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Re: The PE64904 chip

 

Way back in the 1980s we designed tune-able RF filters using varicap diodes driven by a DAC to control the frequency response.
Re: The PE64904 chip

 

The PC64904 looks a bit limited for many of our applications. The minimum
frequency covered in the datasheet is 100 MHz and the capacitance range is
only 1.1 to 5.1 pF. One plus is that it's specified for use at high signal
levels up to 38 dBm. It might be useful in a tuned front end for VHF and
UHF. Information here:


Another variable capacitor chip that looks more useful in HF application is
the PCD2400M. It has a range of 1.7 to 194 pF and the spec sheet covers use
at 10 and 50 MHz. It's not designed for high signal levels (the absolute
maximum input is 3.3V) so it might not be so useful in a front end.
Information here:

I'm thinking of giving the PCD2400M a try in a variable bandwidth crystal
filter. With suitable signal limiting in front it looks like it has the
potential to work well. But it's hard to know without actually putting a
few of them on the bench to see what happens; there might be some gotcha
that makes it less useful.

On Sat, Feb 13, 2021 at 3:15 AM <paulrdebono@...> wrote:

A very interesting chip, which acts as a digital variable capacitor, which
can serve as a fundamental phase shift circuit.
Wish I i had the knowhow to design !
The PE64904 chip

 

A very interesting chip, which acts as a digital variable capacitor, which can serve as a fundamental phase shift circuit.
Wish I i had the knowhow to design !
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Thanks, Dave.? I may try some other software other than HDSDR and see if that does anything.? If not, the 92 Khz I get with the Audiophile card will be sufficient.? I have the Behringer for sale anyway.

Well, both the LF and HF Softrock have been tried.? If I stick with the "HF Softrock" in the HDSDR config settings, both units seem to work although I can't get into the LF range with the LF Softrock.? If I try and reset the config to "LF Softrock" with the LF unit, it hardly works at all (no broadcast band stations received on LF config, but HF config only).? So, still trying to narrow that down.

On 2/7/21 12:34 PM, Dave Sublette wrote:
Hello again Joni,

I am no computer guy, but I too once explored trying to get more than 92KHz
bandwidth on my softrock display. If I recall correctly, the reason you
cannot get that much bandwidth is due to the drivers used in conjunction
with processing the sound card outputs. However, on a practical basis, I
find that even 92 KHz is too much for me. I have trouble reading the
frequency if the scale of the spectrum isn't spread out enough. Maybe it's
just my eyesight.

At any rate, my Ensemble II HF and its companion Ensemble II VHF for two
meters have done very well for me over the years.

Good luck getting yours back up and running.

73,

Dave, K4TO

On Sun, Feb 7, 2021 at 11:24 AM JonI via groups.io <ji425bt=
[email protected]> wrote:

Just about everything's working now. I found some info on calibration
and just doing "A calibration" is good enough for now. Other than that,
WWV finally came in better and listened to some ham activity on 40/80
meters.

I decided to try using my external sound card, a Behringer umc202hd,
which is 192 Khz, instead of the internal M-audio Audiophile 2496 (96
Khz), but I had a hard time getting past even 48 Khz bandwidth with the
Behringer while using HDSDR on Win 7. Any ideas for using that welcome.
Thanks again.
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Hello again Joni,

I am no computer guy, but I too once explored trying to get more than 92KHz
bandwidth on my softrock display. If I recall correctly, the reason you
cannot get that much bandwidth is due to the drivers used in conjunction
with processing the sound card outputs. However, on a practical basis, I
find that even 92 KHz is too much for me. I have trouble reading the
frequency if the scale of the spectrum isn't spread out enough. Maybe it's
just my eyesight.

At any rate, my Ensemble II HF and its companion Ensemble II VHF for two
meters have done very well for me over the years.

Good luck getting yours back up and running.

73,

Dave, K4TO

On Sun, Feb 7, 2021 at 11:24 AM JonI via groups.io <ji425bt=
[email protected]> wrote:

Just about everything's working now. I found some info on calibration
and just doing "A calibration" is good enough for now. Other than that,
WWV finally came in better and listened to some ham activity on 40/80
meters.

I decided to try using my external sound card, a Behringer umc202hd,
which is 192 Khz, instead of the internal M-audio Audiophile 2496 (96
Khz), but I had a hard time getting past even 48 Khz bandwidth with the
Behringer while using HDSDR on Win 7. Any ideas for using that welcome.
Thanks again.
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Just about everything's working now.? I found some info on calibration and just doing "A calibration" is good enough for now.? Other than that, WWV finally came in better and listened to some ham activity on 40/80 meters.

I decided to try using my external sound card, a Behringer umc202hd, which is 192 Khz, instead of the internal M-audio Audiophile 2496 (96 Khz), but I had a hard time getting past even 48 Khz bandwidth with the Behringer while using HDSDR on Win 7. Any ideas for using that welcome.? Thanks again.
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Ok, "unknown device" solved.? Found an old, unpowered hub I didn't know I had.? Plugged keyboard/ mouse into that and now no more trouble.? I must have used this ten years ago, or at the time I may have had all non-USB keyboard and mice.

Since switching I/Q, HDSDR reads about 3 Kc off from WWV.? I tried a calibration, but nothing happened so welcome any guidance there.

Other than that, now if I plug in the LF Ensemble II, how would I go about picking it?? Can I leave them both (LF and HF Ensembles) plugged into their own USB ports all the time, or just plug in only when I want to use either one?

Finally, would welcome any way to deal with transformer noise. My router uses a small switching transformer.? I don't know if I can find a transformer based equivalent or not.? Perhaps some toroids in line between the unit and connection to router?

Thanks again!
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Thanks, Zack.? Well, I'm having the same thing right now!? There is a station booming in below WWV, but I can hardly hear WWV.? I ended up having to switch I/O for input which was causing most of my frequency offsets.? Now, it's still a little off, but if I ever get a good WWV, I'll use it for calibration.?? No wonder I wasn't picking it up at all with a 10' wire.? Now still not great, but at least on an attic dipole.

I had forgotten so much since I last had the Ensembles set up, which was a decade ago.

On 2/6/21 2:33 PM, Zack Widup wrote:
Conditions have not been great lately. I could barely hear WWV on 10 MHz in
the afternoon yesterday. 5 MHz a couple hours after sunset was much better.

73, Zack W9SZ

On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 9:48 AM JonI via groups.io <ji425bt=
[email protected]> wrote:

Hi again guys,

Well, get your 2x4's ready to hit me. It apparently is just the 10'
wire I have pushed into the unit for a temporary antenna. I went over
and over the settings again and everything seemed right. The only
transceiver I have available at this time is an old Realistic 10 meter
HTX-100. I set that up into a dummy, transmitted and got an almost full
meter response on the Ensemble! Could it be all this time I have had an
insufficient antenna? What threw me off is that I would have thought
at least one of the WWV frequencies would have shown up even with the
temporary wire, but nothing. Perhaps the input on the Ensemble isn't
like the old Sears portable shortwave radio I used to have as it had
just an extendable whip. Maybe not, 50 ohm impedance versus whatever
the whip had.

The only thing remaining now is calibration. When transmitting at
28.285, on the Softrock is showing 28.3265.








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Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Conditions have not been great lately. I could barely hear WWV on 10 MHz in
the afternoon yesterday. 5 MHz a couple hours after sunset was much better.

73, Zack W9SZ

On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 9:48 AM JonI via groups.io <ji425bt=
[email protected]> wrote:

Hi again guys,

Well, get your 2x4's ready to hit me. It apparently is just the 10'
wire I have pushed into the unit for a temporary antenna. I went over
and over the settings again and everything seemed right. The only
transceiver I have available at this time is an old Realistic 10 meter
HTX-100. I set that up into a dummy, transmitted and got an almost full
meter response on the Ensemble! Could it be all this time I have had an
insufficient antenna? What threw me off is that I would have thought
at least one of the WWV frequencies would have shown up even with the
temporary wire, but nothing. Perhaps the input on the Ensemble isn't
like the old Sears portable shortwave radio I used to have as it had
just an extendable whip. Maybe not, 50 ohm impedance versus whatever
the whip had.

The only thing remaining now is calibration. When transmitting at
28.285, on the Softrock is showing 28.3265.








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<#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Thanks, Dave.? Well, wouldn't you know that this old desktop suddenly went blue screen and shut down.? Upon booting, one long beep and no screen.? At first, I thought the video card, but no. A bad memory module.? That only leaves 512K in this bugger.? I'm checking the remaining module now to make sure it's ok.? Where there's a will.....

I recently changed the power supply in this desktop so, just to make sure, I'll try booting with only one module at a time.? If they both boot up, then I'll suspect the power supply but I'm almost certain it is the one module.

On 2/6/21 11:36 AM, Dave Sublette wrote:
Congrats Joni. We have all "been there, done that". As for the
calibration.... you really don't know if the Radio Shack rig is off
frequency or if the Softrock Calibration needs tweeking. Best to find WWV
on 10MHz and see what the Softrock says.

Good Luck,

Dave, K4TO



On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 10:48 AM JonI via groups.io <ji425bt=
[email protected]> wrote:

Hi again guys,

Well, get your 2x4's ready to hit me. It apparently is just the 10'
wire I have pushed into the unit for a temporary antenna. I went over
and over the settings again and everything seemed right. The only
transceiver I have available at this time is an old Realistic 10 meter
HTX-100. I set that up into a dummy, transmitted and got an almost full
meter response on the Ensemble! Could it be all this time I have had an
insufficient antenna? What threw me off is that I would have thought
at least one of the WWV frequencies would have shown up even with the
temporary wire, but nothing. Perhaps the input on the Ensemble isn't
like the old Sears portable shortwave radio I used to have as it had
just an extendable whip. Maybe not, 50 ohm impedance versus whatever
the whip had.

The only thing remaining now is calibration. When transmitting at
28.285, on the Softrock is showing 28.3265.
Re: HSDR Output

 

Ed:
I will wait to hear from you on the Odroid N2+ to make sure it also works properly. The Techrise is not a stereo input, only stereo output. The only option I have found for stereo input is mixers such as the Pyle. I actually purchased one, but it failed, so I never got to evaluate it. For some reason I have S9+ noise with the sound card in my PC that I have been using for RX. I even have this noise level when I unplug the cable from the RXTX so it is not coming in from the RXTX but is a sound card/pc issue.

Thanks,
Howard
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Congrats Joni. We have all "been there, done that". As for the
calibration.... you really don't know if the Radio Shack rig is off
frequency or if the Softrock Calibration needs tweeking. Best to find WWV
on 10MHz and see what the Softrock says.

Good Luck,

Dave, K4TO



On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 10:48 AM JonI via groups.io <ji425bt=
[email protected]> wrote:

Hi again guys,

Well, get your 2x4's ready to hit me. It apparently is just the 10'
wire I have pushed into the unit for a temporary antenna. I went over
and over the settings again and everything seemed right. The only
transceiver I have available at this time is an old Realistic 10 meter
HTX-100. I set that up into a dummy, transmitted and got an almost full
meter response on the Ensemble! Could it be all this time I have had an
insufficient antenna? What threw me off is that I would have thought
at least one of the WWV frequencies would have shown up even with the
temporary wire, but nothing. Perhaps the input on the Ensemble isn't
like the old Sears portable shortwave radio I used to have as it had
just an extendable whip. Maybe not, 50 ohm impedance versus whatever
the whip had.

The only thing remaining now is calibration. When transmitting at
28.285, on the Softrock is showing 28.3265.
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Hi again guys,

Well, get your 2x4's ready to hit me.? It apparently is just the 10' wire I have pushed into the unit for a temporary antenna.? I went over and over the settings again and everything seemed right.? The only transceiver I have available at this time is an old Realistic 10 meter HTX-100.? I set that up into a dummy, transmitted and got an almost full meter response on the Ensemble!? Could it be all this time I have had an insufficient antenna? ? What threw me off is that I would have thought at least one of the WWV frequencies would have shown up even with the temporary wire, but nothing.? Perhaps the input on the Ensemble isn't like the old Sears portable shortwave radio I used to have as it had just an extendable whip.? Maybe not, 50 ohm impedance versus whatever the whip had.

The only thing remaining now is calibration.? When transmitting at 28.285, on the Softrock is showing 28.3265.
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

I have successfully set it up on several Win7 machines. I think I used
instructions from WB5RVZ, Let me look around a bit.

As for (3), the only way I know how to tell is to look at the board and see
what inductors are being used. Software doesn't tell you which unit you
have.

73, Zack W9SZ

On Sat, Feb 6, 2021 at 8:23 AM JonI via groups.io <ji425bt=
[email protected]> wrote:

Hello again! Well, after having no luck getting the Ensemble RX II
working in Ubuntu, I have tried to do so in an older desktop I had with Win
7. However, I am experiencing the same issues I had when trying in Ubuntu,
so I am thinking there is something I'm missing. If anyone knows of a free
screen video capture for Win 7, please let me know and I'll try and show
you settings/ etc. For now, I have four questions:

1) I am getting "unknown device" error if anything is plugged into USB
other than the Softrock. If I boot up with only the Softrock connected, it
is recognized and then I can plug in my USB keyboard and mouse, but I can't
have anything connected other than the Softrock at boot, otherwise I get
the error. What is the workaround? For now, I can use the two USB front
ports to plug in keyboard/ mouse after boot up but not very convenient.
Win 7 on an HP a1520n.

2) I used the process described at
to try setting up the
unit. However, since the desktop cannot be connected to the internet, I of
course got an error when trying to install the ConFiG SoftRock tool on
page 7. So I installed the CFGSR from here:
(ver 2.3), but no idea
if that is the correct version.

3) This may seem silly, but I own both the LF and HF Ensemble receivers.
They both look identical. How do I tell the difference externally or is
there something in software that differentiates one from the other?

4) When I was trying to get these running in Ubuntu, I may have
manipulated some of the Ensemble settings. How do I reset the unit to
factory default?

Thanks in advance. Next step will be sharing screen video if above
doesn't help.





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Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

JonI,

> 1) I am getting "unknown device" error if anything is plugged into
USB other than the Softrock. If I boot up with only the Softrock connected, it is recognized and then I can plug in my USB keyboard and mouse, but I can't have anything connected other than the Softrock at boot, otherwise I get the error. What is the workaround?
This can be solved by using a hub for the mouse/keyboard. Or, for the Softrock. Experiment.

So I installed the CFGSR from here: (ver 2.3), but no idea if that is the correct version.
Probably good enough, nothing much changed, just non-Softrock things. I think 2.6 was the last, not sure if it is on a site now but if you need any missing feature let us know. Tried another link, OK
3) This may seem silly, but I own both the LF and HF Ensemble receivers. They both look identical. How do I tell the difference externally or is there something in software that differentiates one from the other?
The LF has an extra divider, that's all. Normal tuning will be wrong, that's the only way without looking.

4) When I was trying to get these running in Ubuntu, I may have manipulated some of the Ensemble settings. How do I reset the unit to factory default?
CFGSR resets.


73 Alan G4ZFQ
Re: cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

On 06/02/2021 14:08, JonI via groups.io wrote:
If anyone knows of a free screen video capture for Win 7, please let me know and I'll try and show you settings
I believe you can use PrintScrn or Alt-PrintScrn to copy either the whole screen or current window to the clipboard.
cannot seem to get Ensemble RX II working

 

Hello again! Well, after having no luck getting the Ensemble RX II working in Ubuntu, I have tried to do so in an older desktop I had with Win 7. However, I am experiencing the same issues I had when trying in Ubuntu, so I am thinking there is something I'm missing. If anyone knows of a free screen video capture for Win 7, please let me know and I'll try and show you settings/ etc. For now, I have four questions:

1) I am getting "unknown device" error if anything is plugged into USB other than the Softrock. If I boot up with only the Softrock connected, it is recognized and then I can plug in my USB keyboard and mouse, but I can't have anything connected other than the Softrock at boot, otherwise I get the error. What is the workaround? For now, I can use the two USB front ports to plug in keyboard/ mouse after boot up but not very convenient. Win 7 on an HP a1520n.

2) I used the process described at to try setting up the unit. However, since the desktop cannot be connected to the internet, I of course got an error when trying to install the ConFiG SoftRock tool on page 7. So I installed the CFGSR from here: (ver 2.3), but no idea if that is the correct version.

3) This may seem silly, but I own both the LF and HF Ensemble receivers. They both look identical. How do I tell the difference externally or is there something in software that differentiates one from the other?

4) When I was trying to get these running in Ubuntu, I may have manipulated some of the Ensemble settings. How do I reset the unit to factory default?

Thanks in advance. Next step will be sharing screen video if above doesn't help.
Re: HSDR Output

 

Hello Howard,

Nice to hear you again. I have ordered the Odroid N2+ , they will be in stock at the end of February.

I am not exactly sure what your application is but for the Headset on my SDR I use the Plantronics 628 USB unit. It is a mono microphone with the two ear pieces. So that gives you the TX modulation and RX reception side.

If you are going to use the Softrock SDR then, yes,? you need to have the I and Q Audio Channels. You could have a look at Amazon, they have a ' *TechRise External Sound Card. USB Audio Adapter'*. It is described as an external Stereo card. I would not expect the greatest performance at that price , but it could be ok !

I hope that helps.

Regards

Ed GM3SBC

On 2/5/2021 7:45 PM, Howard Fidel wrote:
Ed:
I will probably order the Odroid soon. They are out of stock at the moment. However, do you know of a USB audio device with a stereo mic input? Everything I have seen is mono. I did find some audio mixers such as the Pyle family that have stereo outputs.
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Howard
Re: HSDR Output

 

Ed:
I will probably order the Odroid soon. They are out of stock at the moment. However, do you know of a USB audio device with a stereo mic input? Everything I have seen is mono. I did find some audio mixers such as the Pyle family that have stereo outputs.
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Howard
Re: Softrock Files Archive 2009

 

I can provide fills between What Nigel has going back to 3/26/08 which is when I signed on to this group.

It is in my Softrock mail folder in Thunderbird. I am a folder driven person and all things are automagically separated and moved to their respective folders upon receive (I belong to very many lists and it wold be a nightmare trying to sift through all the mail in only one inbox folder).

I know there is a way to make an index as I had done it once many years ago. I just need to do a little digging to find the procedure.
Will post to the group wen I figger it out.

--
73/72 . .
Bob de k2ki
k2ki@...
k2ki.bb@... (Goes to my cell)
Grid: FN34LW
NEQRP#: 911
4SQRP#: 2292
FP#: 4214
SKCC#: 12195
NAQCC#: 2337
100WattsID#: 4675

On 2/5/2021 3:57 AM, Nigel via groups.io wrote:
Earlier messages similar to this are probably still buried in the messages section but I thought it might be worth another repeat, with apologies in advance if I got that wrong:-)

In January 2009, when the Yahoo groups file section was nearly full and there was discussion of the need for some heavy pruning of older files, I created an archive of all the then current folders and files to ensure they weren't lost.
There will no doubt be duplication in that archive of some files still held by the group but there may be stuff that is no longer available elsewhere.
Since 2016 this 90 MB zip file has been available for anyone to download from my account on Mediafire and I've checked today that it still downloads and opens ok.......

Nigel GM8PZR



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