[Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
I just got a new P4 paddle from K8RA. About every once in awhile the dah paddle does not make a connection, i.e. I get nothing out. My Vibroplex works fine. I thought it might be the cable so I switched cables. Same results. I unchecked iambic to just manually key the transmitter and the same trouble. Vibroplex okay, P4 problems. Has anyone had problems like this with a specific paddle? BTW the P4 is a large hunk of brass, makes the Vibroplex look like crud. Art, KA4M ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Nope. Not for the FLEX-5000. There are some non-Windows alternatives for the SDR-1000. They are not as feature rich as PowerSDR. https://java-sdr.dev.java.net/ http://javaguifordttsp.blogspot.com/ http://www.g3ukb.co.uk/archive_index.html -Tim -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Lloyd Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 12:54 AM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR Does the Flex5000 work with any software besides PowerSDR? -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
See the following KB article. CW Paddles Bounce Issues with the FLEX-5000 http://kb.flex-radio.com/article.aspx?id=10487 -Tim -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Art Gartner Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 7:06 AM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000 I just got a new P4 paddle from K8RA. About every once in awhile the dah paddle does not make a connection, i.e. I get nothing out. My Vibroplex works fine. I thought it might be the cable so I switched cables. Same results. I unchecked iambic to just manually key the transmitter and the same trouble. Vibroplex okay, P4 problems. Has anyone had problems like this with a specific paddle? BTW the P4 is a large hunk of brass, makes the Vibroplex look like crud. Art, KA4M ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
On Jun 25, 2008, at 4:52 AM, Tim Ellison wrote: Nope. Not for the FLEX-5000. There are some non-Windows alternatives for the SDR-1000. They are not as feature rich as PowerSDR. There are features and there are features. To me the most important feature would be a good set of published interfaces thus allowing someone to hack whatever feature they decide they need. This is powerfully frustrating. I have been considering getting a Flex5000 or an Elecraft K3. The K3's software environment is closed which makes me uncomfortable. It is also limited by the bandwidth of its analog first IF so in spite of its stellar RX performance, it doesn't look like a big enough technology jump to make me think that it will be the right platform to be playing with 5 years from now. Along comes the Flex5000 which looks like the answer but its hardware and firmware environment is closed. Now it appears that there is no alternative to PowerSDR which is Windows based. I am just so tired of spending time trying to keep Windows running and uh-hacked. Not only that but windows just performs poorly in a real-time environment. Too much latency in response to events. I suspect this is where the QSK problems lie with the Flex5000. Is Flex planning to publish the interface to the Flex5000 so that other packages can be made to run with it? I wish someone would make a top-notch radio that is usable on a daily basis but is still open for experimentation. It sounds like, for the nonce, the SDR-1000 is the only answer for an HF rig that runs reasonably well in the ham bands but is still completely open. Unfortunately it has that silly parallel-port interface. sigh I want to buy a new radio now that I can keep doing new things with 5 years from now. I refuse to be locked into Windows except as an interim solution. -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Although you should be able to take the W2RF branch of PowerSDR with VAC and feed the wide band I/Q to another program without too much difficulty. Works great with CWSkimmer.. In that case PowerSDR would still be needed as the driver UI for tuning and control. Duane N9DG --- On Wed, 6/25/08, Tim Ellison [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: Tim Ellison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR To: Brian Lloyd [EMAIL PROTECTED], flexradio@flex-radio.biz flexradio@flex-radio.biz Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 6:52 AM Nope. Not for the FLEX-5000. There are some non-Windows alternatives for the SDR-1000. They are not as feature rich as PowerSDR. https://java-sdr.dev.java.net/ http://javaguifordttsp.blogspot.com/ http://www.g3ukb.co.uk/archive_index.html -Tim -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Lloyd Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 12:54 AM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR Does the Flex5000 work with any software besides PowerSDR? -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
On Jun 25, 2008, at 5:49 AM, Duane - N9DG wrote: Although you should be able to take the W2RF branch of PowerSDR with VAC and feed the wide band I/Q to another program without too much difficulty. Works great with CWSkimmer.. In that case PowerSDR would still be needed as the driver UI for tuning and control. Interesting. Rube Goldberg but interesting. -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Hello Brian, This is the future, and it is actively in development. It continues to be open source, and is not tied in any way to MS Windowss. The modular/component architecture is the perfect platform for what you describe. http://support.flex-radio.com/Downloads.aspx?id=223 73, Dale WA8SRA Brian Lloyd wrote: On Jun 25, 2008, at 4:52 AM, Tim Ellison wrote: Nope. Not for the FLEX-5000. There are some non-Windows alternatives for the SDR-1000. They are not as feature rich as PowerSDR. There are features and there are features. To me the most important feature would be a good set of published interfaces thus allowing someone to hack whatever feature they decide they need. This is powerfully frustrating. I have been considering getting a Flex5000 or an Elecraft K3. The K3's software environment is closed which makes me uncomfortable. It is also limited by the bandwidth of its analog first IF so in spite of its stellar RX performance, it doesn't look like a big enough technology jump to make me think that it will be the right platform to be playing with 5 years from now. Along comes the Flex5000 which looks like the answer but its hardware and firmware environment is closed. Now it appears that there is no alternative to PowerSDR which is Windows based. I am just so tired of spending time trying to keep Windows running and uh-hacked. Not only that but windows just performs poorly in a real-time environment. Too much latency in response to events. I suspect this is where the QSK problems lie with the Flex5000. Is Flex planning to publish the interface to the Flex5000 so that other packages can be made to run with it? I wish someone would make a top-notch radio that is usable on a daily basis but is still open for experimentation. It sounds like, for the nonce, the SDR-1000 is the only answer for an HF rig that runs reasonably well in the ham bands but is still completely open. Unfortunately it has that silly parallel-port interface. sigh I want to buy a new radio now that I can keep doing new things with 5 years from now. I refuse to be locked into Windows except as an interim solution. -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
-Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Art Gartner Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 7:06 AM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000 I just got a new P4 paddle from K8RA. About every once in awhile the dah paddle does not make a connection, i.e. I get nothing out. My Vibroplex works fine. I thought it might be the cable so I switched cables. Same results. I unchecked iambic to just manually key the transmitter and the same trouble. Vibroplex okay, P4 problems. Has anyone had problems like this with a specific paddle? BTW the P4 is a large hunk of brass, makes the Vibroplex look like crud. Art, KA4M Hi, Art-- I am interested in your results and have a couple of little tests that I hope you can possibly make. We used to see the same sort of thing with Dow-Key relays used in a series of delay lines for a radio astronomy experiment. You could clean the contacts and everything was fine for a time. But after a few days or a few weeks, the following effect started happening. You would still see the HF/VHF signals from the radio astronomy antennas but the phase delays would no longer be correct. Turns out gold oxide would form on the contacts and was a molecule thick and the relays were no longer making good contact. But you would still have signals because there was capacitance between the contacts that coupled the signals through but also added phase shift due to the series reactance of that capacitance. All you would have to do was to wipe a strip of paper between the contacts and everything would be OK for a few days or weeks. But then the problem would show up again. The real issue was that the contacts were not designed to wipe properly and microvolt-level signals were not enough to break down this one-molecule layer of oxide. We fixed the problem by running the 12 volt DC voltage to the preamps through the relays rather than injecting the preamp power AFTER the relays. And ultimately we replaced the entire Dow-Key relay system with some special mercury relays that forever solved the problem. These Dow-Key relays had gold contacts and were the typical ham-type T-shaped relays used for decades for transmit/receive switching. What I think is happening to you is the same sort of thing. There is such a low voltage across the contacts that any sort of oxide film prevents making a good contact. For a test try cutting a thin strip of a 3x5 file card and insert it between the contacts and press the contacts closed with some force on the paper and then pull the paper out to see if the problem goes away -- at least for the moment. If it does that will indicate a thin film of oxide is building up on the contacts and the logic voltages are too low to break down the film. The second test is a bit more difficult but would be very interesting. I have been very happy with the contact cleaner called Pro-Gold from Caig Labs. It is an organic cleaner that leaves a very thin film that prevents future oxide build up. The contact cleaner is used by NASA and I have found it to be excellent in low-level signal paths. The stuff is not cheap and it appears to be no longer available through RadioShack so you have to go to a bit of trouble to find it. But it would be an interesting test of the theory and the contact cleaner to see if it worked in this application. Although I am not claiming this to be a permanent fix either. But then you must understand that I am a research physicist and really ENJOY doing little experiments like this! Maybe one of your friends in the local area has some of the Caig Labs Pro-Gold and can loan you a squirt of the stuff. Not saying it will be a forever permanent fix but it would be interesting to identify if the oxide cleaning properties of the Caig Labs cleaner has some effect on the problem. Good Luck -- John W0UN ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Quoting Brian Lloyd [EMAIL PROTECTED], on Wed 25 Jun 2008 05:44:13 AM PDT: On Jun 25, 2008, at 4:52 AM, Tim Ellison wrote: Nope. Not for the FLEX-5000. There are some non-Windows alternatives for the SDR-1000. They are not as feature rich as PowerSDR. There are features and there are features. To me the most important feature would be a good set of published interfaces thus allowing someone to hack whatever feature they decide they need. Which interfaces are you interested in.. I hate to fall back on the read the source code trope, because I genuinely believe that source code is a terrible way to document interfaces, but, as it sits, that's all there really is. I have figured out and partially documented the interaction with the firmware in the F5K, so if you have a way to send and receive appropriate MIDI messages, you can do most of what you want control wise. The audio comes in as a standard Windows audio stream. I suspect that there is a Linux equivalent mechanism, because Frank AB2KT is developing for the F5K target, and I don't think he'd go for a Windows only technique. The challenge is, of course, that since the control interface to the hardware via MIDI isn't a published document, Flex is free to change it under your feet if they decide that it needs some different functionality to support something else they are working on. Along comes the Flex5000 which looks like the answer but its hardware and firmware environment is closed. Now it appears that there is no alternative to PowerSDR which is Windows based. I am just so tired of spending time trying to keep Windows running and uh-hacked. Not only that but windows just performs poorly in a real-time environment. Too much latency in response to events. I suspect this is where the QSK problems lie with the Flex5000. Windows CAN provide very, very good real time response (probably better than vanilla Linux) but it's very difficult and requires a LOT of work, not to mention a lot of windows specific knowledge. If you're a game designer selling million unit quantities, spending a few hundred K in labor on a hot windows driver coder isn't a big deal. If you're a hardware mfr with a mostly volunteer software development force, it's a huge deal. Is Flex planning to publish the interface to the Flex5000 so that other packages can be made to run with it? Flex hasn't said they are going to do so. They have said that the source code will be open, so you can always reverse engineer it. Be forewarned, there's very few comments that help you along, but at least most of the module and routine names make sense. The interface and control of the F5K, philosophically, isn't much different than that for the SDR1K. If you work at an abstracted level along the lines of set frequency as opposed to punch hex number to port the interface is VERY similar. Jim, W6RMK ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Quoting Dale Boresz [EMAIL PROTECTED], on Wed 25 Jun 2008 06:07:00 AM PDT: Hello Brian, This is the future, and it is actively in development. It continues to be open source, and is not tied in any way to MS Windowss. The modular/component architecture is the perfect platform for what you describe. http://support.flex-radio.com/Downloads.aspx?id=223 73, Dale WA8SRA To be fair to Brian, though, it's not scheduled for release until next year's Dayton, and there have been several missed releases for the new architecture over the past few years. If you want to tinker today, or any time in the next year or so, your best bet is to reverse engineer the existing PowerSDR codebase. Jim, W6RMK ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Hi Brian, I use Winrad with my SDR1000 to find non-directional radio beacons on longwave. The waterfall display of Winrad is more suitable for this kind of works with weak signal detection. PowerSDR runs in the background but all operations are done on Winrad´s console. Winrad can also be used to play back recordings made with the SDR1000 without need to run PowerSDR and SDR1000 in the background. vy 73 SM6OMH Willi - Original Message - From: Brian Lloyd [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Duane - N9DG [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 2:55 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR On Jun 25, 2008, at 5:49 AM, Duane - N9DG wrote: Although you should be able to take the W2RF branch of PowerSDR with VAC and feed the wide band I/Q to another program without too much difficulty. Works great with CWSkimmer.. In that case PowerSDR would still be needed as the driver UI for tuning and control. Interesting. Rube Goldberg but interesting. -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] removing 100W PA from SDR-1000
Because of the way I've been using the SDR-1000, I was considering removing the 100W PA in order to sell it to someone else who may be looking for one. I haven't seen any documentation regarding doing that in the knowledge base, but I suspect that since the PA is/was available as an add-on option, the removal will be straightforward. If I decide to do so, is anyone interested in acquiring a 100W PA? --bruce W1BW ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] Bob McGwier, N4HY
Perhaps I missed something but what ever happened to Bob McGwier, N4HY? Is he no longer working with the company? Edwin Marzan AB2VW _ The i’m Talkathon starts 6/24/08. For now, give amongst yourselves. http://www.imtalkathon.com?source=TXT_EML_WLH_LearnMore_GiveAmongst ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
There is some initial code in repos_sdr_linux to control the F5K in trunk/hardware/flex5000 Regards, -- John g0orx/n6lyt Jim Lux wrote: Quoting Brian Lloyd [EMAIL PROTECTED], on Wed 25 Jun 2008 05:44:13 AM PDT: On Jun 25, 2008, at 4:52 AM, Tim Ellison wrote: Nope. Not for the FLEX-5000. There are some non-Windows alternatives for the SDR-1000. They are not as feature rich as PowerSDR. There are features and there are features. To me the most important feature would be a good set of published interfaces thus allowing someone to hack whatever feature they decide they need. Which interfaces are you interested in.. I hate to fall back on the read the source code trope, because I genuinely believe that source code is a terrible way to document interfaces, but, as it sits, that's all there really is. I have figured out and partially documented the interaction with the firmware in the F5K, so if you have a way to send and receive appropriate MIDI messages, you can do most of what you want control wise. The audio comes in as a standard Windows audio stream. I suspect that there is a Linux equivalent mechanism, because Frank AB2KT is developing for the F5K target, and I don't think he'd go for a Windows only technique. The challenge is, of course, that since the control interface to the hardware via MIDI isn't a published document, Flex is free to change it under your feet if they decide that it needs some different functionality to support something else they are working on. Along comes the Flex5000 which looks like the answer but its hardware and firmware environment is closed. Now it appears that there is no alternative to PowerSDR which is Windows based. I am just so tired of spending time trying to keep Windows running and uh-hacked. Not only that but windows just performs poorly in a real-time environment. Too much latency in response to events. I suspect this is where the QSK problems lie with the Flex5000. Windows CAN provide very, very good real time response (probably better than vanilla Linux) but it's very difficult and requires a LOT of work, not to mention a lot of windows specific knowledge. If you're a game designer selling million unit quantities, spending a few hundred K in labor on a hot windows driver coder isn't a big deal. If you're a hardware mfr with a mostly volunteer software development force, it's a huge deal. Is Flex planning to publish the interface to the Flex5000 so that other packages can be made to run with it? Flex hasn't said they are going to do so. They have said that the source code will be open, so you can always reverse engineer it. Be forewarned, there's very few comments that help you along, but at least most of the module and routine names make sense. The interface and control of the F5K, philosophically, isn't much different than that for the SDR1K. If you work at an abstracted level along the lines of set frequency as opposed to punch hex number to port the interface is VERY similar. Jim, W6RMK ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] Bob McGwier, N4HY
Bob is still very much involved in our activities, but his real job has been keeping him pretty busy as of late. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Edwin Marzan Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 10:35 AM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Bob McGwier, N4HY Perhaps I missed something but what ever happened to Bob McGwier, N4HY? Is he no longer working with the company? Edwin Marzan AB2VW ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
WB6RQN: This is powerfully frustrating. I have been considering getting a Flex5000 or an Elecraft K3. The K3's software environment is closed which makes me uncomfortable. It is also limited by the bandwidth of its analog first IF so in spite of its stellar RX performance, it doesn't look like a big enough technology jump to make me think that it will be the right platform to be playing with 5 years from now. Au contraire. The K3's IF OUT, available on the KXV3 has a wideband buffered IF output at 8.215 MHz before the roofing filter and is restricted only by the bandwidth of the K3's bandpass filter on a given band. You can use N8LP's LP-PAN I-Q Panadaptor to drive your sound card and use various SDR programs including PowerSDR-IF by WU2X, CW Skimmer by VE3NEA or Winrad by I2PHD. Using the E-MU 0202 sound card, 192 kHz bandwidth is possible with PowerSDR-IF. This way you can have the best of both worlds...a classical radio with knobs (and strong signal performance) plus the advantages of an SDR (e.g. point and click panadaptor and waterfall). http://www.telepostinc.com/LP-PAN.html Given the rate of change of SDR technology, (e.g. N8VB's QS-1R), you may have unrealistic expectations that *any* platform today will still be viable in 5 years! 73, Bill W4ZV ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
Hi John and Art. I've read your description of the problem, Art, and I have read the ideas presented by John. I would like to comment on this situation based on my own experience. My Flex5000A was new in March. I would like to know the experience of others in this regard I understand the logic of what John is presenting. The things you discuss may well be a factor to some degree with this problem with keying, but my observations seem to indicate this isn't the problem, or at least not the whole problem. I have the same problem with faulty keying in the 5000 with a Bencher or either of my two Begali paddles. Initially when keying the 5000 with these paddles, the errors in keying made the radio essentially unsuable for CW. At first I thought I was in really serious need of keying practice because of all the errors and I found my keying speed was seriously limited. Then I came to observe that the problem was irregular dropping of character segments. Sending my own call, for example, might come out A5SL, or WHSR or similar. I restored my sanity by demonstrating no problem whatsoever with any of these keys while keying an Icom IC7800, IC7000, a K2, or a K3. I found that if I hold down the dash paddle to produce a long string of dahs, sometimes it would produce no keying of the 5000 at all even if it was held down for several seconds, only to immediately produce a few dahs, say, if I let up and immediately keyed down and held it again. Then sometimes it would produce one or even a few dashes and stop keying the rig, thus dropping segments. This was repeatable with the dot paddle. I was advised to clean the contacts, much like John discussed, using paper, and using a small metal strip provided by Begali for cleaning the contacts. I even took the key apart and meticulously cleaned the contacts. But this made no difference whatsoever. In April, I carried the 5000 and the paddles to Flex Radio here in Austin, and they demonstrated with an oscilloscope that the paddle contacts showed contact bounce which apparently was causing the erroneous keying. It was also observed on the oscilloscope that each and every dot and dash were of slightly different length even when it sounded like it was keying properly. They further demonstrated that the keying problem did not exist with an old MFJ paddle they had been using in their lab. They were able to demonstrate cleaning up of the bounce by using the MicroHam key debouncer inserted inline with the key and that improves it quite a bit. Although now I am using the debouncer inline there still is some irregularly dropped characters that occur markedly more infrequently so that for a temporary fix I decided to live with it for now anticipating a permanent fix they said they would produce. I also discovered a further problem with CW keying in the 5000. If the CAT control is turned on in PowerSDR to be able to use such programs as N1MM Logger for keying through virtual serial ports, the manual says a paddle can remain connected and keying with the paddle can be done. However, whether N1MM is turned on or not, if CAT control is turned on keying is garbled much more severely than what is produced as described above while using a paddle so much as to make using the paddle in circumstance useless whether the key debouncer is inline or not. This means, of course, I am unable to make a side comment, send a fill of data, etc. with the paddle when using N1MM. Earlier I was willing to continue to try to use the 5000 for CW, my mode of interest, since I was told by the folks at Flex back in April that these apparently separate problems were in software and they seemed to indicate they were going to quickly fix this problem, but as best as I can tell neither problem has been addressed at all in the newest version of PowerSDR. My latest comments to the folks at Flex about this has as of yet been unanswered. The folks at Flex are saying that they want the 5000 to be a contesting radio, and in particular they have been quoted by some of my local friends who visited their booths at meetings as saying it is a great SO2R radio with the second receiver. Setting aside for the moment the problems with using the second receiver which in its current implementation does not do SO2R by any stretch of the imagination, I would think that a CW contester would want to be able to use the CAT control function to be able to key the radio with contesting software. While that alone might be possible, one cannot use the paddle to fill in data in a report, for example, or make side comments while using the contesting software in this way. I consider this problem a major obstacle to use of this radio as a contesting radio, if not approaching being a fatal flaw with the 5000. I am currently using another rig until it is fixed and am considering other options if it is not in a reasonable time. I suppose this problem with the CAT
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
As the CID Inspector in Graham Greene's Ministry of Fear says, we may hang more spies than you hear about. This reflector is not the authoritative source of information on development. It's for the benefit of users or potential users of released products only. Development discussions of any kind were long ago moved off the reflector precisely to avoid uniformed speculation. This in no way affects the commitment to Openness in the released products. 73 Frank AB2KT On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:11 AM, Jim Lux [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Quoting Dale Boresz [EMAIL PROTECTED], on Wed 25 Jun 2008 06:07:00 AM PDT: Hello Brian, This is the future, and it is actively in development. It continues to be open source, and is not tied in any way to MS Windowss. The modular/component architecture is the perfect platform for what you describe. http://support.flex-radio.com/Downloads.aspx?id=223 73, Dale WA8SRA To be fair to Brian, though, it's not scheduled for release until next year's Dayton, and there have been several missed releases for the new architecture over the past few years. If you want to tinker today, or any time in the next year or so, your best bet is to reverse engineer the existing PowerSDR codebase. Jim, W6RMK ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ -- This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . -- Obsidian Wings ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
At 11:48 AM 6/25/2008, Frank Brickle wrote: As the CID Inspector in Graham Greene's Ministry of Fear says, we may hang more spies than you hear about. This reflector is not the authoritative source of information on development. It's for the benefit of users or potential users of released products only. Indeed.. I was just repeating the published statements of Flex regarding future releases and commenting on history. Development discussions of any kind were long ago moved off the reflector precisely to avoid uniformed speculation. This in no way affects the commitment to Openness in the released products. grin is there a reflector for uninformed (or informed) speculation? 73 Frank AB2KT On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:11 AM, Jim Lux mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Quoting Dale Boresz mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED], on Wed 25 Jun 2008 06:07:00 AM PDT: Hello Brian, This is the future, and it is actively in development. It continues to be open source, and is not tied in any way to MS Windowss. The modular/component architecture is the perfect platform for what you describe. http://support.flex-radio.com/Downloads.aspx?id=223http://support.flex-radio.com/Downloads.aspx?id=223 73, Dale WA8SRA To be fair to Brian, though, it's not scheduled for release until next year's Dayton, and there have been several missed releases for the new architecture over the past few years. If you want to tinker today, or any time in the next year or so, your best bet is to reverse engineer the existing PowerSDR codebase. Jim, W6RMK ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:09 AM, Jim Lux [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hate to fall back on the read the source code trope, because I genuinely believe that source code is a terrible way to document interfaces, but, as it sits, that's all there really is. The read the source code trope has yielded at least six working, sophisticated spin-off SDR projects. By any empirical standard, the argument against it has to be regarded as temperamental and speculative, not substantive. In other words, it's an easy criticism to level, but it has few correlates in the real world. The counterexamples are enough to show the flimsiness of the argument. 73 Frank AB2KT -- This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . -- Obsidian Wings ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
At 11:57 AM 6/25/2008, Frank Brickle wrote: On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:09 AM, Jim Lux mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED][EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I hate to fall back on the read the source code trope, because I genuinely believe that source code is a terrible way to document interfaces, but, as it sits, that's all there really is. The read the source code trope has yielded at least six working, sophisticated spin-off SDR projects. By any empirical standard, the argument against it has to be regarded as temperamental and speculative, not substantive. In other words, it's an easy criticism to level, but it has few correlates in the real world. The counterexamples are enough to show the flimsiness of the argument. My comment was NOT that read the source code isn't a way to create spin off products, but rather that it is a poor way to document interfaces. I will also readily concede that knowledge of the interfaces is not a necessary condition to create new stuff. Interface descriptions, though, are a way to bring about wider acceptance and familiarity. I would say that we greatly benefit from interface standards such as RS-232 and the PC-Parallel Printer Port, and, in fact, the without the latter, the SDR1K would likely not have existed. If one has a desire to document interfaces or consume such documentation(and I grant that this may or may not be true for any particular person), neither a bare recitation of the interface specifications nor a working example alone do a good job. Inevitably, the bare recitation of specifications(if of reasonable length) cannot be complete enough to explain all side-effects and preferred usage. (e.g. if you read the AD9854 data sheet, you know how to program the DDS at the register level, but that doesn't tell you much about how the system that the 9854 is in will work, nor what a good sequence of programming instructions is.) Likewise, the working example provides only a single instance of the interface usage that works, and doesn't tell you much about what won't work. If you want to go beyond what's in the example, it's nice to have some guidance. (To take the AD9854, if you only had PowerSDR to look at, you wouldn't know that it's possible to adjust the phase of the DDS independently, because that function is never used, and not exposed in the include files or API calls) Particularly in integrated systems, there's a lot of subtlety in making it work that isn't always in the data sheets, or the data sheets don't even exist. The timing of the PC parallel port and the latches in the SDR1K, in connection with Windows's assumptions about how printers work, is a fine example. (otherwise, we wouldn't be worrying about whether a particular USB/Parallel adapter works) There's also the documentation aspect of defining currently unused, but you shouldn't use them aspects. The source code for the F5K interface gives you a fair amount of information about the MIDI messages that ARE used to control the F5K, but not much, if anything about ones that shouldn't be used (or, even, if there are such things.. maybe the F5K is robust and ignores things that don't make sense).. And, then, the source code doesn't tell you much about the structure of the calibration parameters stored in the F5K and how they work, without having to fully understand how the calibration process works, how the software interaction between dttsp and the F5K works, etc.. One might argue that nobody really *needs* to know this, and if you do, you can figure it out with a bit of work and some good guesswork, and some test equipment. There might also be a regulatory reason to keep it a bit opaque. On the other hand, this makes it pretty tough to write a good replacement for PowerSDR, because a replacement would have to duplicate most of that functionality, and your replacement might not have a similar enough architecture that you could just wholesale borrow the code from PowerSDR as a black box. You're also going to have to live with the risk that Flex could up and change the way things are done, roll out a rev to PowerSDR that is compatible with the new way, and you'd be stuck looking at the new software trying to figure how it differed from the old software. On the other hand, if there were a published interface description, it would likely be shorter and more concise, and understanding what changed would likely be easier than looking through dozens of changes in thousands of lines of code and figuring out which ones are relevant and which ones aren't. It is the database import/export problem in spades, eh? Jim, W6RMK ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
The read the source code trope has yielded at least six working, sophisticated spin-off SDR projects. By any empirical standard, the argument against it has to be regarded as temperamental and speculative, not substantive. In other words, it's an easy criticism to level, but it has few correlates in the real world. The counterexamples are enough to show the flimsiness of the argument. Oh... here we go again. That's just nonsense. It simply means that SOME people, having no other alternative, WILL read the source and create derived works from it. Which means the task is not insurmountable. It says nothing at all about what would have happened if documentation was provided. And it provides no weight whatsoever to the argument AGAINST documentation and good engineering process. It's a little like saying that (given infinite gas and time), if a couple of people can find their way from Manhattan to Poughkeepsie without a road map, the desirability of having such a map is flimsy, temperamental and speculative. (Cough...) THIS is why these type of discussions have been moved off the reflector. Peter K1PGV ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 12:26 PM, Peter G. Viscarola [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Oh... here we go again. That's just nonsense. It simply means that SOME people, having no other alternative, WILL read the source and create derived works from it. Which means the task is not insurmountable. Sigh. Is it really necessary to spell this out? The development process is the way it is, precisely to set the barrier of entry high, high enough that opinions alone won't get you to the other side. There are lots of opinions, lots of would-be managers. There are very few who actually show up to work. The point is this: the barrier isn't so high that motivated individuals can't get across it, fairly easily in fact, even those without a lot of prior experience or education. Those who do, don't need hand-holding. And they get all the help and encouragement they ask for. Anything else is a diversion of time and energy that's more profitably spent elsewhere. 73 Frank AB2KT -- This is the Voice of Moderation. I wouldn't go so far as to say we've actually SEIZED the radio station . . . -- Obsidian Wings ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] atlas, janusOT, Ozy
Any body on the list willing to sell such modules ?. Please do offers direct. Best regards Jean-marc F1HDI ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
At 25-06-08 12:57, Jay Sewell wrote: Hi John and Art. I've read your description of the problem, Art, and I have read the ideas presented by John. I would like to comment on this situation based on my own experience. My Flex5000A was new in March. I would like to know the experience of others in this regard I understand the logic of what John is presenting. The things you discuss may well be a factor to some degree with this problem with keying, but my observations seem to indicate this isn't the problem, or at least not the whole problem. Hi, Jay-- I was more interested in offering a test to better understand the issues rather than offering any sort of long-term solution. Since one of Art's paddles has occasional problems and one does not it would be informative to see if the issue is just a matter of contact resistance due to oxidation. If the contact cleaner solves the problem, even only on the short term, it would suggest that some keys have higher contact resistance or are more susceptible to contact oxidation than others and a more permanent fix for this specific issue should be pursued such as higher contact voltage/current to help get through the molecular lever oxidation. If in fact this does not solve the problem on the short term, then there clearly other factors are at work and need to be addressed. My idea was just a first step in trying to get to the root of the problem, rather than a fix. --John W0UN ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
John, I fully understand and feel your approach is sound. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Wouldn't it be great if this were the cause and the problem could then be perhaps easily addressed? It would certainly be very useful to know one way or the other. I have not understood, though, why my keys, which are types that seem to be relatively commonly owned in the ham community, only cause this disruption of keying in the 5000 and not in other rigs. Perhaps the other rigs have a higher contact voltage/current that might explain that. I also don't understand why more users have not noted this problem, or perhaps there are some that have that are not discussing it or some who are using keys that don't demonstrate it. Unfortunately, you may have caught me at a time when I have developed a very strong sensation that the folks at Flex seem to be ignoring this problem while it seems to represent to me a basic flaw in an otherwise potentially good system. It seems to be one that should in my humble opinion be addressed before some other problems since it is a very basic function of a ham radio to key CW properly. In retrospect, my venting led me to bring in some other possibly unrelated flaws I have noted and I apologize for doing that in this thread. And I suppose I am venting my frustration and concern because after spending an inordinate amount of time worrying and fiddling with this defective keying coupled with the other flaws, I am having to set the radio aside for now, while I wait for an undetermined time for fixes to occur, and because I am not getting much value out of it, and because I have a growing realization that I have apparently bought an experimental radio rather than one that is polished enough to enjoy using on a daily basis. John, thanks for your ideas. 73, Jay - Original Message - From: John Brosnahan -- W0UN [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Jay Sewell [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Art Gartner [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 6:50 PM Subject: Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000 At 25-06-08 12:57, Jay Sewell wrote: Hi John and Art. I've read your description of the problem, Art, and I have read the ideas presented by John. I would like to comment on this situation based on my own experience. My Flex5000A was new in March. I would like to know the experience of others in this regard I understand the logic of what John is presenting. The things you discuss may well be a factor to some degree with this problem with keying, but my observations seem to indicate this isn't the problem, or at least not the whole problem. Hi, Jay-- I was more interested in offering a test to better understand the issues rather than offering any sort of long-term solution. Since one of Art's paddles has occasional problems and one does not it would be informative to see if the issue is just a matter of contact resistance due to oxidation. If the contact cleaner solves the problem, even only on the short term, it would suggest that some keys have higher contact resistance or are more susceptible to contact oxidation than others and a more permanent fix for this specific issue should be pursued such as higher contact voltage/current to help get through the molecular lever oxidation. If in fact this does not solve the problem on the short term, then there clearly other factors are at work and need to be addressed. My idea was just a first step in trying to get to the root of the problem, rather than a fix. --John W0UN ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
At 05:45 PM 6/25/2008, Jay Sewell wrote: John, I fully understand and feel your approach is sound. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Wouldn't it be great if this were the cause and the problem could then be perhaps easily addressed? It would certainly be very useful to know one way or the other. I have not understood, though, why my keys, which are types that seem to be relatively commonly owned in the ham community, only cause this disruption of keying in the 5000 and not in other rigs. Perhaps the other rigs have a higher contact voltage/current that might explain that. I also don't understand why more users have not noted this problem, or perhaps there are some that have that are not discussing it or some who are using keys that don't demonstrate it. One should also distinguish between problems in the software running in the PC (which your problem almost certainly is not) and the firmware running inside the 5000 (which actually does the interface to the key and debounces it, turning it into MIDI note messages) or the hardware interface in the 5000 from the key to the microcontroller. This kind of thing is *hard* to make work universally, since there are a plethora of contact closure devices out there. Even when you control the hardware for something as simple as a keypad on a piece of equipment, it can take a while to get it right. As noted, it might be an electrical issue (contact resistance, amount of current or voltage, etc.), although, one would think, given the enormous number of solid state keyers out there, that the interface circuitry is pretty standardized by now. So, it might be a subtle timing thing in the firmware (which is closed source for regulatory reasons) and is difficult to reliably reproduce (I'm pretty sure that the folks at flex tried a bunch of different keys and keyers on it). It could even be a RF interference thing (I assume you've tried it running the rig into a dummy load, though). The original SDR1000 used a network with a 1K pullup to 5V, a 16K pulldown to ground, with a 0.1 uF cap and a forward biased diode across the 16K feeding a 74HC14 Schmitt trigger, which then fed the parallel printer port (a LS245 or LS374, typically) and using one of the lines as an interrupt input. So, on the SDR1K, you'd have about 0.7V across the open circuit contacts, and about 5mA current when closed. The time constant is on the order of 100 microseconds. I don't recall, off hand, what sort of software debouncing is done in PowerSDR for the SDR1K. I don't have the F5K schematic, so I don't know what sort of conditioning or input circuit they use. ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
You can try using the COM port to key the rig. I think the new contact material sometimes acts like a semiconductor instead of a conductor in some circuits. Pin 4 is common Pin 6 dit, Pin 8 dah. You can get the plug for a buck or so at Radio Shack. You set up the COM port under Setup/DSP/Keyer I use this port for my external keyer input. You can find the reference in the SDR-1000 manual around page 150 73 W9OY ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
I had a QSK contact last night at 40 wpm with my F5K and I didn't notice any problems. Worked as well as my Orion or my FT-1000 on QSK. I don't see the K3 as anything but a transition radio between the old technology of half duplex transceivers and the future. It has some SDR character to it, but it basically is as fixed in stone as a KWM 2. You can change it at the margins, add a little box her or a filter there but it will be the same radio in 30 years it is today. The flex radio is not that radio. It started its life as a visual basic program, has progress to what we have today and is on the verge of becoming platform independent. It is truly a work in progress. Its operation can be changed radically in form and function. Its potential is not even scratched yet. Bill pretty well summed it up, the K-3 is a knob radio that can be kludged up to bridge itself a little ways into the future. Its what I call one of the transition radios along with the Ten Tec radios. In my book it belongs on the trash heap of antiquity because its design philosophy is out of last century. Its interesting that to bridge itself to this century the K-3 uses the open source PSDR software The F5K has a closed firmware because in order to become type accepted the FCC required that. N8VB will come up against the same problem when he tries to get his radio type accepted. Without meeting that firmware condition there would be no F5K. There are several branches of the code written by individuals. As people's ideas come to fruition they are incorporated into the main trunk, improving the experience for all users. Basically you pays your money and gets what you gets. I like what I got. 73 W9OY ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
At 25-06-08 19:45, Jay Sewell wrote: John, I fully understand and feel your approach is sound. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Wouldn't it be great if this were the cause and the problem could then be perhaps easily addressed? It would certainly be very useful to know one way or the other. Guys-- When a problem is complex and little progress has been made to resolve the issues I like to break it down into the smallest incremental steps. Since Art has one paddle that always works and one paddle that is intermittent and yet the rest of the setup remains the same it would seem that at least PART of the problem is within the differences in the setup. Since the only differences are the cables (which could also be swapped) and the paddles themselves, it would be instrumental to look at the very smallest possible increment -- that of the dash contact on the one paddle that malfunctions to see if contact cleaner has any effect. I think the issues are much greater than just this one item -- hence the failure to find a workable solution so far. But it will be instructional to isolate each of the different issues to understand the entire problem. NOTE: This section will not be satisfying because I cannot recall which paddle it is that I have that has a similar issue. It does not reliably key ANY rig, but checking with an ohmmeter that utilizes a 9 volt battery it ohms OK. But if I use one of the meters than only has a small voltage across the probes the closed contact looks open. I spoke with the manufacturer many years ago (late 1990s) and he knew of the issue and it was a function of how he was mounting the contact material. And there is a fix -- but I got sidetracked and never got around to requesting the fix and now the details are a bit foggy. But I may add this to my to do list. You might ask how I could forget such an important thing? Well, 1) I have a lot of keys and paddles, 2) I was very busy during my time as president of Alpha/Power, and 3) I ended up having open-heart surgery and then moved to Texas and much of the stuff is still packed away! So it slipped through the cracks. The GOOD NEWS is that discussion reminds me of the problem and maybe I can get the paddle fixed before the company goes out of business or I go Silent Key.;-) It is my feeling that PART of the problem lies in the fact that as micro-electronics gets smaller and smaller the voltages get lower and lower and real world things like contact resistance start to become a problem. Then the issue is whether this needs to be corrected by lowering the resistance of the paddle contacts or by changing the circuitry to work with typical (real world) paddles. (Or both) But I also think there are probably other things going on with some of the keying issues like this that have been raised and that includes things like RFI, etc. I am just commenting on one small piece of the puzzle since I have first-hand knowledge of similar issues. But I am not commenting on things which would be entirely speculative on my part and with which I have had no experience. At the very least you get a peek into my scientific way of looking at things. Just remember -- This is not really a PROBLEM -- just an interesting technical PUZZLE that will be FUN to resolve! ;-)(I am a half-full kind of guy -- if you can't fix it, then feature it.) --John W0UN ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Brian: The firmware is indeed closed as this IS REQUIRED to be in compliance with law. We are not violating any FSF rules because the firmware runs under . We have been promised a full technical manual, which would include the API. My old pal Brian needs to join dttsp-linux where the developments, including the API for the fully open control of the 5000 are being undertaken. We know what is going on with the debounce, qsk, etc. issues. It will only require the rewrite of thousands of lines of the closed firmware. That is a major undertaking, which will be joined by both volunteer (me, Frank, others) and the ONE paid software writer empowered to do this work at Flex. Since this clearly became much more important than the open linux API (since it was going to change anyway because of this) it has been put in back of this development. PATIENCE my old friend. It is in the works but life keeps wandering in the way with more fires than firemen. Flex is still a small start up that did NOT use Venture capital and has kept its burn rate less than cash flow but is heavily investing in the future. 73's Bob -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dale Boresz Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 9:07 AM To: Brian Lloyd Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR Hello Brian, This is the future, and it is actively in development. It continues to be open source, and is not tied in any way to MS Windowss. The modular/component architecture is the perfect platform for what you describe. http://support.flex-radio.com/Downloads.aspx?id=223 73, Dale WA8SRA Brian Lloyd wrote: On Jun 25, 2008, at 4:52 AM, Tim Ellison wrote: Nope. Not for the FLEX-5000. There are some non-Windows alternatives for the SDR-1000. They are not as feature rich as PowerSDR. There are features and there are features. To me the most important feature would be a good set of published interfaces thus allowing someone to hack whatever feature they decide they need. This is powerfully frustrating. I have been considering getting a Flex5000 or an Elecraft K3. The K3's software environment is closed which makes me uncomfortable. It is also limited by the bandwidth of its analog first IF so in spite of its stellar RX performance, it doesn't look like a big enough technology jump to make me think that it will be the right platform to be playing with 5 years from now. Along comes the Flex5000 which looks like the answer but its hardware and firmware environment is closed. Now it appears that there is no alternative to PowerSDR which is Windows based. I am just so tired of spending time trying to keep Windows running and uh-hacked. Not only that but windows just performs poorly in a real-time environment. Too much latency in response to events. I suspect this is where the QSK problems lie with the Flex5000. Is Flex planning to publish the interface to the Flex5000 so that other packages can be made to run with it? I wish someone would make a top-notch radio that is usable on a daily basis but is still open for experimentation. It sounds like, for the nonce, the SDR-1000 is the only answer for an HF rig that runs reasonably well in the ham bands but is still completely open. Unfortunately it has that silly parallel-port interface. sigh I want to buy a new radio now that I can keep doing new things with 5 years from now. I refuse to be locked into Windows except as an interim solution. -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/ ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
On Jun 25, 2008, at 9:08 PM, Bob McGwier wrote: Brian: The firmware is indeed closed as this IS REQUIRED to be in compliance with law. We are not violating any FSF rules because the firmware runs under . I didn't mean to imply that. It sounded like it might be hidden/ proprietary or something, which would be a company policy thing. Jim Lux has been giving me a much deeper explanation in private email. I understand a lot better now. We have been promised a full technical manual, which would include the API. My old pal Brian needs to join dttsp-linux where the developments, including the API for the fully open control of the 5000 are being undertaken. Actually, I am there. Not a lot of discussion. And you keep using this Linux thing -- my least-favorite OS ... next to Windows. :-) (And, no, I don't have a favorite OS ... right now. I am using MacOS and Solaris pretty much out of desperation.) We know what is going on with the debounce, qsk, etc. issues. It will only require the rewrite of thousands of lines of the closed firmware. SMOP That is a major undertaking, which will be joined by both volunteer (me, Frank, others) and the ONE paid software writer empowered to do this work at Flex. Since this clearly became much more important than the open linux API (since it was going to change anyway because of this) it has been put in back of this development. Ah. It wasn't clear to me what the relationship was between DttSP and the Flex5000. Seems things are closer than I realized from the discussions on the DttSP mailing list. PATIENCE my old friend. It is in the works but life keeps wandering in the way with more fires than firemen. Flex is still a small start up that did NOT use Venture capital and has kept its burn rate less than cash flow but is heavily investing in the future. So you are telling me I should go ahead and pull-the-trigger on a Flex5000 then? As I said in my original post, I finally decided that, as nice as the K3 is, its software is closed and its architecture is too retro for my tastes. Not a lot of room for really new stuff. (And I love the K2 and will keep using that.) I figured that the Flex5000 was a platform that had potential but if it had closed hardware, undocumented interfaces, and tied to PowerSDR and only PowerSDR, well ... So, I stand corrected. I want to thank all of you for answering my questions and setting me straight. -- 73 de Brian, WB6RQN Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
[Flexradio] SVN 2332
Hi Friends I updated PowerSDR to revision 2332, this morning. I have sound coming only from the left speaker. I tried other old versions and things seem correct. 73 José F5JD ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] alternatives to PowerSDR
Quoting Brian Lloyd [EMAIL PROTECTED], on Wed 25 Jun 2008 09:33:17 PM PDT: On Jun 25, 2008, at 9:08 PM, Bob McGwier wrote: Brian: The firmware is indeed closed as this IS REQUIRED to be in compliance with law. We are not violating any FSF rules because the firmware runs under . I didn't mean to imply that. It sounded like it might be hidden/ proprietary or something, which would be a company policy thing. Jim Lux has been giving me a much deeper explanation in private email. I understand a lot better now. Well.. that whole SDR regulatory compliance is an area of some negotiation, winks and nods, etc. The FCC hasn't really figured out how to deal with it for smaller volume than Wal-mart but larger volume than tinkering experimental stuff. For real large production items, you're on the hook for full compliance, which essentially means locked down software, authentication for uploads, etc. For tinkering hackers, with volumes in the tens, they don't much care. It's that in-between area that gets them a bit testy... From the various folks I've talked to, it's a matter of sitting down with the local (or DC) regulators and sort of coming to an agreement on a by the each basis. We know what is going on with the debounce, qsk, etc. issues. It will only require the rewrite of thousands of lines of the closed firmware. SMOP That is a major undertaking, which will be joined by both volunteer (me, Frank, others) and the ONE paid software writer empowered to do this work at Flex. Since this clearly became much more important than the open linux API (since it was going to change anyway because of this) it has been put in back of this development. Interesting... so, will the MIDI message interface also change? Or does that remain fixed (i.e. fixing debouncing, etc., wouldn't normally change the note messages..) Ah. It wasn't clear to me what the relationship was between DttSP and the Flex5000. Seems things are closer than I realized from the discussions on the DttSP mailing list. ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
Re: [Flexradio] K8RA P4 Paddle with Flex5000
Quoting Ahti Aintila [EMAIL PROTECTED], on Wed 25 Jun 2008 10:15:08 PM PDT: On 26/06/2008, Jim Lux [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't have the F5K schematic, so I don't know what sort of conditioning or input circuit they use. Jim gave a good list. I agree, SDR1k has a pretty reliable contact interface. Read also this: http://www.vias.org/feee/switches_03.html This gives the basic understanding to the designers of electromechanical contacts and the designers of interface between contacts and electronic circuits. The key words when working with relays are debouncing, contact wetting currents and contamination control of contact materials. Contrary to the common belief, silver is not the best material for low voltage contacts (24 V) due to the high breakover voltage of the naturally developing silver oxide and silver sulphide layers. Gold works much better with low voltages and low wetting currents, but is suspectible to mechanical wear. Use vacuum protected read relay contacts whenever applicable. I hadn't ever thought about it before, but devising a rock solid interface to any sort of contacts that someone might hook up to it is quite an engineering challenge. Usually, you're designing for some small subset, or you actually get to pick the contacts. I'd guess that you want a fairly decent voltage (12Vish) with a decent current (10mA), but your input circuit also needs to tolerate transient voltages, etc. Something like an Optoisolator diode with an optional pullup (which is what they use on a lot of industrial PLCs). That would give you galvanic isolation, too, which is nice. Jim ___ 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://kb.flex-radio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com/
