Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
guys do you need full control of SDR-1000 without look the screen ? simplelook this: http://www.cqdx.it/sdr1000/sdr1000box.html it work via the serial port and CAT The PIC Control Panel KIT only will be available soon. 73 Beppe IK3VIG
Re: [Flexradio] Suddenly, the radio doesn't tune
On 12/7/05, Philip M. Lanese [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: LarryYour PC probably did an 'automatic' download of one of Wiley Gates' fixes forthe last 'fix' that was supposed to 'fix' the last ..to fix a securityproblem in Win xx. I very much doubt it. It is easy to blame everything on MS and Windows instead of trying to really find out what happened (which sounds like a hardware issue). In all the time that I have used NT/2K/XP I have never has to reload the system and a security fix from MS has never disrupted my machine. Did that two weeks ago and the PC and SDR1000 have been off the air since. Linux -- the salvation of INTELLIGENT mankind.Nonsense... Linux is an Operating System... Only a handful of people are running the SDR-1000 in Linux. Many of the SDR-1000 users will not have any idea how to set up the Linux stuff with all the configuration and dependency nightmares. You talk about support issues... At least the Windows PowerSDR pretty much installs and just runs. Phil, K3IB
Re: [Flexradio] Suddenly, the radio doesn't tune
Larry et all, I was talking to Dave W9AD this morning and he started telling me the exact same story with his SDR1K. All he did was turn the radio off (PS also) and powered it back on and all was OK. He did not reseat any of the plugs. Dave is running preview 7 also. The SDR1K he was using was received from Flex about 6 or 8 weeks ago. --Larry W8ER - Original Message - From: Larry Loen [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 8:45 AM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Suddenly, the radio doesn't tune I can't figure my radio out this morning. It is off at least 6 KHz and I'm not sure that's the whole story. Radio worked fine (wonderfully, in fact) last night. This morning, I decided to get on and see what is going on. Couldn't find the DX as spotted. Worse, found many stations happily transmitting, according to my radio, out of band. Can't find WWV on any band, even tuning around. That's a first. AM broadcast seems fairly consistently 6 KHz too low. Phase displays look more-or-less normal (I don't look at these often, but when on a strong AM station, they appear balanced). Calibrate apparently isn't up for a gap this big, so that fix seems out. This seems to be the same whether I use 1.4.1 or Preview 7. Suggestions? Larry WO0Z ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] Connection of 2KL amp and sdr
To all Since I haven't received any answers to my previous reflector perhaps I should rephrase my question. Has anyone sucessfully coupled the SDR 1000 with a Icom amplifier such as a 2KL or PW-1? Bob K1OC - Original Message - From: Robert Rennick To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:40 PM Subject: Connection of 2KL amp and sdr To all I read here someone hooked up a 2KL amp and the SDR. Unfortunitely I deleted this reflector. Anyone remember the sender? Bob K1OC
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
As Eric says, this is system dependent, but I'll share what I have gotten to work for me. Use at your own risk. If we get the forums going again, a forum for system setup configurations would be nice and convenient. I primarily work SSB and digital modes. No CW. I have VAC working very well with MixW, Digipan CWget without any of the audio popping I was experiencing on TX. I still get multiple BSoDs daily from the VAC system driver when switching VAC in and out from the PowerSDR console. All correspondences to date to the VAC author have not resulted in a reply. I guess I'll have to write up the problem in Russian. Hardware: SDR1K w/ 100 watt PA Delta 44 w/ Eric2's filtered breakout box replacement PC Homebrew using Asus mobo with AMD Athlon 64 dual-core 4400+ wit 1 GB Ram. Hardware RAID 1 SATA hard drives (2) Delta 44 s/c O/S Configuration: Windows Server 2003 Standard (w/ all the patches) Sound Playback Default device: Virtual Cable 1 Out Sound Recording Default device: Virtual Cable 2 In Using 64-bit beta Delta 44 driver 5.10.00.0051 VAC configuration: 2 VAC cables - Mode async, 20 ms per interrupt, sample rate 24000 Delta 44 Control Panel configuration: DMA Buffer size: 2048 Signal levels set as recommended PowerSDR: Audio-Soundcard-Buffer Size: 2048 Audio-Soundcard-Sound Card Selection: Delta44 (using defaults) Audio-VAC-Buffer Size: 2048 Audio-VAC-Sample Rate: 24000 Audio-VAC-Virtual Audio Cable Setup-Driver: MME Audio-VAC-Virtual Audio Cable Setup-Input: Virtual Cable 1 In Audio-VAC-Virtual Audio Cable Setup-Output: Virtual Cable 2 Out -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 5:35 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
[Flexradio] ALC less sensitive in v1.4.5 previews 67?
Hi all, I have noticed that the ALC Tx meter is (much) less sensitive in previews 6 and 7. Eg, with the ALC meter barely budging, the output power (as measured externally and by the Peak Power Tx meter) peaks at around 100W when transmitting into a dummy load. Comparing this to earlier software versions, ALC more or less peaks at 0dB for the same output power. If I increase the mic gain in previews 67 such that the ALC peaks at 0dB, the Peak Power Tx meter peaks at 220W and my external meter shows peaks of 150W or so. I rechecked the manual (updated to v1.4.4, given that v1.4.5 is beta) and it advises that the ALC should peak at 0dB. My question is specifically then has something changed in the design (and philosophy) behind the ALC reading, such that it should now indeed barely budge, that I missed or forgot about? I can't check the release notes as the forum is gone :-( The above tests were done with the Tx equalizer, leveler, noise gate, vox, compander compressor (this is becoming an impressive list!!) all off. The buffer for audio is 512 and DSP is 2048. VAC is disabled. I am using a Heil pro-set plus with the microphone (HC5 element) directly connected to input 3 of the Delta-44. Thanks, 73 de Joe - AB1DO Configuration:Dell Dimension 3000 /w 3GHz P4 + 1GB RAM + XPHomeSP2SDR-1000 + RFE + 100W PA + USB AdapterDelta-44 + Break-out kit
Re: [Flexradio] Suddenly, the radio doesn't tune
Larry W8ER escribió: Larry et all, I was talking to Dave W9AD this morning and he started telling me the exact same story with his SDR1K. All he did was turn the radio off (PS also) and powered it back on and all was OK. He did not reseat any of the plugs. Dave is running preview 7 also. The SDR1K he was using was received from Flex about 6 or 8 weeks ago. --Larry W8ER - Original Message - Interesting. Keep in mind that once this behavior started (I used Preview 7 first), it also kept happening with 1.4.1. This suggests some sort of unplanned hardware state which, once achieved, requires some sort of reset to dispense with. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] [Fwd: Re: no constant Output]
Wallace Watson wrote: David, Make absolutely sure that you have connected the SDR cabling to the Delta 44 sound card as advised in the Delta 44 Quick Start Guide available from the www.flex-radio.com/Download http://www.flex-radio.com/Download website page. The bulk of that information is included below: Cabling Diagram Note that the microphone can be connected either through the SDR-1000 enclosure (Mic to 4-pin connector on the front and the 1/8 stereo connector in the back going to the sound card Mic In) as shown /-OR-/ it can be wired straight to the Delta 44 Input 3/4. A 1/8 stereo coupler will be necessary to connect the speakers to Out 1/2 unless the speakers have a female 1/8 receptacle for the input. The same is true for connecting a PC microphone rather than using the front panel connector. Note that with the Delta 44, there should be not be a wire going to the plug marked SPKR on the back of the enclosure. For digital mode support see the following link for a modified diagram: Digital Mode Diagram. http://flex-radio.com/delta44/cable_diagram.jpg If using the digital setup, care should be taken to setup the second sound card mixer correctly. Make sure that the Line In Mute on the Playback mixer is muted. Here is a functional description of each input and output from the Delta 44 break out box: *Out 1 2:* -10dBV nominal stereo speaker/headphone output. This will normally be connected directly to either powered speakers or headphones. It will work also with un powered speakers but don't expect -10dBV to blow the doors off. We use headphones on this output with no problem. Windows sounds will play through this output if you have the Delta 44 set as the default sound card in the Windows Control Panel. You will need either a stereo coupler (barrel) or Y connector for this connection. *Out 3 4:* This is -10dBV I and Q modulated audio going to the transmitter, which must be connected to the jack on the radio marked, To Line Out. Failure to seat this connector properly will cause transmission of double sideband signals. Note that the speaker jack on the back of the radio is in parallel with the transmitter I Q signals through a mute relay. This SPKR jack on the radio is ONLY to be used for consumer audio cards that do not have the number of outputs supplied by the Delta 44. It should NOT be used with the Delta 44. *In 1 2:* This is +4dBU level I and Q from the down converted baseband receiver audio. This cable must be connected to the jack marked, To Line In. Failure to fully seat this connector will cause loss of image rejection on the receiver. *In 3 4:* This is the -10dBV nominal microphone/digital mode input port. For normal operation it should be connected to the jack on the back of the radio which is just ABOVE the words, To Mic In. The jack is a DIRECT connection to the front panel 4-pin microphone connector. The wiring table can be seen in the Operating Manual in Chapter 3: Pinouts. We have used this with a Heil Pro series microphone with success. If preferred, you can connect the microphone directly to In 3 4, bypassing the front panel connector. Additionally, I experienced a problem with extreme power fluctuations after performing the ECO-027 - PA Bias modification. Apparently I was not careful enough when making the calibration for setting the bias on the two drivers to within 1ma of each other and when operating the SDR radio in tune I was getting a several watt fluctuation. Then upon operating in SSB I was seeing a wildly fluctuating power output difference on an external wattmeter when the wattmeter was switched between PEP power and the AVERAGE power settings on the wattmeter. I recognized this as abnormal operation, and proformed the ECO-027 PA Bias calibration a second time. When completed with the calibration, normal operation of the SDR radio was restored. Hope the above is of some help to you, and if not I would refer you to communicating with Gerald and Eric at Flex-Radio for additional troubleshooting suggestions. Regards, Wally - M0ZAZ. Hi Wally tnx for the infos. I checked all the points witout success. I'll send a mail to Eric. BTW one question: when I disable the pa and tune with 1 watt, the console outputmeter shows 0. Is this normal? David, HB9RVS
Re: [Flexradio] Connection of 2KL amp and sdr
There are archives: http://mail.flex-radio.biz/pipermail/flexradio_flex-radio.biz/2005-November/003699.html And to help you find stuff in archives (or anywhere), there's Google: http://www.google.com/search?q=Flexradio+2KL 73, Sami OH2BFO On 12/7/05, Robert Rennick [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: To all Since I haven't received any answers to my previous reflector perhaps I should rephrase my question. Has anyone sucessfully coupled the SDR 1000 with a Icom amplifier such as a 2KL or PW-1? Bob K1OC - Original Message - From: Robert Rennick To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:40 PM Subject: Connection of 2KL amp and sdr To all I read here someone hooked up a 2KL amp and the SDR. Unfortunitely I deleted this reflector. Anyone remember the sender? Bob K1OC ___ 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
We have something like this in mind for the new architecture. The point is to separate the various components of the radio so they can be used in whatever format the customer would like. Clearly we have to realize this abstract approach in the official console. However, I would expect to see many more flavors of consoles once we adopt a more friendly architecture. Hence the current efforts. J Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: ab7r [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 6:52 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
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
This is why I stated general defaults. These settings will work for nearly all systems. Optimal settings will vary per system/soundcard. ;) As with most systems, to get the most out of the PowerSDR software, you will need to crack open the manual and learn what a few of the controls do. Specifically, check out the buffer size controls. The advantages of higher/lower settings are detailed. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: ab7r [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 6:43 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'Jeff Anderson'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: 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
Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning
We provided an SWR reading initially, but the values were all over the map. This turned out to be because we could not simultaneously read the forward and reverse power. An SWR reading could be formulated with some kind of averaging of the two values, but using immediate values that fluctuate and cannot be synchronized was not a good solution. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of William Bordy Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 5:16 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
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
This is possible given that we have the source for the ShuttlePro driver (or at least an API that it talks to). However, no one has taken that and built what you are suggesting yet (to my knowledge). Using the default software, I have not found a way to make this work. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Lee A Crocker Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 12:12 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size Is it possible to set up the USB controller such as the shuttle pro so that it is exclusively active with the SDR software regardless of what window is the active focus? The controller being active in the background would give a lot of control and then you could decrease what is displayed. 73 W9OY ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] Suddenly, the radio doesn't tune
Ignacio Cembreros wrote: Larry W8ER escribi: Larry et all, I was talking to Dave W9AD this morning and he started telling me the exact same story with his SDR1K. All he did was turn the radio off (PS also) and powered it back on and all was OK. He did not reseat any of the plugs. Dave is running preview 7 also. The SDR1K he was using was received from Flex about 6 or 8 weeks ago. --Larry W8ER - Original Message - From: "Larry Loen" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 8:45 AM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Suddenly, the radio doesn't tune I can't figure my radio out this morning. It is off at least 6 KHz and I'm not sure that's the whole story. Radio worked fine (wonderfully, in fact) last night. This morning, I decided to get on and see what is going on. Couldn't find the DX as spotted. Worse, found many stations happily transmitting, according to my radio, out of band. Can't find WWV on any band, even tuning around. That's a first. AM broadcast seems fairly consistently 6 KHz too low. Phase displays look more-or-less normal (I don't look at these often, but when on a strong AM station, they appear balanced). Calibrate apparently isn't up for a gap this big, so that fix seems out. This seems to be the same whether I use 1.4.1 or Preview 7. Suggestions? Larry WO0Z ___ 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 Hi Larry et all. I have currently the same symptoms on my SDR1000, althoug the shift is not the same. About 50% of the time, when powering up the radio the tunning appears shifted by fixed amount proportional to the intended frequency. Now I just start the program tuned to a BC station and cycle power several times (with the program running) until the signal appears in the right place. The cause has been traced with Geralds help to a faulty reference oscillator which likes to start in a frequency slighly offset from 200 MHz.. I just ordered a replacement unit. I hope this is not the problem with your set. 73 de Ignacio, EB4APL ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Larry, My offset is exactly 2065 Hz when tunning a 585 KHz broadcast. It seems the oscillator starts ramdomly at 199.2885 MHz instead of 2000.0 MHz. If the problem appears again, you can check if your offset is constant or frequency dependent. 73 de Ignacio, EB4APL
Re: [Flexradio] Connection of 2KL amp and sdr
Not exactly answering your question, but in the same or higher classI am successfully using an ACOM 2000A amplifier with the SDR1000 and have never received a fault from the ACOM. Mel, K0PFX -Original Message- From: Robert Rennick [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 10:31 AM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Connection of 2KL amp and sdr To all Since I haven't received any answers to my previous reflector perhaps I should rephrase my question. Has anyone sucessfully coupled the SDR 1000 with a Icom amplifier such as a 2KL or PW-1? Bob K1OC - Original Message - From: Robert Rennick To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:40 PM Subject: Connection of 2KL amp and sdr To all I read here someone hooked up a 2KL amp and the SDR. Unfortunitely I deleted this reflector. Anyone remember the sender? Bob K1OC
Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load
I'm seeing something strange which has me puzzled... If, when on 6 meters, I turn Spur Reduction OFF (and set my Clock Offset to '0'), I see a picket-fence of spurs whose spacing becomes smaller and smaller as I tune until, at 50.011625 MHz, the picket-fence disappears altogether and the spectrum on the panadapter looks spur-free (except for an itsy-bitsy one at -108dB/-8200 Hz). I'm assuming the IF frequency is 11625 Hz, so my tuning frequency at this point would actually correspond to the DDS IC set to exactly 50 MHz, (i.e. an FTW of 0x4000 for the 9854). What's strange is that, if I turn Spur Reduction ON, as I tune around this frequency I *never* see a Spectrum that looks as clean as the one that I see at 50.011625 MHz with Spur Reduction OFF. In other words, it almosts seems that the DDS's FTW is never set to 0x4000, otherwise, I would expect to see a tuning block that's about 3052 Hz wide that has this clean spectrum, but...I never seem to see it. Just wondering if anyone can help explain what I'm seeing (or not seeing). Thanks 73, - Jeff, WA6AHL P.S. Even with spur reduction ON, there are quite a few spurs in this region of 6 meters (ditto on 10). Per my understanding of DDS chips, even though the phase-accumulator is hitting its marks with no phase remainder bits (i.e. only the top 4 nibbles of the 9854's 48-bit word are non-zero), quantization introduced by the phase-to-amplitude converter (e.g. the 12-bit approximation of Sin(0.0054931640625 degrees) ) also creates spurs. Is this amplitude-quantization the source of the spurs that I see around 50.011625 MHz when I tune with Spur Reduction ON (rather than mixing-products or DAC non-linearities)? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Robert McGwier Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 10:23 AM To: Jiri Sanda Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: 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
Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load
N4HY would probably be the a good expert to answer the questions in your PS. Let me clear up a few things from the body. The IF we use is 11,025Hz. However, I'm fairly certain the extra 600Hz can be attributed to being in CW mode where the DDS is tuned CW Pitch amount up or down from the VFO depending on whether you're in CWL or CWU. I would have to put debug in the console to see what the actual tuning words are that are being sent, but I am confident that the spur reduction technique works well. Note that the algorithm requires clearing some low order bits and setting at least one bit. This could be why you don't get exactly 0x4000. I don't remember where we got the description for the spur reduction, but I'm sure either K5SDR or N4HY could help us dig it up for your reference. Now, as stated before, there are multiple kinds of spurs, and you have just found the worst lot of them. This is because tuning to 50MHz on the DDS (VFO = 50.011025 in SSB -- 50.011625 in CWU) is exactly 1/4 the 200MHz oscillator and mixing products result. I'll let the experts explain why this is the case. :) Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Jeff Anderson Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 1:07 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load I'm seeing something strange which has me puzzled... If, when on 6 meters, I turn Spur Reduction OFF (and set my Clock Offset to '0'), I see a picket-fence of spurs whose spacing becomes smaller and smaller as I tune until, at 50.011625 MHz, the picket-fence disappears altogether and the spectrum on the panadapter looks spur-free (except for an itsy-bitsy one at -108dB/-8200 Hz). I'm assuming the IF frequency is 11625 Hz, so my tuning frequency at this point would actually correspond to the DDS IC set to exactly 50 MHz, (i.e. an FTW of 0x4000 for the 9854). What's strange is that, if I turn Spur Reduction ON, as I tune around this frequency I *never* see a Spectrum that looks as clean as the one that I see at 50.011625 MHz with Spur Reduction OFF. In other words, it almosts seems that the DDS's FTW is never set to 0x4000, otherwise, I would expect to see a tuning block that's about 3052 Hz wide that has this clean spectrum, but...I never seem to see it. Just wondering if anyone can help explain what I'm seeing (or not seeing). Thanks 73, - Jeff, WA6AHL P.S. Even with spur reduction ON, there are quite a few spurs in this region of 6 meters (ditto on 10). Per my understanding of DDS chips, even though the phase-accumulator is hitting its marks with no phase remainder bits (i.e. only the top 4 nibbles of the 9854's 48-bit word are non-zero), quantization introduced by the phase-to-amplitude converter (e.g. the 12- bit approximation of Sin(0.0054931640625 degrees) ) also creates spurs. Is this amplitude-quantization the source of the spurs that I see around 50.011625 MHz when I tune with Spur Reduction ON (rather than mixing-products or DAC non-linearities)? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Robert McGwier Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 10:23 AM To: Jiri Sanda Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: 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
Re: [Flexradio] VAC and MMSSTV
Please look carefully at the instructions again. In order to use MMTTY and MMSSTV you must go into the control panel and make VAC cable ONE as the system DEFAULT sound recorder or playback and VAC cable TWO for the other. Then MMSSTV and MMTTY set to device -1 will work. This is a real pain in the backside but it is what we have for now. Bob w2agn wrote: 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.) -- Laziness is the number one inspiration for ingenuity. Guilty as charged!
Re: [Flexradio] Suddenly, the radio doesn't tune
Ignacio Cembreros wrote: [snip] Hi Larry et all. I have currently the same symptoms on my SDR1000, althoug the shift is not the same. About 50% of the time, when powering up the radio the tunning appears shifted by fixed amount proportional to the intended frequency. Now I just start the program tuned to a BC station and cycle power several times (with the program running) until the signal appears in the right place. The cause has been traced with Gerald´s help to a faulty reference oscillator which likes to start in a frequency slighly offset from 200 MHz.. I just ordered a replacement unit. I hope this is not the problem with your set. 73 de Ignacio, EB4APL [snip] Larry, My offset is exactly 2065 Hz when tunning a 585 KHz broadcast.It seems the oscillator starts ramdomly at 199.2885 MHz instead of 2000.0 MHz. If the problem appears again, you can check if your offset is constant or frequency dependent. 73 de Ignacio, EB4APL ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Thanks for the info. I'll keep it in mind. In my case, in the broadcast frequency range, it was about 6KHz less than actual. In the various ranges where WWV lives (at least two of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 should have been audible), the error was unknown, because I never found WWV. I'd guestimate that the error at 40 meters was at least 6 KHz and it might have been even higher at 20 meters, because I found an ordinary US-to-US ragchew at about 14.140 MHz as my rig then had it. When I got it working, I didn't have time to try and find out where those other stations had moved to. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] Connection of 2KL amp and sdr
Bob, Yes, but only without automatic tuning. I use a 2 KL with the SDR1K using the X2-7 key line to key the amp. It works just fine that way if you don't mind turning the bandswitch on the amp. The 2 KL manual has the setup for non Icom radios. I now use an Ameritron AL-1500 manual tuned amp, also without problem. 73, Dale AA5XE Robert Rennick wrote: To all Since I haven't received any answers to my previous reflector perhaps I should rephrase my question. Has anyone sucessfully coupled the SDR 1000 with a Icom amplifier such as a 2KL or PW-1? Bob K1OC - Original Message - From: Robert Rennick To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:40 PM Subject: Connection of 2KL amp and sdr To all I read here someone hooked up a 2KL amp and the SDR. Unfortunitely I deleted this reflector. Anyone remember the sender? Bob K1OC ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] Connection of 2KL amp and sdr
Bob, Yes, but only without automatic tuning. I use a 2 KL with the SDR1K using the X2-7 key line to key the amp. It works just fine that way if you don't mind turning the bandswitch on the amp. The 2 KL manual has the setup for non Icom radios. I now use an Ameritron AL-1500 manual tuned amp, also without problem. 73, Dale AA5XE This is, roughly, how I'm doing the Harris military surplus amp, except for the moment, I don't even have the X2-7 line hooked up (for now, I'm getting by with a manual switch -- the X2-7 part comes later). Someday, this will all be smarter, but that's someday. In the meantime, I've nearly done DXCC on 80 meters and worked scads of new zones on 80 and 40 with this setup. There's something unusual on the Harris -- a motorized bandswitch. I can probably set it up so that it gets used, given the other lines available to program the switch, but the variable mechnical delay when actually switching will be something interesting to behold. The amp itself seems to be proof against total folly -- if I send a signal from the wrong band, it seems to ignore it without harm. But, that's not the same as something where I click on the DXCluster data on MixW2 and start outputting an amplified signal on another band. So, when I get more serious about this, there will be some interesting effects. Larry WO0Z
Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load
Gents: Please bring up the message I put out a couple of days ago. I ended it with the AD9854 has leakage of clock and some modest DAC nonlinearities that cause some spurs. Jeff has discovered the worst of them. 200 MHz (clock)/ 50 MHz (frequency of interest) is 4. The clock leaks on all submulitples of 200 MHz but the ones at 50 MHz are the worst. This is an internal fault of the AD9854 and its worst feature. With a slightly more complex spur reduction routine, that uses both sides of the 1/f hump at zero, we could help considerably and never see these things. You would still see the impact of reciprocal mixing but its impact would be greatly diminished. As I said before, Analog Devices has learned a lot and we are learning along with them. Bob Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio wrote: N4HY would probably be the a good expert to answer the questions in your PS. Let me clear up a few things from the body. The IF we use is 11,025Hz. However, I'm fairly certain the extra 600Hz can be attributed to being in CW mode where the DDS is tuned CW Pitch amount up or down from the VFO depending on whether you're in CWL or CWU. I would have to put debug in the console to see what the actual tuning words are that are being sent, but I am confident that the spur reduction technique works well. Note that the algorithm requires clearing some low order bits and setting at least one bit. This could be why you don't get exactly 0x4000. I don't remember where we got the description for the spur reduction, but I'm sure either K5SDR or N4HY could help us dig it up for your reference. Now, as stated before, there are multiple kinds of spurs, and you have just found the worst lot of them. This is because tuning to 50MHz on the DDS (VFO = 50.011025 in SSB -- 50.011625 in CWU) is exactly 1/4 the 200MHz oscillator and mixing products result. I'll let the experts explain why this is the case. :) Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Jeff Anderson Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 1:07 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load I'm seeing something strange which has me puzzled... If, when on 6 meters, I turn Spur Reduction OFF (and set my Clock Offset to '0'), I see a picket-fence of spurs whose spacing becomes smaller and smaller as I tune until, at 50.011625 MHz, the picket-fence disappears altogether and the spectrum on the panadapter looks spur-free (except for an itsy-bitsy one at -108dB/-8200 Hz). I'm assuming the IF frequency is 11625 Hz, so my tuning frequency at this point would actually correspond to the DDS IC set to exactly 50 MHz, (i.e. an FTW of 0x4000 for the 9854). What's strange is that, if I turn Spur Reduction ON, as I tune around this frequency I *never* see a Spectrum that looks as clean as the one that I see at 50.011625 MHz with Spur Reduction OFF. In other words, it almosts seems that the DDS's FTW is never set to 0x4000, otherwise, I would expect to see a tuning block that's about 3052 Hz wide that has this clean spectrum, but...I never seem to see it. Just wondering if anyone can help explain what I'm seeing (or not seeing). Thanks 73, - Jeff, WA6AHL P.S. Even with spur reduction ON, there are quite a few spurs in this region of 6 meters (ditto on 10). Per my understanding of DDS chips, even though the phase-accumulator is hitting its marks with no phase remainder bits (i.e. only the top 4 nibbles of the 9854's 48-bit word are non-zero), quantization introduced by the phase-to-amplitude converter (e.g. the 12- bit approximation of Sin(0.0054931640625 degrees) ) also creates spurs. Is this amplitude-quantization the source of the spurs that I see around 50.011625 MHz when I tune with Spur Reduction ON (rather than mixing-products or DAC non-linearities)? -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Robert McGwier Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 10:23 AM To: Jiri Sanda Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: 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
Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load
I do not believe Tim's experience is either normal or universal. On the other hand, if you are adversely impacted by very wide 1/f noise of the soundcard, turn spur reduction off. This will keep that noise from being visible. It is still there, just hidden. Possibly it is not clear to you what that green stripe means on the panadapter. That is where the brick wall filter is applied. If you see the hump on the left get to within (oh say) 1 Khz of that green bar, then you have a problem. The response of that filter is down oh, about 140 dB or so outside its main lobe where that stuff is on the left. (whats a small thing like 140 dB down from -110 dBm going to do to you anyway?). I suggest that we could improve the the feel of this slightly by swapping to the other side of zero and moving the small hump to the right when we are LSB modes. This would be a cosmetic and psychological improvement ONLY unless you have a problem with your system (ground loops, etc.). THIS is why I insisted on the limitation to the panadapter window size because there was always going to be a few who had ground loop problems and in the early days we did not have these good sound cards at our disposal. That said, it is clear that even the good ones can have a problem. I just didn't want to deal with the questions ;-). As a group, we all have learned a lot and no one has learned more about all of this than me: thank you for letting me have this learning experience. Bob Jiri Sanda wrote: 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 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 11:23 PM To: flexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load I was testing tonight into a dummy load and noticed some very peculiar behavior. When connected to the dummy load on 14.179 MHz (USB) I see the noise floor (signal) in the panadapter as a flat line from -10K to +10K Hz at about -145 dBm. That looks good to me Now I change frequency to 14.178 MHz and I see the signal rise to -130 dBm between -10K and -9.5K Hz. It is flat at -145dBm across the rest of the spectrum. Looks like more noise on the low end. Not so good. If I change the frequency the to 14.177 MHz I see the signal rise to -113 dBm between -10K and -9.5K Hz. It is flat at -145dBm across the rest of the spectrum This shows a *lot* more noise. Here come the strange part. I change the frequency to 14.176 MHz and the signal looks just like the signal on 14.179. Flat across the entire spectrum at -145 dBm. By changing the frequency down one kHz to 14.175, I see the signal that looks like 14.178 MHz. A small rise to -130 dBm at the low end again. If I decrement the frequency down an additional kHz to 14.174, I see the signal that looks like 14.177 MHz. A large rise to -113 dBm at the low end again. This pattern repeats itself through out the entire 20 meter band. The rise in the noise floor is a little less in magnitude at the very bottom of 20 meters (14.050), but by the time I get to 14.150 the rise in the noise floor is back to approximately -110 dBm. I checked other bands and it exhibits this behavior on ALL bands. Always a three kHz stepping to repeat the pattern. Anyone have a clue what might cause this behavior? I'm using the Delta 44 with the breakout box eliminator. -Tim --- mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Tim Ellison http://www.itsco.com/ Integrated Technical Services Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell Skype: kg4rzy ___ 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] ATU tuning (formerly: ATU not tuning)
Hello Martin, Bill, Greg, Eric et al Thank you for the insight, I withdraw everything and assert the contrary... ;-))). I have a manual symmetric tuner between the antenna and the sdr-1000 where I am taking swr measurements when bypassing the ATU... Found the meter in the hrd, good to know. Chris HB9AJP Martin Hirsch schrieb: 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
[Flexradio] AGC an gain since V.1.4.5. prev 1
Since Power SDR V1.4.5 prev. 1 I don't get full gain when in receive-mode even when I set the max-gain setting to 100dB. When no antenna is connected there should be no '''AGC-Voltage''' so the receiver should work with full gain. The audible noise floor should be the same when fixed-gain and agc max-gain are both set to the same value. This is the case for values up to 70dB gain. AGC Max-gain-settings higher than 70dB have no influence on the gain (in fixed-gain-setting they have!). I'm not happy with this new agc because weak signals don't give same audio-out as stronger signals do (nearly same audio levels is the task of a good agc). This was classes better in Vesion 1.4.4 Martin DL5YEJ
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Of course, there is also the possibility of the and option. Today, the Flexradio software is a radio. Tomorrow, why can't it also have provision for plug-ins for contesting, logging or QRZ.com lookups? It doesn't have to be an either/or discussion. It's just software. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 10:25 PM To: Lyle Johnson; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size Playing Devil's advocate cuts both ways. A counter-point is needed. First off, I'd never think about running Windoze on my Yawoocom. :-) 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. I have to disagree with your statement 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. I contend most do. Those who can, will buy a new machine that should be able do it all. Those who can't, will make do with what they have and not want to for go exciting things like digital modes, contest software and Internet access at the expense of just having a radio. As a new SDR user, I bought a new PC specifically with the SDR in mind, but in this world of multitasking multicore multiprocessors it would never occur to me to use a PC for a single function unless it was a mission critical business app, such as e-mail or a database server. With processor power going up and prices staying about the same or even going down, you can get yourself a very powerful machine for about a grand and a half. And to be just as fair, why *should* I have to use a dedicated machine. I am only maxing out 15% CPU utilization with the one I have now. What a waste of a lot of good and resources. I specifically want to run multiple apps on the same machine as the SDR1K. We do that today for those who are using digital modes. I couldn't live without having a logger and an Internet based call lookup running at the same time along with e-mail so I can get the very latest scoop from the Flex-Radio reflector. Call me selfish, but after graduating from DOS 14 years ago, I really don't have any great desire to go back to a single tasking way of life. Yes, something does have to give as you say. That would have to be the single tasking, monolithic computing paradigm that you are wanting us to revert back to by throwing dedicated hardware at the SDR challenge. Sorry can't do that here. The SDR desktop will be a point of contention for a long time to come. And that is a good thing. Obviously it will get better. Much better. There are a lot of different ways to optimize the GUI. Using tabs and layered screens is just one way to increase real estate without resorting to increasing the footprint. This is an area where development should not be stymied just because it is easier to buy more monitors. At some point you are going to run out of desktop real estate to put all those monitors. I would hope that just because it is easy to fix a problem by throwing more hardware at it, that doesn't become the way out. If so, innovation dies. And as far as I can tell, that is not what the developers here have been doing. If the DSP and FFT code runs slow, they find better libraries, use advanced features of the processor and optimize routines, not tell you to by more machine. I certainly hope we don't start taking steps backwards. I am looking forward to the new PowerSDR architecture and the possibilities it brings. That is the reason I and many others invested in this technology -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lyle Johnson Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 6:52 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: 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
[Flexradio] SDR-1000 tuning errors
Hi everyone, Just thought I would add a commentary on this topic, after an experience recently. In the past I have had tuning errors which increase in magnitude as the console displayedfrequency increases. These were due primarily to the DDS not being effectively driven/controlled via the parallel port. Several reasons for this - poor electrical contacts on parallel pins, signal drive fron the computer inadequate (mainly with noteboooks and laptops using CMOS 3-3.5V levels rather than 5V), and problems with USB signal drive when using the USB/parallel converter with some laptops. Usually all of these problems have been cured temporarily by refitting connections and powerdown/power up of the software and hardware. A more or less permanent cure was obtained for use with notebooks and laptops by replacing the 74AC574 (IC1 IC3 on PIO board) with 74ACT574, which are happy with a lower input signal. All this time I had been using the Extigy soundcard, which at the time seemed the best for notebookuse. Computer details were Acer notebooks 1703 1714, former 2.6GHz P4, 1GHz RAM and middling graphics performance, the latter 3.4GHz P4, 1GHz RAM and good graphics accelerator. Seeking better receiver performance, I changed over to the M-audio D-44 and a desktop machine- performance much the same as the 1714, but of course more poke on the parallel port. Tuning using this combination was pretty secure, but not completely so, as after software changes the SDR would on rare occasions start up a few kHz low, corrected by a software/hardware re-start. I too use a whole range of known frequency standard transmissions to check the SDR each time I switch on. But I still preferred the notebooks for a quieter and cooler life - so when the Firebox was accomodated in the SDR software I reverted to the 1714 notebook to run the SDR-1000. Frustration again!! This time the notebook was purged of all the old SDR related software and the Windows registry cleaned up of Creative junk. All the installation went smoothly, but the radio tuned 20kHz lower than the console displayed frequency throughout the range. No amout of uninstalling/reinstalling software which could concievably affect the tuned frequency such as the database file, the Cypress USB/parallel driver, and PowerSDR itself (1.4.5 Beta 3 7 in use) made any difference. I checked the audio connections to ensure I could not possibly be working with the image, and tried T-R-S jacks instead of T-S jacks - all to no avail. I also swapped over to another USB/parallel converter cable - again no joy. In the end I loaded the console(1.4.5 Beta 7) without the soundcard or radio powered up, and tuned the console to 11,025kHz. This would force the DDS into an impossible position, since it would be trying to produce a negative frequency! I then powered up the radio and soundcard, but as expected no signals were received. After power down, and unloading the console, I powered up the hardware and Firebox again, loaded and powered on the console, and hey presto! - the console and the actual received frequency now agreed. I then tried the earlier 1.4.5 Beta 3, which had also presented the same problem. It too was now giving the correct frequency readout. Since the only common thread in all this lot appears to be the SDR hardware, it does appear possible for the oscillator/DDS to get stuck in an off frequency mode, which requires a jolt such as I described to get them back on frequency. However, I still have lurking suspicions about the Windows registry. I hope these ramblings are of use in helping someone stuck with the same problem, but I would like comments from our hardware and sortware gurus. Peter G3LWT
[Flexradio] ALC external control
It seems to me that it would be nice to have an ALC input connection. I use my SDR-1000 with an Icom PW-1 amplifier that is very sensitive to being overdriven and it seems like I am constantly adjusting the mike gain or power output to keep the amplifier happy. This would be pretty close to the top of my wish list for 2006... Mont - K0YCN
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Never intended it to be an either or discussion; just a different point of view to add to the discourse. In fact in an off list e-mail Lyle and I discovered we really agree on about 99% of what both of us said. Go figure. Plug-in are an option, but anything that creates a bigger footprint on the 1280 X 1024 landscape is, IMHO, going in the wrong direction. An extensible gui is going in the right direction. In all my involvement with software development, the gui is ALWAYS the point of the most contention. It is one aspect of development that you never get right. You just get close. -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Amos Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 5:54 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size Of course, there is also the possibility of the and option. Today, the Flexradio software is a radio. Tomorrow, why can't it also have provision for plug-ins for contesting, logging or QRZ.com lookups? It doesn't have to be an either/or discussion. It's just software. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 10:25 PM To: Lyle Johnson; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size Playing Devil's advocate cuts both ways. A counter-point is needed. First off, I'd never think about running Windoze on my Yawoocom. :-) 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. I have to disagree with your statement 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. I contend most do. Those who can, will buy a new machine that should be able do it all. Those who can't, will make do with what they have and not want to for go exciting things like digital modes, contest software and Internet access at the expense of just having a radio. As a new SDR user, I bought a new PC specifically with the SDR in mind, but in this world of multitasking multicore multiprocessors it would never occur to me to use a PC for a single function unless it was a mission critical business app, such as e-mail or a database server. With processor power going up and prices staying about the same or even going down, you can get yourself a very powerful machine for about a grand and a half. And to be just as fair, why *should* I have to use a dedicated machine. I am only maxing out 15% CPU utilization with the one I have now. What a waste of a lot of good and resources. I specifically want to run multiple apps on the same machine as the SDR1K. We do that today for those who are using digital modes. I couldn't live without having a logger and an Internet based call lookup running at the same time along with e-mail so I can get the very latest scoop from the Flex-Radio reflector. Call me selfish, but after graduating from DOS 14 years ago, I really don't have any great desire to go back to a single tasking way of life. Yes, something does have to give as you say. That would have to be the single tasking, monolithic computing paradigm that you are wanting us to revert back to by throwing dedicated hardware at the SDR challenge. Sorry can't do that here. The SDR desktop will be a point of contention for a long time to come. And that is a good thing. Obviously it will get better. Much better. There are a lot of different ways to optimize the GUI. Using tabs and layered screens is just one way to increase real estate without resorting to increasing the footprint. This is an area where development should not be stymied just because it is easier to buy more monitors. At some point you are going to run out of desktop real estate to put all those monitors. I would hope that just because it is easy to fix a problem by throwing more hardware at it, that doesn't become the way out. If so, innovation dies. And as far as I can tell, that is not what the developers here have been doing. If the DSP and FFT code runs slow, they find better libraries, use advanced features of the processor and optimize routines, not tell you to by more machine. I certainly hope we don't start taking steps backwards. I am looking forward to the new PowerSDR architecture and the possibilities it brings. That is the reason I and many others invested in this technology -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lyle Johnson Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 6:52 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] Connection of 2KL ampRobert
To All Thanks for your prompt suggrestions Bob K1OC - Original Message - From: Robert Rennick To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 11:30 AM Subject: Re: Connection of 2KL amp and sdr To all Since I haven't received any answers to my previous reflector perhaps I should rephrase my question. Has anyone sucessfully coupled the SDR 1000 with a Icom amplifier such as a 2KL or PW-1? Bob K1OC - Original Message - From: Robert Rennick To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:40 PM Subject: Connection of 2KL amp and sdr To all I read here someone hooked up a 2KL amp and the SDR. Unfortunitely I deleted this reflector. Anyone remember the sender? Bob K1OC
[Flexradio] SDR console size Question about Dream DRM
There must be many different choices for console size shrunk content choices. Iuse SSB maybe CW T/R, SWL in tandem with Ham Radio Deluxe SWL frequency panel, digital: MixW , MMTTY, or MMSSTV, hopefully Dream for DRM SWL. MixW, HRD, Dream all require two displays. Dragging a corner to size would be great!Yesterday's reflector entries were many, but I learn a great deal form them - New to SDR at 68.I apparently have Dream software set up linked OK. I am seeing signal on Dream while DRM in SDR-1000. Can someone on West Coast give me any DRM broadcasting times frequencies I might receive? HRD digital = none heard.Jim Reynolds N6MIP Buena Park CAJames E Reynolds CPA, CFSwww.jimreal.com
Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load
Great! Many thanks for the reply, Bob. Could I ask a few more questions to try to get a better understanding of what's going on? 1. Does the SDR software skip the 9854's FTW of 0x4000(+ more zeroes) that would be used if the DDS chip was set to 50 MHz? I'm trying to explain to myself why I don't see the beautiful spur-free spectrum that I see when the DDS is tuned to *exactly* 50 MHz (receiver tuned to 50.011 plus pocket change) with Spur Reduction OFF, compared to when Spur Reduction is ON and I tune through the point where the FTW ought to be 0x4000... . 2. If clock leaks are worse at submultiples of 200 MHz, how does this manifest itself? Again, my panadapter looks fantastic when the divisor of 200 MHz is exactly 4. It's only as I tune off this point that it quickly degrades. In other words, at a divisor of exactly 4, clock leakage (per the SDR1K's panadapter display, at least) wouldn't seem to be an issue. 3. Regarding the 9958 - how does the 10-bit DAC of the 9958 affect spur performance compared to the 9854's 12-bit DAC? Per my understanding, even if one has chosen FTW's that zero-out the phase-remainder (so that there is no phase quantization error), there is still an amplitude error introduced by the phase-to-amplitude converter's sin/cos conversion of the phase to an amplitude that's 10 or 12 bits wide (depending upon DAC resolution), and even with a completely linear DAC and no clock leakage, I'd think this should result in spurs, too. Are these spurs significant? (I'm just trying to gauge the drawbacks of the 9958 - it's faster, but the DAC resolution is less). Thanks for any insights you can provide! - Jeff, WA6AHL -Original Message- From: Robert McGwier [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 1:17 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: 'Jeff Anderson'; flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Interesting behavior when connected to a dummy load Gents: Please bring up the message I put out a couple of days ago. I ended it with the AD9854 has leakage of clock and some modest DAC nonlinearities that cause some spurs. Jeff has discovered the worst of them. 200 MHz (clock)/ 50 MHz (frequency of interest) is 4. The clock leaks on all submulitples of 200 MHz but the ones at 50 MHz are the worst. This is an internal fault of the AD9854 and its worst feature. With a slightly more complex spur reduction routine, that uses both sides of the 1/f hump at zero, we could help considerably and never see these things. You would still see the impact of reciprocal mixing but its impact would be greatly diminished. As I said before, Analog Devices has learned a lot and we are learning along with them. Bob
[Flexradio] SDR1000 and SSB
I am gradually sorting out the SDR1000. It works perfectly on digital modes and now works with WSJT6. BUT for some reason it does not want to work on SSB. I am using the Presonus Firebox and have been backwards and forwards over the connections to check them all, The unit switches to xmit, but no spectrum and no output. Mic is set at 50, theFirebox is on +12db, It would seem that I am not getting any audio through the Firebox, any ideas on how to check it? I checked with a scope at the end of the cable from the mic on the SDr1000, ie the input to the Firebox and I can see my audio "whistle or whatever" but checking with a scope at the end of the cable "line in" to the SDR, nothing, there does not appear to be any audio unless it is very very low level. What have i got wrong.? Comments please Regards to all Ross ZL1WN
[Flexradio] Line in should be line out
In my email I checked line out but wrote line in, Please read the email as line out Regards Ross
