---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <flexradio-ow...@flex-radio.biz> Date: Sat, Dec 28, 2013 at 10:11 AM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Important Flex SDR Performance Factors To: k3...@arrl.net
You are not allowed to post to this mailing list, and your message has been automatically rejected. If you think that your messages are being rejected in error, contact the mailing list owner at flexradio-ow...@flex-radio.biz. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jack Haverty <k3...@arrl.net> To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Cc: Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2013 10:11:29 -0800 Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Important Flex SDR Performance Factors On 12/27/2013 10:27 AM, Craig Schroeder wrote: What advice do you have for me on the most important factors that I should consider in purchasing my first SDR radio? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Craig, I've had my Flex-3000 for 4+ years and I've had a lot of fun with it. There's a lot to learn about the SDR world...and it's changing fast too. To me, the most important factor in selecting a Software Defined Radio is ... The Software. The Software determines not only the traditional performance of the radio (sensitivity, selectivity, functionality, etc.) but more importantly it determines how you will interact with the radio, i.e., the "User Interface". Traditional "knobby radios" of course have knobs, switches, sliders, etc., and you're stuck with using them for whatever activity you're doing with your radio. With Software, things change. You can select a different piece of software for different activities, and change at will by loading different software. For example, when I'm DXing, I use DXLab software, and interact primarily with the logging, spotting, and information windows. When contesting, I use N1MM, and interact with it's band map, QSO window, etc. When doing RTTY, I use MMTTY (sometimes several at the same time). All of this is with the Flex-3000. I don't need knobs at all, and in fact it's hard to imagine how someone could design a comparable "radio" with the same functionality but only using knobs/switches. Since SDRs don't have knobs, you sometimes need some kind of basic software that provides those generic functions that you'd otherwise have on knobs. The mouse/keyboard interface isn't as natural (for me at least) when using such "virtual knobs and switches" but it does give you a basic ability to use the radio. However, I've found that when I'm doing "serious work", I interact primarily with software that is designed for that activity. So, with my Flex-3000, I interact with DXLab and N1MM (the task-oriented software) much more than I interact with PowerSDR (the virtual knobs software). The exception to this is the Panadapter, which essentially provides a visual display of what's going on. I look at it a lot, even though I manipulate the radio through N1MM or DXLab. I yearn for the day when the Panadapter display is integrated with the N1MM bandmap...so everything I need to watch is in one place. Most SDR software provides some kind of similar visual display, but some (e.g., "Skimmers")are more suited for certain activities than others. So, bottom line -- I suggest you figure out what software you'd like to use to do whatever kinds of radio activities you enjoy. Then figure out which of the SDR hardware works well in the overall system configuration where you'll use that software. PowerSDR forms the base for using the Flex hardware. As far as I can tell, it's the only available option for Flex hardware. But there are many other software choices available too for other hardware - variants of PowerSDR (e.g., PowerSDR HDSDR), SDR-Radio, cuSDR, etc.), and many choices for hardware that they support. Instead of comparing Flex-1500, Flex-3000, and Elecraft KX-3, you would compare PowerSDR (or other base software) and whatever other software you would like to use, and evaluate how it works with the various hardware choices. There's lots of activity in the SDR world. Fortunately there's also a lot of information available about all that activity too, and people talking about their experiences. Here's an example: http://n8msa.blogspot.com/2013/11/ddc-sdrs-status-report.html There's also websites with lots of info, e.g., https://sdrzone.com/ Another thing to consider is the possibility of splitting RX and TX, like hams used to do back in the 60s before transceivers dominated. Much of the advantage of SDRs is in the receiver, where the DSP algorithms can do amazing things and provide powerful tools like panadapters. Splitting the RX and TX functions isn't much of a hassle these days, since the software does a good job of providing the integrated "transceiver" interface. You may choose to have a separate SDR receiver, and simply use your existing transmitter. If you're not sure where you want to go, you can get started without spending a lot of money, especially if you already have a decent transmitter. For example, the "Funcube Dongle" is a pretty inexpensive way to get an SDR receiver with panadapter et al to use with your existing transmitter, so you can learn more about SDR before making a big investment. Here's an example of how one particular SDR software package (Simon/HB9DRV's SDR-Radio) uses a Funcube Dongle - http://www.sdr-radio.com/Specification/FUNcubeDongle/tabid/475/language/en-US/Default.aspx So, ... there's lots of possibilities and no easy answers as to which is best - for you. I'd suggest looking at the various websites, blogs, etc., and joining groups like the SDR-Users group on yahoo, so you can learn enough about what's possible to pick what's best for you. Welcome to the SDR world. Most of what you know about radio is now changed... Enjoy and 73! /Jack de K3FIV _______________________________________________ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
