On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 10:06 AM, Stu Phillips <[email protected]> wrote:
> Brian, > > Forgive me as I have some "parental" bias but I'd encourage you to really > try a FlexControl in real world operating and then see what you think. > Didn't you see my preamble where I said I was going to buy one? I am going to use the FlexControl. I think it is a really good thing and you did a great job on a needed piece of hardware. > The FlexControl wasn't designed to solve all problems - it was designed to > deal with a need to tune and control the radio without having to move window > focus from a logging program to PowerSDR - for example as you would want to > do when operating a contest or attempting to find the station the DX is > working in an attempt to bust the pile up. > > For example, in busting a pile up, you can set the FlexControl to tune VFO > B, turn on MultiRX and have the waterfall stay fixed around VFO A while you > tune around using the VFO B directed receive window. In this case, there is > no waterfall smearing. > Good idea. I hadn't thought of doing that. But that works with MultiRX but not RX2. (It is annoying that turning on RX2 kills panafall but that is yet another issue.) So you have a workaround but your workaround doesn't really solve the problem. The problem remains. (And you can't set up MultiRX to have different channel characteristics either, but that is yet another issue too.) > > In a contest (which was the genus for the FlexControl), I find myself in > one of three modes of operating... > > 1. - Running a frequency via CQ and hopefully lots of calling stations > 2. - Search and pounce - for stations I haven't worked or multipliers > 3. - Trying to find a "weak spot" in the band to start a run frequency > > For #1, I'm not tuning the VFO, I'm tuning RIT - I can set the FlexControl > to be able to alternate quickly between tuning the VFO and RIT, also using > the FlexControl to clear RIT. All this without changing window focus... > > For #2, I'm tuning using the panadaptor - the waterfall is less useful in > this mode and generally I'm tuning sequentially (and methodically!) up or > down the band. > > For #3, I use the waterfall in history mode to see where there might be a > weak spot - then often I'll click tune to the weakest frequency and try to > set up a run. > > Sometimes in S&P mode, especially when it's a big band like 10m with widely > spaced operation, I'll still use click tune to navigate around - I just need > to remember to set window focus back to the logging program. > I understand completely. You are very oriented to contesting and I applaud that. I especially applaud you for doing something about the problems you perceive and building hardware to solve them. <stuff deleted> > Not all problems are nails and the FlexControl is not a hammer! > Yes, that is very true. And in this case, the improper scrolling of waterfall data cannot be solved by the FlexControl. It is a problem in the design of PowerSDR itself. > > Between the tuning controls, different modes and the auxiliary switches, I > think you will find the FlexControl is a Flex-ible solution to a lot of > operating problems! > Certainly it is, as you have demonstrated. But that doesn't change the fact that it is time to rewrite PowerSDR. We have learned a lot from it but it has reached the end of its ability to be adapted. You have a different sort of take on things than I do. You have a focus on contesting. My focus is more general and broad. In my shack I want to see what is going on on the whole band at the same time. I want CW Skimmer decoding all the CW channels. I want automatic RSID detection to invoke the proper decoder for all the digital mode QSOs. I want to walk up the band going click-click-click and listen to several SSB QSOs spread across my sound stage, all at the same time. What I want *IS* possible, just not with the current PowerSDR. It is simple. WE NEED DEEP IMPACT! We have gone as far as we can with PowerSDR. Flex has a commanding lead on the SDR market but that lead is going to suddenly disappear when one of the other manufacturers comes up with some new software. At that point in time Flex is going to be playing catch-up, not the best place to be in for a small company. Small companies win by being agile and innovative. Once they are behind the curve they often get left behind ... along with their customers. > Cheers & Best 73's > Stu K6TU > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] On Behalf Of Brian Lloyd > Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2011 9:01 AM > To: FlexRadio reflector; [email protected]; > [email protected] > Subject: [FlexEdge] Fundamental problem with tuning knob > > First, let me say I am probably going to get one of the new tuning knobs > from Flex. The key is that it is NOT a "Human Input Device" (HID) as far as > Windows is concerned so it stay 'attached' to PowerSDR no matter what else > you are doing on the computer. This is DEFINITELY a good thing. But, there > is a very basic flaw in PowerSDR that substantially reduces the usefulness > of a tuning knob (any tuning knob) and that has to do with the way the > frequency is displayed on the panadaptor/waterfall. > > Actually, the problem is only moderately annoying with the panadaptor since > the pan display is immediate and ephemeral anyway, i.e. no memory -- what > you see is what happend 50ms ago, period. (Oh, until you turn on averaging > and then it gets very 'smeary' as you tune -- how annoying.) OTOH, the great > power of the waterfall is that it shows you what happend for the last 30 > seconds. (FWIW, this is why the pan display is less useful than the > waterfall.) When you are scanning the band it is very likely you are going > to want to check out that station that stopped transmitting 5 seconds ago. > As soon as you start to knob tune YOU HAVE LOST ALL MEMORY OF WHAT > HAPPENED! > Nothing in the waterfall is valid anymore. You can't even tune over to that > frequency unless you have bothered to check the frequency ahead of time. > Only click-tune works in this situation and then it only works once. If you > get it wrong and click twice, POOF, you are off in the weeds again and have > to wait 30 seconds for the waterfall display to build up again. Every time > this happens to me I want to scream! > > So, the real answer to making a tuning knob work well is to do one of two > things: > > 1. Have tuning move the VFO lubber line, not the panadaptor or waterfall > background. > 2. Scroll the waterfall laterally so the whole waterfall remains relevant > to the displayed frequency. > > Of course, PowerSDR is still doing a full FFT of the spectrum. If you have > the display zoomed in, i.e. 1x, 2x, or 4x, you keep around all that "old" > FFT data so that as you tune, you can scroll beyond the current edge and > still see the waterfall data. It is only after you have tuned so far and so > fast that you no longer have any "old" FFT data that you start to get > black-screen on the waterfall. > > (You know, if the tuning knob were tied to the IF frequency for tuning > within the range of the display, that would make the display work. Somehow I > think that would be a hack but it might be doable within the existing > PowerSDR architecture.) > > Regardless, I consider this to be one of the top problems with PowerSDR as > it stands now. (The other big problem is that RX2 cannot be used > independently with digital modes.) > > So, these are my two greatest complaints about the way that PowerSDR works. > Now that we HAVE a really good knob to use, let's hope that Flex makes the > changes to PowerSDR to make the new knob really useful. > > > -- > Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL > 3191 Western Dr. > Cameron Park, CA 95682 > [email protected] > +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) > +1.931.492.6776 (USA) > (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) > _______________________________________________ > Flexedge mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexedge_flex-radio.biz > This is the FlexRadio Systems e-mail Reflector called FlexEdge. It is used > for posting topics related to SDR software development and experimentalist > who are using beta versions of the software. > -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 [email protected] +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) _______________________________________________ Flexedge mailing list [email protected] http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexedge_flex-radio.biz This is the FlexRadio Systems e-mail Reflector called FlexEdge. It is used for posting topics related to SDR software development and experimentalist who are using beta versions of the software.
