--- In [email protected], k5nwa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > How well does it work? Do you have one? And how does it compare to a > cheaper version such as the SDR-IQ? >
I have all three, the SDR-14, the SDR-IQ and Perseus. I haven't performed instrumental tests, as I lack an equipped lab to do that, but Marco IK1ODO should have performed comparative measurements. Maybe he can point us to a table with the comparison. Subjectively, I prefer the Perseus as its noise floor is lower, without detriment for the sensitivity. And Perseus sends a stream of data with 24 bit resolution, not 16 as the SDR-14, SDR-IQ do. These latter two use as DDC the Analog Device AD6620, a chip about ten year old, and that was discarded also by Phil Covington for his Quick Silver and Mercury projects. Perseus has an FPGA with a downloadable code that implements output sampling speeds (after the downconversion) of 125, 250 and 500 ksamples/sec at 24 bits. And a speed of 1 Msample/sec will be implemented in the next revision of the firmware (it will need a rather fast PC to cope with it...). Having 24 bit resolution spells good for the dynamic range which you can see measured (not by me) here : http://sundry.i2phd.com/bdr.gif An advantage of the SDR-IQ is that it doesn't have a transformer in its input stage, so the frequency response starts as low as 500 Hz ! Perseus has a lower limit of about 10 kHz. So, if you chase bats maybe the SDR-IQ is a better choice. 73 Alberto I2PHD
