verion 1.4.5 Beta 6 or later due to a software bug discovered in the earlier versions of software. What indication on the RED and GREEN LED's are you observing when you tune the SDR? The problem that I eventually discovered was a solder bridge short on the bottom of the 100W Amp board at the point of the ATU jumper pads. I read a .2 ohm short with the jumper cut and should have read infinity on my digital ohmmeter. I discussed this discovery with Gerald from Flex-Radio and we concluded that a short must exist, Gerald advised the procedure for removing the 100W amp from the SDR case and removal of the printed circuit board from the Amps heat-sink. Upon performing this disassembly I found a blob of solder bridging the jumper pads on the bottom of the 100W Amp circuit board. I removed the solder bridge and reassembled the AMP circuit board with the heat-sink and remounted the Amp in the SDR radio cabinet. The ATU then performed flawlessly when tested subsequent to this troubleshooting and correction. I am presently on Holiday at my future retirement home in Florida until after Christmas, after which my spouse and I return to the U.K. and resume work. Advise if I can be of additional assistance in troubleshooting your ATU unit? 73's, Wally - M0ZAZ. At 09:12 PM 12/4/2005 +0100, you wrote: My ATU is not working properly: I hear the relays but when finished, there was no tuning. Is there a way to test the ATU manually or is there a toubleshooting procedure? I am using the sdr-100O with 100W and ATU installed, purchased in September 05, Delta44, v1.4.5 Beta7. Actually it never worked until now, was not sure from the readings if I still should wait for updates(?). Chris, HB9AJP ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz _ Wallace A. Watson - [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
This is not true for all modes and systems. For CW, it seems 512 across the board works best for me. That is why I recommended savable user profiles. This was just before the TX profiles became available on the transmit tab. But an even better solution would be to have selectable buttons along the top menu bar. These can be named according to user preference and should save ALL parameters of the radio, not just tx. So if I want to work CW, I can click on the CW profile and make whatever changes I want and apply them. There could also be an option button to apply them based upon mode button selection. Just a thought, but seems to make sense to me. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:35 PM To: 'Jeff Anderson'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration It depends on the system, but a good set of general defaults are: Audio: 2048 DSP: 1024 Delta 44 DMA: 512 These can be adjusted downward depending on system speed and latency/filter requirements. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Jeff Anderson Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:29 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Just in case things should ever get screwed up in the computer here - what should be the default/recommended settings of the various buffers? Thanks! - Jeff, WA6AHL -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:14 PM To: 'Tim Ellison'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration I have witnessed this myself, and yet could not reproduce it or tie it to any other single application. If you find out what did it, please let us know. Another key setting to check is the DMA Buffer Size on that same tab. This was set to 2048 at the same time the output got changed in my experience. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: Tim Ellison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration And I again lay prostrate to the Master. :-) This explains several things I have observed recently. I had originally used the quick start guide for the initial setup. I had not changed anything in the D44 control panel, but lo and behold the settings had changed. I'm not sure what application I ran that did it, but I now know what to look for. Thanks Eric. -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:12 PM To: Tim Ellison; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Yes. The larger values indicate that something is seriously wrong. It sounds like the soundcard is setup for +4 dBU output (instead of -10dBv). Look at the Delta 44 Control Panel on the Hardware Settings Tab. This needs to look just like the pictures shown in the Delta 44 Quick Start guide seen here: www.flex-radio.com/delta44/delta44.htm. Eric -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:00 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Greg Already been suggested Coming Yep. Internet connectivity is definitely a part of SDR, as is a lot of ham radio these days! January 1st is a NEW BUDGET YEAR! (smile) Eric From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of ab7r Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 7:52 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'Dave Nancy Ridge'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size I just had a good idea I think. May be the last one of the year though...hihi. Ready E? For use with contesting and logging programs to ease up on the screen clutter.how about making the panadapter (or whatever mode chosen) detachable from the rest of the console. When in Search and pounce, I mainly used that for tuning and go back and forth between that and the logger. So make your settings and detach the display and minimize the rest of the console. Maybe the same for the meters too. This would be great! IMHO. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 11:23 AM To: 'Dave Nancy Ridge'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size I can speak to the second question. The PowerSDR console was designed so that the whole console could be seen when running in an 800x600 resolution. This was mainly to help those with vision impairments, but this was also the standard until only a year or two ago. Today, 1024x768 is more of the standard, and even that is becoming small for many users today. We have tried playing with the console to make it resizable, but initial testing proved that the built in .NET features for resizing a control were somewhat lacking. The work involved in getting a single control to look correct at various resolution/size/DPI was astounding. For this reason, we have left the PowerSDR at the locked original size. Clearly going forward, a larger display (among other form related features) will be considered in future designs. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Dave Nancy Ridge Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 12:49 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size The present Noise Blanker works great. I had read many weeks ago that Alex had a killer noise blanker in the Rocky software. My question is, will it be added to the PowerSDR softwaresometime in the future? Also, this may have been asked and answered sometime in the past but, why is the PowerSDR console size not able to be madefull screen size? Again thanks for a great radio. It just keeps getting better! Dave, W9DR, Punta Gorda, Florida
[Flexradio] Xylo News -
Folks Have lost track of the Xylo group who have purchased or are planning to purchase a Xylo for development. Lots going on in the background, proposed chips, proposed project boards to extend from the Xylo, Verilog code and many other FPGA4 Fun things. If you ARE NOT on the CC-List above and want to hear the plans Please E-mail me at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To get on the list, this IS fun! I did hear that the source of boards is out of stock till February!!! Eric2
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Jiri Sanda wrote: I will come with my 2c. I am seriously interested in contest operation mostly. I do not see how to operate the radio-SDR and contesting in same computer. Well, we did it in Belize and it worked just fine. In fact, I would argue better since there was only one keyboard to worry about. You want to tune the radio write calls, key etc. and believe me there is no time to take care about switching active windows ! Which is why the PowerSDR console needs to be in the tray. If the CAT command set is up to snuff, why do we need the console showing at all? The panadapter is very handy for getting mults, but when running, it isn't all that important. If I was doing a RTTY contest (which I haven't) it would be interesting to see if (say) the MixW waterfall was sufficient. If it was, would mean the SDR console sits in the tray pretty much the whole RTTY contest, at least, since the Panadapter function would be duplicated. As I do believe the V31 operation of some gyus did show this nicely. So as for today situation i.e. tunig is done by USB device (again I can hardly imagine to use mouse only it is for playing around - serious operation is not possible that way) emulating keyboard - so to tune you MUST have SDR win active, to operate you MUST have logger window active. So forget one computer - you need to have TWO. We did not have the USB tuning devices deployed. Turns out, simply clicking on the panadapter was all the tuning we required. (Clearly, my minimize to the tray mode is for running only). Having lived without it in a shack with limited space, I don't think I'd want to contest with the USB stuff. Less stuff is less complexity. We had too many wires as it was. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
ab7r wrote: This is not true for all modes and systems. For CW, it seems 512 across the board works best for me. That is why I recommended savable user profiles. This was just before the TX profiles became available on the transmit tab. But an even better solution would be to have selectable buttons along the top menu bar. These can be named according to user preference and should save ALL parameters of the radio, not just tx. So if I want to work CW, I can click on the CW profile and make whatever changes I want and apply them. There could also be an option button to apply them based upon mode button selection. Just a thought, but seems to make sense to me. Greg AB7R I've thought of this one, too. I think it is a great idea. That way, not only can you have your own thing you could have multiple personalities that you could load for your different operating modes. I'd have one profile for CW DXing with the amplifer, without the amplifier, and for RTTY. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
ab7r wrote: I just had a good idea I think. May be the last one of the year though...hihi. Ready E? For use with contesting and logging programs to ease up on the screen clutter.how about making the panadapter (or whatever mode chosen) detachable from the rest of the console. When in Search and pounce, I mainly used that for tuning and go back and forth between that and the logger. So make your settings and detach the display and minimize the rest of the console. Maybe the same for the meters too. This would be great! IMHO. Greg AB7R That would be another good way to manage this stuff. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Lyle Johnson wrote: ...Even with traditional radios these days, the PC is an integral part of operating. Not critical as it is with a SDR, but still a very important part. With the SDR-1000, the PC is part of the *radio* and not just a station convenience accessory, and one must take that into account when measuring the impact on computer resources (ports, CPU, memory, display real estate, ...). I can operate with no computer in the shack with my traditional radio. I can't operate my SDR-1000 without a PC, because most of the radio *is* the PC (which is different than saying that the radio consumes most of the PC)! I think this is the fundamental discussion. Is the PC the radio (and, implicitly, consumed by that function) or is it a PC controling a peripheral that happens, in this instance, to *be* a radio among the other tasks I'm asking of it. I've always thought of it as the latter. If you think of it that way, you're much, much less interested in a dedicated machine. Larry WO0Z
