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It LIVES!

KY1K
 

After 3 long days of waiting for my softrock to arrive, it finally did! Now I won't be waiting at the mailbox to meet the mailman!

Took me much longer than 3 hours to build, but I made some errors that had to be corrected:>:

For anyone about to go through this, I suggest the following:

Don't do like I did....and put the tanatlum caps in backwards! Even with a lighted magnifying lamp, I didn't see the little X on the component indicating the polarity. Had to remove 3 of them and reinstall them, fortunately I caught this before I applied power.

Software install went without a problem. I'm a little concerned that I didn't get prompted to install some other utility programs like the directions said I would....but it fired up without errors on the first try.

The moment of truth came.......time to plug it in and look for smoke.

No smoke, but the LED is very dim....oooopppssss, must be a problem. Turns out that's not a problem, they are all pretty dim,! The 2.2 K series resistor limits the LED current to 1.3 ma. No doubt, this was intentional due to the nature of the beast in that it draws power from the USB port.

My Dell laptop has no stereo input on the sound card and my antenna was a 6 foot clip lead laying on the bench. So, I haven't adjusted the null for the opposite sideband yet.

Even with the bad antenna, I heard a few signals, enough to know it works! Most of the signals I heard were noise coming from the computer though, but I dido manage to hear some CW. My computer is 59, much louder than the few signals I was able to hear with the limited antenna.

So, it looks real good so far.

At some point, my softrock will probably be installed in a box! So I attached both cables to the same side of the PCB, leaving one mounting hole available for the day when I want to install it in a box (both cables anchored to the same mounting hole).

Took me awhile to figure out how to adjust the frequency on the flexradio software.....but that was the hardest part of the software aspect of the testing.

Fired it up with SDRadio, it works with SDRadio software too.

I have a problem with occasional (very brief) dropout of the audio every 3 to 4 seconds for 100 msec's or so. It also pops when the audio drops out. It does this whether the softrock is plugged in or not though. Tried setting the soundcard to use mime instead of the windoze driver, but had the same results.

I can make a recording of it (I think). Will probably have time to work on it tonight after the house gets quiet.

So far so good.

Hope everyone's assembly goes as well as mine.

Regards,

Art
Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Alverson, Tom \(Xetron\)
 

开云体育

Changing from "DirectSound" to "MME" also fixed the popping problem here.
?
73 de Tom NU8D

From: softrock40@... [mailto:softrock40@...] On Behalf Of Chris Waldrup
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:56 PM
To: softrock40@...
Subject: Re: [softrock40] Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Hi Bruce,

That fixed it!? The background would pop and shift levels even with no
antenna or signal generator connected.? Quite annoying when listening to a
faint signal.? Now that I got that taken care of, tonight I will work on
spur nulling and checking on the amplitude level readings (did not agree
with performance verified HP signal generator when I was testing it last
night).
The computer I am using is a Dell 3.06 Ghz machine with XP and 512 MB of RAM
so this should be fast enough.
Thanks again.

Chris
KD4PBJ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Beford"
To:
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:44 AM
Subject: [softrock40] Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance


> Hi, Chris.
>
> Re: The "popping sound" and shift in signal levels- (when you say
> the signal level goes from -140 dBm to -50 dBm during these jumps, I
> am sure you are talking about the background signal, not the output
> of the signal generator itself.) This sounds like the Windows audio
> driver issue that many of us have seen. Go to the Audio tab of the
> PowerSDR Setup screen. Set the audio driver to MME, instead of
> Windows DirectSound. Hope this helps.
>
> 73, -Bruce, N1RX
>
> .--- In softrock40@..., "Chris Waldrup"
> wrote:
>
> > Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone
> fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few
> clicks where the signal dies and then comes back.? The signal
> strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's.? The LED does not
> flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may
> be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's
> new laptop and I get the same result.? I also connected the radio up
> to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the
> same result.
> >
>
> > Chris Waldrup
> > KD4PBJ
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Frequently Asked Questions file uploaded.

Bruce Beford
 

Hello all,

I have started a frequently asked questions notice, and posted it to
the Files Section. Please refer to this file when faced with a
SoftRock startup problem. I will add topics to the list as they come
up. If anyone has additional info that they would think would help
others, just send it to me and we'll add it to the list. With the
second round of AmQRP SoftRock kits hitting peoples, mailboxes, let's
share our experiences!

73, Bruce, N1RX
Re: A few more things

Tony Parks
 

Hi Chris,

Not being able to null the image is usually associated with I and Q not being about the same amplitude and not being at around 90 degrees phase relationship to each other. This problem can be caused by T1 not being connected properly or the QSD switches in U5 not receiving their appropriate clocking signals. Look carefully for solder problems at U2 through U5. Of the nearly seventy SoftRock40's I have now built, I have seen your problem several times. Usually it was a soldering problem where one or more of the QSD switches was not receivig the clocking signals.

If the SoftRock40 is working properly, you should see at least a 50 dB difference between the signal and the image after the DSP image null adjust. After signal level calibration, the SoftRock should have a noise base line at about -135 dBm or better with no antenna.

Good luck with the debug.

73,
Tony KB9YIG

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Waldrup" <kd4pbj@...>
To: <softrock40@...>
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 8:10 PM
Subject: [softrock40] A few more things


Hi Guys,

I am working on getting this little receiver up and running but noticed a
few things I wanted to ask of those more experienced.

I connected my generator and set it to 7.040 Mhz at -60 dBm then went to the
General tab and clicked on Calibration. I set the frequency in the field to
the generator frequency and clicked on start and it gave me a Frequency
Calibration Complete message. I did the same thing for amplitude, so now
the peak on the spectrum display is at -60 dBm. However the displayed
reading for the RX meter at the top right says -83.2 dBm. As I tune around
and the peak disappears the reading changes. What causes the discrepancy
between the signal meter reading and the spectrum peak's value- is the
reading an average between the signal and the noise floor?

The clicking was stopped by selecting MME under the Primary Sound Card
setup details field under Audio. Thanks Bruce for this help. I was worried
that I had to get a new soundcard for the computer (which is new, so I hate
to replace something that isn't broken).

I worked more with the Image Reject feature under DSP and I can only null it
by about 10 dB. It is sitting at about -65 dBm right now. The best null
comes with the Phase all the way to 400 at far right and the Gain all the
way to -500 at far left. The controls are at the end of their setting so I
need more range and I don't get the twitchy response that Bill mentioned. I
went back to the General tab and clicked on calibrate Image Null (above
values) and got an message that says "Error calculating image null. Please
try again."

Does this mean that the receiver is bad or is there something in the
software I need to change?

Thanks again for a great little receiver and especially for this forum that
we can get almost real time help from the designers and more experienced
users. It helps tremendously!

Chris
KD4PBJ


----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Waldrup" <kd4pbj@...>
To: <softrock40@...>
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:56 PM
Subject: Re: [softrock40] Re: Softrock up and running but need a little
guidance


Hi Bruce,

That fixed it! The background would pop and shift levels even with no
antenna or signal generator connected. Quite annoying when listening to a
faint signal. Now that I got that taken care of, tonight I will work on
spur nulling and checking on the amplitude level readings (did not agree
with performance verified HP signal generator when I was testing it last
night).
The computer I am using is a Dell 3.06 Ghz machine with XP and 512 MB of
RAM
so this should be fast enough.
Thanks again.

Chris
KD4PBJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Beford" <bruce.beford@...>
To: <softrock40@...>
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:44 AM
Subject: [softrock40] Re: Softrock up and running but need a little
guidance


Hi, Chris.

Re: The "popping sound" and shift in signal levels- (when you say
the signal level goes from -140 dBm to -50 dBm during these jumps, I
am sure you are talking about the background signal, not the output
of the signal generator itself.) This sounds like the Windows audio
driver issue that many of us have seen. Go to the Audio tab of the
PowerSDR Setup screen. Set the audio driver to MME, instead of
Windows DirectSound. Hope this helps.

73, -Bruce, N1RX

.--- In softrock40@..., "Chris Waldrup" <kd4pbj@b...>
wrote:
<snip>
Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone
fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few
clicks where the signal dies and then comes back. The signal
strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's. The LED does not
flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may
be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's
new laptop and I get the same result. I also connected the radio up
to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the
same result.
<snip>
Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ





Yahoo! Groups Links













Yahoo! Groups Links













Yahoo! Groups Links
Re: A few more things

Bill Tracey
 

Hello Chris,

My answers in line

At 08:10 PM 10/6/2005, you wrote:
Hi Guys,

I am working on getting this little receiver up and running but noticed a
few things I wanted to ask of those more experienced.

I connected my generator and set it to 7.040 Mhz at -60 dBm then went to the
General tab and clicked on Calibration. I set the frequency in the field to
the generator frequency and clicked on start and it gave me a Frequency
Calibration Complete message.
Hmm -- not sure the freq calibration will have any effect with the soft rock as that is used to calibrate the DDS reference osc, and there ain't one in a SoftRock setup. The way to get the freq calibrated for a SoftRock is to set the center frequency on the SoftRock page in setup.

I did the same thing for amplitude, so now
the peak on the spectrum display is at -60 dBm. However the displayed
reading for the RX meter at the top right says -83.2 dBm. As I tune around
and the peak disappears the reading changes. What causes the discrepancy
between the signal meter reading and the spectrum peak's value- is the
reading an average between the signal and the noise floor?
It is not the diff between the sig and the noise floor, I think it's the average power across the bandpass selected or something like that. Try putting your known signal inside a 500 khz passband and see how the meter correlates with the panadpater display.

<...deleted...>

I worked more with the Image Reject feature under DSP and I can only null it
by about 10 dB. It is sitting at about -65 dBm right now. The best null
comes with the Phase all the way to 400 at far right and the Gain all the
way to -500 at far left. The controls are at the end of their setting so I
need more range and I don't get the twitchy response that Bill mentioned. I
went back to the General tab and clicked on calibrate Image Null (above
values) and got an message that says "Error calculating image null. Please
try again."
I do not think the automatic calibrate on the image null will work with the Soft Rock, I've always done it by hand.


Does this mean that the receiver is bad or is there something in the
software I need to change?
This sounds like a hardware issue - one should not need to go to the extremes to null the image. I don't think I've ever seen a properly working SoftRock that needed to go the extremes to null the image signal.

First thing to check is that you're using a stereo input, some laptops only have a mic input and it is typically mono. Second thing to try is reversing the left and right inputs to the sound card. Third thing to look at is the hardware itself. If you have a scope try feeding a -30 dbm or so 7.050 MHz signal to the Soft Rock antenna input and look at the I and Q outputs on the scope. They should be a 4-6 khz signal and about 0.8 Vp-p. They should also be of similar amplitude -- within about 20-30% of each other. The phase relationship should be about 90 degrees between them.

If the IQ sigs are not of similar amplitude, check the soldering on the FST3125 bus switch, and check that you see clock inputs on all the control lines. 99% or soft rock hardware problems seem to be the connection of the signals on the FST chip.

If that does not get it going, come on back and we'll debug some more.

Cheers,

Bill (kd5tfd)
A few more things

Chris Waldrup
 

Hi Guys,

I am working on getting this little receiver up and running but noticed a
few things I wanted to ask of those more experienced.

I connected my generator and set it to 7.040 Mhz at -60 dBm then went to the
General tab and clicked on Calibration. I set the frequency in the field to
the generator frequency and clicked on start and it gave me a Frequency
Calibration Complete message. I did the same thing for amplitude, so now
the peak on the spectrum display is at -60 dBm. However the displayed
reading for the RX meter at the top right says -83.2 dBm. As I tune around
and the peak disappears the reading changes. What causes the discrepancy
between the signal meter reading and the spectrum peak's value- is the
reading an average between the signal and the noise floor?

The clicking was stopped by selecting MME under the Primary Sound Card
setup details field under Audio. Thanks Bruce for this help. I was worried
that I had to get a new soundcard for the computer (which is new, so I hate
to replace something that isn't broken).

I worked more with the Image Reject feature under DSP and I can only null it
by about 10 dB. It is sitting at about -65 dBm right now. The best null
comes with the Phase all the way to 400 at far right and the Gain all the
way to -500 at far left. The controls are at the end of their setting so I
need more range and I don't get the twitchy response that Bill mentioned. I
went back to the General tab and clicked on calibrate Image Null (above
values) and got an message that says "Error calculating image null. Please
try again."

Does this mean that the receiver is bad or is there something in the
software I need to change?

Thanks again for a great little receiver and especially for this forum that
we can get almost real time help from the designers and more experienced
users. It helps tremendously!

Chris
KD4PBJ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Waldrup" <kd4pbj@...>
To: <softrock40@...>
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:56 PM
Subject: Re: [softrock40] Re: Softrock up and running but need a little
guidance


Hi Bruce,

That fixed it! The background would pop and shift levels even with no
antenna or signal generator connected. Quite annoying when listening to a
faint signal. Now that I got that taken care of, tonight I will work on
spur nulling and checking on the amplitude level readings (did not agree
with performance verified HP signal generator when I was testing it last
night).
The computer I am using is a Dell 3.06 Ghz machine with XP and 512 MB of
RAM
so this should be fast enough.
Thanks again.

Chris
KD4PBJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Beford" <bruce.beford@...>
To: <softrock40@...>
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:44 AM
Subject: [softrock40] Re: Softrock up and running but need a little
guidance


Hi, Chris.

Re: The "popping sound" and shift in signal levels- (when you say
the signal level goes from -140 dBm to -50 dBm during these jumps, I
am sure you are talking about the background signal, not the output
of the signal generator itself.) This sounds like the Windows audio
driver issue that many of us have seen. Go to the Audio tab of the
PowerSDR Setup screen. Set the audio driver to MME, instead of
Windows DirectSound. Hope this helps.

73, -Bruce, N1RX

.--- In softrock40@..., "Chris Waldrup" <kd4pbj@b...>
wrote:
<snip>
Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone
fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few
clicks where the signal dies and then comes back. The signal
strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's. The LED does not
flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may
be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's
new laptop and I get the same result. I also connected the radio up
to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the
same result.
<snip>
Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ





Yahoo! Groups Links













Yahoo! Groups Links
Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Chris Waldrup
 

Hi Bruce,

That fixed it! The background would pop and shift levels even with no
antenna or signal generator connected. Quite annoying when listening to a
faint signal. Now that I got that taken care of, tonight I will work on
spur nulling and checking on the amplitude level readings (did not agree
with performance verified HP signal generator when I was testing it last
night).
The computer I am using is a Dell 3.06 Ghz machine with XP and 512 MB of RAM
so this should be fast enough.
Thanks again.

Chris
KD4PBJ

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Beford" <bruce.beford@...>
To: <softrock40@...>
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 6:44 AM
Subject: [softrock40] Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance


Hi, Chris.

Re: The "popping sound" and shift in signal levels- (when you say
the signal level goes from -140 dBm to -50 dBm during these jumps, I
am sure you are talking about the background signal, not the output
of the signal generator itself.) This sounds like the Windows audio
driver issue that many of us have seen. Go to the Audio tab of the
PowerSDR Setup screen. Set the audio driver to MME, instead of
Windows DirectSound. Hope this helps.

73, -Bruce, N1RX

.--- In softrock40@..., "Chris Waldrup" <kd4pbj@b...>
wrote:
<snip>
Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone
fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few
clicks where the signal dies and then comes back. The signal
strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's. The LED does not
flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may
be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's
new laptop and I get the same result. I also connected the radio up
to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the
same result.
<snip>
Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ





Yahoo! Groups Links
Re: SR-40 Mechanical Assembly Picts

EricJ
 

Looks good, Chuck. Mounting it vertical is a great
idea. I think I'm going to do that with a Rock-Mite,
too!

Eric
KE6US
www.ke6us.com

--- Chuck Carpenter <w5usj@...> wrote:

SR-40 Folks,

Finished the mechanical assembly and posted a couple
of pictures for show
and tell.

The enclosure is an LMB CR-321. The board is
mounted vertical for access
to both sides. The supports are L-brackets made
from some aluminum angle.

I need to do some rework on the one support. It
hits the pads where the
audio signals connect. Maybe an insulator too. The
holes mounting the
board were thread formed using a 4-40 screw. Don't
tap the holes -- it
removes the metal and the epoxy fiberglass won't
hold a thread.

The LED is now panel mounted and DIP pins were used
for the crystal and the
two feedback capacitors for the oscillator. I used
manhattan pads for the
off-board connections.

I found that the use of very fine solder was much
needed. The pads are
small. The stuff I used is .015 silver bearing that
I found at RS.

Tony Parks mounted the surface mount parts for me.
My hands have gotten
too shaky for that many pins that close
together...[g].

Now to get it wired up and see if it really works!


Chuck Carpenter, W5USJ, Point, TX -|- Rains Co. -|-
EM22cv -|- 72 es 73
50 years -|- 19 - K2OFN and 31 - W5USJ -|- Most fun
= QRP since 1984.
www.w5usj.com hosted by Hamnutz.com -|- NeTxQRP
www.netxqrp.com



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__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

SR-40 Mechanical Assembly Picts

Chuck Carpenter
 

SR-40 Folks,

Finished the mechanical assembly and posted a couple of pictures for show and tell.

The enclosure is an LMB CR-321. The board is mounted vertical for access to both sides. The supports are L-brackets made from some aluminum angle.

I need to do some rework on the one support. It hits the pads where the audio signals connect. Maybe an insulator too. The holes mounting the board were thread formed using a 4-40 screw. Don't tap the holes -- it removes the metal and the epoxy fiberglass won't hold a thread.

The LED is now panel mounted and DIP pins were used for the crystal and the two feedback capacitors for the oscillator. I used manhattan pads for the off-board connections.

I found that the use of very fine solder was much needed. The pads are small. The stuff I used is .015 silver bearing that I found at RS.

Tony Parks mounted the surface mount parts for me. My hands have gotten too shaky for that many pins that close together...[g].

Now to get it wired up and see if it really works!


Chuck Carpenter, W5USJ, Point, TX -|- Rains Co. -|- EM22cv -|- 72 es 73
50 years -|- 19 - K2OFN and 31 - W5USJ -|- Most fun = QRP since 1984.
www.w5usj.com hosted by Hamnutz.com -|- NeTxQRP www.netxqrp.com
Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Bruce Beford
 

Hi, Chris.

Re: The "popping sound" and shift in signal levels- (when you say
the signal level goes from -140 dBm to -50 dBm during these jumps, I
am sure you are talking about the background signal, not the output
of the signal generator itself.) This sounds like the Windows audio
driver issue that many of us have seen. Go to the Audio tab of the
PowerSDR Setup screen. Set the audio driver to MME, instead of
Windows DirectSound. Hope this helps.

73, -Bruce, N1RX

.--- In softrock40@..., "Chris Waldrup" <kd4pbj@b...>
wrote:
<snip>
Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone
fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few
clicks where the signal dies and then comes back. The signal
strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's. The LED does not
flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may
be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's
new laptop and I get the same result. I also connected the radio up
to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the
same result.
<snip>
Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ
Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Bill Tracey
 

Hearing signals -- that's a good sign.

As to the accuracy of the power meter -- it's entirely inaccurate until you calibrate it as it is dependent on the sound card. Once calibrated it should be quite accurate. To calibrate it you need to feed it a known signal and use the calibrate settings on the General tab. Set the freq and the level of the input and then hit the start button next to the Level entry field on the General tab.

Also while you're on the general tab, try setting the process priority to AboveNormal and see if that gets rid of the dropouts every few seconds. Depending on the sound card and processor speed you may be dropping frames from time to time as the computer goes of and does something it feels is more important.

To null the image you use the phase and gain sliders on the Setup->DSP->Image Reject page. I usually send in a -60 dbm signal at 7.040 and then set the panadapter display to spectrum, and turn off averaging of the display. The primary signal will be on the left and the image to the right. Slide the Phase slider until you find a minimum on the image signal, and then move the gain slider until you find a minimum, and then back to the phase slider to find a minimum, repeat until you can't get a smaller minimum.. As you close in on the best null you can get the control will get a little twitchy. Using the keyboard to adjust I can usually get the image signal all the way down into the noise.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Bill (kd5tfd)

At 09:32 PM 10/5/2005, you wrote:
Hi All,

I finally got my Softrock up tonight after playing with it last night with no luck. Tonight I can hear stations!! I had a SDR program operator error last night.

I took it into work and during lunch plugged it into a USB port and verified with a scope that the timing signals were present. A little overshoot and undershoot on the output of the buffer amp U1, but the signal is present. I did the initial soldering under my microscope but checked over it again today to make sure all was fine.

Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few clicks where the signal dies and then comes back. The signal strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's. The LED does not flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's new laptop and I get the same result. I also connected the radio up to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the same result.

How accurate is the signal strength meter? I set my generator for 7.040 Mhz at -73 dbm and the signal strength meter read -109 dBm. I checked the output of my generator last year with a commercial power meter and it was about 2 dBm off, not 36 dBm off.

I have one last question. I was going through the "Configure and Use" section of the assembly manual and item #4 made me pause. Do I have to null the receiver to below -50 dBm on the panadapter display or am I supposed to have a difference before and after nulling of 50 dBm. I can get the receiver to null by about 5 dBm on the screen (from -108 dBm to -103 dBm).

Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.

Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ
Re: Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Alverson, Tom &#92;(Xetron&#92;)
 

开云体育

Chris:
?
I put my softrock on a calibrated? HP siggen and got a very accurate reading with a -80 dBm input.? You may have a problem with your? input filtering? (got the 2 inductors switched maybe?).? I don't know if the soundcard levels affect the s-meter or not.? I also got the "popping" effect on the PC I used that? was near the signal generator.? (an IBM with built in sound).?? My Dell Dimension 4600 with built in sound does not have this popping problem (every few seconds, there is a popping sound, and the spectrum display jumps at the same time).? Maybe some tweaking of the sound card/drivers would help (or a different sound card).
?
73 de Tom NU8D

From: softrock40@... [mailto:softrock40@...] On Behalf Of Chris Waldrup
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 10:32 PM
To: softrock40@...
Subject: [softrock40] Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Hi All,
?
I finally got my Softrock up tonight after playing with it last night with no luck.? Tonight I can hear stations!!? I had a SDR program operator error last night.
?
I took it into work and during lunch plugged it into a USB port and verified with a scope that the timing signals were present.? A little overshoot and undershoot on the output of the buffer amp U1, but the signal is present.? I did the initial soldering under my microscope but checked over it again today to make sure all was fine.
?
Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few clicks where the signal dies and then comes back.? The signal strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's.? The LED does not flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's new laptop and I get the same result.? I also connected the radio up to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the same result.?
?
How accurate is the signal strength meter?? I set my generator for 7.040 Mhz at -73 dbm and the signal strength meter read -109 dBm.? I checked the output of my generator last year with a commercial power meter and it was about 2 dBm off, not 36 dBm off.
?
I have one last question.? I was going through the "Configure and Use" section of the assembly manual and?item #4 made me pause. Do I have to null the receiver to below -50 dBm on the?panadapter display ?or am I supposed to have a difference before and after nulling of 50 dBm.? I can get the receiver to null by about 5 dBm on the screen (from -108 dBm to -103 dBm).
?
Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.
?
Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ
Re: [Flexradio] Software development with C#

 

Philip Covington wrote:

...a big update to jDttSP
along with a GUI very soon on Linux. I think it is a collaboration
between Bob Cowdery, Bob McGwier, and Frank Brickle so I am sure one
of them can tell you more.
That's right. Now that we're past the official fork between the Linux and Windows versions, the complete Linux environment is crystallizing fast. Bob G3UKB has done heroic work in building the console and remoted control environment. The debugging is mostly a question of ironing out version inconsistencies between various supporting software chunks.

The main outstanding question right now is how to provide a complete system for the early adopters that won't have them tearing their hair out over massive installation requirements and dependency problems. This is a non-trivial issue and difficult to solve without forcing everybody to the same Linux distro, release, and supplementary libraries. Nothing conclusive yet.

N4HY and I are down for the count right now with AMSAT and other commitments, but we will be concentrating on the Linux release again during the coming week.

73
Frank
AB2KT
Re: [Flexradio] Software development with C#

 

KD5NWA wrote:

Lissssp anyone? :-P
Don't I wish.

All you need to be convinced is to see the edifice that Bill Schottaedt of CCRMA has built around CLM, CMN, and snd to see the value of that kind of programming environment. His stuff works across all the current Lisps. He doesn't consign you to using Lisp, either. You can leverage his work in C, guile, Ruby...pretty astonishing.

One of the reasons we're rolling much of the effort over into Python is the extent to which that platform provides much of what you'd like to have from Lisp, except the programmable syntax. It wouldn't be surprising if the same considerations weighed heavily in the choice of Python as the medium for gnuradio.

73
Frank
AB2KT
Softrock up and running but need a little guidance

Chris Waldrup
 

开云体育

Hi All,
?
I finally got my Softrock up tonight after playing with it last night with no luck.? Tonight I can hear stations!!? I had a SDR program operator error last night.
?
I took it into work and during lunch plugged it into a USB port and verified with a scope that the timing signals were present.? A little overshoot and undershoot on the output of the buffer amp U1, but the signal is present.? I did the initial soldering under my microscope but checked over it again today to make sure all was fine.
?
Tonight I hooked it up to my 8640 generator and hear the tone fine, but every few seconds there is a rapid succession of a few clicks where the signal dies and then comes back.? The signal strength goes up from about -140 dBm to mid -50's.? The LED does not flicker at all during this (I had thought that the USB connector may be loose) and I tried connecting the USB connector up to my wife's new laptop and I get the same result.? I also connected the radio up to my antenna to rule out the generator acting funny and I get the same result.?
?
How accurate is the signal strength meter?? I set my generator for 7.040 Mhz at -73 dbm and the signal strength meter read -109 dBm.? I checked the output of my generator last year with a commercial power meter and it was about 2 dBm off, not 36 dBm off.
?
I have one last question.? I was going through the "Configure and Use" section of the assembly manual and?item #4 made me pause. Do I have to null the receiver to below -50 dBm on the?panadapter display ?or am I supposed to have a difference before and after nulling of 50 dBm.? I can get the receiver to null by about 5 dBm on the screen (from -108 dBm to -103 dBm).
?
Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.
?
Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ
Re: SR40 performance and musings...

Bruce Beford
 

Good thoughts, Stan.

I agree, the performance of this little rcvr is surprising,
considering the simplicity of the hardware. The filtering provided by
the software makes for a real powerful set of tools.

I have been listening to my SoftRock-80 here. covering a range of
about 3.555-3.600 Mhz using a 14.318 crystal in the LO, and my
redesigned front-end filter. It's working great. I can pull some
pretty weak stations out fairly close to the S9+25dB signal of W1AW
code practice here in NH. The Thirty meter version works great too. I
am also using a seperate source of power from the computer.

I have been doing too much experimenting to get the receivers into
permanent cases yet, but I know that will only improve something that
already works remarkably well. In time....

I have already determined the values for a 20m front end. Just need to
decide on a method to get the LO on about 56.200 Mhz.... It may be
hard to find a fundamental-mode crystal for that freq. Maybe a 3rd
overtone oscillator mounted on a plug-in that includes the new front-
end filtering.........

I'd love to hear back from others who have done the 30m mod using the
crystals I have provided.

73, Bruce N1RX
Re: [Flexradio] Software development with C#

KD5NWA
 

That's the feeling I was getting, that is not a simple setup a project and recompile. There is so much more to a programming environment, all the libraries would have to be compatible or your dead in the water.

I was wondering, I went to the icSharpDevelop site and I got the impression that the software is only a IDE for the MS C# compiler, so you would still have to have the MS software anyway. Is that correct or will it work with it's own or other C# compilers.

They have a evaluation version of MS C# has anyone succeeded in compiling the Flex software with that free software?

Is anyone using the Borland C#Builder environment? I like Delphi and you get C# included so It would not be so bad to upgrade. My son is going to the local University so a student copy would also be reasonable in term of $$

I would imagine it's going to be like everything else MS C#, C#Builder, Mono, or Grasshopper all would be fine for a new software project but to convert a project from another environment would be a lot of work.

Lissssp anyone? :-P

At 05:31 PM 10/5/2005, Philip Covington wrote:
Hi Cecil,

The short answer is no, not easily.

It is possible to compile the PowerSDR Console source with
SharpDevelop if you already have the compiled DLLs for DttSP, FFTW,
PortAudio, etc... You will have to make quite a few changes to the
source code to get it to compile though. It is not fun after having
done it a few times. Every time a new version is released you have to
go back through the process of changing the source code to get it to
compile with SharpDevelop. This is using the .NET 1.1 framework.

Because of the use of the DttSP, FFTW, PortAudio, etc DLLs you would
have to make extensive changes to get it to compile under Mono running
on Linux. You *can* use shared libraries in Mono/Linux just like you
can use DLLs in Mono/Windows using interop. It would be so much of a
job that it would be much easier to start from scratch.

Frank Brickle announced that there would be a big update to jDttSP
along with a GUI very soon on Linux. I think it is a collaboration
between Bob Cowdery, Bob McGwier, and Frank Brickle so I am sure one
of them can tell you more.

73 de Phil N8VB




On 10/5/05, KD5NWA <kd5nwa@...> wrote:
Are any other C# platforms being successfully used to compile the
Flex software other that MS Visual Studio ?

What about ;

Mono
Grasshopper
C#Builder

??

Cecil Bayona
KD5NWA
www.qrpradio.com

I 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 list
FlexRadio@...


--
Philip A Covington
Cecil Bayona
KD5NWA
www.qrpradio.com

I 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 ...
SR40 performance

 

I have been surprised that no one has been talking about the
performance of the SR40.

It has brick wall filters, really nice. I have mixed feeling about
the noise reduction, but not sure I understand the NR operation so
will withhold comments.

I have not really had problems with 7056 khz osc noise, but I got
rid of the USB power source very quickly. 78L05 is the way to go.

I run it with a laptop and distance improves the operation. Laptops
generate a lot of EMI. Connect your SR40 to a dummy load and then
fight your EMI sources. I have three different laptops, different
brands but they all radiate. Next week I hope to move the SR40
connection to my 800 mhz tower with a Delta 44 and see how it does
with weak signals. I ended up with my SR40 in a die case box. Some
of those signals you see in the pass band may be your own computer.
Watch out for ground loops. The SR40 is a RF device and you know
the rules, one ground return for everything.

Do learn how to use your mouse for tuning. Do not over drive the
soundcard. Click on some of those -90 db signals and use the
filters. You will be surprised if you have been using the old 602
mixer qrp rigs. I have been able to copy -110 db signals very well.

Takes a little practice to learn how to use the powerful software.

A good ham band band pass tuner in front of the receiver would be
nice, most of the antenna tuners are LPF designs and not much help.
But not required for a fun experience.

Stan AK0B
Re: Software Installation...

 

Great, Bob, glad you're flying. Maybe our experiences will save someone else some grief :-)

Robert Hughes wrote:

Thanks for the response Bill and John (and anyone else
who responds after I write this). As soon as I read
your suggestions I knew what I had done and so was
reminded to get my head back up on my shoulders where
it belongs :)

Thanks again and 72/73,

Bob - KI8JM


Hello All,

I'm trying to install the PowerSDR software and the
following Fatal Error dialog box pops up behind the
splash screen:

Interop.ADOX or one of its dependencies was not
found
at PowerSDR.DB.Create()
at PowerSDR.DB.Init()
at PowerSDR.Console..ctor(String[] args)
at PowerSDR.Console.Main(String[] args)

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Regards,
John

=========================================================
email: k5jhf@...
photos:
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=========================================================
Re: Software Installation...

Robert Hughes
 

Thanks for the response Bill and John (and anyone else
who responds after I write this). As soon as I read
your suggestions I knew what I had done and so was
reminded to get my head back up on my shoulders where
it belongs :)

Thanks again and 72/73,

Bob - KI8JM

Hello All,

I'm trying to install the PowerSDR software and the
following Fatal Error dialog box pops up behind the
splash screen:

Interop.ADOX or one of its dependencies was not
found
at PowerSDR.DB.Create()
at PowerSDR.DB.Init()
at PowerSDR.Console..ctor(String[] args)
at PowerSDR.Console.Main(String[] args)
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