Re: [Flexradio] Weird Tx Meter Forward Power Problem
What does an external meter indicate for P-Out and SWR? Does that indicate any problems? - 73, Greg - AB7R Whidbey Island WA NA-065 On Tue Sep 9 15:58 , Mike Walsh sent: Hi, When running the new driver/firmware/PowerSDR setup on 80 meter CW with a power output of 10 watts or greater the forward power Tx Meter shows NaN W. I'm taking NaN to be the floating point value Not a Number which would indicate some kind of overflow/underflow problem in the forward power computation. Power levels of less than 10 watts show up correctlyu. The weird thing is that this happens only on 80 meter CW -- other bands are fine. Does anyone else have the same problem? Or could this be an indication of some sort of problem in my 5000A associated with 80 meters only? Anyone at Flex have a comment? 73 and thanks, Mike - ke5akl ___ 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] Griffin Power Mate Latency Issue
The Space Pilot solves this to an extent when using the W2RF console. It keeps focus regardless of what window has focus. But for the programable buttons to work correctly PowerSDR does need to have the focus. But the knob is great. You can tune, pan left/right, zoom in and out and change the filter width...all with the knob. I am selling my Flex5K and have one of these for sale for $225 shipped. They're $350 new. - 73, Greg - AB7R Whidbey Island WA NA-065 On Mon Aug 25 3:30 , FireBrick sent: Joel I experience the very same anomaly when using the Griffin and also with the ShuttlePro Very erratic response. and if you move either too fast the panadaptor freezes till it catches up. As the 'Focus' problem rears it's head in contest of dxing, I've 'hoped' for a hardware direct to the flex 5K option. such as shuttle to the flexwire connector. - Original Message - From: Joel Harrison [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 12:50 AM Subject: [Flexradio] Griffin Power Mate Latency Issue Hooked up the Griffin PowerMater tonight so I could have a fine tune control for my left hand while I'm sending CW with my right hand. The PowerMate is working OK, but it seems to be experiencing some latency issues. I do not have that with my mouse wheel. The computer is a Dell with an Intel Quad Core processor and the CPU usage does not spike up when this happens. CPU usage stays around 12-15%. The sensitivity slider in the PowerMate configuration window is set to max and the latency issue does get worse if I lower the slider sensitivity setting. If I turn the PowerMate wheel fast it freezes up the display for just a bit until it catches up. Again, I don't have this problem with the mouse wheel and if I turn the mouse wheel fast PowerSDR just keeps on its smooth operation. Is there a hardware setting I'm missing to improve/correct the PowerMate condition??? Any help on the Griffin PowerMate condition is appreciated. Also, while I have the floor, thanks to everyone that dropped me a note about CW Skimmer. It is working VERY well now on my 5000A! 73 Joel W5ZN ___ 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] CW Debouncer
Could this problem be something different than debounce? I thought the debounce problem was only when the key was connected directly to the back of the rig? Using a keyer connected to the rig is supposed to fix that I thought. - 73, Greg - AB7R Whidbey Island WA NA-065 On Tue Jul 29 4:42 , Ken sent: I've been watching the thread(s) on the cw problem(s) with paddles and keyers when plugging into the rear jack of the F5K. The only way I can use CW is via the keyboard. Both my MFJ keyer (which worked FB on the SDR1K) and the Kent paddles (which I went out to purchase when I discovered the keyer didn't work on the F5K) would not work on the F5K using the rear jack. I ordered the debouncer or what is also called Paddle Processor for generic paddles from MicroHam. After plugging it in, the problem was worse. I just wanted to get this out there to let everyone know it may not fix it for you. Ken - N8KJG ___ 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] Flex5000 nit-picking
I think the blue light is a good thing the way it is. Many folks probably have the radio situated away from the center of the operating station because of the type of radio it is. I would think the bright blue light would be a good reminder saying, don't forget to turn me off! - 73, Greg - AB7R Whidbey Island WA NA-065 On Thu Jul 17 10:44 , Neal Campbell sent: The patented K3NC optional package (which sells for approximately a million dollers US so its a great deal for people outside the US) includes a very small piece of electrical tape (I can even provide party colors in the tape if you are willing to pay more) that can be put on the top of the button. Another option (more expensive but worth it) is to steal a plastic or rubber toggle switch cover (like go over those poles) and place it over it. But, I had my 5000a in the shop for three weeks and I missed my blue light tremendously so I do not use my own products! Neal K3NC Worldwide Enterprises (we are going to be really big if we ever make a sale) On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 1:38 PM, Brian Lloyd [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: OK, Flex5000 is operating and on the air. I have another ham friend visiting and we are spending a lot of time exploring the capabilities of the Flex5000 and PowerSDR in shifts. :-) But I do have one nit to pick that came up really early on: that ugly, glaring, blinding blue power light. Guys, was it necessary to copy the low-rider audio power amps, I mean, really? I know, no one makes an LED with the spectral characteristics of the filament of an 811 but the dual-color LEDs with both the red and green excited at the same time is reasonably pleasant (if the excitation frequency is well above the flicker threshold). Would you please offer an upgrade to filament- colored lighting please? (OK, that was *mostly* humorous. I would like to tone it down a bit.) Thank you. -- 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/ -- Neal Campbell Abroham Neal Software Programming Services for Windows, OS X and Linux (540) 242 0911 - Try Spot for OS X, the intelligent DXCluster Client at www.abrohamnealsoftware.com - introduction priced at $10.99 - For a great dog book, visit www.abrohamneal.com - See the FlexRadio Systems Flex-5000a in action at www.flex-videos.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] Shuttle Pro II
I have a Shuttle Pro II that has had very little use for sale for $60 shipped CONUS. - 73, Greg - AB7R Whidbey Island WA NA-065 ___ 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] Power SDR Locking up w/IE
I know this is not a solution, but try a web browser call AVANTI. I think it's much faster than IE. Also its not associated with IE so it does not have many of its security vulnerabilities. Has many slick features too. As for the new board. I would suggest going to the EVGA website and make sure you have their latest drivers. Also check to see that the memory is being correctly identified by your system. If its dual channel do you have it in the correct slots? Is the voltage correct? Is the memory you have compatible with the new MB? Often times it is not and you have to check the MB manufacturer website for a list of compatible memory. - 73, Greg - AB7R Whidbey Island WA NA-065 On Mon May 5 10:22 , Ken Danser sent: Hello,  First let me say thank you for all of those who participate answering my questions!  I sometimes don't follow up with thank you only emails, but all is appreciated and everyone here as always are doing a great job, so (Thank you Very Much!)  My new questions: First a few more words! My Intel D975XBX2KR went bad on Friday. Intel will be replacing it! Anyway, I went and bought a new EVGA system board. (expensive mind you) I was told it has a lifetime warranty. Anyway all is back up and running, but if I decide to surf the web with IE 7.0 (Yuck!)  Power SDR 10.4 locks up most of the time.  The Intel board did not act in this way.  I tried the on board Fire wire and the Original Fire wire board that I was using on the Intel that is now on the EGVA and with the new system board it now locks up using IE.  Op System: XP Pro Processor: Dual Processor 2.4 Memory: 4 gigs of Corsair DDR2 800 System board: NForce 780i SLI  Any ideas or tips would be great!  Thank you again!  Ken K3YI ___ 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] Calibration problem
Tried to recalibrate. Getting an error message saying Peak out of Range. Greg AB7R -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.4/563 - Release Date: 12/2/2006 9:59 AM ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com
[Flexradio] Flex-Radio pulls it off
I've been using the SDR working the 3Y0X pileups and has been doing well indeed. Been getting use to seeing where he is listening and the going just above or below as he moves. But again would be nice to be able to click tune VFO B for the tx signal. I recently put up a 540 ft full wave loop for 160M. Also does good job on 80. But its only 40-50ft high. When I saw a spot for 3Y0X for 160 I did not hold much hope but figured what the heckalready had him on 80/75. Well with the adjustable AGC I was still able to pull him out of the noise and work him in only about 10 minutes of trying...running about 500W. This was a thrill as it's actually the first dx I've worked on 160. Thanks! Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] v1.4.5 Preview 14, ANF
ANF works on Prev. 12 just fine here. Make sure the BIN is OFF. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Christoph - HB9AJP Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2006 12:41 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] v1.4.5 Preview 14, ANF Hi I find the ANF (Automatic Notch Filter) not working anymore. Neither did it work in Preview 12. Do others expierience this? The ALC is a great improvement to the radio! Here I don't remark a CPU increase, it is around 8 to 12% but from time to time it jumps to more than 50% for a few seconds (only PowerSDR running). And when the PowerSDR window is covered with an other window it drops down to abt 2% :-). 73 Chris, HB9AJP ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://mail.flex-radio.biz/pipermail/flexradio_flex-radio.biz/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com
Re: [Flexradio] Version 1.4.5 preview 13 Bug
Eric... I know that features for this version are pretty much a done deal. But please keep this in mind for the next go round if not able to put into this one. Worked 3Y0X quickly on 20M. Been trying on 30M and can see everyone chasing him. Would be great to be able to click a button so that the click to tune feature on the display would tune VFO B while in split mode. That way I can click where there is a hole or where I see someone else work him and not change the rx freq. Tnx Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 3:48 PM To: 'Dale Richardson'; 'Flex Radio' Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Version 1.4.5 preview 13 Bug Confirmed. The TXEQ is broken. Problem has been found and it will be fixed in the next version. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Dale Richardson Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 5:07 PM To: Flex Radio Subject: [Flexradio] Version 1.4.5 preview 13 Bug The Transmit Equalizer has no effect at all. The graph at the top does not reflect any settings of the equalizer. The audio sounds the same regardless of settings. The new ALC is MUCH better. Thanks. 73, Dale AA5XE ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://mail.flex-radio.biz/pipermail/flexradio_flex- radio.biz/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archive Link: http://mail.flex-radio.biz/pipermail/flexradio_flex-radio.biz/ FlexRadio Homepage: http://www.flex-radio.com
Re: [Flexradio] Version 1.4.5 preview 13 Bug
I was thinking just a command button for click tuning to be operate on VFO B instead of A. Maybe there could be a little crosshair icon in the freq display window to show which vfo has focus for the click tuning. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: Larry Loen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 9:15 PM To: ab7r Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'Dale Richardson'; 'Flex Radio' Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Version 1.4.5 preview 13 Bug ab7r wrote: Eric... I know that features for this version are pretty much a done deal. But please keep this in mind for the next go round if not able to put into this one. Worked 3Y0X quickly on 20M. Been trying on 30M and can see everyone chasing him. Would be great to be able to click a button so that the click to tune feature on the display would tune VFO B while in split mode. That way I can click where there is a hole or where I see someone else work him and not change the rx freq. Tnx Greg AB7R I have asked for this feature also. The problem was always figuring out the user interface for it. But, we do need a click to load VFO B somehow. Maybe a second right click would put up red cross hairs as a cue that VFO B is to be loaded up instead? This would be independent of whether SPLIT is currently set, by the way, though obviously it would work best when done while in split (independent because sometimes, you just want to set the VFO in prep for something else). The feature would make working DX split a lot easier. On DXpeditions like this, it really is more than a convenience if you're a little guy trying to seize an opportunity. Larry WO0Z
[Flexradio] display question
Wondering what would cause a delay in the noise floor on the display to come back when transitioning from tx to rx. Taking about 4 seconds to return. Tnx Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Scanner
Is there an option available on the scanner for it to resume where was stopped at instead of going thru the entire upper and lower limits again? Tnx Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Buffer settings
Until the next architecture comes out with definable profiles, is it possible to put all the buffer settings on one tab so that it's easier to change them when changing modes? Tnx, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Bandstacking request
I added some records in the bandstacking table for some digital modes. Wondering how hard it would be to add 4 fields to that table. One for the TX profile selected and one for each of the buffer settings? Tnx Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] 9 is working
Same here. Leaving the EQs alone. Did have to tweek my PA settings a bit, but not by much. Great job team! 73 Greg AB7R -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Bob W5RGSent: Monday, December 26, 2005 4:19 PMTo: FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: [Flexradio] 9 is working Happy to report 9 is working fine...what did I do to fix it..don't know..don't care..its working..I'm happy..Bob
[Flexradio] Key map assignments
Eric. Any chance of assigning a keystroke combination for shuttlepro for the Zero Beat function for the next preview release? Also, the spreadsheet shows ALT-T for tune, That did not work for me, but CTRL-T did. Thanks Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Great keyboard for the SDR-1K
Thought I would throw this out to the group. I found myself not liking to have to always reach for the Shuttle Pro when I needed it. So did some searching and found this nice keyboard with the same shuttle jog built in. http://www.bella-usa.com/Product-DVKeyboard.aspx Also has 14 programable buttons like the shuttle jog and are programed in the same manner. I have been testing it out last night and some today and seems to work just great. This with the large Kensington trackball, which also has some programable buttons, but not for specific applications like the keyboard does, makes a very comfortable combination for me. 73 Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] TX Image Rejection Question
This sounds like the same problem I had in the past when the orange and gray cables were reversed (gremlins...I swear it!). When I set them correctly, the problem went away. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 12:00 PM To: 'Jim Lux'; 'Christoph - HB9AJP' Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Image Rejection Question Jim is absolutely correct. The RX and TX image rejection is completely separate (hence the need for separate controls in the software). Adjusting the RX side should not affect the TX side and vice versa. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Jim Lux Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 1:15 PM To: Christoph - HB9AJP Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] TX Image Rejection Question --snip-- By the way, I think the the impulse calibration will only calibrate the receive side, and, since the transmit and receive use entirely different electronics (i.e. different audio path, different chip for QSE), it's not clear that optimizing receive balance would optimize transmit balance. --snip-- Jim ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] SSB audio question
Not sure if this has been addressed, but probably has. Was spending some time in the 10M contest and worke W5SXD (Hi Rich). He knew right off the bat I was running an SDR1K cuz of an echo in the audio. I have also had other remark about a slight echo. Any idea what causes this and if it can be eliminated? Other than that, SDR1K played well using N3FPJ software and 1KW amp. Originally was getting lock up problems, but moved my USB port around and added some ferrite beads and eliminated the problem. 73 Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] Feature Request: TX Profiles
TX bandwidth is not fixed for digital modes. I have played around with them already. But I still think selectable profiles set up by the user for saving ALL settings is the best way to go. Greg -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 6:06 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Feature Request: TX Profiles I'll just throw this question out and anticipating a specific answer, see if anybody else thinks a feature like this is something that would be useful. First the question: When using the new DigiL and DigiU modes, the TX audio processing is bypassed. Is the TX bandwidth filter bypassed (fixed) or does it use the bandwidth set in the current TX profile? Anticipating that the TX bandwidth is not fixed and can be controlled by a TX Profiles, here is my suggestion. First off, I like the TX profiles. I have read several posts about expanding this feature to include some of the other rig's settings in the TX profiles database and I wanted to add my $0.02 worth. Assuming that when in DigiU or DigiL mode, I am utilizing whatever the current TX profiles bandwidth is, this thought came to mind. I have gone into the database and added several profiles for use with digital modes. Specifically, making the TX bandwidth narrower since I don't really need 3K of bandwidth for a 300 Hz signal when operating in ASFK mode. When using the new DigiU or DigiL mode, the audio routed through VAC bypasses any and all of the TX processing. Currently, Mic Gain is one of the data elements stored in the TX profiles database. BUT, in DigiX mode, the RX and TX gain is set not with the Mic and AF Gain, but with the RX/TX gain setting on the Setup-Audio-VAC tab. There may be times where you want different gain and TX bandwidth settings for feeding different digital mode programs or modes within the same program. Feature Request: Could there be a flag in the TX Profile database that indicates that the TX Profile is a digital mode profile and then have records to set the RX and TX gain like there is for regular modes along with the other TX profile settings? Obviously, if the TX bandwidth is fixed, this is basically a moot point. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size
Personally I like, and am considering the idea of having a dedicated PC for the SDR. But then how do you get it to talk to the other computer for telnet clusters...logging programs...digital programs...etc. Using the network card? Would need setup tab for that on the console? Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Philip Covington Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:01 PM To: Lyle Johnson Cc: flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New Noise Blanker and Console Size On 12/6/05, Lyle Johnson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Whatever you do, please don't assume we can dedicate the machine to the SDR console. We already aren't. Why not? Just to play Devil's advocate, let's assume you were using a traditional radio with a front panel, knobs and controls. It has a PC interface, and you run your MixW, logger, DX spotter, whatever on the PC. Life is good. You add the SDR-1000 to the mix, the PC display is crowded. But what if you tried to add the logger, MixW etc. onto your old radio's front panel and not use the PC display? Make the radio display all the PC screen information? It wouldn't fit! Even if the radio is an FTdx9000 or IC-7800. The problem is that the PC is now a *part* of the radio, and the SDR-1000 is *part* the radio. Many people think of the SDR-1000 as being the radio; it's not. It's only half of the radio. To be fair, you should be using a *dedicated* PC for the SDR-1000. Most folks don't, and leverage an existing PC into being the radio as well as the PC. Or buy a new PC for the SDR-1000 and leverage it into being their shack computer as well. Something has to give. Modifying the SDR-1000 occupied screen real estate is a possible solution, but I bet there are as many opinions as to what should be kept and what shouldn't, as there are SDR-1000 owners. However, many PCs have video cards with two display connectors, or can accept such a video card. You can easily and inexpensively double your effective screen pixel count. I put two screens on my desktop PC because I needed the pixels. I had to replace the existing video card with a new one for $39 so it would accommodate two screens. I added a pair of 1600x1200 LCD displays, only because I could not find 1920x1200 displays for less than several hundred dollars each. If you use a desktop PC, you can add a second, usable LCD display for under $200 these days. If a laptop, most in the last few years have allowed the use of an external display that extends the desktop over both displays, so you can have the extra pixels work for you. It's no longer either/or. My next desktop PC (I keep telling myself) will have two physical video cards that can each drive two physical monitors, and I'll end up with four active displays. And wish I had more... Enjoy! Lyle KK7P My thoughts exactly, when reading this! With people shelling out the bux for a SDR-1000 w/ antenna tuner, 100 watt amp, transverters, $150 D44 sound card, 12 Volt power supply, etc... there should not be any squealing about purchasing an extra LCD monitor and video card for under $300. Imagine the Panadapter display when you can take advantage of ALL of a 1280x1024 (or larger) display... Phil N8VB ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning
If you run Ham Radio Delux I believe it calculates the SWR and displays it on the screen in the upper left corner. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of William Bordy Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:16 PM To: 'Christoph - HB9AJP'; 'Wallace Watson'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning Hi Chris, Where are you measuring the SWR? If it is external to the SDR1000, I don't believe you will see a change. The SWR should change at the 100W amp output. The only way to check this is to read the FWD and REV power readings on the PowerSDR console and do a SWR calculation. When the ATU is installed, PowerSDR does not provide an SWR reading. It seems that it could do the calculation, but a SWR output meter reading is not provided. 73, Bill NJ1H -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Christoph - HB9AJP Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:26 PM To: Wallace Watson; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] ATU not tuning Hello Wally, when hiting TUN the carrier gets on (10W), then comes the red led and after abt 1s the red goes off. After a fraction of a second the red geos on again while the relays start clicking. After abt 1s the green led starts to flicker. Then the relays stop clicking and at the same time the red gets off and the green stays on permanently. Then the carrier gets off and after a fraction of a second the green led gets off. During the whole time the VSWR stays unchanged (e.g. 1:3) and the power meter moves a little bit. So I guess the behaviour of the tuning cycle seems to be ok but still it does not tune. (I also located and checked the jp1 jumper pads: the resistance reads infinity). Any suggestions? 73 Chris, HB9AJP Wallace Watson schrieb: Greetings Christoph, I also experienced the problem you have described when I obtained my SDR-ATU and installed it in the SDR-1000 in May 2005. My version of the ATU did not contain the red and green LED's which indicate the status of the ATU. After several exchanges with Gerald Youngblood, he advised that several of the early ATU Z-100's obtained from LDG were assembled without the addition of these LED's. This I corrected by obtaining the LED's from Gerald at Flex-Radio and installing them on my ATU unit. In order for the ATU to function correctly, you must be using PowerSDR verion 1.4.5 Beta 6 or later due to a software bug discovered in the earlier versions of software. What indication on the RED and GREEN LED's are you observing when you tune the SDR? The problem that I eventually discovered was a solder bridge short on the bottom of the 100W Amp board at the point of the ATU jumper pads. I read a .2 ohm short with the jumper cut and should have read infinity on my digital ohmmeter. I discussed this discovery with Gerald from Flex-Radio and we concluded that a short must exist, Gerald advised the procedure for removing the 100W amp from the SDR case and removal of the printed circuit board from the Amps heat-sink. Upon performing this disassembly I found a blob of solder bridging the jumper pads on the bottom of the 100W Amp circuit board. I removed the solder bridge and reassembled the AMP circuit board with the heat-sink and remounted the Amp in the SDR radio cabinet. The ATU then performed flawlessly when tested subsequent to this troubleshooting and correction. I am presently on Holiday at my future retirement home in Florida until after Christmas, after which my spouse and I return to the U.K. and resume work. Advise if I can be of additional assistance in troubleshooting your ATU unit? 73's, Wally - M0ZAZ. At 09:12 PM 12/4/2005 +0100, you wrote: My ATU is not working properly: I hear the relays but when finished, there was no tuning. Is there a way to test the ATU manually or is there a toubleshooting procedure? I am using the sdr-100O with 100W and ATU installed, purchased in September 05, Delta44, v1.4.5 Beta7. Actually it never worked until now, was not sure from the readings if I still should wait for updates(?). Chris, HB9AJP ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz _ Wallace A. Watson - [EMAIL PROTECTED] _ ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration
This is not true for all modes and systems. For CW, it seems 512 across the board works best for me. That is why I recommended savable user profiles. This was just before the TX profiles became available on the transmit tab. But an even better solution would be to have selectable buttons along the top menu bar. These can be named according to user preference and should save ALL parameters of the radio, not just tx. So if I want to work CW, I can click on the CW profile and make whatever changes I want and apply them. There could also be an option button to apply them based upon mode button selection. Just a thought, but seems to make sense to me. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:35 PM To: 'Jeff Anderson'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration It depends on the system, but a good set of general defaults are: Audio: 2048 DSP: 1024 Delta 44 DMA: 512 These can be adjusted downward depending on system speed and latency/filter requirements. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Jeff Anderson Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:29 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Just in case things should ever get screwed up in the computer here - what should be the default/recommended settings of the various buffers? Thanks! - Jeff, WA6AHL -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:14 PM To: 'Tim Ellison'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration I have witnessed this myself, and yet could not reproduce it or tie it to any other single application. If you find out what did it, please let us know. Another key setting to check is the DMA Buffer Size on that same tab. This was set to 2048 at the same time the output got changed in my experience. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: Tim Ellison [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration And I again lay prostrate to the Master. :-) This explains several things I have observed recently. I had originally used the quick start guide for the initial setup. I had not changed anything in the D44 control panel, but lo and behold the settings had changed. I'm not sure what application I ran that did it, but I now know what to look for. Thanks Eric. -Tim --- Tim Ellison ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) Integrated Technical Services ( http://www.itsco.com ) -Original Message- From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 4:12 PM To: Tim Ellison; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration Yes. The larger values indicate that something is seriously wrong. It sounds like the soundcard is setup for +4 dBU output (instead of -10dBv). Look at the Delta 44 Control Panel on the Hardware Settings Tab. This needs to look just like the pictures shown in the Delta 44 Quick Start guide seen here: www.flex-radio.com/delta44/delta44.htm. Eric -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Tim Ellison Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 3:00 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] A question about PA calibration First off, I am not having any problems running the PA calibration routine. It works fine. The PA gain test results I received with the radio all fall in a range between 48.7 and 47.7 with a large majority being 48.0 dB When I run the PA calibration into my dummy load, I get much different numbers The range is between 65.8 and 55.0 with a large majority being 64.0 dB Should I be concerned about this relatively large discrepancy between Flex-Radio determined gain test results and my own? I just want to make sure I am not damaging the PA. -Tim --- Tim Ellison mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Integrated Technical Services http://www.itsco.com/ Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] Transmit muddy audio
Ive been using a PR40 mic via W2IHY EQ+ and get great audio reports. The cable from the EQ+ directly to input 3 of the soundcard breakout box has the mic ground and the shield tied to gether. I think on the ring but not sure, may be the sleeve. GL Greg AB7R -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Jeff AndersonSent: Monday, November 28, 2005 4:10 PMTo: FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: Re: [Flexradio] Transmit muddy audio This may not fix it, but it's very important that the Mic's PTT ground *NOT* be connected to the Mic's analog ground, otherwise, you can get some strange audio effects. You need a true four-wire connection, not 3 wires (that is, do not tie the two grounds together). Also - if not already done, verify that the mics are correctly connected to the 4-pin connector. 73, - Jeff, WA6AHLrichard brossard [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Hello All ,Am running a flex with d 44 sound card ,compactcomputer amd 64 3500 plus 512 mem and have tried allthe software including the beta and have muddy midrange audio with leading edge keying spike that tripsthe amp instantly . I have tried several mikes a shuredynamic and an md100 to no avail . I notice the rfoutput also runs way up then way down in output . Themike's i use are perfect with my 1000 d , 1000 mp , ts2000 , pro , and orion so they should be even betterwith the ability of the flex to eq . The reciever isfantastic much better to listen to than the orion . Any ideas what i'm doing wrong . [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Yahoo! Music Unlimited Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited/___FlexRadio mailing listFlexRadio@flex-radio.bizhttp://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] Preamp question
Should the preamp be affecting transmit? I set up my tx filter from 200-1200 for psk and using the VAC. With preamp on low the display shows a pretty wide base of the signal. On Med it's a bit narrower and with about a 10db spur on the low side. With the pramp on high I get a very narrowly defined tx signal. Is the signal actually not changing but just the way the display is representing it? Even if so, this seems like the preamp is somehow effecting the tx chain. Still getting some popping on the VAC, but only occaisionally. I tried changing the VAC settings to various values between 30 and 60 and all seem to generate more popping than the 20 settingmaybe going in the wrong direction? Tnx Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Another digital program issue
Has anyone tried using the VAC with Hamscope? http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=4816 This is a very nice Free program and interfaces well with quite a few logging programs (using Logic 7 here). When I set the soundcard choice to: input: 2 IN Output: 1 OUT I get an error, Can't open soundcard and then says to maybe try different sampling rate. I tried to change them from the VAC tab on PWRSdr, but still would not work. Any help would be great as it's an excellent program. Tnx Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] Another digital program issue
Found a workaround. Hamscope lets you choose which soundcard to use, but also has an option to choose the best matchwhich I think means the default card. When I changed to that it seemed to work OK. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of ab7r Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 1:28 PM To: Flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Another digital program issue Has anyone tried using the VAC with Hamscope? http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=4816 This is a very nice Free program and interfaces well with quite a few logging programs (using Logic 7 here). When I set the soundcard choice to: input: 2 IN Output: 1 OUT I get an error, Can't open soundcard and then says to maybe try different sampling rate. I tried to change them from the VAC tab on PWRSdr, but still would not work. Any help would be great as it's an excellent program. Tnx Greg AB7R ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] RFC - Poor Man's Universal Controller Board
I think the Hamgadgets Universal Keying adapter provides the isolation we're looking for. I will ask. I think the small kits, that go together in about 25 minutes are about $16. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of ecellison Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 6:17 AM To: 'Larry Loen'; 'Wallace Watson' Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] RFC - Poor Man's Universal Controller Board Wally Thanks for the input, and I would definitely like to persue this as a project. Iffn you got a pencil, how about a sketch or something since you have already jumped on it and have the parts details. A kit should be pretty simple to do. How are you at ExpressPCB? Larry, sorry we don't have something for you at the moment! They do make 5 volt relays I saw them from DigiKey. Onea dem and a diode should get you in business. Eric2 -Original Message- From: Larry Loen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 4:12 AM To: Wallace Watson Cc: ecellison; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] RFC - Poor Man's Universal Controller Board Wallace Watson wrote: All, I used Dale, N0XAS's, Univeral Keying Adapter for my Amp keying scheme. This little board uses an optically isolated,MOSFET solid-state relay part # G2-1A03 as the interface to the amplifier with the following specs; 1) Keys solid state, grid block or cathode keyed amplifiers or transmitters up to 400V AC or DC 2) Optical isolation between rig and key input 3) Self contained and low voltage power requirement 4) Compact size ideal for integration into other equipment For our proposed use, the only other component required, besides the optically isolated MOSFET chip, is a current limiting resistor in the range of 270 - 500 ohms for use with the 5V DC power source available from the SDR radio's X-2 connector pin 14. The optically isolated MOSFET chips input is driven directly from X-2 pin 7. If we wished, we could include on the Poor Man's Universal controller board (PMUCB) a group of these same optically isolated MOSFET chips for protecting X-2 control lines, pins 1-6. If the isolators are not required we could have pads or headers to bypass the optically isolated MOSFET chips and terminate at a 6 or 10 pin Berg connector as suggested by Eric2. It would be my desire to utilize 1/8 phone jacks mounted on the PMUCB for a foot switch or hand switch for keying the SDR via X-2 pin10 PTT input. I would like to thank Eric2 for making this proposal on the email reflector. We had discussed this subject prior to the Belize DXpedition trip on Teamspeak, and unfortunately he suffered an SDR radio component failure as a result of trying to connect a relay in an amplifier directly into the radio on x2-7 without any buffering. I believe now is the time for this supplemental SDR radio interface kit. We are all pleased with the Delta-44 breakout box replacement that Tony designed and had circuit boards manufactured for. And for which Eric2 purchased all of the components and dry assembled the entire kit to make available to all of us SDR-1000 radio owners. I don't know if it was ever verbalized by the SDR Radio owners community but I wish to thank Eric2 and Tony for a job extremely well done! Thanks, Wally - M0ZAZ. At 05:55 AM 11/20/2005 -0500, you wrote: I have this problem in real-time. I am, right now, trying to work out the details of keying a Harris Miltary Surplus Amplfier. It is a very interesting device, having apparently been used all over the government (military, especially) over the last 20 or 30 years. Not least of the problems is figuring out how to safely hook up a rig like the SDR 1000 to it. I'm going to have to do what I'm least good at -- a little homebrewing -- at the moment it would be most dangerous to our favorite transmitter. And, of course, I'd like to get it done before CQ WW this next weekend, so I don't have forever, at least not if I want the amp for the contest. The more obvious schemes, using readily available parts, would involve using twelve volts to trigger 110v AC relays. At least, the T/R HF switch I currently have is triggered off of 110, but obviously, I don't want to switch that directly. The most readily available scheme would be a 12v triggered AC relay which would then be hooked to the T/R antenna switch, itself switched off of 110v. But, ultimately, if I want to trigger this from the SDR itself, I'm going to need optical isolation or open collectors or something so I can translate the available voltages off the back of the SDR to the 12v that my current scheme, at least, will need. Maybe there are 5v triggered relays out there, but this is what I have for now. I'm going to get a hand from Terry, W0VB, who really understands this stuff 100 fold better than I do. But, at least at the present, this is what I'm expecting to do. A supplemental SDR interface board that made it easy to do these sorts
[Flexradio] Could this be a protocol problem?
I wanted to try a quick and simple, yet effective logging program and downloaded the N3FJP suite. All seems to work OK with the exception of CWL mode. When I click on CW_U the logging program correctly changes to CW. But when changing to CW-L, the logger goes to SSB. I already sent an email to the author who says this has never been an issue with the Kenwood protocol. Could SDR be sending a command from CW-L that could be interpreted as SSB? Tnx Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] PowerSDR Beta v1.4.5 Preview 7 is released.
Hi Eric. Using Preview 7, DIGL put RX filter in LSB, But when TX it goes to USB. For DIGU, the rx filter is LSB but the tx is USB. Thanks for increasing the range of the rx on the VAC slider. Next time you get in there, could you go even further? When trying to work weak psk sigs and the preamp is on, even at -40 I get way too much noise. Thought that would have been a good number...maybe -60 would be better. As others have mentioned, I do still get some pulsing in TX with the VAC (purchase). But they seem more intermittant and not as strong as they were before adjusting the buffer. Thanks and have a great weekend! Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 2:40 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] PowerSDR Beta v1.4.5 Preview 7 is released. Please visit the following link for detailed Release Notes: http://www.flex-radio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1900 Since this will likely be our last release before the holiday, we would like to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] Digital modes
Eric Now that the VAC is implemented, how long will it be before the digital modes are enabled? I think Bob mentioned the code has been ready. Recommend when you do, that when clicking on RTTY or PSK (one for SSTV too?) that the VAC is automatically enabled. When click any other mode it should automatically be disabled. I know FSK is not ready yet, but would still be nice to have the digial modes in AFSK for now. Tnx Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] MixW
Eric. Is it possible to get the RTTY working before too much longer? Includeing filters and FSK? Would also be great to have the desired signal to be place in the filter passband as with CW when clicking on it while in RTTY mode. Tnx Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of w2agn Sent: Saturday, November 12, 2005 3:01 PM To: FlexRadio Reflector Subject: [Flexradio] MixW Well, I tried MMTTY, and got it working with SDR, but it is hard to tune. Tried out MixW, and it was a snap to tune. Even made a couple quick QSOs in the RTTY test with the SDR. Ended up sending my $50 for registration. Also got my K1EL WinKey working with N1MM logger, and of course, finally got SSB working (well, from the reports). So I am pleased that it only took a couple of days to get evrything working with the SDR-1000 as I wanted. John W2AGN ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] PSK vCOM VAC MixW
I had the same problem as Eric mentioned. Drove me nuts till I played with the VAC buffer settings. Seems to work best on 512. Do that and you will be in business! GL Greg AB7R -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of FlexRadio - EricSent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 6:52 PMTo: 'Robert Grambau'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: Re: [Flexradio] PSK vCOM VAC MixW Rob, Try moving the VAC buffers up to 1024 or 2048. That fixed it for AB7R. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robert GrambauSent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 7:37 PMTo: FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: [Flexradio] PSK vCOM VAC MixW I haveinstalled vCOM, bought, installedand enabled the VAC, set up MixW and successfully sent CW through the SDR software with the MixW console. However, MixW doesn't sent PSK properly. It receives PSK just fine through the VAC - a nice waterfall, etc. But on transmit, my signal is pulsing (briefly dropping the signal about once per second) as though the PTT is not being held active. I don't suspect the VAC audio stream because it is running smoothly to MixW in the receive mode. But something is preventing a continuous smooth transmission of the PSK warble. Has anyone else seen this effect/problem? I followed Frank's tutorial/setup blurb. Phil didn't think it had to do with vCOM. Is anyone using MixW, VAC, vCOM to successfully send PSK? Rob K2UP
Re: [Flexradio] Radio has arrived - strange operation
Something similar happened to me only when using the parallel cable. Sometimes when turning on the radio from standby my audio level would be very low as if not connected to anything. I would have to click some band button 1 or 2 times before I would get anything. After returning to the parallel/USB adapter it has NOT happened at all. Greg AB7R -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Jeff AndersonSent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 6:20 PMTo: FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: Re: [Flexradio] Radio has arrived - strange operation Hi Eric, I just got home from work and ran some additional tests... The radio continues to drop into "very low level" receivemode even athalf-an-hour following power-up. Some things that can "randomly"cause it to drop into low-level mode: 1. Changing the preamp gain (med to hight, low to med, hi to med...etc.). This is my most consistent method of causing the failure. 2. Clicking MOX on/off). 3. Changing bands (60 meters to 40 meters, for example). Changing bands (or clicking MOX on/off) can also cause the low-level to correct itself to the normal receive level. It can occur on different bands (80, 60, and 40 meters were the bands I checked). Clicking the ON/Standby button twice (or any number of times) seems to have no effect. My suspicion is that a band relayis incorrectly opening, due to...a yet-to-be-determined cause. The Computer is still virgin - I don't even have it connected to the internet, yet. And the only programs on it are those that were installed at FlexRadio. Nothing is attached to the parallel port except for the radio. - Jeff -Original Message-From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 10:01 AMTo: 'Jeff Anderson'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: RE: [Flexradio] Radio has arrived - strange operation Jeff, As I recall your radio had a Dell configured with it. We have seen the issue you described after a fresh reboot. It seems to happen a few times and then it stops even on my production machine here. We are not sure what causes this, but it seems like some kind of a startup situation here. If you are seeing it past that, then it would make me wonder about other possible software interactions with the parallel port. What other software have you loaded on the machine since it arrived? Anything that would be polling the parallel port? This can cause problems with our hardware as polling certain pins could prompt the radio to think it is receiving control data (thus flipping relays). This would typically result in the receiver dropping out without any interaction from the user (seemingly random). More info may be needed to figure out exactly what is happening. Does it always happen on the same band? Does going to another band always clear it up? Does clicking the On/Standby button twice clear it up? You can use the schematics on the private download page to trace the filter switches on the RFE, and the BPF boards. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jeff AndersonSent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 11:51 AMTo: FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: [Flexradio] Radio has arrived - strange operation I received my SDR over the weekend and finally got it up and running Monday (advice to Flex-Radio: please include DC Power cable *and* a female-to-female stereo adapter when shipping the radio. This will save an unanticipatedtrip to the store and muchgrumbling). Very cool radio and I'm having lots of fun playing with it and programming my ShufflePro. However, I am experiencing an annoying problem. Sometimes, as Istep through thebands (typically I go from 40, through 60, to 80 meters, and vice-versa), the radio suddenly goes deaf (signals become very very weak). I'll need to cycle through the bands a number of times beforethe signals return to their normal levels. Very frustrating, especially when it happens a number of times throughout the evening. My guess is that there'ssomething flakey in the band-switchingrelays (flakey contacts or poor drive to a relayor incorrect relaydecoding), but I wanted to check if there were any known software bugs which might cause this problem. If it's a problem with the relays - is there some way I can determine which one? Which relays are turned on at what times? Thanks!
Re: [Flexradio] PowerSDR Beta v1.4.5 Preview 4 / Spectrum display
Personally, I like it the new way. The filter is definitely in effect, but we can see marginally, but clearly, what is going on around us. I switched from the panadapter to spectrum during the contest. When in search and pounce mode, the panadapter was obviously the best choice, but when running CQs, the spectrum mode was very nice to use instead. You can see in more detail what is going on around you instead of just the one signal. So if I set my filter to 250Hz, I can still see other sigs close by easier than in the panadapter mode. Can this be made into something user selectable? Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 12:24 PM To: 'Bodo Scholz'; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] PowerSDR Beta v1.4.5 Preview 4 / Spectrum display Ok. I completely understand now. What you are seeing is the pre-filtered data where before you were looking at the post-filtered data. This was likely changed when we found a bug related to switching modes. We'll get this fixed. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: Bodo Scholz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 2:04 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] PowerSDR Beta v1.4.5 Preview 4 / Spectrum display Eric, the messages were too big with the attached files. So here is another try. I loaded the files to the server here. - PowerSDR v.1.4.5 pre 4 no filtered spectrum in the display with 25 Hz choosen it looks about the same also for the other bandwidths, no filtered spetra are displayed. http://dj9cs.raisdorf.net/downloads/PowerSDR_25Hz_v.1.4.5pr4.jpg - PowerSDR v.1.4.4 about the same input situation, just band noise but here, as in all previous versions, a filtered spectrum is displayed for 25 Hz. http://dj9cs.raisdorf.net/downloads/PowerSDR_25Hz_v1.4.4.jpg Bodo, DJ9CS ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] Contesting with Preview 4
Was going to make a serious attempt at the SS CW contest this weekend. But gremlins krept into the mix. My control cable to the six pack antenna relay had a visit from Mickey Mouse who feasted on the cable enought to cause a short and keep blowing the fuse in the control box. No way was I gonna mess with it in the wx we had last night. Fixed it this afternoon and got to play a bit more. Preview 4 did a fine job with N1MM. I'm not sure why, maybe due to the polling, but a handy thing was that when ever I clicked on a signal the focus immediately jumped back to N1MM. This made search and pounce very easy! Filters were great! The only anomaly I noticed was that when I would send with the paddles thru COM 1 (using a keyer), the next time I would send with N1MM I would loose the MON sidetone. Happened every time. Hopefully that can be fixed. Other than that, it played well. With the amount of time I lost due to the antenna situation, any serious attempt was long lost. But still had fun. Much nicer than turning the knob to listen for a signal and give new meaning to search and pounce. 73 Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue
Tnx Bob! Once I thought I had figured that out yesterday I had a nice qso with a cuban on 40m psk using the vac. Very nice job indeed and the audio seems cleaner than from the hardware soundcard I was using. One bit of suggestion I made when speaking with Eric (I call him E now). Would be great to have a control over the audio chain to and from the VAC independant of the AF control on the SDR. Right now, you have to adjust the AF to get the correct input level to the external program (MixW in this case). Having independent control over the audio would be able to optimize bothe rx and tx from the VAC without screwing around with the AF controls. Will also ensure a clean tx signal as you can adjust to match the output set on the radio and the drop it down just a bit so that you don't overdrive. Tnx agn for all you dothis BUD i'm drinking is for you.BTW...it's a nice cold one! :) 73 Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: Robert McGwier [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2005 7:44 PM To: ab7r Cc: Joe - AB1DO; Flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue Good point and it reveals an interaction between the various settings. If you choose 2048 on VAC and it is 8000 samples per second, this is turned into 12234 samples when resampled to 48000. If you get the phasing wrong (it will be random, having nothing to do with you personally) you could get unlucky and need to deal with numbers of samples in excess of 16384 in the ring buffers and that would do you in. The ring buffers are 16384 samples. I would use the smallest buffers for VAC that will work and we should make 512 the default. Bob ab7r wrote: Thanks Joe, but that's not it. Don't hear any voices (other than those already in my head...hihi) But I think I just figured it outand if Bob or Eric can chime in, it would be appreciated. The only buffers I had not adjusted before were the VAC buffers. The instructions showed them at 2048, so that's where I kept it. I changed it to 1024 and it was a little better. Changed it again to 512 and no more drop outs. So this seems to have cured the TX, is that low VAC buffer setting going to have any other affect? Thanks Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Joe - AB1DO Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 12:08 PM To: Flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue Greg, just a thought, which may not hold as you mentioned you have already actually purchased VAC. I am still running a trial version, and I noticed that every 2-3 secconds, as you describe, VAC cuts out and and you hear the word trial (you can verify this by selecting SSB transmit with VAC still enabled in SDR Setup - with MON on, I heard the word trial as described). I also notice it on the waterfall display of MixW (bpsk receive) as regular horizontal stripes accross the display. Hope this helps, 73 de Joe, AB1DO - Original Message - From: ab7r [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 02:44 Subject: [Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue Hi again. Using Preview 2 and purchased and installed the virtual audio cable. Carefully followed Bob's instructions and seems to be partially working. I am receiving audio in MixW and transmitting. But when transmitting, it cuts out every so briefly about every 2 or 3 seconds. I double and triple checked the settings and all are per the pdf file. My only deviation is I am using coms 4 and 5 for the CAT and 6/7 for CW. But in MixW, the CW is set for CAT. When tx/rx in CW mode, seems to be no interruptions and works fine. This is only in afsk mode that I get the pauses or interruptionswhatever you want to call them (drop outs). Anybody else having this issue? Thanks Greg AB7R ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz -- Laziness is the number one inspiration for ingenuity. Guilty as charged!
Re: [Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue
Thanks Joe, but that's not it. Don't hear any voices (other than those already in my head...hihi) But I think I just figured it outand if Bob or Eric can chime in, it would be appreciated. The only buffers I had not adjusted before were the VAC buffers. The instructions showed them at 2048, so that's where I kept it. I changed it to 1024 and it was a little better. Changed it again to 512 and no more drop outs. So this seems to have cured the TX, is that low VAC buffer setting going to have any other affect? Thanks Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Joe - AB1DO Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 12:08 PM To: Flexradio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue Greg, just a thought, which may not hold as you mentioned you have already actually purchased VAC. I am still running a trial version, and I noticed that every 2-3 secconds, as you describe, VAC cuts out and and you hear the word trial (you can verify this by selecting SSB transmit with VAC still enabled in SDR Setup - with MON on, I heard the word trial as described). I also notice it on the waterfall display of MixW (bpsk receive) as regular horizontal stripes accross the display. Hope this helps, 73 de Joe, AB1DO - Original Message - From: ab7r [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Flexradio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 02:44 Subject: [Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue Hi again. Using Preview 2 and purchased and installed the virtual audio cable. Carefully followed Bob's instructions and seems to be partially working. I am receiving audio in MixW and transmitting. But when transmitting, it cuts out every so briefly about every 2 or 3 seconds. I double and triple checked the settings and all are per the pdf file. My only deviation is I am using coms 4 and 5 for the CAT and 6/7 for CW. But in MixW, the CW is set for CAT. When tx/rx in CW mode, seems to be no interruptions and works fine. This is only in afsk mode that I get the pauses or interruptionswhatever you want to call them (drop outs). Anybody else having this issue? Thanks Greg AB7R ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] HAMGADGETS EXTERNAL KEYER INTERFACE UKA-II
Lot of folks have been having problems with getting their external keyers to key the SDR1K through the comport. I tested Dale's new UKA-II Universal Keying Adapter and it does a great job. Nice and small in size and only about a dozen parts. Took about 20-25 minutes to put together. I'm slow I know! I am now able to use my Microham USB CW keyer connected to the UKA-II and then to the computer's COM port and key my SDR. I have a stand alone PS2 Keypad connected to the microkeyer for access to programmed memories too. Great! I think Dale will begin selling these this month or next and will go for about $15 I think (don't quote me on that). No association with Hamgadgets herejust trying a new gadget for my SDR and am a happy camper. www.hamgadgets.com 73 Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] virtual audio cable issue
Hi again. Using Preview 2 and purchased and installed the virtual audio cable. Carefully followed Bob's instructions and seems to be partially working. I am receiving audio in MixW and transmitting. But when transmitting, it cuts out every so briefly about every 2 or 3 seconds. I double and triple checked the settings and all are per the pdf file. My only deviation is I am using coms 4 and 5 for the CAT and 6/7 for CW. But in MixW, the CW is set for CAT. When tx/rx in CW mode, seems to be no interruptions and works fine. This is only in afsk mode that I get the pauses or interruptionswhatever you want to call them (drop outs). Anybody else having this issue? Thanks Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Virtual Sound Card
Still not able to transmit with the VAC without the continuous drop outs.but patience is on my side. Eric Is it possible to create an adjustable audio level output to the VAC without having to use the AF gain? Right now have to use the AF to adjust the level thru the VAC to the external program. Could be something on the VAC tab in setup. Tnx Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Virtual audio cable
This is just a thought as the cause of my constant dropouts. They seem to be timed to coincide with my electric fence pops. I use the NB to eliminate them in RX. But could they somehow be the cause of my problems? Too much of a coincidence for the timing to be the same. If this is the problem, is there a way to eliminate it, short of having to shut of my fence? I'll test my theory tomorrow after work. It's raining out and don't want to wander down to where the control is. CUL Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] Preview 2 RE-Observations - LONG!
No problems inporting the database on my setup. Just had to change the buffers. Also my com port keying stopped working. But after playing some in the contest and then returning in the morning and rebooting the computer, the lower buffers seemed to be working OK as is the COM port keying. I was concerned about the vox not working, but once I unchecked the noisegate it worked OK. Then I set the noisegate to a lower level and it was working OK. Before it would switch to tx, but not return after I was done speaking. One think I notice that would be a huge helpespecially when contestingor anytime for that matter, would be for the shuttle Pro to KEEP the focus on the SDR, even if you click on another program with the mouse. Gotta be a way I would imagine, but I don't know how. As a workaround, my logitech mouse has a button the switches between two applications, so I just set that up to go between WIN-Test logging program and PowerSDR. Better than nothing, but still would be better to have the tuning knob keep its focus. For people still looking for keying solutions, I have the new hamgadgets Universal Keying adapter II on the way and will pass on how well it works. Will be nice to have the keying thru my microham usb CW keyer directly to the COM Port on the computer. Should have a report by the weekend depending on when it arrives. Contesting with the SDR was fun.now bring on the dual rx and the SO2R baby 73 Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Stan Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2005 3:08 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] Preview 2 RE-Observations - LONG! As I believe I was the first one to post problems with the newest release I thought I might post what I did to solve these problems. Believe it or not I used this release in the contest, I ran single op single band 40 meters so after spending Friday nite/Sat morn operating - I got about 5-6 hrs sleep and decided to play around with the software to see what else I might find that made me unhappy while waiting for 40 meters to open back up. First, importing the database from the first preview didn't work at all so I re-calibrated everything making a new database. Well, one thing I found was related to the vox feature. the big culprit for me was the NOISE GATE. It was checked and the threshold was 3db. As soon as I unchecked this the software started to work. I was able to use the 256 buffers on everything. Unchecking this solved almost all the problems I previously wrote about. Not sure why it came up like this but if you are having problems with the software I suggest you double click on the icon and instead of going from standby to on - go to setup, from here and make sure your settings are as basic as possible. By that I mean don't turn any of the features on. You really need to start from scratch. I'll bet for most of you the software will now work. Can some one tell me where this awful beep sound comes from? this has to be the ugliest beep I have ever heard and why it makes these weird noises when for example - resizing the setup window is done. Although the equalizers are nice to have, I don't think its really necessary BUT if these items are going to be part of the software, why not include some buttons for high and low audio filters on the front panel it needs to be cluttered more I guess :). Just my 2 cents worth on this. Back to the contest, I liked the way it worked for the contest. I was able to hear very well and got a number of sounds good reports from other ops in the test. It must be really nice to hear good SSB audio that brings positive comments. I cant recall actually not being able to hear a station cause someone was too close to my frequency. One huge advantage for contesting is the panadapter view. I was able to see holes in the band and go to them. These holes were actually a place in the band were no one was operating, a clean frequency. I was able to move around the band to a hole and operate without wasting valuable time searching for a place to operate. The key here is with my Kenwood I would still hear qrm from the adjacent stations and still have to look for a cleaner place to operate. No need to do that with the SDR. I hope I made myself clear here. One problem with the new software is the frequency calibration. For some reason I got an error that told me something like the calibration was out of spec. I have TWO requests for the authors of the software, one, an internal voice keyer, two, PLEASE document for us users all the little adjustments that can be made in the setup tab. We now have a setup tab that has sub setup tabs. These adjustments are available to us but to be honest I cant tell you what some of them do and what the effects would be if we change something. Some are very noticeable some I would guess are not. Please complie the information on this stuff so someone like myself can make the decision
Re: [Flexradio] CAT Control
I'm sure i'm off base here as I'm not in the same league on this stuff as most. But I recall an issue with the StepIR box that the external program being used need to poll the radio to get the propper commands sent and picked up by the stepir interface. If there is nothing polling the SDR or making the SDR send the sigs thru the com port then the stepir won't know anything has changed. So either the radio has to poll automatically to a specified com port or another program has to make it poll. OKnow I've lost myself. Take a poll..who thinks i've gone over the edge? DON'T ANSWER THAT! 73 Greg AB7R -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Tom ThompsonSent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 9:34 PMTo: Bob TracyCc: Flex RadioSubject: Re: [Flexradio] CAT ControlTom Thompson wrote:Bob and Bill: I have a few more clues on the SteppIR / SDR1000 interface issue. First of all, Bob, the zero fill is ok. I confirmed in my Kenwood TS-450S manual that any fill character except a semicolon is legitimate at least for this transceiver. I have an old TRS80-100 that I programmed up as a Kenwood simulator, and confirmed this.I had a level problem between the SteppIR box and the SDR1000 computer that I solved which allowed me to view the following: 1) The SDR will change the SteppIR box one time only when you open the application. 2) If you change the frequency while the SDR application is open, the SteppIR box will NOT follow. 3) If you change the frequency, close the application completely and reopen it the SteppIR box will go to the new frequency but again only that one time. 4) This is consistent with the portmon.log file which shows this to be the case.That is about all that I know how to do. I have a feeling that this bug might spill over into other applications besides the SteppIR app.I hope this has been helpful and thank you for your time.73,Tom W0IVJBob Tracy wrote: Tom, If the SteppIR is looking for spaces as padding for the frequency, then we have a real problem. The Kenwood spec (used to develop the SDR-1000 CAT parser) specifically requires any blank character in a frequency string to be "0". Let me know what you find. Bob K5KDN -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Tom Thompson Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:55 AM To: Bill Tracey; Flex Radio Subject: Re: [Flexradio] CAT Control Bill, After looking at the portcom.log file this morning, it looks as if the IF; command is getting through every time but a response is only being generated once. That response is a little different from the one that actually drives the StrppIR box correctly in that it has zeros in place of spaces. I don't know whether this makes a difference or not, but I will pursue it and let you know. 73, Tom W0IVJ Bill Tracey wrote: The CAT comm port code should work with a physical port, at least it did at one point. Has been a while since I've run it in that mode. Do the SteppIR docs on using a CAT controlled radio say anything about flow control settings? I don't recall what flowcontrol we set on the port when we open it, I do see that we don't provide a way to set it (argh). The error you sent me in a private email makes it look a little like we failed to open the comm port - it seems we're attempting to close an already closed port and I know I've seen the code get into that error path when we failed on the initial open of the port. Is there any chance there's another program using COM1 -- maybe a PDA sync program or some such. Also check that the CW keyer is not set to use COM1. Next step is for you to download and install Portmon from http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Portmon.html and trace the failing scenario and send me the resulting trace file. That should give me some idea what is going in. Regards, Bill (kd5tfd) At 02:05 PM 10/24/2005, Bob Tracy wrote: Tom, Bill (KD5TFD) knows more about the serial port code than I do, maybe he will chime in with a real answer about whether or not it can be used in real mode. I have no means of testing it other than with my SDR-1000. Looking at the code, I can't see any reason for it not to work in real mode. Meanwhile, the CAT tester does not interface with the serial port, it interacts with the console software directly so it is no indication that the port is working. Secondly, you might try changing your ID selection on the CAT tab to something other than "SDR-1000". I suspect the StepIR software doesn't know anything about an SDR-1000. Try one of the Kenwood models. Bob K5KDN -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Tom Thompson Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 11:15 AM To: Flex Radio Subject: [Flexradio] CAT Control I want to have my SteppIR follow the frequency changes on my S
Re: [Flexradio] New to the Reflector
Rick. I've not tried it with TRXMgr yet. Are you using the Kenwood protocol? I had asked Laurent about supporting the SDR1K about a month ago. He mentioned he made an inquiry in the past about the software but did not get a reply. So for now he has no plans for support. Though i'm thinking some wires got crossed somewhere cuz that does not sound like Eric or Gerald to not reply to such an inquiry. CUL Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Richard Stasiak Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 6:10 PM To: Flex Radio Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New to the Reflector On this issue, I can confirm that PowerSDR works fine with TRX Manager. 73 Rick ve3mm On 25-Oct-05, at 6:06 PM, Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio wrote: Dave, Here's a short list of programs verified to work with the PowerSDR software using the virtual serial port: Ham Radio Deluxe DXLab Commander MixW N1MM Logger Win-EQF RCKLog ACLog DX4Win Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New to the Reflector
I've been using Logic-7 with no problems via the TS-2000 protocol. Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 3:07 PM To: 'Dave Meitzen'; 'Flex Radio' Subject: Re: [Flexradio] New to the Reflector Dave, Here's a short list of programs verified to work with the PowerSDR software using the virtual serial port: Ham Radio Deluxe DXLab Commander MixW N1MM Logger Win-EQF RCKLog ACLog DX4Win Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] radio.biz] On Behalf Of Dave Meitzen Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 4:36 PM To: Flex Radio Subject: [Flexradio] New to the Reflector I am thinking about buying a SDR-1000. I want to run it in to my PW-1 amp. I have a MicroHam controller that they say will control the amplifier band from several logging programs. What logging programs are integrated with the SDR-1000 so that they get their band info from the SDR-1000 software? Have others run ICOM amp in this fashion? Is there a better solution? Thanks for taking the time. Best Regards Dave ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] New to the Reflector
I think you're referring to the Microham band decoder. I don't think that gets it's control sigs from software, but from some sort of sink or source relay driver. I believe you will need a kit that should be available called the uiversal control board (UCB). That will provide the source for the band decoder to the amp. And as usual...I could be way off basehihi. But I have some good news.noit's not a Geico comercial I did manage to run 350ft of #2 triplex and wire all the electrical in my new barnand live to tell about it! But as luck would have itwe're having a nice wind storm right now here on Whidbey Island and will probably loose power. AnywayGL! Greg AB7R -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Dave Meitzen Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 2:36 PM To: Flex Radio Subject: [Flexradio] New to the Reflector I am thinking about buying a SDR-1000. I want to run it in to my PW-1 amp. I have a MicroHam controller that they say will control the amplifier band from several logging programs. What logging programs are integrated with the SDR-1000 so that they get their band info from the SDR-1000 software? Have others run ICOM amp in this fashion? Is there a better solution? Thanks for taking the time. Best Regards Dave ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] Visual multi-OS Platform for developing SDR software.
Hi Phil. Sorry to bother you and I know this has been beaten to death. But could not find in the SDR archieves the proper proceedure to set up multiple com ports. I have 4 and 5 working OK using WinTest contest software, but need to set up 6 and 7 for PTT. My problem is..for some reason there are a couple instances of the inf file in different directories. How do I know which one to change? Alsoin the section where it says it is editable to set the number of ports, the first line after is ports=0x01 and then lists thru ports=0x10...etc. Is the first line the one that needs to be changed to ports=0x02? below that the port pairs are already defined so port 2 = 6 and 7. Thanks Greg AB7R -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Philip CovingtonSent: Friday, October 07, 2005 1:11 PMTo: FlexRadio ReflectorSubject: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: [Flexradio] Visual multi-OS Platform for developing SDR software.Definitely a good choice, also.There is Boa Constructor that uses wxWindows for the GUI. It has a GUI designer built in. Runs on both Windows and Linux. For those who like Borland's Delphi or C++ Builder's IDE, Boa will look really similar.The xml files that Glade generates can be easily used in Python.The only potential problem with using Python in the SDR applications is that you must do some things in C or C++ (if certain needed modules have not already been done by someone else and are available) and some people may not be comfortable programming in C or C++. We can see this being the case currently where people are comfortable with the C# code in PowerSDR but have a very hard time with the C code in DttSP.While we are on the python subject:I have been playing a bit with IronPython 0.9 on Mono 1.1.9. With IronPython I can load .NET/Mono assemblies like you can load modules in standard Python. This gives the possiblility of dynamically stringing together objects from the SharpDSP library (or other managed assemblies) written in C# in a similar manner that GNURadio uses Python to string together radio objects with their underlying code written in C++. This is probably the tract I will take with HPSDR.73 de Phil N8VB On 10/7/05, VA3MA - Dan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I'd suggest PYTHON www.python.org multi O/S and can drop into C when necessary... Lots of GUI tools as well 73 Dan VA3MA -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of KD5NWASent: Friday, October 07, 2005 1:29 PMTo: FlexRadio@flex-radio.bizSubject: [Flexradio] Visual multi-OS Platform for developing SDR software.This is related to SDR sort of. I'm looking for a visual multi-OS programming platform to create modified versions of the SDR software on different OS.For the last year or so I've been looking on and off for a visual platform that will let me generate applications for Windows, Linux, and OS X without having to do 20 jumps through hoops or have to borrow money from the bank to pay for it. The only thing so far that fits the bill is Lisp, incredibly powerful but there is a huge learning curve associated with it.I downloaded MS C# beta version from their web site and set it up, and I'm not impressed. I don't have fastest PC on the Planet but I also don't have the slowest, It's a 1700MHz Athalon with 1.5 Gig of Ram and a 1.2 Terabyte HD drive array (I use it for video editing).The IDE was so incredibly slow, it would take several seconds to do anything, click on a button to see the code, wait. open a file, wait, call up a tool bar, wait. It's to the point where is not very productive, anything you do is accompanied by having to wait.For the folks out there that use MS C#, is that your experience or did you have to buy a really fast machine to get it to move it's carcass?Frustrated! Cecil BayonaKD5NWAwww.qrpradio.comI fail to see why doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results every time is insanity: I've almost proved it isn't; only a few more tests now and I'm sure results will differ this time ... ___FlexRadio mailing listFlexRadio@flex-radio.bizhttp://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz -- Philip A Covingtonhttp://www.philcovington.com-- Philip A Covingtonhttp://www.philcovington.com
Re: [Flexradio] Microphone recommendations
I've been getting some nice reports using the PR-40 through the W2IHY EQPlus box. Easy to set up and works great. 73 Greg AB7R Title: Microphone recommendations Tim, I am using a Marshall MXL-2003 condenser microphone here. It is connected to an Aphex 107 microphone preamp. The audio then goes to an equalizer and then an Aphex Compellor to stabilize the audio levels a bit and reduce the dynamic range. It is then fed to the balanced input of the D-44. It is a line level audio signal and I have a few MP3's that I could send you to listen to the audio quality. The reports have been very good. At the other end of the scale, I have a healthy respect for the Astatic D104 microphone. When they are used properly, they sound very good. I have a circuit for a small preamp that will fit into the bottom of the stand that will bring the output up to line level and I will be trying that soon. I do not expect it to measure up to the condenser microphone but I do expect that it will be better than most communications audio that is heard. I hope that helps. --Larry W8ER - Original Message - From: Tim Ellison To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 6:44 PM Subject: [Flexradio] Microphone recommendations I finally ordered my SDR-1000 yesterday (yippee!) and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. In the mean time, I wanted to ping the group on microphone types to use with the SDR-1000. I'll be using the Delta 44 and will feed the mic directly into the soundcard. I noticed some where on the Flex-radio web site that there is a reference to using dynamic Heil microphones and was wondering what the good, the bad and the ugly was on using dynamic mics. Do they drive the soundcard without having to use a preamp? Also, what experiences have people had with condenser and computer mics /headsets? -Tim --- Tim Ellison Integrated Technical Services Apex, NC USA 919.674.0044 Ext. 25 / 919.674.0045 (FAX) 919.215.6375 - cell PGP public key available at all public KeyServers ___FlexRadio mailing listFlexRadio@flex-radio.bizhttp://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Re: [Flexradio] 1.4.5 keyer
Title: Message I have been working on this too with my Microham CW keyer. I called Dale at hamgadgets.com and they no longer have this keying interface. Greg AB7R -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of richard allenSent: Monday, October 10, 2005 1:27 PMTo: 'Dale Boresz'; flexradio@flex-radio.bizSubject: Re: [Flexradio] 1.4.5 keyer Thanks, Dale. To test the serial port keying, have you tried just using either a straight key connected to it, or even just paddles? I am actually just tying pin 4 to 6 or 8 on the usb-serial port with a clip-lead to see if it will work. No joy there. The usb-serial port shows up as com5 and that is what I have selected as input to the new keyer. I can see the signals with another program. -Original Message-From: Dale Boresz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, October 10, 2005 2:47 PMTo: richard allen; flexradio@flex-radio.bizSubject: Re: [Flexradio] 1.4.5 keyerHello Richard,If you're trying to key the serial port via the output circuitry of an external keyer, you may not be able to do so without some extra circuitry. The outputs of most keyers are designed to sink a positive current, however I think the serial port is actually sourcing a negative voltage. I ran into this with my Logikey model K-3 keyer. To test the serial port keying, have you tried just using either a straight key connected to it, or even just paddles? I haven't followed this thread backward all the way, so forgive me if I missed your description of your setup. Bob, N4HY recommended a product a while ago which I purchased but haven't had the chance to try just yet. It's the 'Universal Keying Adapter; from N0XAS ( http://www.hamgadgets.com ) which is an optically isolated keying interface that will probably work with just about anything you can throw at it. It's inexpensive at about $10 and takes about 10 minutes to assemble. 73, Dale WA8SRArichard allen wrote: Thanks. I had all that. I guess it must be the serial/usb port. Mine may be defective. I'll try it with another keyer. -Original Message- From: Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, October 10, 2005 2:04 PM To: 'richard allen' Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: RE: [Flexradio] 1.4.5 keyer N1MM is a fairly popular logging program that has a built in keyer (among many other nice features). The hook ups for connecting a key as specified by N4HY are as follows: Pin 8 = CTS = Dash Pin 4 = DTR = Common Pin 6 = DSR = Dot If you are using an external keyer or a straight key, just one either the dot or dash line and the common (and uncheck iambic in the software). Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: richard allen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, October 10, 2005 1:47 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: Re: [Flexradio] 1.4.5 keyer What is a 'N1MM'? I am trying to hook in to key the radio from the com port which happens to be a serial/usb type. No joy iambic or not. Works fine when going in thru the lpt. Bob has not answered my e-mail yet. He must be busy with AMSAT stuff. You have significant changes since 1.4.5 beta on the site? I assume that's what you sent me. Richard "Eric Wachsmann - FlexRadio" [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: (10/10/2005 13:07) I witnessed W5ZL and AB5K use a USB/serial adapter to connect an external keyer hooked up to N1MM. However, the input to the radio was still running through the back panel on the SDR-1000. It could be that we have fixed issues with the Beta v1.4.5 Preview 1 since it was released in house though. Eric Wachsmann FlexRadio Systems -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]- radio.biz] On Behalf Of richard allen Sent: Monday, October 10, 2005 12:54 PM To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Subject: [Flexradio] 1.4.5 keyer Has anyone had success with the 1.4.5 paddle/keyer input on a usb/serial port as opposed to a legacy true hardware port? Mine works fine on the LPT input but not my serial/usb dongle. Richard W5SXD ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] Shuttle settings
Looking to see if anyone has been able to program other buttons on the shuttle pro. Or...can you point me to where I can find the keystrokes required for turning on or off functions other than what is on the keyboard screen of the powerSDR console? Thanks Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] Delta 44 Interface card
I must have done something wrong. When I connect to the new interface, I get a bunch of spikes on the panadapter display. When I go back to the regular breakout box they are gone. Greg AB7R - Original Message - From: Kurt Vangsness [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wednesday, October 5, 2005 9:59 am Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Delta 44 Interface card Joe and David and others, I found the same thing here. Initially I tested receive only but found the same thing when I tried to transmit. 73, Kurt KC9FOL Joe - AB1DO wrote: David, I have noticed same. When directly plugging mic into d44 interface card, I had to add a 3rd jumper closes to the mic connector to ground the otherwise floating shield of the mic cable. When connecting the mic through a preamp to the d44 interface card the mic jumperwas unnecessary as the preamp grounded the cable shield. 73 de Joe, AB1DO - Original Message - From: David W Gardner [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 08:09 Subject: [Flexradio] Delta 44 Interface card Hello to All : When connecting the card I found that in order to transmit in ssb I had to jumper the via's for the mic ground. Is this the experience of others? If not, share your experience. Dave-W4DWG ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex- radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] Different Profiles
Looking for the possibility to have different profiles available at the click of a button. They could also be user assignable for a name as well. One could be for weak signal, another for rag chewing, one for digital modesetc. basically the profile would store all the radios configurable settings and one could change them by just one click. 4 settings would be nice. Thanks Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] First SSB QSO
Well I finally got my mic wired to a W2IHY EQ. I also put splitters on the D44 outputs 1/2 to a second SC line in and the from that line out to a splitter to the D44 input #3. Audio reports were fine with no humm or distortions. Butthe guy said it sounded like I was on DSB as he could hear me just as strong on USB as LSB. Also When trying a digital CW in PSK, the rig keyed up and the output looked OK using MixW, except anytime I transmitted I could see my signal about 700 hz away. Do I need to adjust tx image or something? Tnx Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] COM port keying -
Thanks Mark. OKWhen I short pins 4 and 6 together, or 4 and 8, it keys the radio. but when connected to the keyer, it does not. There is closure on the lines when keying, but there is also ~11ohms and 2.1mV showing on my meter. Should I add some kind of interface to isolate the ground line? Tnx Greg
[Flexradio] COM port keying
I know this has been beat to death probably...but here it is anyway since I cannot find anything on this specifically. Running an outboard keyermicroham usb cw keyer with winkey. All the posts I find only refer to connecting the paddles to pins 4, 6 and 8 for keying with the paddles to the SDR and selecting the appropriate com port as the source. Butanytime I select com1, it keys the rig even if nothing is connected to the com port on the computer. I have the 2 conductor cable connected to pins 4 and 8. I then plug that into the serial cable connected to COM 1. Again, as soon as I choose COM1 as the key source, the rig keys...whether the outboard keyer is connected to the serial cable or not. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] Frustration really setting in here!
While I had not yet solved all the spurs showing up on my display...about every 1Khz on 10m, I decided to update my system RAM from 512M to 2Gb. Very nice difference on system operationall except for the SDR. When I turned it on, all of a sudden all the LSB signals were unintelligible and had to be tuned in on USB. I would click on an obvious LSB signal to get it into the passband and it would then disappear. So I say to myself...maybe something happened and I should recalibrate. Broke out my trusty XG-1 that worked fine before. I tuned into the peak near 7.040 and calibrated the freq. With the new RAM...this took all of about 3 seconds. I then recalibrated the noise floor. Now my noise floor is at -100db instead of -135 where it was before. This also went very fast. So then I recalibrated the signal againstill -100db. Tried to calibrate the imagegot an error message saying it failed. Great...somehow the program got corrupted. Went into remove software from the control panel and removed PowerSDR. ANd I deleted the database. Went to the website to reinstall with no problems. Go thru the setup wizard and STILL have the same problems. Freq seems to cal OK but the noise floor is WAY too high and the image won't null. tried to null manually and the sliders did nothing at all to the image near 7.060. The computer is a P4 2.6G now with 2G RAM and the Delta-44. The computer runs just fine on all other applications, so I don't think the problem lies there. Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated before I go insane!...hihihi Thanks Greg AB7R
Re: [Flexradio] K2 has ONLY 80dB of third order dynamic range vs SDR-1000 98dB
The difference will largley be evident during contest operating when there are many strong sigs and you're trying to work some close-by weak ones. I don't know if my SDR has a problem or if I have something set up wrong, but while on last night after the flares subsided, I was working someone on 20M and I started to get some AGC thumping. I tuned down about 25Khz and heard someone with only a 10 over signal. He was only about 2 miles from me and running 70W. But no way should I have heard him that far away.that's one of the reasons I chose this radio. Any ideas as to why? I have everything set up in accordance with the manual and quick start guide. Running a homebrew EMI shielded computer with a 2.6G P4, 512M RAM and the Delta-44 SC. Tnx Greg AB7R - Original Message - From: Mark Tyler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Monday, September 12, 2005 5:01 am Subject: [Flexradio] K2 has ONLY 80dB of third order dynamic range vs SDR-1000 98dB From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2005 11:20 AM To: Mark Tyler; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: K2 has ONLY 80dB of third order dynamic range vs SDR-1000 98dB In a message dated 9/10/2005 11:25:53 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: http://www3.qth.com/pipermail/flexradio_flex-radio.biz/2005- September/002299.html So...?? Do you have some sound files that show what kind of difference that makes, and under what conditions? So many people base decisions on specs, with no idea what kind of difference those specifications mean in real world performance. Hearing is believing. I for one would like to hear more evidence that goes beyond the numbers, such as is being presented for the NorCal 2030. http://www.norcalqrp.org/files/PacificonSoundFiles.exe Hopefully there are those on this -superlist- who are equipped and inclined to share that kind of evidence as it pertains to the various specs that are bandied about... 73 Bill K3UJ ___ FlexRadio mailing list FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
[Flexradio] More help please
Tried to install the VCom software and got a message vCOM.sys on N8VB vCOM multiportserial drivers is needed.then asked to point to where they are. But they are not in the folder setup after the zip file was extracted. Can someone help point to the right location? Alsowhile reviewing the PowerSDR consoleis there a way to increase or decrease the range of the adapter display. Say if I want to see a narrower or wider bandwidth. I know the max is 48Khz due to SC limitations, but can't that be decreased too? Tnx again and hope everyone is have a fine holiday. The fog finally lifted here on Whidbey Island and looks like its a nice day! 73 Greg AB7R
[Flexradio] A couple questions from a new--old--SDR1K user
Ordered a new SDR today and wondering if someone could provide some additional info. I understand there is a virtual com port feature now that can be used to link with various logging programs. But most logging programs I have seen do not have the SDR1K as an option. Does it work as some other protocoli.eKenwood? I recall Elecraft works when selecting Kenwood and wondering if it is the same with the SDR. My logging system is Logic 7. 2nd question Has anyone interfaced the control box for a SteppIR yagi or vertical with the SDR through the virtual COM port or by some other means? And does this require use of a native COM port and can a USB/Serial converter be used? Looking forward to the new radioagain..hihi. 73 and thanks Greg - AB7R
