Hi Robert, Thank you for your candid assessment. After looking over the website, I decided that a kit form wouldn't be a good choice for me (and I love to build!) So, the assembled unit does look like a good option.
I wish you had some performance reports! On the other hand, maybe you just gave me one ;) 73 and I hope you get it going. Mark N8MH On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 4:24 PM, Robert Liesenfeld <xu...@xunil.net> wrote: > Hi Mark- > > I'm the friend Owen refers to; I just built a Soft66ADI. I keep meaning to > do a blog post about it, but I'll summarize here. > > I really liked the form factor of the Soft66; the software-selectable BPFs > and the fact that the control software is open source really sealed the deal > for me. I ordered the unassembled kit, with the aluminum enclosure for > which it was intended. > > The build instructions were baffling in parts, due to being written by a > native Japanese speaker (JA7TDO, the kit's creator). They're not > incomprehensible, but he chooses some strange words sometimes. Added to > this is the fact that the schematic lacks component values, IC labels, and > occasionally flat-out contradicts the PCB and parts supplied. For instance > on one of the BPFs, the schematic showed a capacitor, the PCB seemed to call > for a capacitor (e.g. C23), but the parts list had C23 as an inductor. I > emailed JA7TDO and asked him about this, he confirmed that the inductor was > the correct part. The voltage regulator IC was listed as one thing on the > PCB, and something else entirely on the parts list; if there had been more > than one device with a similar package this would have been a show-stopper. > > Issues like this lead me to advise against ordering this as a kit. So far I > have not been able to get mine to work in xlinrad, Rocky, or any other SDR > software, but this might be due to the lack of a decent receive antenna. If > improving the antenna doesn't yield results, I'm afraid I'll have to haul > out the oscilloscope... I dread this because the schematic is worse than > useless, and requests to the author for advice have so far yielded very > terse replies, which left me with more questions than answers. Finally, > there's no indication of test points or any voltages or waveforms I should > see at certain points, so I'll have to puzzle it all out on my own. > > I really ought to dig out that softrock rxtx kit and finish it... anyway, > hope this helps. > > Robert AK6L > > On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 11:38 AM, Owen B. Mehegan > <o...@nerdnetworks.org>wrote: > >> > Message: 17 >> > Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:35:19 -0500 >> > From: "Mark L. Hammond" <marklhamm...@gmail.com> >> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Anybody use a Soft66ADD SDR? >> > To: Amsat - BBs <amsat-bb@amsat.org> >> > Message-ID: >> > <5d8cecfe1002101035x35f07d7dpc047e54cf120a...@mail.gmail.com> >> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> > >> > Found this today, look interesting. Prices are quite reasonable (if >> > not cheap). Performance is the question.. I suppose the quality of >> > the system sound card is a big issue. >> > >> > Anybody here own one or seen one in use? >> > >> > How about piping a 10.7 MHz IF into it for VHF/UHF? >> > >> > http://zao.jp/radio/soft66ad/ >> > >> > >> > -- >> > Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] >> >> A friend of mine just bought and assembled one. He said that the >> instructions >> were pretty poor... the parts list and schematic didn't always match up and >> he >> had to do a fair amount of head-scratching (and I think >> bang-head-on-desk-ing) >> to get it built. He was not impressed with that aspect. I haven't yet heard >> how well it's working as a radio. I'll ask him and let you know. >> >> -- >> Owen B. Mehegan (KJ6AKQ) >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> > _______________________________________________ > Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
