Re: [Flexradio] Waterfall and powerline noise
My solution to this has been to get the HF (and VHF) antennas as far away from the house as I can. Back in the late 80's I was chasing satellites for the first time. One day I ended up with the antennas pointing downward and as I was rotating the antenna, the array looked through the house. Even on 436MHz, the S-meter just hung at about 20 over. We didn't have all the much digital stuff back then: a few of computers (networked on AppleTalk) and maybe a few digital clocks and the stuff still made a lot of noise. I have had some pretty frustrating noise problems. One of the worst was a USB port that pretty much shut down 80/40/20M. I disconnected the port from the computer and it magically got very quiet. The replacement USB2.0 port didn't exhibit the same problem. If you have a different computer available, try running it with your radio and turn the normal one off. Also try turning other things off in the house. Shutdown the internet and cable for a bit and see if that changes things. Your power company is responsible for keeping their power lines quiet, you may be able to contact them also. If the power lines are making noise it usually is a failing insulator or splice and the power company is usually receptive to fixing these things. Your cable company has a similar responsibility but may be more difficult to deal with. You don't happen live in one of the few places that is using internet over power lines? It could also be a defective meter reading unit, either for your electric, gas, or water meter, or it could be the repeater up on the power pole. Tom WB8COX ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Waterfall and powerline noise
Since my computer is now the radio I also ground the chassis of the computer to my single point grounding system. I've also learned some cheap computer power supplies do the minimum filtering. -Original Message- If you have a different computer available, try running it with your radio and turn the normal one off. Also try turning other things off in the house. Shutdown the internet and cable for a bit and see if that changes things. ___ 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/
[Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
I brought this idea up over a year ago. I can now die a happy man. http://www.dh1tw.de/disc-jockeys-influence-on-sdr 73 and Happy Holidays Frank N1UW ___ 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/
[Flexradio] Section added to FlexRadioWiki for known-good systems
I have just added a section to the FlexRadioWiki where people can enter the information about computer systems that are known to run PowerSDR. The idea is to give people who are thinking about getting a machine to run PowerSDR a place to look for suitable systems. See the section Computers known to run PowerSDR http://FlexRadioWiki.com -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
On Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Neal Campbell nealk...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Justin They not only thought of it, they sold it for quite a while! It was called the 5000C and had an inbuilt mini-ITX Core 2 Duo computer with dual video ports, firewire ports, etc. It ran Windows XP since that was the OS at the time it was released. You can probably find one on the used equipment boards if you look long and hard enough! Flex still sells the 5000C but it is now a special-order product. It is much more expensive than the 5000A and there is a fairly long lead-time to get one. But if you really need that all-in-one package, it is the way to go. See: http://www.flexradio.com/Products.aspx?topic=F5Kc_details -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 8:41 AM, Frank Karnauskas N1UW n...@gokarns.comwrote: I brought this idea up over a year ago. I can now die a happy man. http://www.dh1tw.de/disc-jockeys-influence-on-sdr Oh, very definitely! Perfect control surface for PowerSDR! -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
This idea has surfaced lots of times since the earlier days of the SDR-1000. Nice that somebody has actually followed it up. Once again, a demonstration that a radio interface can steal quite a bit from the couple of generations' worth of accumulated knowledge in the design of interfaces for musical electronics. 73 Frank AB2KT On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 11:41 AM, Frank Karnauskas N1UW n...@gokarns.com wrote: I brought this idea up over a year ago. I can now die a happy man. http://www.dh1tw.de/disc-jockeys-influence-on-sdr 73 and Happy Holidays Frank N1UW ___ 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/ -- Pourtant, j'étais fort mauvais poète. Je ne savais pas aller jusqu'au bout. -- Blaise Cendrars, Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 10:08 AM, Larry Rappaport r...@lmr.com wrote: Seems like this would be greatly facilitated by a standard interface. I followed the link and it seems very interesting, but he doesn't speak about how he actually did it. I have no idea about how it's done, but if there were a standard interface to all the controls, we could make our own devices, or perhaps there could be some commercial units. My guess is this needs to be USB2, but I really have very little idea. It doesn't need to be USB2 as the 12Mbps speed of USB 1.1 is more than enough for how fast a human can move knobs. The interesting thing is that code exists for PowerSDR already. It is probably part of the Open Source portion of the code since it is purely display/control related. It is also using later code as you can see in the demo that it is using the Pretty Betty skin. I am guessing that this part of the code has not changed much and therefore would drop into the current beta code with a minimum of hacking. This would go a long way toward squelching the, gotta have a tuning knob that doesn't change with the focus, crowd. It would also show that you can have both a control surface and virtual knobs on the display and have them work together. The only fly in the ointment will be that the knobs won't turn as someone manipulates the virtual knobs in the display. I don't think that knob-oriented people will notice and as soon as you turn one of the smaller knobs, the corresponding slider on the display will jump to the appropriate position. That seems to me to be a small idiosyncrasy. -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
Now THAT'S cool! jim KQ6EA On 12/19/2010 04:41 PM, Frank Karnauskas N1UW wrote: I brought this idea up over a year ago. I can now die a happy man. http://www.dh1tw.de/disc-jockeys-influence-on-sdr 73 and Happy Holidays Frank N1UW ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
Can you say 'MIDI'? It was designed exactly to capture fairly complex gestural information from multiple sources, in quasi-parallel. There are skillions of control surfaces that will emit programmable sequences of MIDI messages. Every OS one might care about already has capabilities for receiving and sending MIDI data, with time-stamping. It doesn't need to be USB2 as the 12Mbps speed of USB 1.1 is more than enough for how fast a human can move knobs. 73 Frank AB2KT -- Pourtant, j'étais fort mauvais poète. Je ne savais pas aller jusqu'au bout. -- Blaise Cendrars, Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Frank Brickle bric...@pobox.com wrote: Can you say 'MIDI'? It was designed exactly to capture fairly complex gestural information from multiple sources, in quasi-parallel. There are skillions of control surfaces that will emit programmable sequences of MIDI messages. Every OS one might care about already has capabilities for receiving and sending MIDI data, with time-stamping. It doesn't need to be USB2 as the 12Mbps speed of USB 1.1 is more than enough for how fast a human can move knobs. MIDI makes sense for this. I have always liked the idea of MIDI for the control inputs. It strikes me as much better than HID. -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Brian Lloyd brian-wb6...@lloyd.com wrote: MIDI makes sense for this. I have always liked the idea of MIDI for the control inputs. It strikes me as much better than HID. Among other things, MIDI makes it preposterously easy to pre-record arbitrarily hairy sequences of control operations and play them back at the push of a button. 73 Frank AB2KT -- Pourtant, j'étais fort mauvais poète. Je ne savais pas aller jusqu'au bout. -- Blaise Cendrars, Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Disk Jockey User Interface
On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 11:34 AM, Frank Brickle bric...@pobox.com wrote: On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Brian Lloyd brian-wb6...@lloyd.com wrote: MIDI makes sense for this. I have always liked the idea of MIDI for the control inputs. It strikes me as much better than HID. Among other things, MIDI makes it preposterously easy to pre-record arbitrarily hairy sequences of control operations and play them back at the push of a button. I can see how that might be useful. ;-) -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
[Flexradio] Waterfall and Power line noise - a secret weapon
Thanks to all who have suggested other things to look at for as sources of noise besides the power line. I can eliminate the computer as a source of noise for one simple reason. _Neal Campbell built it_. I know that it has been tested with a 5000a and was quiet when he made it. When I assembled my station, I scraped an area clean under the thumbscrew holding the side on and ran a ground wire from the PC case at that point to the station ground bus. The ground bus runs about 6 feet., using a #6 wire, to a copper coated steel rod 8 feet in the ground and then to another identical rod 15 feet away and from that point to the house ground. All are tied together with #6 copper wire. So I think the computer and grounding are not the problem. I had not thought a lot about the house, but I had tested everything in he house I could think of, by turning them off and got no change in the interference. There are two power poles about 100 feet, at most, and my truck's AM radio almost melts down when I go under them. I have ordered two arrow hand held beam antennas which I will use with my Kenwood TH6-FA. The B band on the HT can tune, in AM mode, from about 3 MHz to 1.3 GHz. Then I will go through the house, listening to the noise as well as check the light pole around my house, especially the (apparently) noisy ones. You guys have given me some great ideas for checking other things out as well. I will also check out the switching PS also, although I got it from Flex with the 5000a. _Neal Campbell is my secret weapon_. Always generous with his time - a real gentleman and an expert in this area of Flex SDRs. Anyone who is contemplating a new PC ought to get him to build it. Saves a lot of trouble and time. 73, Brad KE4XJ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Waterfall and Power line noise - a secret weapon
Thank you very much! Always enjoy helping people enjoy their radios! 73 Neal Campbell Abroham Neal Software www.abrohamnealsoftware.com (540) 645 5394 On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 2:29 PM, Brad A. Steffler bst...@comcast.netwrote: Thanks to all who have suggested other things to look at for as sources of noise besides the power line. I can eliminate the computer as a source of noise for one simple reason. _Neal Campbell built it_. I know that it has been tested with a 5000a and was quiet when he made it. When I assembled my station, I scraped an area clean under the thumbscrew holding the side on and ran a ground wire from the PC case at that point to the station ground bus. The ground bus runs about 6 feet., using a #6 wire, to a copper coated steel rod 8 feet in the ground and then to another identical rod 15 feet away and from that point to the house ground. All are tied together with #6 copper wire. So I think the computer and grounding are not the problem. I had not thought a lot about the house, but I had tested everything in he house I could think of, by turning them off and got no change in the interference. There are two power poles about 100 feet, at most, and my truck's AM radio almost melts down when I go under them. I have ordered two arrow hand held beam antennas which I will use with my Kenwood TH6-FA. The B band on the HT can tune, in AM mode, from about 3 MHz to 1.3 GHz. Then I will go through the house, listening to the noise as well as check the light pole around my house, especially the (apparently) noisy ones. You guys have given me some great ideas for checking other things out as well. I will also check out the switching PS also, although I got it from Flex with the 5000a. _Neal Campbell is my secret weapon_. Always generous with his time - a real gentleman and an expert in this area of Flex SDRs. Anyone who is contemplating a new PC ought to get him to build it. Saves a lot of trouble and time. 73, Brad KE4XJ ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
Well, I'll be danged. That may have even been the one I saw. Why have they not moved it to the mainstream? I can see a version of this competing for shelf space with Yaesu, Icom, etc... Make it with a locked OS/hidden OS so it can be sold off the shelf. On Dec 19, 2010, at 11:58 AM, Brian Lloyd wrote: On Sat, Dec 18, 2010 at 6:25 PM, Neal Campbell nealk...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Justin They not only thought of it, they sold it for quite a while! It was called the 5000C and had an inbuilt mini-ITX Core 2 Duo computer with dual video ports, firewire ports, etc. It ran Windows XP since that was the OS at the time it was released. You can probably find one on the used equipment boards if you look long and hard enough! Flex still sells the 5000C but it is now a special-order product. It is much more expensive than the 5000A and there is a fairly long lead-time to get one. But if you really need that all-in-one package, it is the way to go. See: http://www.flexradio.com/Products.aspx?topic=F5Kc_details -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Justin M. Mayrand jmayr...@metrocast.netwrote: Well, I'll be danged. That may have even been the one I saw. Why have they not moved it to the mainstream? I can see a version of this competing for shelf space with Yaesu, Icom, etc... Make it with a locked OS/hidden OS so it can be sold off the shelf. I was talking with Greg Jurrens about this and he said it requires a very expensive chassis and that demand has been so low as to make it unreasonable to keep them in stock. But if you want and all-in-one Flex 5000 this is the way to go. -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
Perhaps a Flex-1500 could fit *inside* some standard tower or desktop PC box, maybe with a small card with connectors to bring the antenna, key, etc. out the back panel. 73, /Jack de K3FIV On Sun, 2010-12-19 at 13:25 -0800, Brian Lloyd wrote: On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Justin M. Mayrand jmayr...@metrocast.netwrote: Well, I'll be danged. That may have even been the one I saw. Why have they not moved it to the mainstream? I can see a version of this competing for shelf space with Yaesu, Icom, etc... Make it with a locked OS/hidden OS so it can be sold off the shelf. I was talking with Greg Jurrens about this and he said it requires a very expensive chassis and that demand has been so low as to make it unreasonable to keep them in stock. But if you want and all-in-one Flex 5000 this is the way to go. ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
Yeah, the rack-mount case is expensive, but I'll bet there is a case out there just waiting. I had one a couple years ago with a 5 LCD touch panel on the front in a desktop config, very handy, and would make a neat spot to put some controls as a second display. Hmmm.. Maybe I'll roll my own On Dec 19, 2010, at 4:39 PM, Jack Haverty wrote: Perhaps a Flex-1500 could fit *inside* some standard tower or desktop PC box, maybe with a small card with connectors to bring the antenna, key, etc. out the back panel. 73, /Jack de K3FIV On Sun, 2010-12-19 at 13:25 -0800, Brian Lloyd wrote: On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Justin M. Mayrand jmayr...@metrocast.netwrote: Well, I'll be danged. That may have even been the one I saw. Why have they not moved it to the mainstream? I can see a version of this competing for shelf space with Yaesu, Icom, etc... Make it with a locked OS/hidden OS so it can be sold off the shelf. I was talking with Greg Jurrens about this and he said it requires a very expensive chassis and that demand has been so low as to make it unreasonable to keep them in stock. But if you want and all-in-one Flex 5000 this is the way to go. ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] 1500 CW CPU
During the RAC Winter contest (did 200 Qs QRP) on Saturday went into admin tools (as suggested here) and shut down everything I could and did a selective restart and the computer worked flawlessly on CW using an external LogiKeyer at 25-30 wpm and same great performance on SSB. Did a restart everything test and sure enough there was an occasional burst of CPU demand that made for a crackling sound on receive or dropped a character on CW transmit. CPU runs around 25 to 30% but jumps off the scale occasionally when computer is running without the selective restart. This setup will hold me for a while but might consider a New Year's Day Best Buy or Tiger Direct special on a quad-core :) with lots of RAM and a decent graphics card (just for gaming of course when there's no propagation). Didn't find changing the buffer size made much of a difference although did drop them to 512 and reduced the blanking delay at 10 sec. And like others I find in direct comparative testing using the same antenna and all controls equalled, the 1500 is a substantially better contest receiver than my old favourite IC-756 with dual 500 Hz CW filters. The 1500 is quieter, has better selectivity, is easier to listen to and has much better filtering. Front-end overload susceptibility is about the same with VA3EC (another contester) at 360 metes north of me running 1KW. With the program running that activates whichever window the mouse is over I am not making as many unwanted and unexpected frequency changes when I am logging at the same time as I am transmitting :) Need to add a VOX box or at least a foot switch for SSB contests. And the next step is to interface other software programs. All in all, I'm very happy with the 1500 for contesting (at 5 watts or with a 100-watt amp and external autotuner) especially thanks to all the help I've received here. BTW nice to work the Canadian North-West Territories on 5 watts SSB with ease during the contest while one of the big North Bay contesting stations running 800 watts seems to have missed it. LOL. Merry Christmas to everyone. Best regards, Peter - VE3HG VE3HG Blog Follow VE3HG On Twitter ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Section added to FlexRadioWiki for known-good systems
I just added my two systems, this is a great idea. On Dec 19, 2010, at 11:52 AM, Brian Lloyd wrote: I have just added a section to the FlexRadioWiki where people can enter the information about computer systems that are known to run PowerSDR. The idea is to give people who are thinking about getting a machine to run PowerSDR a place to look for suitable systems. See the section Computers known to run PowerSDR http://FlexRadioWiki.com -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 3191 Western Dr. Cameron Park, CA 95682 br...@lloyd.com +1.767.617.1365 (Dominica) +1.931.492.6776 (USA) (+1.931.4.WB6RQN) ___ 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/ ___ 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/
[Flexradio] Automatic Tune
Can someone tell me why my Flex 3000, which is running with SDR 2.0.16, is suddenly having some difficulty tuning my antenna?It will go maybe ten times where the tune fails, and then the next time it will be fine at anywhere from a perfect 1.0 to 1.4 SWR.It is set to accept 2.0 as an acceptable tune, with a target of 1.1, but when it fails, it says it is exceeding 10.0. Gary WG1I ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
The engineering challenge is that you have two RF emitters in very close proximity inside the same faraday cage. The PC can affect the RX and the radio's transmitter can hose up the PC. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Justin M. Mayrand Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 4:57 PM Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one Yeah, the rack-mount case is expensive, but I'll bet there is a case out there just waiting. I had one a couple years ago with a 5 LCD touch panel on the front in a desktop config, very handy, and would make a neat spot to put some controls as a second display. Hmmm.. Maybe I'll roll my own On Dec 19, 2010, at 4:39 PM, Jack Haverty wrote: Perhaps a Flex-1500 could fit *inside* some standard tower or desktop PC box, maybe with a small card with connectors to bring the antenna, key, etc. out the back panel. 73, /Jack de K3FIV On Sun, 2010-12-19 at 13:25 -0800, Brian Lloyd wrote: On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Justin M. Mayrand jmayr...@metrocast.netwrote: Well, I'll be danged. That may have even been the one I saw. Why have they not moved it to the mainstream? I can see a version of this competing for shelf space with Yaesu, Icom, etc... Make it with a locked OS/hidden OS so it can be sold off the shelf. I was talking with Greg Jurrens about this and he said it requires a very expensive chassis and that demand has been so low as to make it unreasonable to keep them in stock. But if you want and all-in-one Flex 5000 this is the way to go. ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune
What is the value of a successful tune in the ATU form? The default is 2.1:1 so 2.0:1 would be a successful tune. What the ATU will match is based on the complex impedance presented to it and not a particular SWR value. If you are suddenly having problems, then I would first look at your antenna system; coax connectors, have you been having wet WX and freezing temps that can play havoc on connectors, etc.. If all that is good, then there is a possible chance that the SWR bridge is out of calibration or there could be a hardware problem (blown diode). To test this, you can connect a dummy load and see what SWR value the ATU reads it as, which should be 1.0:1. If you have more than one dummy load, you can connect the together in parallel and see if you get a 2.0:1 SWR and it should tune it to 1.0:1. If you think it is a hardware problem you should Contact Dudley and have him triage the issue. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Gary Warner Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 5:11 PM To: FlexRadio reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Can someone tell me why my Flex 3000, which is running with SDR 2.0.16, is suddenly having some difficulty tuning my antenna?It will go maybe ten times where the tune fails, and then the next time it will be fine at anywhere from a perfect 1.0 to 1.4 SWR.It is set to accept 2.0 as an acceptable tune, with a target of 1.1, but when it fails, it says it is exceeding 10.0. Gary WG1I ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune
I get bit by the pl259 sleeve getting a fraction of a turn loose. The SLEEVE is part of the ground side connection, unlike on a BNC or N connector where the sleeve is only a mechanical retainer Jim - W4YXU -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex- radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 4:26 PM To: Gary Warner; FlexRadio reflector Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune What is the value of a successful tune in the ATU form? The default is 2.1:1 so 2.0:1 would be a successful tune. What the ATU will match is based on the complex impedance presented to it and not a particular SWR value. If you are suddenly having problems, then I would first look at your antenna system; coax connectors, have you been having wet WX and freezing temps that can play havoc on connectors, etc.. If all that is good, then there is a possible chance that the SWR bridge is out of calibration or there could be a hardware problem (blown diode). To test this, you can connect a dummy load and see what SWR value the ATU reads it as, which should be 1.0:1. If you have more than one dummy load, you can connect the together in parallel and see if you get a 2.0:1 SWR and it should tune it to 1.0:1. If you think it is a hardware problem you should Contact Dudley and have him triage the issue. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex- radio.biz] On Behalf Of Gary Warner Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 5:11 PM To: FlexRadio reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Can someone tell me why my Flex 3000, which is running with SDR 2.0.16, is suddenly having some difficulty tuning my antenna?It will go maybe ten times where the tune fails, and then the next time it will be fine at anywhere from a perfect 1.0 to 1.4 SWR.It is set to accept 2.0 as an acceptable tune, with a target of 1.1, but when it fails, it says it is exceeding 10.0. Gary WG1I ___ 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/ ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
Ah, excellent point. I suppose the PC and Radio will really need to be in different cases and with separate power supplies to work properly. I'd like to see pictures of the inside of the 5000C. On Dec 19, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Tim Ellison wrote: The engineering challenge is that you have two RF emitters in very close proximity inside the same faraday cage. The PC can affect the RX and the radio's transmitter can hose up the PC. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Justin M. Mayrand Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 4:57 PM Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one Yeah, the rack-mount case is expensive, but I'll bet there is a case out there just waiting. I had one a couple years ago with a 5 LCD touch panel on the front in a desktop config, very handy, and would make a neat spot to put some controls as a second display. Hmmm.. Maybe I'll roll my own On Dec 19, 2010, at 4:39 PM, Jack Haverty wrote: Perhaps a Flex-1500 could fit *inside* some standard tower or desktop PC box, maybe with a small card with connectors to bring the antenna, key, etc. out the back panel. 73, /Jack de K3FIV On Sun, 2010-12-19 at 13:25 -0800, Brian Lloyd wrote: On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Justin M. Mayrand jmayr...@metrocast.netwrote: Well, I'll be danged. That may have even been the one I saw. Why have they not moved it to the mainstream? I can see a version of this competing for shelf space with Yaesu, Icom, etc... Make it with a locked OS/hidden OS so it can be sold off the shelf. I was talking with Greg Jurrens about this and he said it requires a very expensive chassis and that demand has been so low as to make it unreasonable to keep them in stock. But if you want and all-in-one Flex 5000 this is the way to go. ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune
Jim, No, everything is tight inside my shack. When I can find some daylight to fit my schedule, I will take a look outside to see if something is loose there. Gary On 12/19/2010 3:41 PM, jim wrote: I get bit by the pl259 sleeve getting a fraction of a turn loose. The SLEEVE is part of the ground side connection, unlike on a BNC or N connector where the sleeve is only a mechanical retainer Jim - W4YXU -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex- radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 4:26 PM To: Gary Warner; FlexRadio reflector Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune What is the value of a successful tune in the ATU form? The default is 2.1:1 so 2.0:1 would be a successful tune. What the ATU will match is based on the complex impedance presented to it and not a particular SWR value. If you are suddenly having problems, then I would first look at your antenna system; coax connectors, have you been having wet WX and freezing temps that can play havoc on connectors, etc.. If all that is good, then there is a possible chance that the SWR bridge is out of calibration or there could be a hardware problem (blown diode). To test this, you can connect a dummy load and see what SWR value the ATU reads it as, which should be 1.0:1. If you have more than one dummy load, you can connect the together in parallel and see if you get a 2.0:1 SWR and it should tune it to 1.0:1. If you think it is a hardware problem you should Contact Dudley and have him triage the issue. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex- radio.biz] On Behalf Of Gary Warner Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 5:11 PM To: FlexRadio reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Can someone tell me why my Flex 3000, which is running with SDR 2.0.16, is suddenly having some difficulty tuning my antenna?It will go maybe ten times where the tune fails, and then the next time it will be fine at anywhere from a perfect 1.0 to 1.4 SWR.It is set to accept 2.0 as an acceptable tune, with a target of 1.1, but when it fails, it says it is exceeding 10.0. Gary WG1I ___ 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/ ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune
Tim, Comments below in maroon. Gary On 12/19/2010 2:26 PM, Tim Ellison wrote: What is the value of a successful tune in the ATU form? The default is 2.1:1 so 2.0:1 would be a successful tune. It is set for 2.1. I set the target lower to 1.1, since I was getting really good tunes and wanted to go for even better- got a number of tunes at 1.1 and even 1.0, and still do occasionally, but it usually takes many attempts to get any result lower than the 2.1 result. I get the Tune failed more often than not, and an indication that the SWR 10.0:1. What the ATU will match is based on the complex impedance presented to it and not a particular SWR value. If you are suddenly having problems, then I would first look at your antenna system; coax connectors, have you been having wet WX and freezing temps that can play havoc on connectors, etc.. Yes, we have been having a lot of wind and rain, but the antenna is a horizontal dipole with a long ladder line. The ladder line terminates under the eave of my roof and gets no rain, and the connection is well taped and secure. How would a balun act if it were a problem? If all that is good, then there is a possible chance that the SWR bridge is out of calibration or there could be a hardware problem (blown diode). To test this, you can connect a dummy load and see what SWR value the ATU reads it as, which should be 1.0:1. If you have more than one dummy load, you can connect the together in parallel and see if you get a 2.0:1 SWR and it should tune it to 1.0:1. There does not appear to be anything wrong with the radio, as I neglected to mention that I can tune a vertical antenna every time at well less than 1.5:1. The vertical shows intermediate results during the tune that rarely exceed 2.0:1, but the horizontal will show results all over the place during the cycle and sometimes in excess of 300:1. If something is broken, however, why does it still sometimes still tune sucessfully? If you think it is a hardware problem you should Contact Dudley and have him triage the issue. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Gary Warner Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 5:11 PM To: FlexRadio reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Can someone tell me why my Flex 3000, which is running with SDR 2.0.16, is suddenly having some difficulty tuning my antenna?It will go maybe ten times where the tune fails, and then the next time it will be fine at anywhere from a perfect 1.0 to 1.4 SWR.It is set to accept 2.0 as an acceptable tune, with a target of 1.1, but when it fails, it says it is exceeding 10.0. Gary WG1I ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune
See my comments below. -Tim From: Gary Warner [mailto:garyw...@gmail.com] Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 8:20 PM To: Tim Ellison Cc: FlexRadio reflector Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Tim, Comments below in maroon. Gary On 12/19/2010 2:26 PM, Tim Ellison wrote: What is the value of a successful tune in the ATU form? The default is 2.1:1 so 2.0:1 would be a successful tune. It is set for 2.1. I set the target lower to 1.1, since I was getting really good tunes and wanted to go for even better- got a number of tunes at 1.1 and even 1.0, and still do occasionally, but it usually takes many attempts to get any result lower than the 2.1 result. I get the Tune failed more often than not, and an indication that the SWR 10.0:1. [Tim] Setting the target low will take the ATU a longer time to try and find a better match. It will also slightly increase the probability of getting a Tune Failed too. What the ATU will match is based on the complex impedance presented to it and not a particular SWR value. If you are suddenly having problems, then I would first look at your antenna system; coax connectors, have you been having wet WX and freezing temps that can play havoc on connectors, etc.. Yes, we have been having a lot of wind and rain, but the antenna is a horizontal dipole with a long ladder line. The ladder line terminates under the eave of my roof and gets no rain, and the connection is well taped and secure. How would a balun act if it were a problem? [Tim] The SWR could rise if the inside balun gets too wet. I have one on a 20m dipole that is 1.3:1 dry and will present a 2.0:1 if we get a hard rain. That one is exposed to the WX directly. I am just too darn lazy to drag it out of the trees to fix it and the ATU does a good job of matching it, so I am not too worried about the transmitter. The ATU will do nothing for the losses, so it really doesn't matter if it is 1.3:1 or 2.0:1 If all that is good, then there is a possible chance that the SWR bridge is out of calibration or there could be a hardware problem (blown diode). To test this, you can connect a dummy load and see what SWR value the ATU reads it as, which should be 1.0:1. If you have more than one dummy load, you can connect the together in parallel and see if you get a 2.0:1 SWR and it should tune it to 1.0:1. There does not appear to be anything wrong with the radio, as I neglected to mention that I can tune a vertical antenna every time at well less than 1.5:1. The vertical shows intermediate results during the tune that rarely exceed 2.0:1, but the horizontal will show results all over the place during the cycle and sometimes in excess of 300:1.If something is broken, however, why does it still sometimes still tune successfully? [Tim] It depends on the complex impedance that the ATU is being presented from that particular antenna system. If it is at the edge of what the ATU will match, you can get the hit and miss behavior that you are seeing. If you think it is a hardware problem you should Contact Dudley and have him triage the issue. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.bizmailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Gary Warner Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 5:11 PM To: FlexRadio reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Can someone tell me why my Flex 3000, which is running with SDR 2.0.16, is suddenly having some difficulty tuning my antenna?It will go maybe ten times where the tune fails, and then the next time it will be fine at anywhere from a perfect 1.0 to 1.4 SWR.It is set to accept 2.0 as an acceptable tune, with a target of 1.1, but when it fails, it says it is exceeding 10.0. Gary WG1I ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizmailto: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/ ___ 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/
[Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr
HI I would like to know how to use s 998 1500 watt autotuner with my Flex-1500 , no this is not a typo . I use a yeasu Fl-110 to drive my ten tec amplifiers with great results. Any help would be appreciated. Sam Strongin kf4yox ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune
Tim, I did some more looking and tried the tune on other bands.All the bands, from 6 to 160 tune the first time, and to low SWR, except suddenly 80 m fails most of the time. I am perplexed as to what changed. Gary On 12/19/2010 5:59 PM, Tim Ellison wrote: See my comments below. -Tim *From:*Gary Warner [mailto:garyw...@gmail.com] *Sent:* Sunday, December 19, 2010 8:20 PM *To:* Tim Ellison *Cc:* FlexRadio reflector *Subject:* Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Tim, Comments below in maroon. Gary On 12/19/2010 2:26 PM, Tim Ellison wrote: What is the value of a successful tune in the ATU form? The default is 2.1:1 so 2.0:1 would be a successful tune. It is set for 2.1. I set the target lower to 1.1, since I was getting really good tunes and wanted to go for even better- got a number of tunes at 1.1 and even 1.0, and still do occasionally, but it usually takes many attempts to get any result lower than the 2.1 result. I get the Tune failed more often than not, and an indication that the SWR 10.0:1. */[Tim] Setting the target low will take the ATU a longer time to try and find a better match. It will also slightly increase the probability of getting a Tune Failed too./* What the ATU will match is based on the complex impedance presented to it and not a particular SWR value. If you are suddenly having problems, then I would first look at your antenna system; coax connectors, have you been having wet WX and freezing temps that can play havoc on connectors, etc.. Yes, we have been having a lot of wind and rain, but the antenna is a horizontal dipole with a long ladder line. The ladder line terminates under the eave of my roof and gets no rain, and the connection is well taped and secure. How would a balun act if it were a problem? */[Tim] The SWR could rise if the inside balun gets too wet. I have one on a 20m dipole that is 1.3:1 dry and will present a 2.0:1 if we get a hard rain. That one is exposed to the WX directly. I am just too darn lazy to drag it out of the trees to fix it and the ATU does a good job of matching it, so I am not too worried about the transmitter. The ATU will do nothing for the losses, so it really doesn't matter if it is 1.3:1 or 2.0:1/* If all that is good, then there is a possible chance that the SWR bridge is out of calibration or there could be a hardware problem (blown diode). To test this, you can connect a dummy load and see what SWR value the ATU reads it as, which should be 1.0:1. If you have more than one dummy load, you can connect the together in parallel and see if you get a 2.0:1 SWR and it should tune it to 1.0:1. There does not appear to be anything wrong with the radio, as I neglected to mention that I can tune a vertical antenna every time at well less than 1.5:1. The vertical shows intermediate results during the tune that rarely exceed 2.0:1, but the horizontal will show results all over the place during the cycle and sometimes in excess of 300:1.If something is broken, however, why does it still sometimes still tune successfully? */[Tim] It depends on the complex impedance that the ATU is being presented from that particular antenna system. If it is at the edge of what the ATU will match, you can get the hit and miss behavior that you are seeing./* *//* If you think it is a hardware problem you should Contact Dudley and have him triage the issue. -Tim -Original Message- From:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Gary Warner Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 5:11 PM To: FlexRadio reflector Subject: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Can someone tell me why my Flex 3000, which is running with SDR 2.0.16, is suddenly having some difficulty tuning my antenna?It will go maybe ten times where the tune fails, and then the next time it will be fine at anywhere from a perfect 1.0 to 1.4 SWR.It is set to accept 2.0 as an acceptable tune, with a target of 1.1, but when it fails, it says it is exceeding 10.0. Gary WG1I ___ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz mailto: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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr
Based on the user manual (occasionally RTFMing can be productive) It is going to take a minimum of 5 watts for it to work. That is at the max end of the 1500's RF output so you may not have enough RF output to tune the ATU. I have this problem with a CG-5000 ATU Second, since there is no external ATU connector on the 1500, you are going to have to use the 998 ATU in manual mode. Just use the TUNe button on the PowerSDR console to generate the RF tone needed for the 998 to tune (by pressing it's TUNE button for 0.5-2 seconds). When the 998 is done tuning, click on the PowerSDR TUNe button to terminate the RF tone used for tuning. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Samuel Strongin Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 9:57 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr HI I would like to know how to use s 998 1500 watt autotuner with my Flex-1500 , no this is not a typo . I use a yeasu Fl-110 to drive my ten tec amplifiers with great results. Any help would be appreciated. Sam Strongin kf4yox ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune
This reminds me of a strange problem I had at one time where the Flex tuner would tune up fine and then be mistuned shortly after I applied power. Turned out the antenna system was highly reactive at certain frequencies. Merely adding about 3 feet, randomly, of feed line made a world of difference. Apparently on especially 80m, I have learned, there are some magic antenna and feedline lengths to avoid on a multiband antenna. If you look at the instruction books for DX Engineering baluns on their web site they have good explanations of why and what to avoid. -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Gary Warner Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 10:06 PM To: Tim Ellison Cc: FlexRadio reflector Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Automatic Tune Tim, I did some more looking and tried the tune on other bands.All the bands, from 6 to 160 tune the first time, and to low SWR, except suddenly 80 m fails most of the time. I am perplexed as to what changed. Gary ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one
Justin, It was quite a challenge, the big challenge for Gerald and Ken was to get the computer EMT low enough to get the radio qualified.As Gerald said, the FCC will allow more radiation out of a computer than with a radio. Put a computer in the same box with a radio, it must qualify as a radio and not a computer. Then you also have to support the computer and the operating system many challenges. 73, Dudley WA5QPZ FlexRadio Systems (512) 250-8595, Option 2 Email: dud...@flexradio.com dud...@flex-radio.com Web: www.flexradio.com http://www.flex-radio.com Tune in excitement! ™ On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 6:12 PM, Justin M. Mayrand jmayr...@metrocast.netwrote: Ah, excellent point. I suppose the PC and Radio will really need to be in different cases and with separate power supplies to work properly. I'd like to see pictures of the inside of the 5000C. On Dec 19, 2010, at 5:13 PM, Tim Ellison wrote: The engineering challenge is that you have two RF emitters in very close proximity inside the same faraday cage. The PC can affect the RX and the radio's transmitter can hose up the PC. -Tim -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Justin M. Mayrand Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 4:57 PM Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Flex+PC all in one Yeah, the rack-mount case is expensive, but I'll bet there is a case out there just waiting. I had one a couple years ago with a 5 LCD touch panel on the front in a desktop config, very handy, and would make a neat spot to put some controls as a second display. Hmmm.. Maybe I'll roll my own On Dec 19, 2010, at 4:39 PM, Jack Haverty wrote: Perhaps a Flex-1500 could fit *inside* some standard tower or desktop PC box, maybe with a small card with connectors to bring the antenna, key, etc. out the back panel. 73, /Jack de K3FIV On Sun, 2010-12-19 at 13:25 -0800, Brian Lloyd wrote: On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 1:14 PM, Justin M. Mayrand jmayr...@metrocast.netwrote: Well, I'll be danged. That may have even been the one I saw. Why have they not moved it to the mainstream? I can see a version of this competing for shelf space with Yaesu, Icom, etc... Make it with a locked OS/hidden OS so it can be sold off the shelf. I was talking with Greg Jurrens about this and he said it requires a very expensive chassis and that demand has been so low as to make it unreasonable to keep them in stock. But if you want and all-in-one Flex 5000 this is the way to go. ___ 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/ ___ 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/ ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr
Good evening Sam I use the MFJ998 on my Flex 5000 and MOST of the time it Requires 50 Watts to tune correctly NOT 10 watts as the Manual may say. If I tune it with 10 watts then try to talk on SSB it will start a tuning cycle BUT at 50 Watts it DOES NOT start the retune cycle on voice peaks even running 1000Watts. SO I would think that you could NOT tune the MFJ998 with the 5 watt's output and have it work reliably, In my humble opinion you will need to pick up a smaller power tuner to make it work with the FLEX 1500. 73's Bret WX7Y -Original Message- From: flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz [mailto:flexradio-boun...@flex-radio.biz] On Behalf Of Samuel Strongin Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 7:57 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr HI I would like to know how to use s 998 1500 watt autotuner with my Flex-1500 , no this is not a typo . I use a yeasu Fl-110 to drive my ten tec amplifiers with great results. Any help would be appreciated. Sam Strongin kf4yox ___ 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/ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr
It is going to take a minimum of 5 watts for it to work. That is at the max end of the 1500's RF output so you may not have enough RF output to tune the ATU. I have this problem with a CG-5000 ATU I operate an MFJ-998 with an ALS-1300 and a F5K. I find that the '998 really wants at least 15 watts on some bands to tune up correctly. Even worse, depending on the antenna impedance, sometimes after tuning up at one frequency, it will fail to retune at another frequency without either a power cycle or increasing the TX power to about 50 watts. 73, Ralph W5JGV - WD2XSH/7 ___ 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/
Re: [Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr
Hi I will have more than 5 watts the flex-1500 drives a Yeasu FL-100 , up to 100 watts out depending on drive level from the Flex in tune mode or PTT, Drive is not an issue , The 110 is an extension of the Flex. Sam -Original Message- From: Ralph W5JGV Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2010 11:07 PM To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Using MFJ 998 autotuner with power sdr It is going to take a minimum of 5 watts for it to work. That is at the max end of the 1500's RF output so you may not have enough RF output to tune the ATU. I have this problem with a CG-5000 ATU I operate an MFJ-998 with an ALS-1300 and a F5K. I find that the '998 really wants at least 15 watts on some bands to tune up correctly. Even worse, depending on the antenna impedance, sometimes after tuning up at one frequency, it will fail to retune at another frequency without either a power cycle or increasing the TX power to about 50 watts. 73, Ralph W5JGV - WD2XSH/7 ___ 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/ ___ 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/
