Windows PC DPC Latency and High CPU usage
If you find PowerSDR is freezing up, you may have a DPC Latency issue:
DPC latency has to do with real-time background processes.
When you open windows Task manager you will see all the programs and processes that run in the background.
So even if you have a high number of cores, it can still happen, do to a faulty driver, or a bad program, or virus.
Also, hard drive activity can cause latency as well (I switched to a Solid-State 1Gb drive a couple of years ago.).
There is only so much background time available in order to keep a process running in real-time.
Programs that can help find out what your PC is doing:
Windows Task Manager (right click in the windows tray to select): Show all the Apps and Background Processes running with the CPU,Memory, HDD, network loading.
FlexRadio.exe (windows control panel): View DPC latency in time.
WhySoSlow.exe: You can generate a report showing what might be causing it.
Latency Monitor (LatMon.exe): Test for DPC latency
Process Explorer (procexp.exe) will show you all code running (this can be scary when you see it) and how much CPU time.
Autoruns.exe or CCleaner.exe: You can see what exactly gets loaded at Startup
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CPU % not functioning or Temp & Volts not working:
Click Start, type "cmd" in the Search box.
Right click cmd.exe, and select Run as administrator.
At the prompt, type lodctr /R and press ENTER. (note the "R" is a capital letter)
This will repair the PerfMon pointers (those are stored in the registry).
You should see this message if the process was successful:
Info: Successfully rebuilt performance counter setting from system backup
If this results in an ERROR, then try the following:
Type: C:\Windows\SysWOW64>lodctr /R
You should see: Info: Successfully rebuilt performance counter setting from system backup store
Then type: C:\Windows\SysWOW64>winmgmt.exe /RESYNCPERF
This will hopefully fix a Windows PerfMon issue.
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NOTE: FT8 & JTAlert-x have a rather large penalty on your CPU in a crowded band (like 80m and 40m) trying to decode 20 or so signals simultaneously. The more signals to decode, the higher CPU. My old 4 core cpu maxed out at 100% decoding on 40m and running PowerSDR at the same time.
I decided to upgrade my desktop motherboard to an AMD Ryzen 6 core (12 thread) and 16gb of DDR4 is more than enough horsepower to run everything and anything, and allows PowerSDR to run at 30fps and the analog meter movement to run at 40msec with 3 - 6% cpu.
link to Upgrade to the latest version of Win10 (should be free if you have the key from a prior version of Windows):
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
"Change Active Hours" (Win10)
In Windows 10, go to "Windows Update" and change your "Active Hours" to reflect your time on the radio to prevent a windows update during the time your using PowerSDR.
Privacy Settings (Win10)
UnderWindows 10 you will want to turn all the new privacy settings and "how updates are delivered" to OFF (block) . Otherwise your computer will be allowed to constantly send data not only back to Microsoft & others, but allows others to use your computer as an "Update server".
Microsoft "Store" (Win10)
Open Windows STORE app. In the upper right corner ... click and select setup. Turn off automatic updates of Apps,otherwise Windows 10 will be constantly downloading and installing apps while PowerSDR is running.
Microsoft monitoring (Win10)
Turn OFF "Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry"
(huge drive and cpu usage hog that can start running in the background at any time while running PowerSDR) (text procedure to disable it here)
Turn OFF the following Windows "Task Scheduler" items:
---- Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry
(huge drive and cpu usage hog)
---- Customer Experience Improvement
----
Power Efficiency Diagnostics
---- Windows Defender (start hard drive scans manually yourself when you want )
---- Media Center
(Since it Windows 10 no longer allows the program to run)
Turn OFF the following Windows "Services":
All the "Diagnostics ..." services including: policy, service, system, Tracking (assuming all your components are working)
Lfsvc: Geolocation
service windows 10
Fax: fax
Homegrouplistener: Homegroup HomeGroup continuously scans your network for files, printer, devices, data
Homegroupprovider: Homegroup
Media Center:
continuously scans your network.
WMPNetworkSvc: Windows Media sharing
Windows Search (indexing) continuously updates its index files every single time a file is created, which keeps the CPU(s) & Memory & HDD busy.
Turn OFF
network Printer SERVICE: HP and others have poorly written network printer Services that will continuously eat up CPU & Network.
Turn OFF MSCONFIG STARTUP programs that check themselves for updates (i.e. java, adobe, apple. do the update checks yourself). You can use free CCLEANER.exe to find them and disable them.
Schedule your Virus Checker program to update itself & scan at off hours. Dont run the virus scanner when you are using the PC.
Many Virus scanner program do background optimization without your knowledge. Usually the only way to quiet them down is to put them into Gamer Mode or Silent Mode.
Disable Windows automatic updates. Do the checks yourself.
Leave your computer ON, set for HDD & monitor to turn off after 20min of no use. This way the OS doesnt spend time after start-up to do housekeeping.
Some Video card drivers(i.e. Nvidia) include Gamer previews that download and update without your knowledge. You will want to
make sure you check the "Task Manager" to see any programs that are running and delete them. If you have an NVidia card you will want to check this link to turn off the Nvidia PowerMiser feature: here
Run "Task Manager" (right click on the task bar and select "Start Task Manager" then click on the "Show processes from all users". This will show all the hidden processes that require ADMIN privileges to stop. Check them to see if any sneaky programs are running.
IF YOUR VIDEO CARD IS POOR: Go to System Properties-> Advanced ->Performance Settings-> Visual Effects->Adjust for best performance (to turn off the graphics extras that you probably dont need)
To speed up your computer, get a new Solid-State Hard drive, and a Gamers video card.
To Enable/Disable Windows Services: Click on the Start button and type "services" in the search window.
Click on Services (local).
FINALLY:
Right CLICK on the task bar (bottom of the screen) and select "Start Task Manager", then click on the "show processes for all users" down at the bottom.
Its good to print this screen out for future reference when your computer starts to "act"
up.
Kill rogue programs that are running in the background (like java update scheduler, ituneshelper,etc.).
Also, check the "Task Scheduler" to make sure Windows or other programs dont run a schedule task while your operating.
Programs to Download and Install besides PowerSDR
(These programs are explained further down below)
For multiple virtual CAT/COM port pairs:
1) VspMgr (x64 free): Allows you to create multiple "Virtual COM" port pairs to be used with DDUtil to allow CAT control of multiple PC programs at the same time. https://k5fr.com/DDUtilV3wiki/index.php?title=VSP_Manager
(NOTE: run only in ADMIN and XP SP3 compatibility mode)
Think of a virtual CAT/COM port pair as both ends of a single RS232 Cable (each end of the cable needs to have its own COM port#)
Or if you dont like VspMgr try:
com0com_x86_signed
OR
com0com_x64_signed
For VAC (DAX):
2) VoicMeeter Banana (free): Creates a "Virtual Audio" Channel (in & out) which allows your Flex to send/receive audio from the PC. This allows you to use MME, Direct Sound, and WDM-KS drivers. This is the best I have found. https://vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/banana.htm
These cables will appear under the SOUND panel as "VoiceMeeter IN/OUT" and "VoiceMeeter Aux IN/OUT". Each of these is a 1 direction audio cable.
Think of a virtual audio channel as a single RCA cable, one end is the Input, the other end is the output. And the AUX cable is a second RCA cable.
For a 2nd set of "Virtual Audio" cables go and download: https://vb-audio.com/Cable/index.htm
These cables will appear under the SOUND panel as "CABLE IN/OUT". This CABLE is bi-directional and so there is no AUX IN/OUT cable needed.
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4) WSJT-x (free): FT8 digital mode and more. https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/wsjtx.html
5) JTAlert-x (free): keeps track of needed contacts and prevents dups (has a callsign database download as well). https://hamapps.com/
6) CWSkimmer: Use to Decode multiple CW conversations. Use the built in CWX to transmit CW if you dont have your own key.
7) HRD
5.24.0.38 (free): Ham Radio Deluxe last free version gives you a Log book and digital modes that link to the flex via a CAT COM port.
8) Fldigi (free): Multiple Digital modes (now located on sourceforge as a setup file) http://www.w1hkj.com/index.html
Here is the PowerSDR.xml file, unzip and drop in the folder with fldigi. Just right click on the fldigi icon and open file location
For specialized AMP, Rotor, etc control of those CAT/COM ports (no longer a need to use it for multiplexing COM ports:
9) DDUtil_V3 (free): Scans the CAT port you assigned in PowerSDR (setup -> CAT Control) and allows you to map the PowerSDR COM port to multiple COM ports created by "VspMgr" or "VSPE". This will allow you to have multiple PC programs all talking to your Flex at the same time. https://k5fr.com/DDUtilV3wiki/index.php?title=Download
10) EasyPal (free): Allows you to exchange quick Internet pictures by sending links to them over the radio. Also allows for Waterfall callsign ID images. https://www.vk3evl.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=62
11) Vara HF and FM weak signal modems (used by Winlink Express):
https://rosmodem.wordpress.com/
Audio Folders (location of REC / PLAY), MP3 & PowerSDR Database
The QuickAudio file names now contain a sequential index value + Mode + freq + date + time of the recording
Every time you hit the REC button a file "SDRQuickAudioXXX.wav" is created in the folder:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.8.0\QuickAudio\
(Right Click on the PLAY button to open this folder)
and (Wave->MP3 folder) an "SDRQuickAudioXXX.MP3" is created in the folder:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.8.0\QuickAudioMP3\
Click on the "Wave"
button then "MP3 Folder" button to open the MP3 folder directly.
The file location of the "MEMORY" scheduled recordings (MP3), and the orignal "Wave" folder recordings is:
%userprofile%\music\PowerSDR\
PowerSDR "MEMORY" data, and DX Cluster data files:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\
PowerSDR Database files (look for your radios serial number in the file name):
(original) %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.7.2\
(new ke9ns) %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.8.0\
Griffin Powermate for frequency tuning
Griffen PowerMate Drivers are now Written directly into PowerSDR ke9ns v2.8 (setup->general->user interface).
If you are running PowerSDR ke9ns v2.8 then skip this section.
This section and these files may be useful to other SDR users not running PowerSDR ke9ns v2.8
I wrote 3 programs (below) that Force the Griffin Powermate Knob to send Frequency change commands to PowerSDR no matter what you doing on your computer:
1) AutoFocuses the PowerSDR window and sends Keyboard Shortcuts AND also allows Remote Knob Operation (but without the AutoFocus)
2) Sends CAT commands to a COM port connected to PowerSDR
3) Same CAT commands, but with a Signal Strength Meter added.
NOTE when using any of these programs:
Do NOTrun the PowerMate program you normally use with the Knob (look for the knob image in your tray). Windows should install the Griffin driver automatically.
1) PowerMate/PowerSDR using keyboard shortcuts (i.e. PowerSDR only)
NOTE:This version now allows remote operation over a "Remote Connection" but does not autofocus the PowerSDR window on your "Remote Connection". BUT, if you are running it locally, it will still auto focus to PowerSDR.
Do NOTrun the PowerMate program you normally use with the Knob (look for the knob image in your tray). Instead download this zip file, unzip the folder and keep the 2 files together. Simply run the .EXE file (but in ADMIN compatability mode). Just minimize to the Tray and leave it running all the time PowerSDR is running. You will need to have .NET 4.0 framework installed.
This will work with the new PowerSDR 2.7.2 ke9ns revisions, BUT you must run "PowerSDR", then run "Ke9ns PowerMate", then its OK to open the DX spotter window. It must be done in that order using this version.
2) PowerMate / Flex Radio CAT commands
This PowerMate version does not change Window Focus, it simply opens up a COM port that links back to the CAT for your radio.
I use ZZAD/U commands for VFOA with 3 selectable step rates: (100hz,1khz,or 10hz).
I use ZZRF for the RIT function (+/-10hz steps). I could not use ZZRU/ZZRD for RIT because DDUtil gets caught in a loop.
Download this zip file, unzip the folder and keep the 2 files together. Simply run the .EXE file (dont need ADMIN permission). You will need .NET 4.0
The default is COM7 (you can select 1-16). You will need to use a program like "vspMgr" to create virtual COM port pairs (i.e. virtual COM6-COM7 pair), and DDUtil to link 1 side of each COM pair back to your CAT rig. (i.e. set RCP1 in DDUtil to COM6)
3) Flex Radio CAT commands RX Signal (with Powermate)
Download this zip file. This version (again dont run PowerMate Editor) can work with or without the PowerMate (but you still need to install the driver). The meter skin is called Met2.jpg and is replaceable. Just keep the skin in the same folder as the .exe and .dll files. Now the Meter movement is smoother and the needle is smoother.
The meter image is my tribute to the TR7.
Below is a short youtube iphone video I took showing the above ke9ns powermate software running.
PowerSDR "Skins"
You can copy the default "Skin" to use as a starting point for creating a new "Skin".
Skins under V2.7.2 or V2.8.0 are found in the following location (Click on the START button and enter the following in the search window): %ProgramData%\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR\Skins\
Highlight the "Default 2012" folder and press CTRL C, then CTRL V
You will now have a new Folder called "Default 2012 - copy"
Right click on folder and rename it your call sign (ie. KE9NS)
Navigate into the new FOLDER inside the "Console" folder. These are the files you can change.
In my KE9NS example I changed the "picDisplay.png" file which is the background of the Panadapter.
Started from scratch with Adobe PhotoShop.
1)
Create a new picDisplay.png file with a canvas of 1000 x 550 (the standard skin is a 100 x 50 image, but that will be too blurry if we add a call sign).
2)
Pick a background color (use the eyedropper tool to pick a color from some other image), and use the paintbucket tool to fill the canvas.
3) Now add a background lighting enhancement, so click on Filter->Render->LIghting Effects->have fun. The image on the left is virtually lit from the bottom right. The image on the right is virtually lit from 3 sources above the skin (like on old radio with light bulbs over the dial).
4) Now add your callsign to the image in the upper left corner. Pick your Font (i used LCDMono) and size (i used 72pt) and Opacity I added a lensflare (Filter->Render-> Lens Flare) just to the callsign.
5) Next, I replaced the slider(s). RX2 sliders are slightly smaller,so there are 2 sizes.
6) Since the slider we are creating is round,and all image formats save files with 4 sides, we need to create a cavnas with on opaque background (i.e. a see through background), it shows up as a checkerboard pattern in Adobe.
7) I found some knob images on the web and scaled them down to fit.
I have now also included a background without the call sign but with a robinson projection.
The slider replacements are slightly larger than the original 20 x 20 and 16 x 16. My Slider(s) are 22 x22 and 19 x 19 (see below)
Click here to download the "Skins" (without my callsign)
At this point
go to PowerSDR -> Setup -> Appearance -> and select the new "Skin".
The Panadapter will now look like the photo at the top of this page.
At this point its best to shut down PowerSDR and reboot your computer.
FireWire IEEE 1394 Interface (driver issues) and Thunderbolt option
FireWire (IEEE 1394):
If you are looking for options to add FireWire to a newer mini-PC or laptop or Desktop, scroll down to "FireWire Solutions for mini-PCs and Laptops" for a few options.
(NOTE: Freezing is not generally related to FireWire, but means either your PC is underpowered or you have a bad driver. Search DPC Latency on this website instead)
If your FireWire is crashing (causing a PFN_List_Fault) Blue screen of death:
(1)
You can check on all the items listed below, BUT first as a test, disable all Virus protection (some programs will require fully uninstalled in order to disable). This includes the built in Windows Defender: By disabling the Win10/11 "Real-Time protection" and Win11 "Memory integrity". It has been noted that Windows defender "msmpeng.exe" can cause a large number of "Hard Pagefaults" while running PowerSDR. See if the PFN crashing goes away when you Disable Real-Time protection via windows Defender?
(2)
Make sure your Windows 10/11 Power Plan is set to "High Performance" power plan. Control Panel->Power Plan.
If you dont see a "high performance" listed under Power Plan:
Run "Command Promt" right click"Run as administrator" and copy/paste the following for "High performance":
powercfg -duplicatescheme 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c
This is for Ultimate performance: copy/paste the following for "Ultimate performance":
powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61
Both these Power Plans are not for laptop battery usage as they disable all power saving features and keep all CPU cores running, but are needed for Real-Time Audio DSP
(3)
Open CMD prompt (run as Admin) bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes for reduce possible DPC latency.
(4)
Open Regedit: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583
and set ValueMax and ValueMin both to 0 to prevent windows from shutting down any CPU cores. Or you can download "Parkcontrol" to prevent CPU core parking.
(5)
FireWire requires an IRQ (Interrupt Request) channel. Its best that the IRQ channel selected for your FireWire Card is unique and has no IRQ conficts with other devices on your PC motherboard. Your BIOS selects the IRQ for you.
Newer PC motherboards now use MSI and MSIx (Message signaled interuppts) for their onboad devices, and so usually have plenty of open IRQ available. Somewhat older motherboards support MSI but rely heavily on IRQ for their onboard devices, and so many onboard devices share and IRQ. You may or may not be able to run PowerSDR successfully with a shared FireWire IRQ.
Windows Device Manager->View->Resources by Connection->IRQ
NOTE: Negative IRQ numbers are MSI (Message signalled interrupts, as opposed to the original pin based IRQ). Devices that use MSI are not allowed to have conflicts. Modern PC Motherboard chipsets will have PCIe version 3.0 or better to take full advantage of this. This will leave plenty of room for tranditional IRQ devices.
Although windows permits IRQ sharing, your 1394 FireWire card cannot be allowed to share an IRQ.
Windows no longer allows for IRQ manual assignements.
And Modern BIOS configurations will usually NOT allow for manual IRQ assignments.
NOTE: Altering your BIOS is dangerous for the inexperienced, and may cause Windows to become inoperable.
Older BIOS configurations may have a "PnP operating system" checkbox to disable. Modern BIOS configurations may have a ACPI checkbox to disable.
The other possibility is to simply move the 1394 card to another PCIe Slot (Note: Any PCIe slot, large or small will accommodate the 1394 PCIe card).
Also sometimes simply using "Device Manager" to disable and then Re-enable, may cause Windows to assign a new IRQ#.
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This procedure (below) is a last resort to free up an IRQ conflict on your FireWire Card:
This procedure involves moving PC devices from standard IRQ to MSI (Message Signaled Interrupts). MSI devices are not allowed to have conflicts and show up as negative IRQ values. By Freeing up standard IRQs, this might remove a FireWire Card IRQ conflict. Usually NVIDIA graphics cards can be moved to MSI. Along with Audio devices. Some devices listed as MSI capable will not work properly under MSI and can cause your Windows to no longer boot.
NOTE: This is not for the faint of heart. This procedure has the possibility of bricking your Windows PC. Always make sure you create a fresh "System Restore" point, also go into REGEDIT and make a backup copy to an accessible location (like your desktop). Make absolutely sure to create a USB "Recovery Drive" before attempting any IRQ MSI alterations. This way you should be able to boot the Recovery Drive and restore to a previous Restore point. If you dont see some devices already listed as MSI (no negative IRQ devices), then dont try this as your PC is too old.
MSI_util_v3 This is the direct download from my site, otherwise you can follow the links below incase there is a newer version. Drop it on your Desktop (nothing to install) and run in ADMIN mode
See: https://maxedtech.com/show-devices-by-irq-in-windows/
and See:
https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/windows-line-based-vs-message-signaled-based-interrupts-msi-tool.378044/
This involves altering your Registry to move devices from IRQ to MSI (you can also increase priority levels) using a free program called "MSI_util_v3.exe" that must be run in ADMIN mode. This utility modifies your Registry.
Before (my PC):
After (my PC):
I did this even though my FireWire had no IRQ conflict.
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(6)
If your having trouble getting your Flex-3000 or Flex-5000 to connect to your FireWire card, it may be the driver. You can try installing the Win7 based Legacy Driver instead of the default driver.
Download:
Legacy1394 x86/x64 FireWire Driver This version will create a folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)
With a x86 and x64 subfolders
If your Windows is x64 It will just place the drivers into the folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)
But if your Windows is x86 then the folder will be C:\Program Files\1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)
Go into either x64 or x86 folder (based on what version of Windows your running)
Then right click over the Legacy1394.inf file and select Install
Now when you open device manager and select 1394 FireWire->update driver->Browse my computer->Let me pick from a list, Legacy should now be in the list
x64 Win10 / Win11 PCs may require a "Signed" driver, but these were never signed. You may need to "Disable Driver signing" on you PC to allow switching your 1394 FireWire card over to "legacy"
NOTE: If you are having troubles running a Flex-3000 or Flex-5000 at 192k sample rate, try the Legacy Driver. And change the sample rate only from within PowerSDR: setup->Audio->Primary->Sample Rate
Device manager will list your FireWire card as: IEEE 1394 host controller (Either LSI, TI, or VIA 1394).
Flexradio.exe app Go into Flexradio app
1) set Operate Mode to "Normal". Click the DPC button to confirm the Firewire connection has low latency. If not, check your PC for un-needed and unused programs. You may need to reinstall the OS for a clean start. High latency will cause very strange audio issues. You will eventually see a few time the computer encountered high latency, hit the Clear button to make sure it doesnt happend that often.
2) Buffer size: Dictated by the PowerSDR -> Setup. So dont try and change it here.
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FireWire solutions for mini-PCs and Laptops.
(For those not running a Desktop PC which has a PCIe slot):
Luckily almost all the slots found on newer laptops, and mini-PCs are PCIe based slots with just smaller form factors.
m.2 PCIe slot (used in Mini PCs & new laptops, for wifi/bluetooth):
Its a 4 channel PCIexpress slot in a very small form factor. Its smaller than the original mini PCIe slot, but more capable. Mini-PCs are full blown Windows 11 PCs the size of a Sandwich. I have a Aerofara Tank56, Ryzen (12 logical cores), m.2 SSD, and capable of running 3 FHD monitors. I have tried using the M.2 slot for 1394 FireWire and it works great!
You can buy adapters that convert m.2 PCIe slots to standard PCIe x1 (where you could use a standard 1394 FireWire card).
OR
Convert a m.2 PCIe slot to a Mini PCIe slot and then use an 1394 card (like the StarTech.com LSI board shown below):
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Mini PCIe slot (used in mini PCs, and laptops for wifi card):
If you open up your laptop and find a mini PCIe slot (usually used for wi-fi cards), you can buy a 1394 FireWire card like this LSI 1394 miniPCIe card from StarTech.com (PN# MPEX1394B3), and run the cable to the outside of your laptop.
This LSI 1394 chip has worked well across multiple machines. I have yet to find a bad one.
Below showing PowerSDR running a Flex-5000 using the Above LSI miniPCIe 1394 FireWire card plugged into a new Windows 11 x64 Touchscreen 10.1" Embedded fanless Industrial PC. Note 3 mini-PCIe slots: 1) msata SSD, 2) LSI 1394 FireWire card, 3) Intel WiFi & Bluetooth card.
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ExpressCard Slot (used in Laptops):
I also use a StarTech.com EC13942A1 1394a FireWire ExpressCard (for my Windows Laptop). It works great.
Above is an 1394 FireWire ExpressCard for Laptop computers with ExpressCard slots (preferably ExpressCard 2.0). ExpressCard is really just PCI Express in a different format
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Thunderbolt FireWire
Thunderbolt 2 (Left side), Thunderbolt 3 (Right side in a USB-C form factor). The Thunderbolt indicates that its not just a USB-C connector.
Example shown below:
FireWire on a modern Laptop (Lenovo 20ES P70 ThinkPad)
USB-C Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 (dongle)
Thunderbolt2 to FireWire 1394B (dongle)
FireWire 1394B to 1394A (cable)
As a LAST LAST resort (see photos above). If you simply cannot get FireWire to work properly on your PC (besides trying another PC), you might consider using "Thunderbolt" (which is backwards compatible with DisplayPort and FireWire).
It has been verifed that this "Thunderbolt" approach works.
First, check if your motherboard already has "Thunderbolt", either as its own Thunderbolt 2 (most likely if you have a mac) connector, or as a USB-C Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (USB-C does not mean its Thunderbolt. It needs to state that it is Thunderbolt 3/4 and USB-C is just its connector).
If you do not have "Thunderbolt" you can purchase a "PCIe x4" card with Thunderbolt on it. That is the card requires a x4 or larger slot (not the x1 slot that most FireWire cards use). They also usually require PCIe 3.0 hardware on your motherboard.
New cards will most likely be Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (which will then require an Thunderbolt 3 to 2 cable.) This has the added benefit in that you gain high speed USB-C plug(s).
Used cards will probably have Thunderbolt 2 & DisplayPort & maybe Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connectors.
2) Purchase an Apple Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire adapter. Windows 10/11 should find the drivers for this device.
3) Purchase an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Cable (if needed)
43) Purchase a 1394b to 1394a Cable (to interface from the Apple FireWire to the Flex radio)
NOTE: Thunderbolt 3 is not open source and can appear as a USB4 port. If your PC has a USB4 port, it maybe Thunderbolt 3 compatible, and so the above Thunderbolt to FireWire may work using a USB4 port. But Vendors of USB4 do not need to be fully Thunderbolt 3 complient, so your talking a chance.
NOTE: Thunderbolt 3 is now open source and can appear as a USB4 port. If your PC has a USB4 port, it maybe Thunderbolt 3 compatible, and so the above Thunderbolt to FireWire may work using a USB4 port. But Vendors of USB4 do not need to be fully Thunderbolt 3 complient, so your talking a chance.
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FireWire Chip Repairs
Repair of the Flex-5000 FireWire Chip (TI TSB41AB2PAPG4) 64pin HTQFP:
If you find your PC does not detect your Flex-5000 when you plug in the FireWire cable and you have determined the fault is in the Flex radio itself. There is a good chance that the TI TSB41AB2 chip has failed AND/OR possibly the DICE chip Applied Technology TCD2210 DICE chip in a 128 pin QFP (not shown)
1394 TSB41AB2 FireWire chip Before and After removal (note the heat sink ground plane connection under the chip)
Kaptan tape used to help protect parts round the chip.
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NOTES:
NOTE 1: Legacy 1394 OHCI FireWire drivers came about with Win8 when FireWire drivers changed to kernel-mode driver framework (KMDF). The new KMDF 1394 FireWire Drivers sometimes caused issues, prompting the "Legacy" driver (i.e drivers made before KMDF). But Legacy drivers are slower than the current standard drivers based on KMDF.
NOTE 2: Microsoft Win10 (Ver1803) put a limitation on 1394 FireWire related to DMA (Direct Memory Access). FireWire is currently prevented from DMA (i.e. DMA is disabled), in the hopes of preventing threats to Bitlocker. This Windows limitation was then passed along to all versions of Win10 (old and new), and 11. However it does appear that compatability issues have appeared due to this "DMA limitation" put on 1394. There is really no way to Disable this Microsoft Limitation (except a special kernal debug mode). I believe this DMA disable was poorly executed and caused FireWire issues beyond just DMA. I dont believe PowerSDR uses DMA mode, but this maybe some of the cause behind FireWire cards causing a PFN failure and not related to PowerSDR itself.
PowerSDR ESC Noise Cancelling or Signal Enhancing
THE SETUP:
If you have a Flex 5000a with the 2nd receiver option (RX2) and are running PowerSDR 2.7.2 or 2.8.0 you can use the ESC "Enhanced Signal Clarity" feature to reduce noise on the band using a 2nd antenna (RX2). The RX2 antenna needs to pick up the noise as strong or stronger than your main antenna (RX1). I use a vertical for RX2 and a Yagi or G5RV for my main RX1 antenna. My Vertical tends to be very noisy, and my horizontal antennas tend to be very quiet.
HOW IT WORKS:
ESC
"Enhanced Signal Clarity" works by allowing you to sync both RX1 and RX2 receivers together, then allows you to change the phase relationship of RX2 vs RX1. Noise Cancelling happens by moving the RED target around until the noise is subtracted from the real signal. It works very similar to a noise cancelling headphone: detect the noise and inject the same exact signal 180 degrees out of phase to cancel it out of the original signal (i.e. Null Forming). A perfect solution would be an RX2 antenna that picks up nothing but noise since its possible to cancel out the real signal as well.
The additional benefit is that you can improve a weak signal as well, by aligning RX1 and RX2 signals to add, rather than subtract.
Below is a short youtube iphone video I took showing how well ESC works for Noise Canelling using a G5RV on RX1 and a Vertical on RX2.
Below is a NEW short video showing ESC in action using my RX1 ANT3=G5RV and a RX2 ANT1=triband yagi:
I found that after you ENABLE the ESC feature, you can turn off RX2 (the RX2 button in the lower left corner of PowerSDR) and the ESC will still work.
PowerSDR remotely from anywhere using:
Easy 2-way bi-directional audio remote desktop using ONLY AnyDesk
AnyDesk
(free) allows for full remote control desktop of PowerSDR, and 1-way hi-fi audio. But did you know that once your logged into your Radio PC, You can use Anydesk on your Radio PC to log back into your Remote PC, and now you have 1-way hi-fi audio in the other direction (i.e. 2-way audio).
Example Setup: "Remote Laptop (with PC headset), and Radio PC connected to a Flex-5000
Anydesk needs to be installed on both Remote Laptop and Radio PC.
NOTE: I installed the free Voicemeeter banana audio drivers on the Radio PC (it is not needed on the Remote laptop side)
NOTE:
This setup work 100% of the time, BUT....
Any changes that are made to PC SOUND, ANYDESK, or PowerSDR, or plugging in any sound devices to your PC, will usually require closing ANYDESK (and possible PowerSDR and your PC) and relaunching it, for this to work.
NOTE:
Personal Use Only:
If you operate AnyDesk over 100 hours within 8 weeks, you may get a notice that your not a personal user. In that case you need to "Whitelist" both your Remote and Home computers. Go to: https://pages.hs.anydesk.com/anydesk-license
and fill out the form 2 times, with 9-digit AnyDesk ID's from both sides of your connection.
Remote PC (1 time setup):
1) AnyDesk on Remote Laptop: Setup Audio "Transmission" = Headset Mic, "Output" = Headset speaker.
2) Remote Laptop Windows "Sound" Playback default = Headset speaker, Recording default = Headset Mic.
3) Log into the Radio PC. The Top line of the AnyDesk window has a Shield. Click on the shield and check "Transmit Sound". (I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THIS IN THE VIDEO)
Radio PC (1 time setup):
1a) AnyDesk on Radio PC: Setup Audio "Transmission" Voicemeeter Aux Output, "Output" Voicemeeter input.
2a) Radio PC Windows "Sound" Playback default = Voicemeeter Input, Recording default = Voicemeeter Aux Output.
3a) Radio PC "PowerSDR" Set VAC1 DirectSound: IN = Voicemeeter Output, OUT=Voicemeeter Aux Input.
4a) Log into the your Remote Laptop. The Top line of the AnyDesk window has a Shield. Click on the shield and check "Transmit Sound". (I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THIS IN THE VIDEO)
Operation (Sitting in front of your Remote Laptop):
1) Remote Laptop: Anydesk Log into your Radio PC.
2) Launch PowerSDR on your Radio PC and Activate VAC1. You should be able to see PowerSDR and hear PowerSDR audio on your Remote Laptop.
3) Viewing your RADIO PC Desktop, Run a new instance of Anydesk from your RADIO PC, and Log into your Remote Laptop.
4) Click Accept button of the Anydesk Chat window that pops up on your Remote Laptop. You can minimize this Chat window.
5) Viewing your RADIO PC Desktop, you will now see a small window appear showing your Remote Laptop. Minimize this small window (BUT DO NOT CLOSE OR END IT).
6) Click on the PowerSDR MUX button. You should now have Mic audio back to PowerSDR. Setup->General->Hardware Config->SpaceBar Latch ON/OFF. This will allow you to use the Spacebar to PTT the radio.
What if everyting is setup correctly but you cannot hear Audio or your MIC is not working:
If you cannot hear or the mic does not function, you may need to close both Anydesk connections and reboot 1 or both computers. Also, You may need to open windows SOUND and go into the default Recording device -> Levels tab(on both computers) and make sure the MIC is not muted internally (if you see a red circle with a line through it over the speaker icon). And always recheck the AnyDesk Shield to make sure "Transmit Audio" is checked ON
PowerSDR VAC1 & VAC2 (Virtual Audio Cable)
VAC1 and VAC2 allow you to connect PowerSDR Audio In/Out to your PC without using real analog cables.
If you want to use your PC as a MIC and Speaker for your Flex Radio, select VAC1 as follows:
Driver: DirectSound Driver (you can set the buffer latency down to 90 msec on a fast PC)
Input:
Primary Sound Capture Driver
Output: Primary Sound Driver
Then in Windows Control Panel->Sound, Make sure the Playback and Recording devices match your Speaker and Mic and make sure the Sample Rates match
If you want to connect Digital Mode programs on your PC to PowerSDR (like FLDIGI, MIXW, WSJT-X, MMSSTV, NAVTEX, "DREAM", MULTIPSK, SIGMIRA, "SORCERER", PC-ALE, FREEDV, YADD, CWSkimmer, RMS Express, PC-HFDL),
Download and install "VoiceMeeter Banana". It includes drivers for MME, DirectSound, and WDM-KS.
You dont need to run VoiceMeeter Banana, just install it to get the drivers.
Think of a virtual audio channel as a single RCA cable, one end is the Input, the other end is the output. And the AUX cable is a second RCA cable.
VoiceMeeter Banana Drivers install into your PC SOUND Playback and Recording devices as follows:
PLAYBACK
"VoiceMeeter Input VAIO"
"VoiceMeeter Aux Input VAIO"
and
RECORDING
"VoiceMeeter Output VAIO"
"VoiceMeeter AUX Output VAIO"
These VM devices work like a physical Audio Cable with 2 ends (but audio only goes in Input end):
VoiceMeeter Output <- VoiceMeeter Input
VoiceMeeter Aux Output <- VoiceMeeter Aux Input
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SO... Below you can see my setup:
PowerSDR IN = "VoiceMeeter Output VAIO"
PowerSDR OUT = "VoiceMeeter Aux Input VAIO"
For your PC Digital Mode Program (like WSJT-X) you would select the reverse:
WSJT-X IN = "VoiceMeeter Aux Output VAIO"
WSJT-X OUT = "VoiceMeeter Input VAIO"
USING VAC: Because of Sample Rate (SR) up & down conversion between the Radio itself and VAC1, its best if you use 48khz SR for VAC1 & 2. This is because its a perfect multiple of 192 and 96khz SR.
You must also set the SR for your Virtual audio cables to 2 channel 16bit 48khz (for both Playback and Recording VAC cables (see Windows->Control Panel->Sound).
Failure to do so, will most likely result in buffer lag, which will cause Digital mode PC programs (like WSJT-X, FLDIGI) to not work correctly. If you do notice a lag in VAC audio, check all your Sample Rates to make sure they are ALL set to 2 channel 16bit 48khz.
I use 48000 Sample Rate, but some PC program prefer other values. Make sure Control Panel -> Sounds (Playback and Recording) have matching Sample Rates.
WSJT-X:
This a matching setup to my PowerSDR and DDUtil (note: your COM port pair numbers will probably be different from my setup)
AUDIO MIXER:
If you want to be able to MIX PC audio with your Radio Microphone audio,
Uncheck the "Allow PTT to override" box and Check the "Mix VAC1 and Mic audio" box
Then right click on the windows Speaker Icon (in the tray)->Open Sound Settings, and set the Playback device to "VoiceMeeter Input"
Now: when you PTT your Radio, you can Talk and play PC audio out the Flex Radio
CW Skimmer:
Check the Direct I/Q BOX, when using CWSkimmer, since it requires I/Q audio and be sure to use only DIGIU mode
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WDM-KS Drivers(Windows Driver Mode - Kernal Streaming)
Windows "WDM-KS" (Windows Driver Mode - Kernal Streaming).
WDM-KS allows for a very low audio Latency. As low as 15 to 20mSec (similar to ASIO).
If you cannot find a suitable WDM-KS Driver, download the free "Voice Meeter Banana" program. You do not need to use the Audio PC program, install it just for the drivers.
WARNING: WDM-KS drivers are can cause crash issues (DirectSound is the safer alternative). With WDM-KS only 1 device can use a WDM-KS device at 1 time, so If you accidently try to open a 2nd PC program using a WDM-KS driver, the driver will crash, forcing you to reboot your PC.
Also the windows Control panel->Sound does not show WDM-KS drivers.
But you can see which devices have WDM-KS drivers in PowerSDR when you select WDM-KS as the driver and check INPUT and OUTPUT devices.
CAT & Virtual COM (serial) Port
PC programs can communicate with the FLEX via CAT commands (which is just a serial COM port). Since there is no COM port on the Flex radio, you must use Virtual COM ports.
Think of a virtual CAT/COM port pair as both ends of a single RS232 Cable (each end of the cable needs to have its own COM port#)
For 32bit x86 installations:
1) Free Download and install SetupVSPE.msi (Eterlogic)
2)
Run the VSPE program
3) Click DEVICE->CREATE->PAIR->NEXT
4) Let it create the pair using the next 2 available COM ports
5) Minimize the VSPE program (to the task bar)
For 64bit x64 installations:
Download VspMgr by k5FR (see"Other Software" link on my page to download) or COM0COM
(NOTE: for VspMgr run only in ADMIN and XP SP3 compatibility mode)
Notice I created a virtual pair COM6<->COM7 (used just for older PC programs that need a seperate PTT COM port). I advise against it since only 1 PC program can use it at a time. COM8<>COM9 for FLDIGI, COM18<>COM19 for WSJT-X. COM14<>COM15 for my logging program. You can use any COM numbers as long as they do no conflict with built in COM port numbers.
In This case COM18<>COM19 is for WSJT-X:
NOTE: I use COM6 for PTT, so only 1 PC digital program can be setup to use COM5 as a PTT at the same time (it does not multiplex), so its best to use CAT to do PTT instead.
WSJT-X:
use "Kenwood TS-2000" as the Rig as "FlexRadio PowerSDR" as the Rig has issues
Below is a short youtube iphone video I took showing how to create multiple Virtual COM Port pairs:
Antenna Rotor Control:
If you have a Hygain compatible rotor control, you can now use PowerSDR itself to control your rotor.
For all other rotor controls you must use DDUtil as the mddle man.
This is my example setup:
I have a real COM1 on my PC
I have a bunch of virtual pairs as follows:
COM4<>COM5
COM6<>COM7
COM8<>COM9
COM10<>COM11
COM12<>COM13
COM14<>COM15
COM16 <> COM17
COM18<>COM19
-----------------------------------------------------
PSDR->setup->Cat control->CAT port COM4
PSDR->setup->Cat Control->Rotor port COM16
----------------------------------------------------------
This just sets up the standard CAT link to PowerSDR
DDUTIL->setup->Features->Legacy->COM5
DDUTIL->setup->ports->RCP1->COM9
DDUTIL->setup->ports->RCP2->COM11
--------------------------------------------------------------
DDUTIL->setup->AntRtr->
check box: Model Hygain for Rotor 1
Set Rotor to COM1 and the correct Baud for your rotor
Check Enable (which opens up a rotor direction panel)
to test, you should now be able to enter an angle into this rotor panel, and move your rotor.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Now This is the Rotor setup link back to PowerSDR:
DDUTIL->setup->ports->RCP1->Rotor Port->COM17 (same row as RCP1 COM9 from above)
Now when you click on the "angle" part of a line in the DX spotter screen
PowerSDR will send an hygain command from COM16 to COM17
DDUTIL will relay the Antenna direction command from COM17 to COM1
N1MM+ CW using COM ports:
You dont need Virtual audio cables, but Virtual COM ports for CW operation from N1MM+
Below is the CAT setup in PowerSDR:
Below is the DSP->keyer (CW) COM setup in PowerSDR:
Below I use COM10 <>COM11 (powerSDR side), and
COM20 <> COM21 (powerSDR side).
Below is the "Set" for COM10:
Below is the "Set" for COM20:
This config allows N1MM to transmit CW. PowerSDR must be in CW mode.
Below is the PowerSDR configuration for N1MM. Select a Port value that your not using in any other PC program:
In N1MM+ click on Window and select Spectrum Display:
Right Click on the Spectrum and select Spectrum source as the local IP address and Port you selected in PowerSDR, and save it.
Flex 5000 Station Setup (click to enlarge)
NOTE1: This setup permits ANT3 use the Linear AMP, and RX2 can either tap the same ANT3 or a different ANT1
Note2: The G5RV has ground radials under it and so can be configured for 160m by a modified RCS-4 coax switch box (see Antennas section of my web site)
Note3: SO2R: Single Operator and 2 Receivers switch box allows any configuration of up to 6 antennas between the 2 Receivers.
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Below:
"ANT3" is RX1 and goes to the Amplifier, that way RX2 can be either "ANT1" or "RX1 Tap"
"RX1 in/out" is for the AM Broadcast filter (aluminum box down and right side)
"Balanced Line" input for the Studio Mic has been converted to a Combo XLR/TRS connector.
"PTT IN" goes to a Hand Held Push Button on the desk when using the Studio Mic
"PWR-SPKR" goes to a powered Stereo speakers (with Sub-Woofer) and Desk Volume control
"TX3" jack is used to key the Amplifier (not shown)
"FireWire" cable directly to the PC with multiple ferrites on both ends of 6' cable (not shown)
Also not shown is a full coax choke (with ferrites) between the Amplifier and the Ext Ant Tuner, and another coax choke between the Flex Ant3 and the Amplifier.
click to enlarge
General PowerSDR Settings for max operation
PowerSDR.exe app Go into PowerSDR app and click on "Setup".
1) General->Options settings
Process Priority to "HIGH" or "REALTIME" (if you have a really fast computer). REALTIME can sometimes cause strange behavior if your computer doesnt have the horsepower.
2) General->Filters: reset filters for 9999hz
3) Audio: Primary Buffer (lowest possible, but with no sound output issues) 1024 works, but NR and ANF dont work well. Set to 2048
4)
Sample Rate: 192000 (better audio and larger Panadapter window)
Mic Boost = ON, because we need to turn the MIXER MIC input down half way. (this arrangement seems to work better)
5) Audio: VAC use for digital modes, or remote operation modes. The image is VAC1 using Voicemeeter Banana software (Free). VAC1 is used for digital modes. VAC2 is used for remote listening.
7)
Display: Update Period: 20-30ms (keeps your waterfull up to date quickly when you change frequencies, but higher CPU usage
8) Display: Low Level - High Level: adjust per antenna and band for a slight blue color in the background with no signal.
9)
DSP: Options: 4096 Buffer size get you the sharpest filters but more delay. And NR and ANF and NB work better with 2048 or 1024
10)
DSP: AGC/ALC: To get more avg talk power, set the Leveler to 5,1,125,170 (higher settings could result in undulations). Set to the ALC to 1,20,170. This allows you to keep your avg ALC up close to 0db but allows peaks to cross over 0db without distortion. Use the 2nd meter "COMBO" to keep an eye on your ALC avg and peak.
11) For SSB Transmit: save a 4K profile name. HIGH=4000, LOW=100, for eSSB save a 6.5k profile name: HIGH = 6500, LOW=0. Enable the Leverer and use the ALC
12) For AM Transmit: Search down below for AM Mode Operation (proper Setup). This includes disabling the ALC and enabling the CPDR.
13) MIXER:
whatever MIC input you use, move the slider down around half way. But you need to enable the MIC BOOST from Step 4)
14) MIC: set the MIC gain half way (around 32)
15) You can use the CPDR half way (around 4)
16) You may need to enable MIC BOOST (back on item 4) Settings->Primary->Audio
17) Make sure the TX MIC output meter does not go over 0db
18) Make sure the TX ALC output meter does not go over 0db
Flex 5000 AUDIO eSSB / AM Setup
I now use a audio-technica BPHS1 studio headset/ dynamic microphone (40-20,000hz).
Although Condenser microphones are typically superior in sound quality and possess a lower bottom end, there are some downsides. They are typically large, heavy, and very sensitive to noise.
(The "Dynamic microphone" design is very compact & provides much less noise pickup)
MIC2200:
MIC BALANCED IN -> BALANCED OUT TO DEQ2496
Set Gain to get -20db out level
DEQ2496:
MIC2200 BALANCED RIGHT IN -> BALANCED RIGHT OUT EX3200
PEQ: Setting for 3-6khz wide SSB Audio
PEQ: Setting for 10khz AM audio [ie +/- 5khz] or FM modes
(NOTE: Do not add BASS to your audio in AM mode)
(See N9UN's site for full setup details of 2496)
Dynamic Equalizer (used to limit the EQ based on audio level )
DEQ1 (low end volume EQ):
1: - 14, - 48db, 1:8
2: 1.28,-48db, 69.6
3: BP,42.3,4
DEQ2 (mid range volume EQ):
1: -15,-47db,1:10
2: 14.76,-47
db, 62.7
3: BP,408,5
DEQ3 (high end volume EQ):
1: -14, 26db,1:6
2: 0.3, -26db, 45.9
3: BP, 10023,5
Dynamic Expander/Compressor/Limiter
DYN Expander (used to gate background noise):
1: -6, 21db, 1:1.6
2: 2.77, 87.4
LIMIT: 30.6,-11,304
UTILITY: DUAL MONO, Gain offset +10
Switch on back: IN
EX3200:
DEQ 2496 BALANCED LEFT IN -> TRS LEFT OUT ->
INVERT Wires -> TRS RIGHT IN -> BALANCED RIGHT OUT
LEFT : OUT, 2, OUT, IN, 3, 3.3, Full EXCITER, 3, IN (solo OUT),
Surround IN, 2
RIGHT: OUT,2,OUT,IN,6, 4.5,Full ENHANCER,3,IN (solo OUT)
DSP1000P:
EX3200 BALANCED LEFT IN -> BALANCED LEFT OUT PowerSDR
Plate Level 2
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eSSB Mode Operation (proper setup)
PEQ: (setting for 6khz eSSB audio Audio Technica)
1) Set your Transmit bandwidth to 0hz to 6000hz (low= 0hz, high = 6000hz)
2) Console->Mixer->Input->Mic or Bal Line In->Slider 3/4 of the way up (value = -33)
3) Setup->DSP->AGC/ALC->Leveler-> Gain = 5, Attack = 1, Decay = 125, Hang = 170
4) Setup->DSP->AGC/ALC->ALC-> Attack = 1, Decay = 20, Hang = 170
5) PowerSDR Console->DX = 2 (Compressor works perfect for eSSB mode)
6) Set MIC Level so your ALC and MIC hit 0dB on the meter (its ok to have peaks over 0dB on the PowerSDR meter)
7) Setup->Transmit->Mic Boost ON (if you find you need to keep the mic sliders all the way up)
8) Save your new eSSB transmit Profile
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AM Mode Operation (proper setup)
PEQ: (setting for 10khz AM audio [ie +/- 5khz] or FM modes Audio Technica)
1) Set your Transmit bandwidth to 0hz to 4000hz, or 5000hz (low=0hz, high=5000hz)
2) Console->Mixer->Input->Mic or Bal Line In->Slider 3/4 of the way up (value = -33)
3) Disable the ALC: Setup->DSP->AGC/ALC->ALC Attack = 1, Decay = 1, Hang = 10
4) Setup->Transmit->AM->Carrier Level = 7 (as a starting point)
5) PowerSDR Console->Drive Level = 100. Adjust Carrier for 25 watts out (for 100 max Radio)
6) PowerSDR Console->CPDR = 5 (Compander works perfect for AM mode)
7) If using an internal or external EQ, remove any bass boost. Boost the high end.
8) Set MIC Level so your audio output on the Panadapter does rise higher than 3/4 of the way to the peak of the Carrier you see on the screen
9) Setup->Transmit->Mic Boost ON (if you find you need to keep the mic sliders all the way up)
10) Save your new AM transmit Profile
100% modulation would be when total PEP is 4 times the carrier. You can go a little higher if the listener is using SAM instead of AM mode.
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ADDING AN XLR/TRS Combo Connector
Below you can see where the XLR / TRS Combo Balanced line connector goes. I added shielding over the connector when I was done.
You cant quite get the XLR/TRS Combo connector close enough to the original TRS hole, so there is a small gap between the XLR and panel in the top right of the above picture.
I
Flex Power Amplifier (PA) and SWR Calibration
This is a Hidden menu function and requires an Array Solutions, Inc. Power Master 1 Calibrated SWR/Watt meter.
Focus on the PowerSDR window and press the following keys: <SHIFT><CNTL> F
!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT touch anything on this page unless you are willing to brick your radio if you mess up.
DO NOT touch the Input/Ouput side of this window ever.
Calibrations will NOT work correctly unless you are at Factory Defaults.
DO NOT run any other programs on your PC
ALWAYS HIT THE CLEAR ALL BUTTON FIRST on this page.
ONLY SELECT 1 BAND AT A TIME, TO BE SAFE.
Select 1 Band that you would not normally use, just in case you mess up. (like 30m)
PowerMaster:
This zip file contains a folder with the latest PowerMaster 1 firmware, manuals, and Windows PC programs to communicate with the PowerMaster via the serial port.
Click to download PowerMaster ZIP File
"PowerMaster 1" emulation:
PowerSDR sends a special string of hex bytes: 0x02 0x44 0x33 0x03 0x31 0x33 0x13 to force the PowerMaster to transmit over its COM serial port at 38400 8N1 the following string (repeated as fast as you can and forever):
0x02+"D, 29.5, 0.6, 1.32,0;0;0;0;0"+0x03+"BE"
Where (in this example) 29.5 is the watts fwd, 0.6
watts ref, and 1.32 is the SWR.
The (5) 0's are not unused and the "BE" is a ASCII representation of the hex CRC8 byte.
However, PowerSDR looks for the following string (from the COM port repeated as fast as you can and forever): 0x02+"D,00123.4E"+0x13+0x0a
with 00123.4 being the watts detected by your external watt meter (PowerSDR grabs the the 3rd through 10th bytes only). And assuming your external Watt meter needs no correction, the powermaster.txt file correction values should be set to 0 watts.
Setup:
1) To run a PA calibration you need an "Array Solutions PowerMaster 1" meter (original, NOT the Powermaster II )
2) Connect the Serial port to your PC (I use a Serial to USB converter, then set the USB driver to COM1, an unused COM port)
3) Install and run the free Power Master basic PC program to verify you can communicate with your Power Master original.
4) Attach the Power Master coupler to ANT1, then to a 50 ohm DUMMY load capable of over 100 watts.
5) Attach a 25 ohm DUMMY load to ANT2 all by itself. [Take (2) 50 ohm DUMMY loads in parallel to get 25 ohms]. ANT2 is used very briefly during the SWR calibration, so you dont need a large capacity 25 ohm DUMMY load. I just used a high wattage 25 ohm resistor used in RF applications.
6) Export your current database to your Desktop,
you will restore back when your done. (see Settings menu, bottom strip)
7) You must restore the PowerSDR to FACTORY DEFAULTS (see settings menu , bottom strip, left side)
8) You must create a empty text file called: production. (no file extension) in the hidden:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\ (this is to activate the grayed out buttons on this screen.
9) <CTRL><ALT>S to active the SWR button
10) You must create a powermaster.txt file in the C:\ProgramData\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR folder. Click here for a sample file. You insert the gain or loss values for your particular Power Master coupler. (its written in Pen on the HF coupler). But, the Power Master coupler gain/loss is generic for the entire HF band, where the powermaster.txt file breaks it down into each band. You may need to tweek each band value seperately.
The Powermaster coupler correction values will scroll onto the Production PA test right side window. They wont match the values in the powermaster.txt file because they are multipled by the built in PowerSDR gain/loss values for the Flex radios circuits.
Your Ready to start Calibrations:
11) Click Bias button will adjust the Driver and Final Bias values for specific Transmit Idle Amp values. No external equipment needed.
12) Click the Null Bridge button
and a mV scale will pop up next to the Verify button, then manualy adjust the C45 var Cap on the power board inside the Flex-5000 for lowest mV value. The Flex will transmit around 40w to 60w through ANT1
13) Click on the ABORT button when you have the lowest mV reading possible.
14) Click on Clear All button
15) Click on only 1 band to calibrate (an unimportant band to start with)
16) Click on Run PA Cal button. The Flex will calibrate for 1w, 2w, 5w, 10w, 20w, etc. to 100w on ANT1
17) The Flex will then switch in ANT1 and ANT2 to calibrate the SWR for a 2:1 ratio
18) When finished, the PowerSDR will save new EEPROM data to the Flex
(whether the Cal succeeded or failed)
19) I believe that if the Run PA Cal turns Yellow after the calibration of 1 Band; it passed.
Green would be if all bands passed. Red means something failed.
The Verify button will try and output 100w on the selected bands as a pass / fail (I believe a 4watt deviation is allowed to pass). It doesnt need to be done on bands you just did a Run PA Cal on.
Warning:
The Power button (below the Run PA Cal button) causes PowerSDR to crash, dont touch it.
You may lose transmit capability on the band you just attempt to calibrate if the calibration failed to finish properly. You will need to shut down and start over.
If the calibration crashes, you will lose transmit on the band you were calibrating. You will need to shut down the flex and start over.
If the powermaster loses communication with the flex, you will need to shut down the flex and start over.
if you see a NaN for SWR, then the SWR calibration failed. Try again.
If the 100w PA calibration fails, the SWR calibration will likely fail. I believe this is a software glitch.
if the SWR fails, you can manually click the SWR button to run just the SWR test over again.
The calibration may not be able to properly calibrate
a particular band to 100watts. This may be the due to incorrect gain/loss correction values in your powermaster.txt file, or something wrong with the radio. If the Run PA Cal routine finished you will still be able to transmit, you just will not be able to make 100watts at full power. The max watts out will be whatever the routine topped out at.
Below is a short youtube iphone video I took showing how do the PA Calibration.
Class A or Class AB modes
(This is for Flex-5000 only)
Press <CNTL><ALT> B: Image on right side lower right corner: This allows you to select Class AB or Class A
!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was kept hidden because
Class A will get the finals very hot. Limit your output to below 30watts only.
The TOP number is the Driver transistor Bias level multiplier. (Default Class AB = 1)
The Bottom number is the Final transistor Bias multiplier. (Default Class AB = 2)
For "Class AB" operation: Driver = 1, Final = 2, now click the "Bias" button, to re-adjust PA Bias for Class AB.
For "Class A" operation: Driver = 2, Final = 4, now click the "Bias" button to re-adjust PA Bias for Class A.
The PA of the Flex-5000 is a PUSH-PULL MOSFET circuit, designed for Class AB operation where 1 MOSFET is Biased to operate mostly in the Positive region of the AC signal (>180deg), and the other MOSFET is Biased to operate mostly in the Negative region of the AC signal (>180deg). Together they cover the 360deg of AC signal. This configuration increases efficiency and reduces heat, but has a small amount of crossover distortion.
But due to computer controlled Biasing calibrations, this distortion is very limited and only becomes noticable when the output is applied to a high output external Amplifier.
!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Class A, the Flex-5000 PUSH-PULL MOSTFET circuit is Biased so Both Mosfets operate in full 360deg of your AC signal, (conducting all the time). The advantage is that Class A eliminates the crossover distortion and supply ripple distortions that could lead to Harmonics on your signal when using Class AB
The major downside of this high Bias is the maximum efficiency is 50%. This means that 50% of the input power turns in to HEAT.
Driver current is almost 1.8A with no signal (Final is 4A with no signal)
Limit your output to below 30watts only.
Flex Receiver / Transmitter Calibration
CALIBRATION OF THE TRX (Transmitter and RX1)
<SHIFT><CNTL>P: Production TRX / IO test
!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT touch anything on this page unless you are willing to brick your radio if you mess up.
DO NOT touch the Input/Ouput side of this window.
Calibrations will not work correctly unless you are at Factory Defaults.
VERY IMPORTANT:
Turn OFF Setup->Display->Hi-Res PanaFall, turn off Auto Wtr/Pan. Set Spectrum max = -19, min = -140,
and Make sure the AVG is OFF, remove the ke9ns8.dat file from the database folder,
and
Make sure to leave the console screen size as small as possible (do not maximize the console screen). Otherwise tests may fail.
(Clicking on "Run Selected Tests" with RX1 & ANT1 connected to a Dummy load will go through a series of TX and RX adjustments)
CALIBRATION OF THE RX2
<SHIFT><CNTL>R : RX2 Calibration menu
!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT touch anything on this page unless you are willing to brick your radio if you mess up.
Calibrations will not work correctly unless you are at Factory Defaults.
(Clicking on "Run Selected" with RX2 & Antenna RX1-tap connected to a Dummy load will go through a series of TX and RX adjustments)
Other Hidden Menus
<SHIFT><CNTL> I: Voltage & Temp
<SHIFT><CNTL>S: Preselector
<SHIFT><CNTL>C: EEPROM Calibration restore, save, reset
<SHIFT><CNTL>V: VU Calibration
Flexwire I2C.
ZZFY CAT command can be used to send a I2C command (address and 2 bytes of data). This can be used to program any I2C IC
The HERO preselector menu button sends a address = 0x40 with 2 bytes of data representing the Band and Ant selected from that HERO panel.
CNTL + ALT + U sends address 0x4c + data to trigger external relays. But its for use only with the XVTR screen
DEBUG SCREEN
<SHIFT><CNTL>D: Debug, check& set drive & final bias Amps,
carrier Null, scanner
!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DO NOT touch anything on this page unless you are willing to brick your radio if you mess up.
(Clicking on the Q2,Q3,Q4,Q1 values will adjust the Drive levels and change the Transmit Idle Amp levels)
Test=?
Gen=?
Sig=?
Fan= PA fan on/off
Bias= I believe these values are set when you run the PA Bias calibration stated up above. This section allows you to override them.
Carrier Null:
I believe these values are set when you run the TRX calibration state up above. This section allows youto override them.
Impulse= I believe these values are set when you run the TRX calibration state up above. This section allows youto override them.
XVTXEN=?
QSD = Quadrature Sampling Detector (receiver on/off)
QSE =
Quadrature Sampling Encoder (on/off)
RCA TX1,2,3, = key TX1 ,2,3
Off=?
FPLED=?
CTS=?
External Ref= 10 mhz GPS ref ?
Int Speaker=there is none on the 5000a, although I see a provision on the PCB for an audio speaker amp.
Headphone =
Update your Radio's TURF Region:
PowerSDR 2.7.2 GPL & 2.8.0 source code
Current source code can be found at: https://github.com/ke9ns/PowerSDR_ke9ns_v2.8.0/
This mod project was started 1/1/2016 by me, Darrin KE9NS and is based upon
the GPL Open Source PowerSDR 2.7.2 code provided by Flex Radio Systems, Inc.
With generous help provided by Flex Radio Systems, Inc. (Thank You!)
This Source code includes 5 project under the PowerSDR umbrella: DttSP written in C, PowerMate written in C++, PowerSDR written in C#, Inno Setup Compiler (to create the Full Installer), and Advanced Installer 14.5 (to create the incremental installer)
DttSP and PowerSDR code was provided by Flex Radio Systems, Inc.
PowerMate code was provided by Griffin, Clev R. Munke, and me Darrin ke9ns
PowerSDR modifications beyond 2.7.2 are provided by: me Darrin ke9ns, and dh1tw for the DJConsole code
SWL.csv file from eibispace.de (thank you)
SWL2.csv file of my own with additional short wave stations. It is automatically added to the SWL.csv list
dxloc.txt file initially from HRD (thank you), modified by me Darrin ke9ns
EN.dat file updated by the FCC at: https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/data/complete/l_amat.zip Note: I_amat.zip is a large file and I only use the EN.dat file inside.
FCCDATA.dat file generated by PowerSDR itself from the EN.dat file. This file is to determine the US State.
Currently compiling under Visual Studio 2022 (VS2022) and NET 4.5.2
After you download and install VS2022, you must then download and install any VS2022 updates.
When you load the PowerSDR project in for the first time, VS2022 will attempt configure it with NET 8.
But you then must open PowerSDR "Properties" and select or install .NET 4.5.2 before attempting to compile.
Newer versions of .NET will compile but will not run properly on computers configured to use a comma delimiter.
You can run the build from within VS or directly from the VS project release or debug folders.
PowerSDR.exe and PoweSDR.config.exe are the only files needed in the PowerSDR build.
DttSP.dll is the only file needed in the DttSP build.
PowerMate.dll is the only file needed in the PowerMate build.
ALSO: vcruntime140.dll needs to be copied onto the target computer (PSDR program files folder, or download the free C++ VC2015 runtime installer)
Also, I have 2 installers: 1) a Full installer using "INNO Setup", and 2) An Incremental installer using" Advanced Installer"
Do a full rebuild the first time you open the project in VS, before doing anything else.
Things I needed to do before the PowerSDR would actually run:
1) Copy the project into the VS project folder. Make sure the Bin and Source folders are both directly 1 level down
from the PowerSDR_v2.8.0 project folder itself, otherwise the paths wont match up to the original project solution information, and it wont compile
2) Copy over the pal.dll from the Standard Flex PowerSDR program files (x86) folder, into the VS release & debug folders,
otherwise the PowerSDR messes up and will ask for a firmware update.
3) Copy over the TNF.dll file from the Standard Flex PowerSDR program files (x86) folder, into the VS release & debug folders.
4) Go into the VS PowerSDR "references" -> Browse, and add the TNF.DLL to the list. Navigate to the Relase folder you placed it in.
5) Go into the VS PowerSDR "properties" and remove the NO_TNF reference from the "Build" compile list (you need to do this 2 times: Debug and Release)
6) Copy over the ATU.dll file from the Standard Flex PowerSDR program files (x86) folder, into the VS release & debug folders.
7) Go into the VS PowerSDR "references" -> Browse, and add the ATU.DLL to the list. Navigate to the Relase folder you placed it in.
8) Go into the VS PowerSDR "properties" and remove the NO_NEW_ATU reference from the "Build" compile list (you need to do this 2 times: Debug and Release)
9) Rebuild the solution: Release or Debug. Now you will have a full working PowerSDR version that you can start your own modding
10) Remember PowerSDR C# is based on 96dpi resolution and Photoshop default is 72dpi, so images created on Photoshop will be too big unless you set the DPI to 96 and then select your canvas size in pixels.
The "//ke9ns add" call sign comment to indicate code I added
The "//ke9ns mod" call sign comment to indicate modifications to original 2.7.2 source code
PowerSDR open source code provided by Flex Radio Systems, Inc. is covered under GNU GPL Ver 2
This requires anyone who distributes this code to note its authors.
If you wish to add to this PowerSDR ke9ns project, as opposed to starting with the Flex 2.7.2 version, please contact me Darrin Kohn ke9ns@ke9ns.com
73
Darrin ke9ns.com
NOTE: v2.8.0 requires vcruntime140.dll. The Installer copies this file over, but If PowerSDR still fails to run,
you can download the Microsoft installer: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145
______________________________________________________
PowerSDR KE9NS v2.8 Feature explanation
"SWL List" Key word search:
ALE: Automatic Link Establishment (Decode using PC-ALE)
WWV, Time: Time signals (Both Voice and digital. Decode using WWV HF checkbox and Time Sync button)
VOLMET: Weather information for Aircraft in Flight (Voice)
HFDL: HF Data Link for Aircraft location (Decode using PC-HFDL)
Digital: DRM Radio stations (Decode using DREAM decoder)
Stanag: UN / Military digital (Decode using Sigmira or Sorcerer)
Fax: Weather charts (Decode using Fldigi)
DSC: Digital Selective Calling for Marine ships reporting position or emergency (Decode using Yadd)
Navy: Navel trafic (Voice)
Navtex: Digital Marine Weather (Decode using Navtex)
Mobile: Mobile Marine Radio
Maritime: voice Maritime traffic
Beacon: NCDXF/IARU Beacons (see ncdxf.org for details).
_______________________________________________________________________
PowerSDR KE9NS "Voacap" Propagation Mapping:
Example
ss:0 ef:15 SpW:
(ss) is the official optical sunspot number from SIDC. The higher the better.
(ef) is the effective sunspot number, which is based on soundings of the ionosphere,
but only for the mid latitudes of the earth.
The effective SunSpot number is more accurate than the optical. The higher the better.
The only number you want low is the (K) (high K means signals will likely be scattered rather than reflected)
VOACAP propagation uses the (ef), so its more accurate, but it doesn't take high (K) values or (SpW) geo storms into account.
VOACAP propagation assumes you have a rotatable dipole or 3 element beam at 35' (if you select it)
Dots: The Dots show signal strengths computed for the exact locations over the map. Areas on the map with small or no Dots have the weakest signals.
Large Dots have stronger signals.
Blue is the strongest signal, then Green, then Orange, then Yellow, then Gray
Contours: Contour lines are derived by a formula from the dots, but can sometimes be difficult to see coverage gaps on the map.
Blue is the strongest, then Green, then Orange, then Yellow, then Gray.
The problem with contours is it is hard to determine the Gaps in coverage. You may see a Blue contour line, but if you change over to the Dots map, you will see no signal strength adjacent to the Blue area of the map. (i.e. a Gap)
Reasons you may hear stations when the Propagation map shows no conditions:
Some Ham Radio stations have large Antenna arrays and may show up on an empty part of the Propagation map, due in part to their very large Effective Radiated Power (ERP) when compared to a wire dipole.
Or,
at 27mhz or above, Tropospheric Ducting Propagation maps
(see https://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html)
and/or Sporadic E propagation (Estimated Sporadic E layer (DXMAPS.com))
You may not hear stations that are in a Blue or Green area of the map, due to Antenna directionality, takeoff angles, Geo Storms,or high K readings, or they may be in Gaps found in the propagation area
__________________________________________________________________
DX Cluster Lists:
See https://www.dxcluster.info/telnet/index.php for a list of DX clusters that you can add to the list in PowerSDR Spotter window.
__________________________________________________________________
PowerSDR S-Meter dBm vs Panadapter dBm:
Why is the S-Meter reading showing a signal level different from the signal I see in my Panadapter bandpass?
This is because the S-Meter reading is the Sum of all the DSP FFT bins taken within the bandpass filter. And they are related by 20log(bandwidth inside receiver filter / bin size of FFT) as per N5AC.
If you were to close down your bandpass to around 10hz, the signal within that bandpass and the S-Meter should now be the same dBm (if both meters are running at the same refresh rate and you take into account any averaging being done).
So,
as you open up the bandpass filter, the S-Meter will rise as you add (sum) more bins.
This is as it should be and works the way a traditional S-Meter works.
Note: the S meter scale on the right side of the Padapter is approx because it only follows the dBm markings found across on the left side of the Panadapter. So in order to see a correct scale on the right side matched to the left side, you would need to set your setup->Display->Spectrum Grid->Max = -19, Min = -135, Step = 6 (S signals are 6 dBm apart). But if you use the Auto Pan Lvl button, the Max value will change automatically.
__________________________________________________________________
PowerSDR ke9ns keyboard and Mouse shortcuts:
with all the Hidden menus
keyboard shortcut pdf
KE9NS v2.8 Revision History
11/17/2024 v2.8.0.307: Update Top line of PowerSDR console screen. rename "KeyCatShortCut" to "PDF-Manuals". Left Click opens the current PowerSDR ke9ns v2.8 manual. This manual is directly for the Flex-5000, but eventually I will add the Flex-1500/3000 differences into the manual. Big Update to Chapter 6 of the manual to include many of the KE9NS updates.
Wheel click opens the Mouse/Keyboard shortcut PDF
Right Click opens the PowerSDR_CAT_Commands_Reference_Guide.
Fix issue with "Spotter Setting" Panadapter Spot callsigns with Dark Background and LoTW Colors state not loading at startup.
10/5/2024 v2.8.0.306: Update "use WWV HF" Spotter "Time Sync" feature (when you want to update your PC time clock without the internet) to try and make sure PowerSDR is running. Note: you must launch PowerSDR in "run as admin" in order for "Time Sync" to update our PC time clock.
10/1/2024 v2.8.0.305: Update the Flex-5000 manual pdf 9-27-2024 (mouse wheel click over "KeyCatShortCut" PowerSDR console menu item). Updates to the manual are a work-in-progress and is not completely updated with all ke9ns updates.
8/17/2024 v2.8.0.305: Mod: Right Click on ZOOM button to toggle between Zoomed Pan showing Freq or Freq OFFSET. Update SWL file
7/8/2024 v2.8.0.304: Mod: Right Click on "VFO SYNC" button (Flex-5000 with RX2 option) will fully syncronize RX2 with RX1 (like hitting the SYNC button on the ESC screen (see setup->general->rx2->ESC integrate) but also includes syncronizing the Pan & Waterfall Center, Zoom, as well as the DSP functions like mode, filters, etc. Update the FCCDATA and SWL files.
6/27/2024 v2.8.0.303: Mod: Right Click on the 6m Band button to toggle between 8m, 6m, 4m (8 and 4m requires authorization and extended mode to transmit).. Update SWL file.
5/19/2024 v2.8.0.302: Fix Pan scrolling when in 192khz and you manually go below 0.6x it now correctly turns off Pan Scrolling and goes back to normal scrolling.
5/16/2024 v2.8.0.301: Fix Pan scrolling mistake that reset the DDS IF back to default every time you Centered the Pan or changed bands. The DDS IF will only reset to default after Enabling Pan scrolling and then Disabling it.
5/5/2024 v2.8.0.300: Add 8m (40-45mhz) for those countries that allow experimental operation. This will use the 6m button but the button will show 8m when the VFO is between 40-45mhz. RX/TX calibrations use 6m calibration data from your database so beware. Also make sure to hit the Setup->General->Options->Update BandText button for 8m band text.
Mod ESC: Right click on the ON button to not Sync the Preamp of RX1 and RX2. This means the Sync button will not turn RED since your not fully synced, but all other parameters will Sync up.This may help in noise cancelling situations.
5/4/2024 v2.8.0.299: Fix ESC RX2Preamp ON/OFF is copied from RX1 at startup, but if RX1 was ON, RX2 was ON but the Console RX2 Preamp Button was not updated to show it was actually ON. Update 8m bandtext.
4/24/24 v2.8.0.298: Mod CWX panel: Add WildCard text box. Use the character ~ in Macros F1 - F9 and it will be replaced with the WildCard Text. In the example below: aaaaa will be inserted into Marco F1 and F3
This also applies for the CW macro buttons on the main Console screen:
4/16/2024 v2.8.0.297: Fix: Console Embedded ESC (Enhanced Signal Clarity) "Diversity Reception" for those with the RX2 option. (See Setup->General->RX2->ESC Integrated into Console Screen to activate.) On button now toggles the VFOSync ON/OFF correctly. Update SWL file.
3/8/2024 v2.8.0.296: Fix issues with FlexControl in PAN mode. Flexcontrol can now use all the same controls as the PowerMate knob. Including using the flexcontrol Knob Press to toggle VFOA/B, or Alternate tune steps.
Fix ATU Frequency measurement display for Flex-5000 "ATU" display.
3/4/2024 v2.8.0.295: Mod: Smooth out using the FlexControl Knob in PAN mode.
Mod: Setup->General->User Interface->Alt1-2 Tune Step for FlexControl (but you must also select "None" for FlexControl->Knob Press Action. If you dont select None, a FlexControl knob Press will just cycle the main console TuneStep.
Mod: Add a Min rx2 Spectrum Grid value to allow the Panadapter on RX2 to have its own dBM floor value. Its based on the RX2 Waterfall Level (which is automatically set). See Setup->Display.
Update SWL.dat
2/19/2024 v2.8.0.294: Mod smooth out using PowerMate Knob (in both standard and PAN modes).
2/15/2024 v2.8.0.293: Mod: Right Click on "ZOOM" button, now shows the 0hz line as a reference
2/3/2024 v2.8.0.292: Fix: TNF (Tracking Notch Filter) now working on RX2.
Add: "+TNF" to allow direct RX2 VFOB Notches (instead of adding them to VFOA and then moving VFOB to that same frequency).
1/31/2024 v2.8.0.291: Mod TNF width, Mod memory scanner sweep time. Update SWL listing.
01/07/2024 v2.8.0.290: Fix issue with Antenna "Expert" mode, and RX2
01/05/2024 v2.8.0.289: Fix Uptime Date issue. Fix AGC RX2 issues. Fix flickering of UPT time. Update SWL.dat file. Update FCCDAT.dat
01/03/2024 v2.8.0.288: Fix some issues with the Scanner feature (i.e. switching between different Scanner functions caused the Scanner to stop working correctly).
12/27/2023 v2.8.0.287: Fix RX2 AGC also setting RX2 AGC.
12/13/2023: v2.8.0.286: ( Flex-5000 with RX2 only) Fix Waterfall level on Receive VFO when Transmitting on the other VFO. Preamp gain was not taken into account on the RX VFO when Transmitting on the other VFO (in Full duplex mode). This occured on both the Pan and Water. This caused the Receive VFO waterfall to change color during Transmit in Full Duplex. This was most noticable when operating Satellites in full duplex.
12/11/23 v2.8.0.285: ( Flex-5000 with RX2 only) Fix "TX Flter on Pan" when RX2 VFOB is selected for TX. The TX filter lines where not showing up on the RX2 pan when selected for TX in phone.
11/30/23 v2.8.0.284: Mod "PAN" feature, allows PAN mode with min 0.6 Zoom out, for full left/right pan in 192k SR, but you can Zoom in as much as you want..
PAN feature now works with the 2nd Receiver (Flex-5000).
Fix DJ Console VFO Lock command to toggle like the ZZVLx CAT command.
11/22/23 v2.8.0.283: Mod CAT command "ZZVLx". ZZVL0= unlock VFOA/B, ZZVL1=Lock VFOA,
if you Check Setup->General->Options-> VFO Lock A/B box, then you get 2 more CAT commands:
ZZVL2=Lock VFOB, ZZVL3 = Lock VFOA/B
11/20/23 v2.8.0.283: Flex-5000 with 2nd Receiver option: Add "Custom" AGC for RX2. See Setup->DSP->AGC/ALC
11/17/23 v2.8.0.282: Fix "VFO Lock" and Setup->general->Options->VFO Lock A/B, to properly lock all the band and mode buttons (HF,VHF, General bands, and modes) and stay locked after a MOX.
11/12/23 v2.8.0.281: Update SWL listing (you must install 2 times (repair second time)
11/11/23 v2.8.0.281: fix the CQCQ repeat function
11/5/23 v2.8.0.281: Update SWL database. Put back Stop/Start when making changes to prevent PFN.
10/9/23 v2.8.0.281: Mod TXProfile saving VAC1 selectA-B, VAC1 mix, VAC1 Reset, and Drive Max will now save without having to do a factory default. Any Stop/Start when changing TXprofile is due to Setup->DSP->buffer size differences between TXprofiles with the Stop/Start delay added to help prevent PFN crashes. Add 8m bandtext
10/2/23 v2.8.0.280: Fix saving WFM mode to "Memory" listing. Add HF and VHF APRS frequecies to SWL permanent listing SWL2.dat. Update to SWL database file
9/14/23 v2.8.0.280: Add UpTime (UPT) to Local (LOC), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and OFF.
Left Click to toggle between the 5 modes. Up Time displayed in either Days,Hours,Min OR Just Minutes.
And
Updated SWL.dat file.
9/11/23 v2.8.0.279: Fix Click on a TX profile (from the main console) will allow a re-load of the current TX profile.
8/28/23 v2.8.0.279: Fix Spotter "sh/dx" will now properly deactivate when the DX cluster is closed and re-opened or if the Cluster is changed. URL is displayed on screen when trying to open a Cluster (confirming which one its trying to open).
8/26/23 v2.8.0.279: Update to SWL.dat file (Short wave listings). Mod "TX profiles" also saves the Setup->Transmit->"Drive Max" value, but only for new installations, or after a Setup->Factory Defaults. If you already installed .279, you will need to download again, and install 2 times (select Repair the 2nd time).
8/25/23 v2.8.0.279: Mod "TX profiles" now saves the VAC1 "Select A or B", "Mix VAC1 and MIC audio", and "Reset VAC every hour", but only for new installations, or after a Setup->Factory Defaults.
8/19/23 v2.8.0.278: Add: Right Click on VFOB TX button to lock TX to VFOB ("TX" button changes to "tx"). The only way to unlock is to Click on the VFOA TX button. This prevents the TX from moving back to VFOA on a band change. This is only important for the Flex-5000 with 2nd receiver (RX2) to treat RX2 as a 2nd separate radio.
Add: "Spot DX Call Watch" on top line of Spotter Screen. This will open a Red Pop-up Message box when a DX call sign is spotted (see revision .269 for details on usage).
Mod: For Flex-5000 with VU5k option will now work with "Gpredict" and Hamlib rigctrd (for Satellite tracking). rigctld.exe -vv -m 2048 -r COM12 -s 57600 (where the COM12 is replace with your virtual com port# paired to a 2nd COM port#, that you put in PowerSDR setup->Cat, and Baud rate you setup in PowerSDR CAT.
Mod: Disabled the Warning message box when VFOA and B have the same 2m or 70cm radio on with RX2 enabled (Flex-5000 RX2 only). Now it will simply disable RX2 and keep PowerSDR running and no popup message box
Add: Setup->Cat Control->Right Click on first Cat Control "Enable" checkbox will open a CAT diagnostics screen. You can also click on the CAT TCP Sever 'ON" checkbox to open a TCP CAT diagnostics screen.
8/5/23 v2.8.0.277: Add DX Spotter call sign search feature. Type in a Full or Partial call to Seach for (among the DX Spots received) in the box and Check the Call Search box. See RED Circle below
8/3/23 v2.8.0.276: Add show/dx command to Spotter screen [blue=ready, yellow=downloading, green=done] (hold mouse over button for more info). Make absolutely sure your CALLSIGN is typed in the lower right box. This will download a group of DX Spots that occured just before you activated the Spotter.
Also Update FCCDATA database file. Update SWL database.
Add Setup->Transmit->FM Data mode, and "Data" checkbox in the FM console panel. When enabled, bypasses the Pre-Emphasis / De-Empasis for normal voice FM. (2FMD, 5FMD, WFMD). Suggest when using Data modes, use VOX with VAC1 and not CAT PTT
7/3/23 v2.8.0.275: Add Setup->CAT control->CX-AUTO antenna selector control. Mod SWL panadapter listings. SWL2 file now go up to the GMRS frequencies (UHF). Other than renaming it to SWL.CSV, you no longer need to modify the eibispace.de SWL file (which is HF only). You can add your own frequencies to either Memory or SWL2.csv (up to 470mhz in SWL2 file)
6/6/23 v2.8.0.274: Fix antenna always defaulting back to ANT1 at startup
6/5/23 v2.8.0.274: Add (Flex-5000) Antenna Naming for the 3 TX/RX and 2 RX only antenna inputs. Click in Antenna box to Edit Name. Right Click to RESET all names back to default ANT1, ANT2, ANT3, RX1 IN, RX2 IN. Names are also displayed on Console screen. Click on any antenna name in Console to open Antenna window.
5/30/23 v2.8.0.273: Mod (Flex-5000 with RX2 option): Combo meter keep functioning with Setup->General->RX2->"Auto Mute RX2 on VFOA TX" unselected and RX2 OFF and when RX2 ON during Transmit
4/26/23 v2.8.0.272: - Mod (Flex-1500,3000,5000): Button to Disable the External Amp KEY (PTT) line using the IIC FlexWire button feature already present. When the Setup->General->Options->Flex Amp PTT control and IIC FlexWire Amp Control is Enabled, the "Amp PTT" button on the main Console will Enable / Disable the Radios External Amp Key line, as well as send IIC FlexWire Commands which can be used by IIC FlexWire Cable Amps.
Your AMP does not need to be IIC FlexWire compatible to use the AMP PTT Enable/Disable feature.
These Buttons Appear when the "Flex Amp PTT Control..." is enabled.
Green = Your Radios Amp PTT line is Active, and works as it always did.
Yellow = Your Radios Amp PTT line is Disabled
3/15/23 v2.8.0.271: - Add (Flex-5000 RX2 only) SPLIT mode for RX2 VFOB and SPLIT mode for RX1 VFOA simultaneously (Split TX freq shown below by a green line in the Pan). If you have the RX2 option, the VFOB SPLIT button appears below the "RX Display Mode AVG/PEAK" buttons. But Only VFOA RX1 SPLIT allows for sub receiver XFC Transmit freq listening using the multiRX. In both SPLIT A and B cases, the TX freq is displayed in the VFO bandtext box just below the VFO A & B freqency display. You can also RIGHT CLICK on either SPLIT button to toggle between +/- 5khz Phone and +/- 1khz CW OR mouse over the VFOA or VFOB band text area, and use the mouse wheel to scroll the freq digit underlined by the mouse pointer. ANT->SO2R option allows switchover between not only RX1 & 2 antennas but TX1 & 2 antennas.
- Add Mouse Wheel click over "KeyCatShortCut" menu button to open Legacy Flex manual (generally showing the Flex-5000 with all options (this is a work in progress to update the last FlexRadio manual).
- Update FCCDATA.DAT file.
2/12/23 v2.8.0.270: Fix Moving Zoom scroll slider will keep Bandpass window centered (as well as RX2 Zoom slider). Fix: DX Watch Match pop-up window will time-out when spot falls of the spot listing.
2/8/23 v2.8.0.269: Left Click on Yellow DX Watch Match box to go to VFOA, Mouse Wheel Click for VFOB
2/7/23 v2.8.0.269: Add: Spotter->Spotter Settings->Panadapter spot callsigns with NO vertical indicator. This removes the vertical lines next to the callsign. You can still put your mouse over the callsign and hit CTRL key to set the VFO to the correct frequency and mode and split.
Add: DX "Watch" feature. Type anything from 2 to 20 characters long. You will get a Popup window when the your Watch Text is found in a Spot. It checks the DX Spotter callsign, the DX Spot callsign, and the DX Message for a match.
2/5/23 v2.8.0.268: Fix: Hit CTRL with mouse over "DX Spot" on RX2 VFOB Panadapter will now correctly adjust VFOB Freq, Mode, Split, etc. (Just like a "Mouse wheel" click of a "DX Spot" on the Spotter Screen)
And Hit CTRL over a RX1 DX Spot will adjust VFOA Freq, Mode, Split, etc.
2/4/23 v2.8.0.267: Add CAT command "ZZKVx;" (where x=3 to 6) to activate Voice Keyer F3 to F6 (Reply, CQCQ, VK1, VK2). ZZKMx was already in place for CWX macros.
Tied DJConsole CWX macros 3-6 to the Voice keyers F3-F6 when not in CW mode. But if you activate setup->DSP->keyer->Override console, CWX macros work just like CWX buttons do from the console (including the auto repeat timer for CQCQ F4 and CWX F4 buttons.
Mod: Right click on "KeyCatShortCut" powerSDR console item to open the updated "ke9ns CAT command" listing pdf.
Left Click for Keyboard and mouse shortcut PDF
Updated Keyboard shortcut PDF.
2/2/23 v2.8.0.266: Updated Keyboard Shortcut PDF. Put back "SWL Search" item in PowerSDR console, that accidently got removed.
If you already installed .266 you will need to download and install 2 times (select repair the 2nd time)
1/31/23 v2.8.0.266: Mod Bar Meter (setup->Appearance->Meter->Bar Meter-> choose gradient Color of Bar. Signals over S9 turn RED.
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1/29/23 v2.8.0.265: Correct some issues using Bar meters (with pk hold and combo mode issues). Add Iindicator to PanaScope mode when your AM or SAM TX audio neg peaks exceed 100% mod. (best to set Setup->Display->Scope Mode Time to 100uSec). Add "KeyShortCut" to top line of PowerSDR console screen. This automatically opens the keyboard shortcut PDF.
AM Carrier only (no modulation):
AM Voice Modulated onto Carrier:
AM Neg Peaks >100% mod (note loss of carrier causes the Red Warning and a % of carrier loss):
1/26/23 v2.8.0.264: Update SWL list. Add Override checkbox feature to CWX panel to allow the normal Voice keyer: Reply F3, CQCQ F4, VK1 F5, VK2 F6 buttons, to be reassigned as the CWX F3-F6 Macros:
Transmitting (click, key, or hit F4 to stop)
Wait 1 second to send again (click, key, or F4 to stop)
You can use the F3-F6 function keys to activate the CW macro OR Click on the buttons.
(Click or hit the Function key a 2nd time to STOP the CW instantly)
PowerSDR main console or CWX panel need to be in focus for Function keys to work.
The buttons return to Voice Keyer buttons when your out of CW mode.
The CWX F4 timer works the same as the CQCQ timer, in that it auto repeats every x.x seconds and can be stopped by a KEY, F4 function key, or clicking on the button itself.
F3-F6 work on the Reply, CQCQ, VK1,VK2 buttons as well.
The CWX panel will automatically launch when you go into CW mode when the Override checkbox is ON. And you can now minimize or close the CWX panel and the F3-F6 macros will still function on the main console screen.
NOTE: The reason CWX F1-F4 were not choosen is because F1 and F2 function keys are used by the PowerSDR main console screen for HELP and Video HELP windows when you hover over certain object.
12/13/22 v2.8.0.263: Mod: LoTW button remembers its ON/OFF setting at startup (i.e. Auto LoTW startup)
12/10/22 v2.8.0.262: Fix: Press CTRL key with mouse over "DX spot" call sign (attached to the Green line), on Panadapter. This was not always working when spots were coming in fast during a contest.
This moves the VFO to the "DX spot" frequency (along with mode and split).
This CTRL also works directly over the Red dots on the world Map).
Shift Key toggles between "<Spotter>" and "DX Spot"
Right mouse Click opens QRZ for the DX Spot.
Add: Panadapter spot Callsigns with LoTW Color. This will Color DX Spot on Panadapter with the same Color as the Spotter Screen (which helps to determine if you need this DX station QSL.
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12/6/22 v2.8.0.261: ADD: Spotter Screen->Spotter Settings->Panadapter Spot call signs with Dark Background. Update SWL file. MOD DX spotter nowreporting CW instead of CWL or CWU
12/4/22 v2.8.0.260: Fix "Visual display of CW" (see Setup->DSP->Keyer, and CWX->Visual CW) when running 192khz sample rate in Hi-Res Panafall 16k buffer mode causes (overflow) RX1/RX2 display issues, or an RX2 TX Pan Display Crash when zoomed too far out.
11/25/22 v2.8.0.259: Fix CW poll (CWX panel) for Flex-1500
11/5/22 v2.8.0.258: Add more delay to start of WWV time detection to allow PowerSDR to properly setup for detection. Update CW and CWX tool tip help: Drop Delay is overridden if Break In is Enabled in CW (Break In mSec becomes the Drop delay for CWX when its enabled). Update both SWL.csv file (eibispace.de) and FCCDATA.dat files
10/19/22 v2.8.0.257: Improve WWV HF Time Sync, Spotter screen function (results within 0.1 to 0.2 seconds of NIST www.time.gov). Activated the VU5K PA built in Test routine. Updated SWL file (eibispace.de)
8/22/22 v2.8.0.256: MOD: Right Click on "0 Beat" button to Zero beat signals in RX2 (Flex-5000 only). Use this to shift your TX (or RIT) freq of VFOA, OR TX freq of VFOB directly onto the received signal (strongest signal in the RX passband). So if your slightly off of a CW signal, hit the "0 Beat" button.
8/12/22 v2.8.0.255: Add Setup->General->Hardware Config->PFN issue checkbox if you having crashed due to PowerSDR shutdown or the OK or Apply buttons. Mod: VAC1->Mix VAC1 and Mic audio now saved at shut-down.
8/11/22 v2.8.0.254: Test Mod to Setup "OK" & "Apply" buttons, and when shutting down PowerSDR, to STOP PowerSDR first then pause a short time, before updating database or closing PowerSDR.
8/7/22 v2.8.0.253: Update PowerSDR to .NET 4.8.0. Update SWL listing.
6/13/22 v2.8.0.252: fix color issue with space weather "sW:" data field. If you have already installed .252 before, you will need to install 2 times, select Repair the 2nd time.
6/6/22 v2.8.0.252: Update SWL.dat and FCCDATA.dat files. If you have already installed .252 before, you will need to install 2 times, select Repair the 2nd time.
4/17/22 v2.8.0.252: Fix TXEQ profile change not properly activating the TX EQ. Add: Mouse Wheel Click on "Rec" button does quick recording of RX2 VFOB and saves wav and mp3 files with _RX2_ in file name. Mouse Wheel Click on "Rec" button a 2nd time to stop Recording of RX2 VFOB
Update SWL file.
3/22/22 v2.8.0.251: Tweak the Pan display while scrolling the VFO with AVG or AvgP enable (with Setup->Display->"Avg Pan Move" enabled). Update FCCDATA.dat and SWL.csv files
2/19/22 v2.8.0.250: Fix 12m bandtext. Click on Setup->General->Options->Update BandText after the update. Update SWL.dat file.
1/20/22 v2.8.0.249: Fix moving panadater (left/right) with mousedown and drag operation with ESC panel enabled. Add VFOB option for PowerMate knob (push Knob to toggle between A/B). Setup->General->User Interface->Push VFO select.
1/18/22 v2.8.0.248: Fix Extended mode band properly matches to nearest ham band calibrations.
1/10/22 v2.8.0.247: Fix ToolTips for ESC Diversity panel and add the 180deg reversal button.
1/2/2022 v2.8.0.247: Fix TURF band button issues with smaller band segments causing issues with SWL bands and Ham bands. Update SWL listing. Tweak Diversity panel button skins.
12/26/21 v2.8.0.246: Diversity Reception ESC window "optional" integration directly on PowerSDR console screen. Setup->General->RX2->ESC integrated into Console Screen.
12/18/21 v2.8.0.245: Minor tweaks to the console "Maps" button (including F1 help, and F2 video help)
12/9/21 v2.8.0.245: Fix Alpha fault due to rounding error (3D panadater). 3D panadater now allows for larger 3D display when in "Pandapter" only Display mode (setup->Appearance->General->3D z offset), along with setup->Appearance->Display->3DAlpha and 3DPan color
12/6/21 v2.8.0.244: Add Scanner (memory scanner) now runs on VFOB (RX2) or VFOA (RX1). VFOB (RX2) when you Mouse Wheel Click the "Memory Scan (RX)" button. Left Click for normal VFO Scanner.
12/4/21 v2.8.0.243: fix Buffer latency lower limit for WDM-KS (B). Fix font issue
12/3/21 v2.8.0.243: Mod: Setup->Audio->Vac1->Buffer Latency (A and B). To allow separate Buffer latency for VAC1 A and B setups.
"Maps" button:
(LEFT CLICK)= Active Spotter world map (with VOACAP propagation map enabled),
(RIGHT CLICK)= real-time F2 layer, real-time D layer, real-time Lightning stikes, real-time IR Cloud cover:
11/23/21 v2.8.0.242: Add: Mouse over Panadapter area then Hold CTRL+Z to open Zoom window (you can now move mouse around Panadapter area to move Zoom window. Let go CTRL+Z to close Zoom window. For lightning and Cloud maps only. (Testing)
11/21/21 v2.8.0.241: Add IR Cloud cover world map (Testing). Real-time Mosaic of images but missing the lower center section. Select from either Spotter screen or Right Click on Console "Map" button to Toggle between Real-Time F-Layer Map, D-Layer Map, Lighting Map, and IR Cloud cover Map. Left Click for standard Spotter World Map.
Update SWL listing.
11/20/21 v2.8.0.240: Add current real-time Lightning map (Testing).
11/14/21 v2.8.0.239: Turn off most layers when F or D layer turned on to make it easier to see.
Main PSDR Console "Map" button new functions as follows:
RIGHT click to toggle between F and D layers,
LEFT click to toggle main World Map,
WHEEL Click for external window very large world map
Update SWL listing (donate to eibispace.de)
11/13/21 v2.8.0.238: Once again compiled under VS2022 but using .NET 4.5.2 and tested to work with comma decimal point. (decimal point culture issues with using .NET 4.6 or higher).
11/12/21 v2.8.0.238: Went back to VS2019 and .NET 4.5.2. Something in .NET 4.7.2 causing issues with using the comma instead of period as a decimal point.
11/11/21 v2.8.0.237: Compile using VS2022 and .NET 4.7.2. Improvments to F and D layer maps
11/7/21 v2.8.0.236: Fix RX2 FM mode startup selecting the correct dev. Add right click on FM button to toggle 2k,5k,wide FM dev modes. Update FCCDATA callsign database
11/6/21 v2.8.0.235a: fix VAC1 causing crash when using RX2 Auto VAC2 option.
11/5/21 v2.8.0.235: add foF2 layer
11/4/21 v2.8.0.234: Starting to incorporate the "Global real time NOAA D-layer absorption world map", And the SWS Austrialia "Global real time Ionospheric foF2 world map" as a layer as well.
11/3/21 v2.8.0.233: Fix Setup->General->RX2->Turn ON VAC2, if you try to manually turn off VAC2 with RX2 still on.
10/31/21 v2.8.0.232c: Fix Spotter Pause to stay paused when mouse over the scroll bar and automatically un-pause if spotter window goes out of focus or mouse moves off the spotter window.
10/31/21v2.8.0.232: Fix Spotter screen "Pause" function. Add: Cursor over Spotter Window to automatically "Pause" Spotter screen, visable by a yellow "Paused" (when spots are coming in too fast). Panadapter and world map spots continue to update, only the Spotter window is paused.
Fix ToolTip Flicker in spotter screen. Update DXCC.txt file.
10/29/21: v2.8.0.231: Fix BandStack location if next to Panadapter screen (due to larger VFO display option). Fix Setup->General->RX2->Turn ON VAC2 feature will now auto turn on/off with RX2 turning on/off.
10/28/21 v2.8.0.230: Fix memory RX2 not auto on.
Add: Setup->General->RX2->Turn ON VAC2 when RX2 turned ON (but only when the RX2 auto on is also on.
Mod: Scanner Mouse wheel Click = VFOB
So Memory, Scanner and Spotter are all Mouse wheel click = VFOB),
Memory Screen: Left Click = VFOA, Mouse Wheel Click = VFOB, Right Click = go to hyperlink (browser)
Scanner Screen: Left Click = VFOA , Mouse Wheel Click = VFOB, Right Click = Scanner channel ignore
Spotter Screen: Left Click = VFOA, Mouse Wheel Click = VFOB, Right CLick = open QRZ.com (browser)
10/26/21 v2.8.0.229: XVTR max frequency increased from 99GHz to 250GHz.
Add in XVTR screen: Hover mouse over "Button Text" buttons to view each "Translated" Frequency (MHZ) based on Begin, End and LO Offset.
Add: Setup->General->RX2->Sending spotter,memory or Scanner Freq to VFOB turns on RX2 automatically.
10/24/21 v2.8.0.228: Add Setup->Appearance->General-> Larger VFO window, to allow VFO frequencies 10GHZ and above room in the VFO (due to the larger font sizes). Fix issue with frequencies above 24GHZ causing Pan display to crash when in setup->Display->"Hi-Res PanaFall" mode. Fix BandStack to allow Frequencies over 10GHz. Updated BandText for most GHz ham bands. Must go to Setup->General->Options->Update BandText to activate the update.
10/23/21 Upgrade to Win11 Pro. Compiled PowerSDR under VS 2019 + Win11. Those running Win11 will notice a slight difference in appearance (see above for a visual). Its a little easier to see checked boxes. And the corners of all the windows and interfaces are now rounded (similiar to what I did to the console screen a while back)
10/16/21 v2.8.0.227: Fix Setup->general->Options->Disable Split on Mode Change. Was not properly changing modes when it disabled the SPLIT feature.
10/5/21 v2.8.0.226: Update FCCData for LoTW spotter. Scanner mod: Memory scanner: Left click on any displayed memory channel to send to VFOA, Right Click to send to VFOB. Wheel Click to Toggle memory channel scan bypass OFF = X , ON = blank. If "Pause Scan" is yellow due to a squelch break (busy channel), click on Pause scan to resume scan, or Wheel Click on the memory channel to bypass this channel from the current memory scan.
9/29/21: v2.8.0.225: Fix issue with RX2 Cursor Offset and frequency values (lower left numbers of Display area) because of RX2 ZOOM and Center. Mouse wheel click over CENTER to re-center RX2. Mouse wheel click over zoom x0.5 x1 x2 x4 buttons to zoom RX2 (Right click is a times10 button for RX1 only)
9/25/21 current source code can be found at: https://github.com/ke9ns/PowerSDR_ke9ns_v2.8.0/
9/17/21 v2.8.0.224: Incremental download is now a .msi (removed the zip folder)
9/7/21 v2.8.0.224: Fix SWL auto Google search (Focus PowerSDR, mouse over SWL listing on Panadater, and Right Click to Google SWL station), OR "CTRL" over SWL Station to set Freq and Mode. Update SWL listings.
8/24/21 v2.8.0.223: Fix TXEQ not properly activating (was requiring you to move an EQ slider).
8/23/21 v2.8.0.222 Fix PowerMaster COM port selection
8/18/21 v2.8.0.222: Mod PowerMaster COM 1-9
8/14/21 v2.8.0.222: SWL Search (Right Click on SWL listing to send it to RX2). Scanner (Right Click on Memory or SWL listing to send it to RX2).
8/11/21 v2.8.0.221: Fix Scanner: When you manually click (see blue line in image below) on any memory shown in the scanner window it will pull data from the Memory.xml listing so repeaters memories will automatically load up. Fix: If you Stop the Memory or SWL scanner while its paused, it will stop where it was paused and not go to the next channel.
Add CAT commands for RX2 Pan and Zoom sliders: ZZPF = RX2 Pan slider (similar to ZZPE), ZZPW = RX2 Zoom slider (similar to ZZPY).
8/9/21 v2.8.0.220: Fix RX2 slider issue (for those without VU5K modules installed on a Flex-5000). Download and install 2 times. Select Repair the 2nd time
8/7/21 v2.8.0.220: Fix Pan sliders not functioning correctly. Update SWL file
8/5/21 v2.8.0.219: Mod RX2 now has its own set of Pan and Zoom silders (they appear when RX2 enabled).
Mod N1MM spectrum can now select RX1 or RX2 by mouse clicking into either panadapter OR select RX2 setup->General->User interface->RX2
7/26/21 v2.8.0.218: Fix "SWL Search" listing selection of VHF stations (i.e. NOAA weather satellite, Marine FM channels, NOAA WX FM channels) and automatically select FM. Properly display VHF SWL listings on the Panadapter.
7/22/21 v2.8.0.218: Mod WFM mode (right click on the FM button) is now 17khz deviation with +/- 20khz 40khz wide audio, to try and decode NOAA Satellite APT. Fix Scanner Memory Scan, when its paused on a Squelch break and you hit the Memory Scan button to stop the scan.
7/21/21 v2.8.0.217: Fix band button interaction between RX1 and RX2 when using transverters. Open up VU5K 2m module to receive from 128 mhz to 180mhz (not sure how sensitive it is below 144mhz, but it works well up to 163mhz). Update SWL2 file to add US VHF weather channels and some Marine channels
Receiving Local NOAA VHF Weather channel 4
7/20/21 v2.8.0.216: Fix 30m RX2 band button not functioning. Fix xvtr band buttons for RX2. Mod up to 52khz wide RX for both RX1 and RX2 (Flex-5000)
7/2/21 v2.8.0.214: Mod Separate automatic frequency Polling option for each CAT port (AI).
When "Checked" PowerSDR will automatically send a CAT FA and FB to that CAT port when the VFO is changed (i.e. Polling). Example: FA00009915500;FB00007294500; (VFOA = 9.915500 mhz and VFOB = 7.295500 mhz).
CAT devices that Poll on their own do not need this box Checked.
The CAT device can still send a ZZAI or AI command to turn this feature ON/OFF remotely on a Port by Port basis.
Update SWL file
6/20/21 v2.8.0.213: Mod Antenna Panel for Flex-5000, now shows full RX/TX in SO2R mode:
Example 1: Radio 1 = RX&TX on ANT3, Radio 2 = RX&TX on ANT1, Transmit for Radio 1
Example 2: Radio 1 = RX&TX on ANT3, Radio 2 = RX&TX on ANT1, Transmit for Radio 2
Example 3: Radio 1 = external Transverter RX=XVRX, TX=XVTX/COM (transmit on Radio 1)
Example 4: Radio 1 =
external Transverter RX & TX = XVTX/COM (transmit on Radio 1)
Example 5: Radio 1 = 70cm (VU5K internal option)
Example 6: Radio 2 = 2m (VU5K internal option) (transmit on Radio 2)
Note: The VU5K module
has a special internal provision to allow use RX2 for full duplex. But external transverters can only use RX1.
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6/14/21 v2.8.0.212: PM2 PowerMaster II option (not sure if it will work since I dont have one to try). PowerMaster II only has the 34msec data transfer feature unlike the PowerMaster I which has 5 output timing rates and PowerSDR calibration routines use the 140msec data transfer.
6/9/21 v2.8.0.212: Add PowerMaster Watts and SWR directly on the main console screen (upper left corner). Activate from setup->General->Options->Use PowerMaster for Watts and SWR, and also select the real COM port.
6/7/21 v2.8.0.211: Change BandStack: Left Click on BackStack button adds BandStack panel to either Panadapter (if meters on right side), or upper right side (if meters on Top bar). Right Click on BandStack button to open separate BandStack panel. All are now capable of Dual BandStack.
If you Right Click on the spotter "Callout" button, it will allow you to spot a station from VFOB.
Fix: Properly hide the RX2 Band button panel if 2nd meter is on the bottom right.
/28/21: v2.8.0.210 Fix BandStack (Right Click over one of the bandstack frequencies) Lock feature, caused by adding the RX2 bandstack. RX2 freq now VFOB now goes to last Bandstack freq (like RX1 does)
5/25/21: v2.8.0.209 Mod BandStack: VFOA and VFOB Dual BandStack for Flex-5000 with RX2 option. Right Click on the Add,Sort,Del button to perform those functions on the VFOB BandStack. Left Click for VFOA.
Update FCCData callsign file.
5/22/21: v2.8.0.208 Fix Ant panel Lock issue with RX2 and SO2R and fix install issue
5/21/21: v2.8.0.207: Mod: Mouse Wheel Click on BandStack entry (frequency) sends it to VFOB instead of VFOA. Mouse Wheel Click on Memory sends it to VFOB instead of VFOA (Note VFOB is not setup for Split operation, simplex only). Fix Amp PTT key line issues between VFOA and B with RX2 ans SO2R mode
5/18/21 v2.8.0.206: Fix some mistakes with .205 (and expert mode), and now allow selecting seperate TX KEY lines to your SO2R Amp from both RX1 and RX2.
SO2R checkbox activates this feature (Transmit 2, and the RX2-TX1,TX2,TX3 boxes).
Check RX2-TX1 or RX2-TX2 or RX2-TX3 to use that TX key line for your SO2R AMP when RX2 is Enabled and VFOB has the TX button active.
In this example the Yellow RCA will Key only when you transmit from VFOB (with RX2 ON)
The Red and White RCA will Key only when you transmit from VFOA (with RX2 ON or OFF)
5/17/21 v2.8.0.205: Mod ANT panel (for Flex-5000 with RX2 and HRFIO Rev34 board) to allow Transmit Ant selection (Transmit 2) for RX2 SO2R. If TX2 is unchecked, works as before. If TX2 is checked you can changeover transmit Antenna when VFOB TX button is checked. VFOA TX = Transmit1, VFOB TX = Transmit2.
Fix RX2 preamp always defaulting to ON
5/6/21 v2.8.0.204: Mod VAC1, Select from 2 saved virtual audio cables configurations (A and B).
In this example A is configured for a Digital mode communications link between PowerSDR and Digital mode PC program like FLDIGI or WSJT-X.
In this example (below) B is configured for Local or Remote operation using your PC Speaker and PC Mic connected to PowerSDR. Note: This assumes you set your "Default" Playback and Recording devices to "Speaker" and "Mic"
In this example (below) B is configured so any sound your PC would play through its wired speakers would get [mixed] with the Flex radios own Mic (your not using the PC MIC). Note "Output" is NOT set to the "Primary Sound driver" (like your PC speaker) otherwise you would get feedback if you enable the MON function in PowerSDR.
Note: "Stereo Mix" only grabs the line out (green TRS) audio. It will not grab HDMI PC audio or Wireless PC audio. "Stereo Mix" is normally disabled by Windows default. Google on how to enable it.
5/4/21 v2.8.0.203: Fix RX2 band buttons causing crash on transmit. Add VFO indicators to Sig meters
5/3/21 v2.8.0.203: Fix decimal culture issue (. vs ,) with VOACAP wattage slider.
Mod: Band Button panel for RX2 VFOB (Flex-5000 with 2nd receiver option only) but only when the 2nd meter is up on top or up to the right side. Work in progress
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setup->Appearance->Meter->Meters on Top----------- OR--------------- setup->transmit->Move 2nd Meter
4/30/21 v2.8.0.202: Fix: Allow TCP/IP CAT to properly restart if the connection is dropped rather than closed.
Mod: Mouse Wheel Click will now select a DX call, on the Spotter screen, and send it to VFOB (Left Click sends it to VFOA, and Right Click opens QRZ lookup). If you have a Flex-5000 with RX2 it will also select the Mode.
Mod: All Message box sceens will now always appear on top of PowerSDR (to prevent being hidden behind), along with progress bars.
4/29/21: v2.8.0.201: Fix Setup->General->Calibration (which uses WWV to calibrate freq of the radio, in lieu of using a 10mhz GPSDO). Force display into 4096 Spectrum to avoid issues running in 16384 Hi-Def Panadapter mode that prevented the Calibration from running.
4/28/21 v2.8.0.201: Mod Spotter screen LoTW color code ToolTip description. When you place the mouse over the Color Coded DX Callsign (with LoTW button on and Green), you get the description of the color code. When the mouse is over the spotter screen, but not over a DX Callsign, you can hit F1 or F2 for help. Update SWL file
4/25/21 v2.8.0.200 ADD: ONLY Flex-5000 with 2nd receiver (RX2): Allow Multiple instances or 2 different PC digital mode programs (example: 2 instances of WSJT-X or WSJT-X and FLDIGI) to operate simultaneously in SO2R mode. OR simply run 1 PC Digital Mode program on RX2 VFOB, while using RX1 VFOA for anything else (i.e. Rag chew). Fix SPLIT button when RX2 enabled. The Sub VFOA is used as the Transmit SPLIT frequency and must be within the Sample Rate passband. SPLIT will now automatically re-sync the Sub VFOA if its out of band, OR activate MultiRX then Right click on MultiRX to re-sync it to VFOA.
Add The "RX2 VFOB" CAT COM port that simply substitutes RX2 VFOB
frequency and VFOTX, for RX1 VFOA when linking PowerSDR to most any PC digital mode program that can select Kenwood TS-2000 as the "radio" (since nobody properly supports the ZZ Cat commands of PowerSDR)
Since the Flex-5000 with RX2 offers "Full-Duplex" you can continue to Receive on 1 PC Digital mode program while Transmitting on the other (provided you have seperate antennas with enough space between and are on different bands so you do not overload the front-end.
See full setup down below (search for WSJT-X down below in the "Digital Modes" section)
4/23/21 v2.8.0.199: Mod "LoTW" to allow for download of VERY VERY LARGE QSO/QSL LOG files (i.e. over 100k and up to over 330k contacts).
Automatically generate a "LoTW_OLOG.adi" backup file at the same time it generates a "LoTW_LOG.adi". The LoTW_OLOG file can be used as an Original backup to save time downloading a large LoTW Log file over again from ARRL LoTW's site.
4/17/21 v2.8.0.198: Try and fix issue where the database does not save changes when you shut down PowerSDR with VOACAP running. Fix issue when VOACAP auto starts at power-up and does not have SunSpot #'s (due to timing) and so draws incorrect MUF map.
4/14/21 v2.8.0.197: Fix Grab & Drag function for adjusting Panadapter & waterfall ratios. Now will work for all screen resolutions. Add: Length timer to 1750hz repeater tone.
4/6/21 v2.8.0.196: Click on "Tune Step", it will turn Dark, and larger step values will act like the small step values (i.e. Steps start at the nearest 0 value)
4/3/21 v2.8.0.196: Mod: TX Profile now stores Mode. So now if you create a TX Profile for AM, you can save it to automatically select the SAM mode every time you run your AM TX profile. LSB/USB is automatically selected by band.
BUT... the Mode will not restore from a TX profile if Setup->Transmit->Remember TX Profile on Mode Change is Checked.
3/28/21 v2.8.0.195: Update keyboard shortcut pdf (see above).
Mod: Right Click and Grab on left side dBm scale to adjust Spectrum Grid Max value (i.e. scale of spectrum), normal Left Click and Grab still adjusts the noise floor (i.e. Spectrum Grid Low value).
Now shows actual values for both Max and Min settings.
Improve Grab of Panafall adjustment bar. F9=Inc Spectrum window, F10=Dec Spectrum window
Fix: TXEQ 28band GEQ and 9band PEQ preamp values now restore
correctly.
Update SWL listings file (eibispace.de)
3/25/21 v2.8.0.194: Fix auto save of Panafall (so you can grab the bar to adjust, the next time you boot PowerSDR after you already changed the default proporations of the Panafall).
3/24/21 v2.8.0.194: Mod: Auto save the current positions of the panafall and panafall8020. Fix: Hopefully fix issues with the database not saving changes on power-down. SWL update.
2/28/21 v2.8.0.193: Mod to turn off "Click to tune"cross hairs when over the dBm scale, over the AGC-T green line, or over the Pan/Water bar area. Fix the vertical cross hair when decreasing the Pan area < 50%.
2/27/21 v2.8.0.193: Mod: Allow adjusting standard "Panafall" mode Pan / Water ratio (From 10% to 93% Pan) by grabing the bar between the Pan and Water. The "Panafall 8020" mode allows from 60% to 93".
Mod:
"Horizontal Split" Mouse icon when over the bar separating Pan and Water areas.
Mod:
"Hand" mouse icon when over the left side dBm scale showing that you can grab and pull up/down for adjusting Signal floor levels in the Pan.
Mod:
"Hand" mouse icon when over the AGC-T green line to show you can grab and pull up/down for adjusting the AGC-T level (right click on AGC-T text to activate)
Update: SWL file
2/26/21 v2.8.0.193: Mod: Allow adusting "Panafall8020" (used to display active world map) Pan / Water raio (Grab bar between Pan and Waterfall and drag up/down or F9-F10 keys. (From 60% to 93% Pan)
2/21/21 v2.8.0.192: Fix: Properly remember band changes related to TX Profiles
2/14/21 v2.8.0.191: Fix Grayline dark area not filling correctly. Correct VFO "Dial" alignment to properly match frequency (due to imperfect dial image). Fix antenna amp TX1,2,3 help.
2/13/21 v2.8.0.191: Fix: Right click on SWL listing (on the Panadapter) was not opening up a google search properly. Update SWL data
2/12/21 v2.8.0.191: Mod 2nd TX meter smooth out the movement. And try to prevent a jumpy SWR
2/6/21 v2.8.0.190: Update FCCDATA file and SWL files. fix: FULL installer will now copy over FCCDATA file. Quindar tones option (setup->keyboard)
1/25/21 v2.8.0.189: Add Voice Keyer VK1 [F5], VK2 [F6] buttons (in addition to the Reply [F3] and CQCQ [F4] buttons). Use WAVE to make recording. Moved "1750hz" repeater Function button to [F7]
1/23/21 v2.8.0.188: Add "1750hz" button (and F7 key) for repeater access.
Modify VFO mechnical dial with an actual dial image (setup->Display->VFO Dials
1/18/21 v2.8.0.187: Mod voice keyer "Reply" button can now be activated by F3 key, "CQCQ" by F4 key.
If you "check" Setup->General->Hardware Config->Auto Focus PowerSDR, then simply moving your mouse pointer back over PowerSDR console will allow you to use the keyboard for PowerSDR (if you have multiple Windows programs open)
See updated keyboard map pdf
for all keyboad definitions
1/14/21 v2.8.0.186: Mod Scanner Low / High Band edges are now saved in the database.
12/15/20: v2.8.0.185: Fix CW Spots now appear directly over the spot. XIT Flip (right click on XIT) added to DJConsole button list.
12/4/20 v2.8.0.184: Fix CAT port preventing duplicate COM ports even when not selected.
12/3/20 v2.8.0.184 Fix N1MM not taking CW pitch shift into account.
12/02/20 v2.8.0.0.184: Fix N1MM Spectrum only allows for KHZ for the Low/High frequency of the spectrum, so needed to align the spectrum output to the nearest khz low/high values. Now the N1MM freq indicator matches the spectrum correctly.
11/30/20 v2.8.183: Fix DttSP auto restart when minimized.
11/29/20 v2.8.0.183: Fix SWR Scanner will retry if the SWR gets erroneous reading during the scan (prior to this you would see an occational SWR=25 reading between normal SWR readings.
11/27/20 v2.8.0.183: Mod now N1MM spectrum and DttSP auto restart work with PowerSDR minimized
11/25/20 v2.8.0.182: Fix full installer issue (Wrong folder name).
11/24/20 v2.8.0.182: Fix TCP/IP CAT from turn off when a remote connection if cut rather than closed.
Mod: Noise Blanker (setup->DSP->Options->NB or just right click on NB console button). NB1 and NB2 operate from a slightly different perspective. Modifying NB1 to account for different DSP RX buffer sizes. Trying to see if I can improve on it.
11/21/20 v2.8.0.181: Fix setup->Appearance->General->Console Maximize not restoring properly. Fix setup->Cat Control->Rotor Control now can be used with for direct control of Hy-Gain antenna rotor controls (no need for DDUtil).
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11/16/20 v2.8.0.180: Add Multiplex CAT COM ports (up to 5). Allows you to Name each program your connecting to. This can take the place of DDUtil in many circumstances. Rotor Control still requires DDUtil. If you run DDUtil, you will need to disable any COM ports controlled by DDUtil.
11/8/20 v2.8.0.179: Mod "TX WaterID" call sign image resolution improved slightly.
11/2/20 v2.8.0.178: Fix PAN ZZAU/ZZAD not working for JogWheelA (for DJConsole units).
11/1/20 v2.8.0.178: Mod: PAN feature now works with DJConsole JogWheelA and ZZAD/ZZAU CAT command (Panadapter stays in one place while the bandpass RX/TX moves around). Update SWL file
10/24/20 v2.8.0.177: Fix CAT TCP Server to ignore <CR> and LF characters.
10/23/20 v2.8.0.177: Mod CAT TCP Server. Indicator (upper right) to show when external TCP connection made. Right click on "ON" checkbox to open up monitor screen to display all CAT communication between TCP and PowerSDR.
10/22/20 v2.8.0.177: Add CAT TCP server to allow CAT command exchange via Ethernet. Open a TCP connection to your IP:PORT and you can send and receive CAT commands and CAT data.
also, Update SWL.dat file per eibispace.de
10/17/20 v2.8.0.176: Fix LoTW sometimes unable to do a full QSO log download. Fix DXLOC.txt DXCC code for Germany (causing Germany to show as a needed DXCC entity when it was not)
10/15/20 v2.8.0.175: Update FCCDAT.dat and download location link, and SWL.csv files. Fix a compile issue.
9/13/20 v2.8.0.174: Modify: Some windows are now fixed in size so they cannot be accidentally resized incorrectly (i.e. Setup, Mixer, ATU, ANT, XVTR)
9/11/20 v2.8.0.173: Fix TX EQ "Both" checkbox now clears if using 3 or 10 band EQ. Update SWL file
8/22/20 v2.8.0.172: Add WBHF RX capability. Update SWL file
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8/22/20 v2.8.0.172: Fix Local Antenna Weather (set location: Spotter->Lat and Long), it now tries NOAA weather first, and then openweather.
8/1/20 v2.8.0.171: Fix TXEQ not restoring properly when changing TX profiles (preamp gain not included). Fix some BandText (setup->general->Update BandText). Update SWL listing
7/10/20 v2.8.0.170: Add CW RX filter save without adjusting for CW Pitch option(Setup->General->Filters->CW RX filters no shift checkbox). Right Click on CWL/CWU or Low/High fields to open Filters menu.
6/24/20 v2.8.0.169: Update SWL file and FCCDATA callsign file. Fix lag issue when right click on QuickAudio Play button (when manually selecting a QuickAudio file to play back over the air) OpenDialog issue.
6/2/20 v2.8.0.169: Mod: XIT (Right Click on XIT button to toggle between +hz/-hz). Fix vfo changing freq when changing between AM/SSB on swl 11m
5/19/20 v2.8.0.168: Fix 3 band EQ setting and proper EQ settings saved to your TXprofile.
5/17/20 v2.8.0.167: Add Local Ant Weather for most any Location. Most of USA still uses NOAA weather.gov. Other locations now use openweathermap.org & mapquest for elevation. Based on your Lat/Long found in Spotter (use maps.google.com, right click->whats here, to find your Lat/Long).
Fix slider issue with auto grid/wtr/AGCT sliders not loading up automatically
Example Lat/Long for Paris:
5/9/20 v2.8.0.166: Fix TXProfile crashing when changing profiles. Add SWR data save to SWR_PLOTS folder in .csv format (for each SWR scanner run). Right click on SWL SCAN button to open folder. Update SWL.dat file
5/6/20 v2.8.0.165: Fix all EQ's now saved to the TX Profile. Fix PEQ Octave value not saving correctly.
4/26/20 v2.8.0.164: Fix "MUTs" (hold mouse over MUT button for more info) now also mutes Powered and RCA speaker output on 5000. Fix 3band TXEQ causing 28band EQ sliders to disappear.
4/25/20 v2.8.0.164: Fix: 28band TXEQ not turning on until you touch a slider.
Add: You can combine the 28band GEQ and the 9 Band PEQ together.
Fix: Spotter screen accepts spots from CWSkimmer (i.e. localhost:port) with the port value being what you set the port value to in CWSkimmer. You can use the URL: "localhost" or "127.0.0.1" Update SWL.dat file.
4/18/20 v2.8.0.163: Fix Update button. (SSL vs XMLreader issue). Update SWL.dat file
4/18/20 v2.8.0.162: Fix TXEQ's now have their own preamp sliders (10band,28band,9band).
4/17/20 v2.8.0.162: Add 9-Band Parametric EQ in addition to the 10-Band and 28-Band Graphic EQ options. Not final GUI interface, but working.
4/12/20 v2.8.0.161: Mod: 28 band TX EQ is now 1/3-Octave bw per Band slider. The original 10 band TX EQ and RX EQ both continue to use 1-Octave bw per Band Slider.
4/10/20 v2.8.0.161: Update reply, cqcq, pan, zoom, and 3d buttons. Update FCCDATA.dat callsign database file, Update SWL.dat file, modify gen/bal rx2 routine.
4/7/20 v2.8.0.160: Fix zoom slider crash when running very high frequencies (XVTR).
4/6/20 v2.8.0.159: Fix Map Grayline, Sun, Moon somtimes not functioning when turned OFF and back ON. Improve moving Console panel around with Title bar disabled (you can now Left click on an open area of the Console and drag the console around, or right click on lower right square to minimize Console).
3/31/20 v2.8.0.159: Fix Grayline. Setup->Appearance->Display->GrayLine (Dark-Bright) slider to adjust actual darkness of the Grayline area of the Map (instead of drawing over the Grayline area on top of the Map), and Map (Dark-Bright) slider to adjust brightness of the Map (outside of the Grayline area). Allows you to see under the Grayline area with more clarity. Update SWL listing.
3/28/20 v2.8.0.158: Fix Waterfall Low & High level thresholds for SWL bands (not using/saving database values). Add F2 Video for TNF usage (Tracking Notch Filter). Tweak the Move/Size routine when the Title Bar is disabled. Tweak VFO Dial placement. Tweak GEN/BAL test. Fix "Check Update"
3/24/20 v2.8.0.157: Fix Bleed around COMBO meter when RX/TX menus turned off.
3/22/20 v2.8.0.157: DX Spotter listing can be masked to show RX1 and/or RX2 bands only. Currently the list will show empty lines masking the filtered bands, but the list updates on the fly as you change bands.
3/21/20 v2.8.0.156: Allow removal of Title Bar (setup->Appearance->General->Console Title Bar off). Grab symbols in lower right corner to move and size console. Right Click on START/STOP button to CLOSE PowerSDR
Update SWL listing. Fix check for updates
3/17/20 v2.8.0.155: Mod Memory screen now has a "Scan" column checkbox. Scanner screen will now check for the "Scan" checkbox, and skip (ignore) any unchecked memory channel when you do a "Memory Scan".
This will help if a particular memory channel (frequency) has noise tripping the squelch, but is grouped with other memories you wish to scan. An "X" is placed on the Scanner Memory list to indicate a Memory channel to be skipped from the Group.
If you update the Scan checkbox(s) on the Memory screen, you must retype the group name in Scanner "memory Group to scan" box.
. 
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3/17/20: v2.8.0.154: Fix Bandstack flashing
3/13/20 v2.8.0.154: Mod Meters. Allow functioning VFO Dials with Meters on Top
ANF,NR,NB,NB2 deactivates during DIGU/L modes, but now automatically reactivates when switched out of DIGU/L mode.
3/10/20 v2.8.0.153 Mod: Meters.
Right Click over dBm text area to toggle RX/TX Meter Menus ON/OFF.
Right Click on Meter itself to Open: Setup->Appearance->Meter->Meter on Top, to move Meters to Top of Console.
BandStack panel will automatically move (right click on "BandStack" text, top center of Console)
3/5/20 v2.8.0.152 Mod: Slight Analog Meter improvement (more of a traditional meter style).Left Click on top meter to cycle though meters, setup->Appearance->Meter-> to change colors.
If you want the meter to move identical to a physical meter lower the setup->Display->Multimeter->Analog Refresh time.
Update SWL listing.
2/19/20 v2.8.0.151 Add: Audio Mixer: You can now Mix PC audio and Flex MIC audio together (Setup->Audio->VAC1->Mix VAC1 and MIC audio checkbox.). Enable VAC1 and make sure to uncheck "Allow PTT to override..." box. Your PC audio output device must be the same as the PowerSDR VAC1 Input device.
2/17/20 v2.8.0.150: Mod: Auto reduce frame rate when in 3D mode. 3D mode Panadapter size reduces when in Panafall mode. Allow Color select and Transparency (Alpha) for 3D. Can be combined with Pan fill.
2/14/20 v2.8.0.150 Add: 3DPanafall (based on Mark's WS7M idea). Real-time Panadapter spectrum data is presented at the front, and older data (History) is shift back into the screen (with a 3D effect). The oldest data falls off the very back of the display. The History length depends on the FPS setpoint.
Click on blue 3D button on console to toggle. Still tweaking. Requires more CPU horsepower in 3D mode. Best viewed in hi-res mode, with RX1 only, Map & Waterfall OFF. Although you can combine Waterfall and 3D pan and even RX2, I am not sure how well things will perform.
(Left:) click to enlarge,--------------- (Right:) Click to watch video in operation)
...
02/8/20 v2.8.0.149: Update SWL file, Update FCCDATA.dat, Update DXLOC.txt, Add "N2MDX 3D Carbon" skin.
01/17/20 v2.8.0.149 Fix: I2C MCP23017 8bit address is 0x46 (A2=0, A1=A0=5v)
8bit address list for FlexWire output:
0x40 HERO's preselector
0x42 Band selector output for PCA9534 8bit I2c chip (2200m - 20m)
0x44 Band selector output for PCA9534 8bit I2C chip (17m-6m)
0x46 Band selector output for MCP23017 16bit I2c chip (2200m-6m)
0x48 Not used
0x4A LDMOS Amp Filter board selector (w6pql current design)
0x4E LDMOS Amp Filter board selector (w6qpl old design)
0x4C UCB (Universal Control board) PCA9555D Relay selector (part of the Xvtr panel)
See page: k3tuf.com/FW.html , for info on FlexWire and UCB
01/15/20 v2.8.0.149 Fix 28band eq disabling (reverting back to the 10band) when adjusting the preamp slider
01/14/20 v2.8.0.149 Add: SWL bands to RX2 band listing
01/11/20 v2.8.0.148 Mod: N1MM by adding a FPS control. You can slow down the data transfer if your having troubles. (Setup->General->User Interface->FPS)
01/09/20 v2.8.0.147 Mod: DJConsole ZZMO command toggles between MON OFF, MONpr, MONps. Fix I1C 0x20 address datafor MCP23017 IC
01/08/20 v2.8.0.146 Mod: CAT ZZMO0 = MON off, ZZMO1 = MONpr, ZZMO2 = MONps (flex3000/5000 only). Mod: remove dead space on top of TXWaterfall ID image.
01/05/20 v2.8.0.145:
12/23/19 v2.8.0.144 Add: "Wait on Squelch Break" option in Scanner. Pauses on active channel and waits until channel is clear before continuing scan.
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12/22/19 v2.8.0.143 Fix: Scanner, FM not reacting to Squelch (Squelch handled differently in FM mode). Required modifying DttSP. Update SWL listing.
12/20/19 v2.8.0.142: Fix Scanner, Low-Hi not pausing (it was just stopping) on sql brk.
12/18/19 v2.8.0.141: Add: Left Click & Grab left side of Panadapter (over the dBm values) to move the Panadapter floor up/down in the window (this moves the auto pan slider in setup->Display). Fix issue of Grayline not appearing when turned Off and back On. Add I2C 0x20 band data output
12/15/19 v2.8.0.140: Add Channel OFF/ON checkbox for blue channel guides.(setup->Appearance->Display->Channel Display). Channels still appear in the BandText display area (and you can right click on the BandText display to show all information within the Pan). Also added 60m channels to SWL2 listing to see channels without the blue channel guides.
12/10/19 v2.8.0.139: Fix TX WaterID, start transmit TEXT quicker by removing dead space under text.
Fix Ant panel selection, for Flex-1500 by adding missing SWL bands to the "Expert" mode (just like the Flex3000/5000).
12/05/19 v2.8.0.138: Add I2C band data for all HF Ham bands 0x42 & 0x44
(setup->General->User Interface-> I2C Band output)
0x42: 2200m=1, 630m=2, 160m=4, 80m=8, 60m=16, 40m=32, 30m=64, 20m=128,
0x44: 17m=1, 15m=2, 12m=4, 10m=8, reserved=16,32,64,128
This works directly with the PCA9534 I2C 8bit port to drive relays.
Mod: Add direct link to open "FlexWire" I2C 0x4C relay select panel (UCB Configuration and Setup screen) from the XVTR screen. Add: tooltips explaining operation, over the "FlexWire" buttons
Mod: I2C AMP band select 0x4E to add 0x4A (alternate rev2 w6pql filter board band selection).
Updated SWL listing eibispace.de
11/12/19 v2.8.0.137: Add "Tune Step" now auto saves separate values for CW mode vs all other modes (for Mouse Wheel), this includes saving seperate "Tune Step" values Alt 1 & 2 for the PowerMate Knob (setup->General->User Interface)
11/9/19 v2.8.0.136: Add "Loop" checkbox to Scanner lo-hi frequency scanner (Memory & SWL scanner already looped automatically). Fixed issue where SWR and lo-hi freq scanner always would "pause on squelch break" ignoring the checkbox. Updated SWL.txt file (from eibispace.de)
v2.8.0.135: Added slider for AGC-T offset adjustment (setup->Display->AGC-T line adj) allowing you to set where you want the AGC-T green line to appear for a particular AGC-T value with respect to the signal on the pan
10/14/19 v2.8.0.134: Add Visual AGC-T indicator on Pan. Right Click on "AGC-T" text just above the slider to toggle ON/OFF. Left click on the AGC-T text just above the Panadapter Green line and pull Up/Down (right click on it to turn if off).
If you pull the AGCT line down (AGC-T towards 120), but you normally keep the Panadapter noise floor very low on the screen (using the setup->Display->auto grid level slider), the dBm scale will adjust and move the noise floor up to make room by moving the auto grid level slider to the right.
Also the AGCT line will automatically adjust position relative to the noise floor if you have the Setup->Display->
auto Wtr/Pan checkbox ON
AGC-T is the PowerSDR version of an "RF Gain" control. AGC-T is the "Maximum Gain Threshold" of the AGC (with the AGC mode: slow, med, fast, adjusting the Attack, Delay, & Hold time of the Gain).
Still playing with the position of the AGC-T line (Panadapter signal dBm vs AGC-T "Max Gain Threshold" dBm). And I have not tried this on the Flex-3000 or Flex-1500 yet).
Updated the SWL listing (from eibispace.de)
10/6/19 v2.8.0.133 Modify: Right Click on 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x Buttons, for 100x, 10x, 20x, 40x Zoom
Above (click to enlarge): 100x zoom of FT8 segment (50hz wide overlapping signals) on 40m @ 192kSR with Hi-Res Panafall and PolyPhaseFFT enabled
10/5/19 v2.8.0.133 Modify Continuum mode: Add S-Meter dBm data to file (as well as the orignal peak dBm value found in the Panadater), and add UTC date/time as well as Local and MJD.
Save file automatically every hour (if you leave the logging feature on)
Modifed ZOOM slider: 0.3x to 100x (was 0.4x to 10x). Just make sure to enable setup->Display-> hi-res Panafall (and possibly polyphaseFFT if you dont mind the lag) for best display results. @48kSR = 10hz / div., @ 192kSR = 25hz/div.
Hold mouse steady over zoom slider to see Zoom Factor
8/19 v2.8.0.132: Add MUT button function: Mouse Wheel Click (push down on mouse wheel) on MUT button to toggle between MUTE of your Flex speaker and MUTE of your PC speaker.
6/26/19 v2.8.0.131 Fix PowerSDR shutting down when your UAC UI asks for "Consent" and blanks the screen.
Add F2 video help for ESC (Enhanced Signal Clarity) button.
6/23/19 v2.8.0.130: Fix ESC panel to remember its location on the screen and make it easier to reduce its screen size.
6/19/19 v2.8.0.130: Fix waterfall frequency grid of RX2 during transmit. Update SWL file
6/12/19 v2.8.0.129 Mod: IDTimer 30min (Setup->general->Hardware Config->30min ID Timer) option.
Add: "F2 key" Video Help for IDTimer (when PSDR in focus and mouse over the IDTIMER).
Fix mouse wheel vfo scroll lockout if you change the CQ timer value or TX bandwidth Low or High.
Mod to allow PowerSDR to close when Windows does a Shutdown (setup->general->hardware config-> Allow Windows Shutdown).
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5/16/19 v2.8.0.127: Mod SpaceBar PTT (2 options now) Hold or Latch PTT with the SpaceBar. Update SWL listing.
5/10/19 v2.8.0.126: Fix PowerSDR issue not properly updating (saving) your database when closing PowerSDR.
5/7/19 v2.8.0.125: Add Hi-Res Panafall option (Setup->Display->Hi-Res PanaFall).
Standard PowerSDR shows max of 4096 points, "Hi-Res" mode shows max of 16384 points
Because of the finer detail, you may see more signals on the screen, but also more Spurs.
(Note: possible higher CPU usage)
Most helpful when running at 192k SR
Will also display finer detail on your Transmit audio in the Panafall. Just make sure to lower the Setup->Display->avg and update times to speed up the waterfall.
"Enable PolyPhaseFFT" shows maximum detail, but has big latency.
(LEFT: standard 192k full zoom, RIGHT: Hi-Res 192k full zoom) at 10x zoom
Click on image(s) to see full size.
_ 
(192k Hi-Res: Olivia 8-250 and FT8 signals at 10x zoom)
5/4/19 v2.8.0.124: Add SpaceBar PTT (Push-To-Talk) operation (Setup->General->Hardware Config->SpaceBar PTT). When Checked will TX radio when SpaceBar held down (PowerSDR must be in focus), and return to RX when SpaceBar released.
Note:
If you run PowerSDR on its own Monitor, you can also run PowerSDR Auto Focus Option (Setup->General->Hardware Config->Auto Focus).
Add: Spot Age can be adjusted from 3 - 59 minutes (Spotter ->Spotter Settings->Spot Age).
Update FCC callsign database for LoTW states.
5/1/19 v2.8.0.123: Add FT4 to BandText (setup->General->Options->Update BandText). Right click on BandText (found just below the VFOA or VFOB to see BandText in the Panadapter. Add FT4 mode and freq to Spotter screen. Update SWL listing
4/19/19 v2.8.0.122 Fix: CQCQ wait timer while using VAC1, and allow you to use a PC MIC over VAC1 to record voice keyer audio (like Reply, and CQCQ). Fix: Autofocus works, but you probably would only use it if you have a 2nd monitor and dedicate PowerSDR to its own monitor.
4/18/19 v2.8.0.121 Fix lag issue
4/17/19 v2.8.0.121 Fix CQCQ wait timer.
4/16/19 v2.8.0.120 Mod: CWX Macros1-9 can now be triggered by F1-F9 function keys (with CWX form in Focus)
4/15/19 v2.8.0.119 Fix: Flex-5000 ANT Console display not updating correctly in "Expert" Mode (RX2 Ant not updating unless RX2 was ON). Mod: SWL_Search now toggles ON/OFF the Search window & SWL Spots on Pan.
4/14/19 v2.8.0.118 Fix: CQCQ wait timer to end playback via Mox/PTT or CQCQ button click during repeat wait time. Add colors to Reply and CQCQ buttons (Blue=off), transmit (Red), and wait period (Orange)
04/13/19 v2.8.0.118 Firmware Update: Expand 12m Norway, Add 60m TX for Hungary, Greece, France, EU Travel, Mod 40m Hungary.
Add: Auto Focus for PowerSDR console screen: Setup->General->Hardware Config->Auto Focus PowerSDR:
When checked, this will put PowerSDR back into Focus (sending keystrokes to PowerSDR) whenever the mouse is over the PowerSDR console screen.
If you also check the "Always on Top" checkbox for any PowerSDR sub-form (i.e. Setup, Memory, CWX, Scanner, Spotter, SWL Search, Bandstack), then moving the mouse over a sub-form will Auto Focus between the main PowerSDR console and its sub-forms.
04/09/19 v2.8.0.117 Mod: DEXP turns off during Quickaudio playback (EQ,DX,CPDR already turn off).
Mod: Rec/Play ID box will uncheck after Quickaudio playback. Update: SWL file listing (https://www.eibispace.de/)
04/7/19 v2.8.0.116 Add: 630m button to the band buttons for RX1. This mod does NOT alter your transmit capability, it just takes you to 472khz. (search this webpage (CTRL+F) on "630m" for more info.). PowerSDR now compiled under Visual Studio 2019.
04/2/19 v2.8.116 Add: "CQCQ" voice keyer repeat timer (0=no repeat to 9 sec). Go to Wave->CQCQ to make recording. Click "CQCQ" button to Start & Stop voice keyer. PTT or VOX to Stop playback and break in
03/27/19 v2.8.115: Fix CW Visual TX while in Split mode. Update SWL file
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02/28/19 v2.8.0.114: Fix spotter ISS location SSL cert issue
02/26/19 v2.8.0.113 Fix: local weather min/max Logitude values
02/19/19 v2.8.0.113 Fix: LoTW Https Server SSL/TSL issue. Fix issue with Setup->DSP->Options for RX2 not following RX1. Update FCC callsign database, and SWL files
02/03/19 v2.8.0.112 Add: Scanner can now scan for SWL groups. Type in full or partial SWL name to select a SWL group to scan. You can now scan groups of SWL, MEMORY, or Bandstack. (with or without squelch break). Updated SWL2 freq list
01/28/19 v2.8.0.111 Add: VOX slider control to Digital panel. Update SWL listing
01/19/19 v2.8.0.110 Fix: saving 28 band TXeq in a TXProfile (only for new Factory defaults databases)
01/13/19 v2.8.0.109 Fix: "DttSP Auto Restart" feature causing issues when RX1 is in water with RX2 enabled.
01/02/19 v2.8.0.108 Add: Setup->Display->Avg Pan Move. When checked, will try to keep the Panadapter Display signals intact when you scroll frequencies (left/right) the band with the AvgP (signal averaging for just the Pan), or AvgB (signal averaging for Both the Pan and Water) enabled. Just makes it easier to keep track of signals as you scan around the band.
Normally when you move left/right the band, the display signals drop as you scroll with Averaging turned ON.
12/29/18 v2.8.0.107: Fix timing issue between the CAT Serial COM port, and FlexControl Serial COM ports at launch, if DDUtil running.
12/28/18 v2.8.0.107: Update: SWL listing to add Clear Channel AM Broadcast stations for all of North America (CA,MX, US). Fix mistake in .106 (FM panel not visible). Fix mistake in Memory screen.
12/24/18 v2.8.0.106: Add (Setup->DSP->Keyer->Visual display of CW, and also under CWX panel). Displays your CW transmission (CWL or CWU) on the Panadapter and Waterfall. Update SWL (eibispace.de)
11/21/18 v2.8.0.105: Update FCCdata.dat (for the DX spotter and LoTW), SWL.dat (from eibispace.de), and BandText for US region (click Setup->General->Options->Update BandText button). Antenna panel icon lights up on TX
11/11/18 v2.8.0.104: Fix RXonly PTT function for Flex-1500 and Start/Stop button with RXOnly checked
11/8/18 v2.8.0.103: Flex Firmware update (1500,3000,5000): Add 60m for China, Italy, Hungary (beyond the last firmware update), Remove Russian 27mhz TX. Will not affect your MARS.
Fix: VAC PTT bypass not working with VOX enable
11/4/18 v2.8.0.102: Mod to allow VOX with VAC1 and VAC2 (Flex-3000, Flex-5000 only)
10/31/18 v2.8.0.101: Fix Faults caused by adding the "Save drive per mode" feature.
10/23/18 v2.8.0.100: Add: "Day" indicators (bottom of panadapter area but above the waterfall) as part of world tracking map.
10/11/18 v2.8.0.99: Add:Setup->Transmit->Save Drive per Band and per Mode. When checked saves your Drive Max setpoint and Driver slider per Band and Mode.
10/08/18 v2.8.0.98: Add: Setup->General->Hardware config->Auto Start PowerSDR. "Start" PowerSDR running immediately after launch and loading. Fix: DttSP Auto Restart preventing Scanner->Sig Ident from working.
10/07/18 v2.8.0.97: Fix: DttSP Auto Restart during transmit. Add: Setup->General->Options-> Wheel Reverse to reverse the Mouse/Trackball wheel frequency direction. Fix: voltage RED when over 14.96vdc. Update: SWL and DXLOC files.
09/28/18 v2.8.0.96: Add setup->general->hardware config->DttSP Auto Restart. When checked senses when the DSP freezes, and automatically restarts. (Note: Freezing occurs from DPC Latency issues)
09/24/18 v2.8.0.95: Fix Clicking on blue "Spotting" button freezing PowerSDR (when DX Spotter is set to automatically run at power up).
09/18/18 v2.8.0.94: Fix NOAA space weather changeover to https tls1.2. Update the FCCDATA.dat callsign database, and SWL.csv shortwave listing files
09/03/18 v2.8.0.93: Fix issue loading up SWL list at the same time loading up dxloc file. Update SWL listings
08/27/18 v2.8.0.92: Fix 17m bandtext for IARU 1
08/25/18 v2.8.0.92: Fix DX spotter screen display (speed up laggy display update after I switched to RTF- Rich Text Format). Update SWL and DXLOC files.
08/21/18 v2.8.0.91: Fix LoTW checking for the same callsign on different bands and modes.
08/06/18 v2.8.0.90: Fix Setup->General->Hardware Config-> RX Only checkbox not remembering.
08/03/18 v2.8.0.89: Modify: checkbox to ignore Beacon Spots.
08/02/18 v2.8.0.88: Modify: LoTW color Gray for Beacons (dx spots with /B as an ancillary prefix)
08/01/18 v2.8.0.88: Add: LoTW USA 50 State checking (by band) in addition to DXCC & Dup checking. Also displays the US State on the DX Spotter screen. Fix: DXCC checking for entities with leading zero's and being properly checked..
Added: FCCDATA.dat file (in database folder) with Callsign/State (based on EN.dat FCC file, but much smaller)
7/30/18 v2.8.0.87: Fix: dx spotter beam heading and spots on world map for cultures (i.e. Europe) with , instead of . as floating point separator.
7/28/18 v2.8.0.86: Right Click on LoTW button will now download QSO & QSL incremental updates to your master LoTW LOG file (downloads which usually take only a few seconds). Incremental updates are based on the last date your LoTW_LOG file was updated.
A full LoTW LOG download only takes place if PowerSDR cannot find the LoTW_LOG.adi file in the database folder. Full LoTW LOG downloads can take up to a few minutes to download.
7/21/18 v2.8.0.85d: Increase LoTW download time limit, speed up spotter display
7/19/18 v2.8.0.85: Fix some LoTW things. Right click on GrayWtr menu item to toggle Pandapter Fill ON/OFF
7/12/18 v2.8.0.84: Allow multiple DX spots on FT8 frequency(s) since people are spotting on the base FT8 frequency(s). Add LoTW database download for DXCC spotting (for those with LoTW accounts). Right Click on CallSign box to open a LoTW password box. This is the password you would use on https://lotw.arrl.org/lotwuser/default
First time you use LoTW button it will download your QSO database from LoTW server (Right Click on LoTW button before Left Click, will force a new QSO download from LoTW server.)
DX Spots appear: Purple for NEW dxcc entities (no band), Light Purple if you need dxcc entity for this Band, Green if Station confirmed on this Band, Light Green if Station is confimed but on another Band, Yellow if Station confirmed on another Band, but their dxcc entity confirmed on this Band. Pink if you have this Station on this Band, but unconfirmed, LightPink if you have this Station on some other Band but unconfirmed. Orange indicates you have this Stations dxcc entity confirmed but not this actual Station.
6/3/18 v2.8.0.83: Add I2C bus software controls for SS AMP (see https://www.ke9ns.com/SSAMP.html).
Fix bandtext for IARU3. Update SWL list (from eibispace.de)
5/29/18: v2.8.0.82: Fix: Forgot to add the new Firmware to the Full Installer.
5/26/18: v2.8.0.82: Firmware & BandText Updates: IARU2: gets USB Caribbean Disaster Emergency channels which also show up in the bandText and SWL listing 7.453.5, 7.850, 13.998, 14.415, Belgium: 160m 2mhz, Netherlands: gets IARU1 60m. But all Flex-1500, 3000, 5000 radios get a firmware update. The firmware update will NOT alter Mars radios.
Make sure to Click on the Setup->General->Options->Update BandText button afterwards
Also added the IARU1/2 60m band indicators (and bandtext) to the US channels so you can see the overlap (with Canada soon to get access to both US channals and the IARU1 mapping. You can clearly see the Ch 3 overlap
5/25/18 v2.8.0.81: Fix mistakes in bandtext
5/23/18 v2.8.0.81: Add DTMF keypad tones for those using Repeaters (Must be Transmitting. Either Setup->keyboard and click and hold a button, or from the focused keyboard ALT + key 0-9 and * and # )
4/23/18 v2.8.0.80: Modify: ToolTip's stay active for 12 seconds (instead of 5) if the mouse remains hovering over the target.
4/17/18 v2.8.0.79: Modify: Quick "SPLT" button feature: Right Click toggles +/- 1khz in CW (+/-5khz in SSB). Updated SWL file. Updated BandText, Updated some Turf stuff.
4/12/2018 v2.8.0.78: VFO Lock can optionally toggle between VFOA, VFOAB, VFOB. (Setup->General->Options->VFO Lock A/B)
4/8/2018 v2.8.0.77: Fully automatic Waterfall and Panadapter levels by the "Setup->Display->auto wtr/pan" checkbox
(this in addition to the semi-automatic Left and Right Click on the "Auto Wtr/Pan Lvl" button found on the console screen).
4/7/18 v2.8.0.76: New Quick "SPLT" button feature: Right click to automatically turn ON and toggle between a VFOB TX of +5khz or -5khz split from VFOA. AND: Setup->Display->Split TX Listen checkbox will automatically set the sub-receiver (MultiRX button) to the TX freq during the Split. Update SWL listing (from eibispace.de)
03/27/18 v2.8.0.75: Add DX spotter world map Brightness control (setup->Appearance->Display->Map)
03/24/18 v2.8.0.74: PowerMate Knob now has 2 alternate Tune Steps (push Knob to toggle between steps). Add Save state of Voacap (on/off). Fix DXLOC file not fully loading up on startup from a saved ON state.
3/21/18 v2.8.0.73: Now Saves the State of the DX spotter (on/off), and DX Spotting World Map (on/off). If either is running when you power down PowerSDR, they will be "ON" again at Startup
3/19/18 v2.8.0.72: Fix mistake saving changes to TX profile even when auto save is off. Fixed corruption that occured to Skin ke9ns_world
3/14/18: v2.8.0.71 Recompile.
3/11/18 v2.8.0.70: Fix reduce data size for recording Continuum data
3/10/18 v2.8.70: Add "Continuum display mode" Right click on "Continuum" to toggle recording data in .csv data file (dBm vs time, and Ant bearing, if setup with DDutil), Files saved in database folder (right click on TXWaterID callsign box). Add MJD time to continuum csv file output
3/8/18: v2.8.0.69: More BandText updates and SWL2 file updates.
3/6/18 v2.8.0.69: Update BandText file. Update SWL file
2/21/18 v2.8.0.69: Add: Pan Fill Gradient option (setup->Appearance->Display->Pan Fill Gradient). The Fill Alpha still works in Gradient mode, but not the Fill Color. Gradient mode goes from Blue to Violet
2/13/18 v2.8.0.68 Fix Drive Max limit to 100. And Update the SWL file (from eibispace.de)
2/9/18 v2.8.0.68: Add Transmit Drive Max value: setup->transmit->Drive Max, sets the max value of TUNE and DRIVE allowed (for those with low drive SS Amplifiers). It does not verify max watts out, just the drive and tune levels.
2/2/18 v2.8.0.67: Fix: ke9ns6_World, Ke9ns3_spot, and ke9ns4_plain skins causing "out of memory" fault
2/1/18 v2.8.0.67: Add Antenna rotor control (set manual beam heading, and read current antenna position) from Spotter window.
01/28/18 v2.8.0.66: Mod: BandText to Pan turns off DX,SWL,MEM spots on Pan to avoid mess
01/27/18 v2.8.0.66: Fix SWL Search mistake,Add color and transparency control for BandText in Pan (setup->Appearance->Display->Grid and BandText)
Add:Right click on VFO BandText area to toggle BandText in Pan on/off. Fix "rx only" checkbox
add 40m PSK to BandText (so Click on the setup->General->Options->Update BandText). Please email with any BandText additions or corrections
01/26/18 v2.8.0.66: Add Display "Panafall8020" (80%pan - 20%waterfall) for RX1 only. Add BandText directly onto Pan Display area (Spotter->BandText to Pan)
01/22/18: v2.8.0.65: Mod FT8 DX Spots move to the correct base FT8 Freq instead of the actual contact Freq. Update dxloc list to add Kosovo Z6 prefix and update SWL files
01/15/18: v2.8.0.64: Fix saving the current Meter type to the database.
01/13/18: v2.8.0.63: Fix combo SWR reading with no RF out
01/11/18 v2.8.0.63: Fix voice keyer buttons (issues that occured after adding the mode,freq,date,time to the quickaudio file name)
01/09/18 v2.6.0.62: For Flex-5000 with 2nd Receiver only: Add NR,ANF,NB, and DSP Windowing can now be applied to RX2 (checkbox allows you to turn ON/OFF apply)
01/06/18 v2.6.0.61: Add Screen Snap Shot feature. Click on the Camera Icon (just next to the ID Timer) to save a JPEG image of the Display Area (Panadapter and Waterfall area). Right Click on Camera to open up Folder "QuickScreen" containing the JPEG images. Setup->General->User Interface->Full Console allows you save the Full PowerSDR console image. Image names contain Mode, Freq, date, and time
If you want to email a screen shot, just right click on the Camera icon, start to COMPOSE your email and just drag and drop the jpeg image from the QuickScreen folder directly into your email. You can do the same with QuickAudioMP3 files, just click on the Wave button->MP3 folder, then drag and drop the mp3 file into your email.
v2.8.0.60: Add Right click on Map button for external map. Added CB channel numbers to SWL2 list
12/17/17 v2.8.0.60: Add: In AM mode, when you drag the RX bandpass from both sides of the center line to one side or the other of the center line, RX automatically switches to SSB mode while TX stays in AM mode
12/12/17 v2.8.0.59: Fix check for corrupt SWR1 plot file. Fix check for missing quickauido file.
12/09/17 v2.8.0.59: Fix NOAA SPWC space weather (Change From ftp to http )
11/29/17 v2.8.0.58: Fix a bunch of Bar Graph meter issues.
11/26/17 v2.8.0.58: Fix Playing QuickAudio over the air caused Receive audio to become distorted (after finished playing QuickAudio).
Fix SWR reading 25.0:1 when you MOX the radio with no output power. Now will read 0.0:1 to indicate no output. (original PowerSDR v2.7 only read SWR in TUNE mode)
11/26/17 v2.8.0.58: Fix Bar Graph 2nd meter (2nd TX of Bar Graph meter not hooked up)
11/25/17 v2.8.0.58: Add PTT hang timer (setup->general->Hardware Config->PTT Hang Timer). When Enabled, and you release the MIC, rear PTT, or CAT inputs, PTT delays release for set period of time (mSec) (MOX and VOX are unaffected). Update SWL listing.
11/12/17 v2.8.0.57: Fix RX1 Band buttons not set correctly when RX2 ON and in the SWL bands when RX1 on the Ham bands. Add option for TUN button to trigger TX3 RCA jack (setup->Transmit-> TUN uses TX3 jack) for Flex-5000 only.
11/07/17 v2.8.0.57: Fix 30m bandtext for US region. Fix CWX panel not working after its closed and reopened. Receive only mode (Checkbox) now looks at the PTT input (PTT CLOSED = PowerSDR STOP (NO RX OR TX), PTT OPEN = PowerSDR START in RX only). Words on the right side of the SWL Search screen are now Clickable.
10/30/17 v2.8.0.57: Add "SWL Search" to main PowerSDR console. Fix 17m SWR scanner LOW Freq. Fix Time Server (remove server that is no longer working)
10/24/17 v2.8.0.56: Update BandText for all Turf regions (add FT8 and JT65 Band Text for all regions, and 2m NoV band text for UK_Plus). BandText window is located just below the VFOA/B Freq display. You no longer need to Reset your Database to update the BandText. Setup->General->Options->Update BandText. This will update BandText to the latest PowerSDR ke9ns version defaults. Also option to Reset your BandStack back to defaults when you do an "Update BandText". Also, DX Spotter automatically selects DIGU when a Spotter Freq falls under an FT8 Frequency.
10/11/17 v2.8.0.55: Modify SWR band Scanner to allow up to 5 seperate recorded "Runs" per band per Ant. If you select "Panadapter" Mode, you can view up to 5 Scans at the same time. Panafall mode allows you to view 1 of the 5.
10/09/17 v2.8.0.54: Update F1 key help screen for SWR Scanner, Space Weather, ID Timer, and Map buttons. Fix Bar Graph meter for VHF S meter level, fix SWL 120m band issue, Added bandtext for FT8/JT65 windows (requires a setup->factory defaults). Update SWL (Short Wave) file from eibispace.de
10/07/17 v2.8.0.54: SWR band Scanner/Plotter/Logger for Flex-5000 & 3000 (see Scanner). Saves SWR band plots by Ant (for Flex-5000) and band. Add VHF S meter correction factor to Bar Graph meter.
09/30/17 v2.8.0.53: Modify weather popout, fix combo meter crash. Bar graph meter is available (left click on the upper meter to cycle through all meter movements)
09/15/17 v2.8.0.52: Add Local Weather flyout panel (North American only, for now). Click on Space weather panel to toggle Space Weather, Space Weather + Local Weather, or OFF. Click on Local Weather panel to turn OFF just Local weather. Data from forcast.weather.gov
Note: Local weather panel will only appear if the PowerSDR console is opened large enough to fit (i.e. space between the space weather panel and the VAC1 button) and the Lat and Long values are in North America.
09/07/17 v2.8.0.51: Firmware Update: fix Australia region 20m band issue (NOTE: These firmware updates will not effect radios programmed for MARS)
08/28/17 v2.8.0.50: Modify: When you activate RX2 and SPLIT mode together, the sub vfoa now defaults to the current vfoa frequency, then when you click VFO Sync on/off, the sub vfoa will again set to the current vfoa frequency.
08/21/17 v2.8.0.49: Update SWL.csv file and fix band text mistake for 31m band (requires a setup->factory defaults to see the new band text)
08/04/17 v2.8.0.49: Fix N1MM+ spectrum display not working when powerSDR console too small (or low res). PowerSDR console still needs to be open with Pan or Panafall turned ON (the PSDR console cannot be minimized). Setup->General->user Interface->N1MM
Fix: FT8 mode in Spotter automatically selects DIGU mode.
Update: SWL listings (from eibispace.de)
07/27/17 v2.8.0.48: Add (for the Flex-3000, 5000) Combo Meter to 2nd TX meter (Fwd Power, SWR, ALC, and MIC levels) with Peak-Hold function and Live MIC
07/25/17 v2.8.0.47: Fix D-FM mode. Remove HPF and open up LPF
07/21/17 v2.8.0.45: Firmware and software update: to add additional Turf (Australia) and modify IARU Region 2, in order to keep PowerSDR in Regional alignment with SmartSDR 2.0. You will be asked to update your Flex-1500,3000, and 5000 Firmware the first time you launch PowerSDR
07/18/17 v2.8.0.44: Modify Seperate Alt Tune Step ON checkbox for either PowerMate or FlexControl (setup->general->user interface->Alt tune step PowerMate and FlexControl). update SWL list (eibispace.de). update the DX spot cluster list (remove k1rfi.com)
07/08/17 v2.8.0.43: Add "Memory" screen UTC Start Time. You can now enter in a Start Time (for changing frequencies and/or recordings on a time schedule), in either Local Time or UTC time. (i.e. Enter in a Local time, and you will see the UTC time below. Or Enter in a UTC time and it will show the equivalent local time above it)
07/07/17 v2.8.0.43: Add another optional VFO Font (Outline version) setup->Appearance->General->Bold & Outline
06/29/17 v2.8.0.43: Output Panadapter to N1MM+ logger Spectrum window (setup->General->User Interface->N1MM). The only caveat is that the PowerSDR Panadapter or Panafall screen needs to be up and running in order for it to provide data to N1MM+ spectrum screen.
06/25/17 v2.8.0.42: Enable VAC2 for Flex 1500,3000, and 5000 without RX2 option. VAC2 on Flex-3000 and Flex-5000 allows the AF slider to change volume level.
06/23/17 v2.8.0.41: Add Time-Out Timer (setup->General->Hardware Config->Time-Out Timer). Cuts off Transmit if you exceed the Time-Out setpoint. Requires you to clear Pop-up Screen before allowing TX again.
06/16/17 v2.8.0.40: Add Phase invert function (setup->Transmit->Phase invert) for your mic audio. To see the difference set the Display mode to Panascope, and toggle the Phase Invert while you transmit
06/14/17 v2.8.0.40: Add: FM Data mode (experimenting). Toggle between FM and D-FM with Left Click of FM button. D-FM has a wider Deviation, removal of HPF, and lower pre-emphasis and de-emphasis. Setup->Transmit->FM Wide MIC checkbox (Uncheck to bypass MIC settings)
First work directly modifying DttSP. Also add the TX Profile to the CW panel
06/06/17 v2.8.0.39: Add: H3E modulation (experimenting). Transmit Single Side Band AM (full carrier single sideband). Toggle between SAM (which is really DSB-AM), SAM-L, and SAM-U modes. Also, Click on AM to toggle between DSB-AM, AM-L, and AM-U modes as well.
06/05/17 v2.8.0.38: Fix: Right Click on any DX Spot callsign found in the panadater to open up QRZ page.
Right Click on any Memory found in the Panadapter to open up any URL address that was placed in the Comments for that Memory.
Right Click on any SWL Spot found in the Panadapter to open up a Google Search window for that SWL spot.
Left Click + CTRL key will move the DX Spot, Memory, or SWL Spot into the Bandpass and setup the filters and mode.
05/30/17 v2.8.0.37: IDTimer: Left Click to start 10 min timer synced to next minute, but Left Click again to ID on the 10's (every 10 min Interval , synced to the hour)
05/23/17 v2.8.0.36: Fix Russian Turf TX issue. Update SWL (brought to you by: eibispace.de) and SWL2 files
05/19/17 v2.8.0.35: Add setup->display->vfo dials (mechanical dials), (as long as the horz res is > 1400) as an experiment.
05/08/17 v2.8.0.34: Firmware updates to the Flex-1500, 3000, and 5000 radios for band turf region updates and alignment to SmartSDR turf regions. If you recently Turfed your radio, you may need to reset your database setup-> factory defaults to see updated band text frequency data.
05/03/17 v2.8.0.33: Fix full installer crash because of incorrect PDF file copy over. Now running VS2017
05/01/17 v2.8.0.33: Fix saving and restoring PowerSDR console window in full screen mode (maximize)
04/26/17 v2.8.0.32: Modify ISS Tracking with Beam heading and Elevation (neg values = below horizon) to ISS from your Stations Lat/Long. With circle show approx coverage area. Left Click + CTRL key over ISS to move Antenna to Beam heading. Thanks to Don Cross for some of the routines I lifted from his web site.
04/23/17 v2.8.0.31: Fix ISS Tracking. Fix Moon tracking. Added Beam heading and Elevation (neg values = below horizon) to Moon (from your stations Lat/Long). Left Click + CTRL key on Moon to move Antenna to Beam heading. Fix Check for Updates link back to this web page.
04/22/17 v2.8.0.30: Add ISS Tracking (Needs Internet connection to get ISS data, Moon and Sun do not need Internet)
04/22/17 v2.8.0.29: Add Moon Tracking (with help from Paul Schlyter, stjarnhimlen.se/comp/tutorial.html) in addition to the Sun
04/18/17 v2.8.0.28: Add button to check for Software updates (to Setup and About screens). Fix: Turf Regions (realignment)
04/16/17 v2.8.0.27: Add: Flex-5000 & 3000 2nd TX Meter MIC mode is now Live during receive (make sure your not using the "Default" transmit profile), so you can check your MIC level before you transmit. Modify: SDRQuickaudio file name now adds Mode, Freq, Date, and Time to end of file name for .wav and .mp3 files but does not interfere with quick recordings or special quickaudio buttons . Update SWL.csv file (Donate to eibispace.de if you like the SWL listing)
If you updated to Windows 10 Creators Update Build 1703, there is now a Gamers Mode (Win + G keys). Click somewhere on a running PowerSDR console to put it in Focus, and hit Windows + G keys to activate. Click on the Settings wheel of the Gamer mode pop-up window and turn off the "Show Gamer mode" option and also click ON "User gamer mode for this game". Gamer mode is supposed to give higher CPU priority, but lets see if it helps PowerSDR???
04/11/17 v2.8.0.26: improve signal Ident
04/10/17 v2.8.0.25: SWL Spots now appear in RX2 as well as RX1
04/09/17 v2.8.0.24: Signal detection: Scanner->Sig Ident->ON. Just experimenting. Fix RX/TX text at the top of each meter.
04/03/17 v2.8.0.23: Update 2nd meter
03/31/17 v2.8.0.22: Update: selectable NIST time server list (top line of Spotter window), used when doing an Internet time sync from the spotter window. Force WWV Time sync to use 4096 RX buffer to properly detect wwv time ticks.
03/25/17 v2.8.0.21: Update to DXLOC.txt country list
03/24/17 v2.8.0.21: Fix mistake in low-high freq scanner step and speed.
Fix SWL list mistake and update SWL listings from eibispace.de
03/23/17 v2.8.0.21: Fixed 2nd meter not appearing at startup. Mod: "Scanner": can now stop the "Memory" scan and click on a memory shown in the list and go directly to that frequency. Fix: TX WaterID: add space between letters of your callsign to make it more readable.
03/20/17 v2.8.0.20: Modify Click on 2nd TX meter to toggle it up just below the 1st RX meter or normal bottom position. You can also go to setup->Transmit->Move 2nd Meter to change position of the meter. This makes it easier to see your ALC and power out at the same time. And new Sliders when using the ke9ns skins
03/19/17 v2.8.0.19: Modify: New sliders when using the ke9ns skins. Add Group name to scanner output screen. Fix: Time Sync via internet (when it gets delayed connected to NIST)
03/14/17 v2.8.0.18: Add: Update to Scanner button: MEMORY "GROUP" name scanner and BandStack memory scanner.
Scan your Frequencies from your Memory list by GROUP name, OR Scan your current BandStack, OR now by a custom list in a text file.
03/5/17 v2.8.0.17: Fix: updated the DXLOC list (missing a few countries callsigns) and updated SWL list from eibispace.de
Fix: Left click + CTRL on DX callsign in Panadapter, sets the Radio to that DX station Frequency, mode, split, just like clicking on a memory found on the Panadapter, and highlights that station in the DX Cluster spotter window to make it easy to find them (the Right side callsign + CTRL also sends Rotor command as well). See https://www.dxcluster.info/telnet/index.php for a list of clusters.
CTRL + Right Click on DX callsign in Panadapter OR
Right click on DX line in the Spotter window still opens up QRZ page for that DX station.
ADD Flex-5000: Display the current SWR, CAP, IND settings of the ATU. When the ATU is ON (hit the ATU button on the main console screen to engage the ATU), and you hit the "TUN check" button on the ATU screen, it puts the radio in TUN (at the powerlevel stated by the TUNE: slider), and it takes a new reading (FREQ, FWD,REF,SWR,CAP,IND) then unkeys the radio. Arrow buttons < > allow you to manually override and INC or DEC the CAP and IND values from 0 to 127. Note: This SWR is the AT-200 ATU tuners SWR meter and not the Flex SWR meter. If you change the CAP or IND values and go outside the set SWR threshold, you will need to reset the auto tune before you can change the CAP or IND values again.
02/25/17 v2.8.0.17: Add Post DX spot contact via the Spotter "Callout" button (i.e. Post your contact to the Dx cluster directly from PowerSDR)
Two ways to Post a contact: 1) Make a contact, type in the contacts Callsign in the "DX Callsign" box and hit Post, then confirm YES to the pop-up message box. 2) Select a DX spot from the DX Spotters list, make contact, then hit Post (leave the DX Callsign box alone), it will use the highlighted DX contact as the callsign. Within a few seconds (or 10's of seconds during a contest), you will see your post appear at the top of the DX Spotters window. The "Remarks" section will state the mode (LSB, USB, CWL, DIGL, etc.) and split (qsx freq if any).
Note: The DX Cluster must be active and running in order to Post to the Cluster. Also, your posting under your Callsign as the Spotter.
02/17/17 v2.8.0.16: Fix Ant Rotor function (sending commands to Rotor Port on DDUtil). Fix TxWaterID text mistake.
02/14/17 v2.8.0.15: Fix vhf/uhf selection in decimal comma Regions. Improve TX WaterID text and 24bit BMP image display
02/12/17 v2.8.0.14: Improvments to Waterfall Image feature: Add setup->transmit->Wider TX WaterID option. When enabled, the TX Waterfall Callsign ID (waterfall image) will transmit at the current TX Width (instead of the original 2.4khz). You may need to move your mouse over the callsign box to update your callisign image to your current transmit bandwidth. (Example: 4khz wide TX audio will transmit your Callsign ID into the waterfall 4khz wide.
01/26/17 v2.8.0.12: Fix Time button. Update NIST time server list
01/26/17 v2.8.0.11: Fix DJConsole A>B, A<B, A<>B functions to change mode,filter and vfo
01/25/17 v2.8.0.10: Fix Auto color correct the digital display (just above the analog meter) to match the background. Right Click on Meter to pullup meter color menu.
01/24/17 v2.8.0.9: Add graphic pointer option (just click on the RX1 meter itself to toggle between meters) or Right Click on CENTER button and select Meter tab. Fix 60m for Europe (lines and bandtext) Need to reset database to update bandtext.
01/22/17 v2.8.0.8: Add 2 graphic image options to the Analog meter face (setup->appearance->meters->Light Meter background or Dark Meter background), overrides the Low Color when either is selected.
01/19/17 v2.8.0.7: Fix 60m Region 1 bandtext, Add band edge markers to 60m lowest and highest points(even though there are channel markers within the 60m for every Region and Turf) ,
and correct transition frequencies between 60m ham band, and SWL bands 61m, 49m.
01/16/17 v2.8.0.5: Fix new AF/MON slider selection and Drive/Tune slider selection
01/12/17 v2.8.0.4:
AF and MON Volume Level Sliders:
Left Click on either AF: or MON: text to change the Slider to allow changing the value of either the Main
Volume control or Monitor Volume control
DRIVE and TUNE Power Level Sliders (with Lock feature):
Left Click on either Drive: or Tune: text to change the Slider to allow changing the value of either the
Main Drive control or Tune Drive control
Right Click on Drive: or Tune: text to toggle between Lock and UnLock. Be sure to preset the drive
levels for each band before locking. It will not prevent the levels from changing when you change bands.
Moved RX1 mute checkbox down next to RX2 mute
01/12/17 v2.8.0.2: Temp color match Flex colors
01/11/17: v2.8.0: Change name from current T12 to v2.8.0. Create a Full Stand Alone PowerDSR ke9ns v2.8.0. Self contained Installer file contains NET 4.5.2 and VC Runtime distribution files as well as all drivers, firmware and software needed, without the need for a prior 2.7.2 install.
Modified PowerSDR ke9ns v2.8.0 to create new 2.8.0 database & quickaudio folders, but copy over the contents of the 2.7.2 database and quickaudio folders, so if you have a prior installation, you wont lose anything.
Fixed: CWX panel issue closing with poll cw key checked.
01/08/17 T12: Add: Setup->Display->Spectrum Grid->Align->"S-Unit" mode (the Pandapter horizontal grid forms based on the S-Unit scale). Fix: MUTs left ON at power down,not highlighted when powered back on. Fix: Band UP/DOWN feature to add the SWL bands. Update SWL file from eibispace.de
01/06/17 T12: Add: Reply button to answer a call from a DX station with your callsign (voice or cw)
Add: CQCQ button to make a CQ call (like for example: during a contest). CQ CQ DX DE <yourcall>
Use Wave->Reply and Wave->CQCQ to start/end both audio
recordings
Add: Northwest Research Associates Space weather services Effective SunSpot number "ef" to the space weather panel. This number is determined from ionospheric mid-latitude foF2 observations, as opposed to the SunSpot number "ss" which is optical.
Add: Turf designation to the end of the serial# on the top line of main console window.
01/05/17 T12: Add: 5 sec Popup timeout to ID Timer Popup window (checkbox on popup window). Add "Call CQ" button. Use the Wave->CQCQ button to record a CQ recording.
01/04/17 T12: Firmware update for the Flex-1500,3000, and 5000 models to add the "IARU Region 1" 60m band to Europe. Band Text for the new 60m segment has also been added.
NOTE: This firmware will not disrupt any prior TURFed settings like MARS or UK.
NOTE: This firmware will not prevent you from running the basic original Flex 2.7.2 PowerSDR
First time your run T12, PowerSDR will ask you to allow the firmware upgrade. Say Yes.
If you are in IARU Region 1 with the new 60m addition, you will need to do a setup->factory defaults to reset the database in order to see the band limits.
The First time you run T12 Windows may
popup a Firewall block access message, make sure to allow access, otherwise you will not be able to DX spot, or get solar weather.
Add: In "Wave" menu: add 3 Buttons to help record Voice to IDTIMER.wav, CW to IDTIMERCW.wav, or CQ call to CQCQ.wav
So you will not need to manually rename files to use with the ID timer.
Voice ID: Click the button, record your voice id, Click to save IDTIMER.wav file automatically overiding any previous IDTIMER.wav file.
CW ID: Change over to CW mode, Click the CWX panel, type your call sign into one of the macro boxes, Click the Wave CW ID button, Click the the macro box with your callsign, when done Click to save IDTIMERCW.wav file.
01/02/17 T11: Fixed GrayLine (again). Fixed: Wheel Tune didnt work when the mouse was over the date/time/cpu panel. Now it does.
01/02/17 T11: Revised Operation of the ID Timer:
Station ID Timer (10min):
LEFT Click on the “ID Timer: OFF” (just above the PowerSDR clock). This will start the 10 min countdown timer (synced to the nearest minute, so the first go around may be less than 10 min). When the counter reaches 0, “TIME TO ID” will flash.
Right Click on the “ID Timer: xx” toggles between:
Voice timer “voID Timer: xx“: Transmits an audio file with your voice called IDTIMER.wav
CW timer “cwID Timer: xx”: Transmits an audio file with CW recorded, called IDTIMERCW.wav
Waterfall ID Timer “wfID Timer: xx”: Transmits your Callsign, that you type in the TXwaterID box found on the top line of the PowerSDR console. Make sure this box is Green.
So at the end of the count down, in addition to the “TIME TO ID”, it will transmit 1 of 3 files.
TO Record your IDTIMER.wav or IDTIMERCW.wav file: You must have wave->Quickaudio save folder enabled, then Check the “Rec/Play ID” box, hit the REC button and record your ID message, hit the REC button a 2nd time to end your message. Right Click on the PLAY button and right click on the newest file created and rename to IDTIMER.wav. After you rename the file, select IDTIMER.wav and click OPEN.
You now have a permanent ID message. NOTE: this will work for recording a CW message. If you put the Flex into CW mode, hit the REC button and tap out your callsign (or use the CWX panel), then hit the REC button again when its done sending your call, then put the Flex back into SSB. Rename this file IDTIMERCW.wav.
12/30/16 T11: Fix RX2 panafall mode display. Fix MON: slider not remembering volume level when using PLAY button.
12/29/16 T11: Fix: AF: Slider not going into MON: slider when using the PLAY button
12/28/16 T11: Add: ID Timer Audio output option:
YouTube Video Describing RevT11 (ID TIMER): https://www.youtube.com/embed/-KSlMNyN8U0
12/27/16 T11: Fix: ID Timer Popup Window can be moved anywhere and will remember position permanently. Add: Mouse wheel Click on TUN button will open Setup->Transmit window.
12/26/16 T11: Fix Adjust VFOA/B locations to allow for smaller console size. Add FlexControl text to Setup->General->User Interface, for Alternate Tune Step Rate.
12/23/16 T11: Fix: No CAT when Display was turned OFF. Fix: voacap map stop updating when spotter form closed.
12/22/16 T11: Add: FlexControl can now use the seperate Tune Step (setup->general->user interface->Powermate->Independent check box). This way the Main console TuneStep can be used for the Mouse Wheel, and the other TuneStep for the Flexcontrol (or PowerMate knob)
Add: Map menu button (top bar in PowerSDR), to toggle the Tracking map on/off directly
Add: S Signal scale appears on Right side of Panadapter (when the dBm are set to appear on the Left or Auto). Remember if you set the "AVGp" button for the Panadapter, the S readings on the Panadapter will not be the same as the Meter (unless you select Avg for the Meter as well) . Add: IARU Region 1 for the WRC-15 allocation (5351.5 - 5366.5Â kHz). You would need to create a new database file. This does not open the Flex radio itself, just PowerSDR. Its up to Flex to provide the Turf File for the IARU Region 1 radios.
12/21/16 T11: Add: Pop up box for "Time To ID" that goes away after 5 seconds (or clicking OK). Right Click on ID Timer to add TXWaterID transmit when its time to ID.
12/18/16 T11: Add: 10min Station "ID timer" (in the date and time panel). Click to Start timer. Flashes the ring color when its time to ID and repeats every 10 min.
YouTube Video Describing RevT11 (BandStack,Pulser): https://www.youtube.com/embed/uruyOtyLRvM
12/15/16 T11: Add: Optional Bold/Oblique Swis721 font for the VFOA/B (setup->Appearance->General->VFO->Bold Font VFO
12/14/16 T11: Add: Right Click on BandStack indicators (next to TuneStep) and BandStack flyout panel directly into right side of Pandapter area. Left Click opens up a seperate Bandstack window (as was done previously)
12/12/16 T11: Fix: BandStack: ADD,SORT,DEL buttons. Can add up to 12 freq / band
12/10/16 T11: Add: Grabs NWRA.com Effective SSN (SSNe) for use in voacap progagation mapping. Also attempts to compensate for large K index values by reducing contour signal strength. Also, Larger VFO Freq display.
12/10/16 T11: Add more visual updates to main console screen.
12/06/16 T11: Fix: DX Spotter window now highlights the last selected DX spot (from either the click in the spotter window or red dot)
12/05/16 T11: Fix: prevent ATU start while in Pulser Tune mode (atu can be on, just dont want it to try to find a match while in Pulser mode).
Transmit on VFOA or B causes ring around VFO to change to RED.
12/03/16 T11: Add: VOACAP optional Contour plot lines (using C/Fortran code by Paul Bourke). Add: Can now choose the accent color around the VFOA/B and Meters.
12/01/16 T11: Add: BandStack window, Delete entries using Mouse Wheel Click, Sort list with Sort button (low to high freq)
11/30/16 T11: Improve Pulser function (more accurate and stable). Improved visual changes to VFOA/B and Meters.
11/28/16 T11: Work on VFOA/B panels. Update SWL file from www.eibispace.de. Move VOACAP map in front of Grayline map.
11/27/16 T11: Fix: Mouse digit select, on VFOA & B (because I had enlarged the VFO numbers previously)
11/25/16 T11: Add: TUN button: Right Click to toggle TUNE button between TUN = Standard continuous wave TONE, and TUNs = Pulser TUNE mode. Go to Setup->Transmit and select pulses/second and duty cycle of pulser. Not as precise as using the cwx, but doesnt require a mode change.
DRIVE Level Lock: Right Click on DRIVE: text (just above the drive power level slider) to LOCK = RED or UNLOCK = WHITE Drive level (as well as the TUNE drive level). Be sure to preset the drive levels for each band before locking. It will not prevent the levels from changing when you change bands.
11/23/16 T11: Add: HttpServer Advanced Mode allows Frequency, Band, Mode, Filter remote selection as well as Pan display, brought to you by Nick RN3KK (note: this is currently not password protected)
11/22/16 T11: Fix: VOACAP map. was using wrong S unit scale (dBM, but voacap is dBW). Also map changes with Mode: CW vs SSB vs AM, because CW requires less signal strength for a contact.
11/18/16 T11: Fix: Voacap crashing below 1mhz and also not updating immediatly with direct freq entry or swl list selection
Fix: When in MUTs AF slider not adjusting volume for your Headphones.
11/16/16 T11: Add: Watts slider for VOACAP (adjustable from 1watt to 1500watts)
11/15/16 T11: Fix WWV time decoder not reset filter back to original size when decode ends.
11/15/16 T11: MUT button:Â Right mouse click on MUT button to toggle between Muting all sources or Muting just the speaker (not the headphones, and not VAC1). “MUT” = standard mute, “MUTs” = mute speaker only.
11/15/16 T11 Fix: fix VOACAP not reading frequency correctly for certain "regions". Fix: Voacap using SFI based SSNf, with TX power reductions based on value of K index. Add: Beam ant option to voacap vs dipole
YouTube Video Describing RevT11 (VOACAP): https://www.youtube.com/embed/nBkeqs9No2E
11/14/16 T11 Add: VOACAP Propagation prediction from your transmitter location: Using Date, Time, SunSpot#, Frequency, and selecting your Lat & Long location using a Dipole @ 1500 watts, a SdB propagation map is created and presented onto the “Track”ing World Map. Dots represent the Signal strength of a person at that location (around the Dot) trying to Receive your Transmission. Small Gray Dot=S1-S2. Small Orange Dot=S3-S4, Med Yellow Dot=S5-S6, Large Green Dot = S7-S8, Large Gray Dot = S9-S9+. The SunSpot# will only work when you activate the PowerSDR console Space Weather (lower Left side of screen). Might try converting Dots to Contour lines?. I install a seperate copy of Greg Hand's compiled version of NTIA's / ITS Voacap Fortran program. Works up to 30mhz.
Added a Red Star to indicate your Stations Location on the world map, based on your given Lat and Long values.
11/11/16 T11: Fix: Grayline issue. Update SWL file (from eibispace.de)
11/08/16 T11: Fix: WWV Radio Time/Date Decoding now working for Flex-1500 as well as 3000, and 5000
11/07/16 T11: Add: Griffin PowerMate USB Knob: Now can have its own adjustable tune step rate (apart from the MouseWheel and keyboard). setup->General->User Interface->Independent. Updates to SWL and SWL2 files
11/06/16 T11: Fix: Added "Day of year" to WWV decoder reception. This is required to get the Date correct when the time is updated to your PC.
Fixed "Beacon chk" and "Time Sync" not allowing dx spotting to reappear back in the spotter windows when you turn the "Beacon chk" back off, or as soon as "Time Sync" is done.
11/05/16 T11: Fix Time Sync Internet NIST locking up on a failed connection.
11/02/16 T11: Added simple Goertzel Tone detection to WWV time decoder (provides better S/N ratio). Only issue is 100 hz required sample time needs to be a little longer than a 2048 192k SR, so automatically set SR to 96k during WWV time decoding. Frequency, Filter, SR, Buffer parameters are saved during the decode and restored after the decode is done. NOTE: PowerSDR must be running in ADMIN mode to allow PC time to update.
Youtube Video describing the Time Sync Function: https://www.youtube.com/embed/p-5wKRw2xdY
To update your PC time using Radio WWV time: Check "Use WWV HF" box and click "Time Sync" button and watch the Spotter window for the decoding process. This can take up to 1.5 minutes, if you just missed the start of the last minute. Watch the "Tone" indicator to make sure it is following what you are hearing as far as the Ticking sound of WWV. If the Tone indicator is not following, then the Signal strength of the sub-carrier is too weak, signals are fading, or a storm is disrupting.
To update your PC time using Internet NIST: just click on the "Time Sync" button (without the "Use WWV HF" checkbox). Decoding process takes milliseconds.
Fixed: Upated to latest SWL.csv file and Fixed another SWL display and listing issue.
Fixed: Full duplex with TX on VFOB keeps the AF slider as AF (except if you have the MON enabled, then the slider changes to the MON AF setting as it should). And now RX1 Mute checkbox works in full duplex with VFOB set to TX.
10/30/16: T11: Started work on my very first decoder. WWV BCD time coded sub-carrier. This current version uses signal strength and simple filters,so it doesnt work well (needs to very strong and clean WWV).
10/25/16 T11: Fix mistakes in the SWL "day & Time" checking. Fix mistakes in the Beacon scanner.
10/22/16: T11: Add: NIST Time Sync Button to Spotter window. NOTE: You must Launch PowerSDR in ADMIN mode in order to allow the "Time Sync" button to update your PC time. To Permanently set ADMIN mode, right click on the T11 Icon then: Properties->Compatibility->"Run this program as an administrator". You must also have Internet to connect to NIST. This is useful for the Beacon Scanner, WSJT & WSPR and any program requiring your PC to have accurate time.
Fix: Save the last Beacon Signal readings, Until you start a new 3min or 15min scan.
Youtube Video describing the Beacon Scanner: https://www.youtube.com/embed/tJBvmF5t9zc
10/20/16 T11: Fix: Can now leave DX spotter running while checking Beacons (it just hides the dx spots, until you switch beacon off)
10/19/16 T11: Improve Fast Beacon Scanner (1.25second per beacon) and map display
10/18/16 T11: Fix Grayline (when entire top artic area stays in dark)
10/16/16 T11: Add Experiment:NCDXF Beacon Scanner:
This feature gives you a direct method of determining radio wave propagation conditions(i.e. band conditions) for the 20m,17m, 15m,12m, and 10m bands. A System of 18 stations, around the world, transmitting (24hrs / day) in 10 second intervals on 5 frequencies (5 separate stations simultaneously) on 14.1mhz, 18.11mhz, 21.15mhz, 24.93mhz, and 28.2mhz. (Repeating every 3 minutes).Your PC clock must be accurately set to make sure PowerSDR matches up with the Beacon stations.
Under the “Spotter” window is a “Beacon Chk” button with Fast & Slow Scan options. You will see a list of Beacon stations (upper left corner) and the current 5 stations transmitting). With “Map Calls” checked, you will see all 18 stations (and each of their 5 frequencies).
Slow Scan: Starts on 14.1mhz beacon and listens for 3minutes (1 complete loop) for 18 stations and records their signal strength, then moves to 18.11mhz, and so on, until 28.2mhz. 15 minutes total time. You can select the starting band 1 through 5. 1=14.1mhz up to 5=28.2mhz
Fast Scan: Scans through all 5 Beacon frequencies (1 second per beacon) in a single 10 second interval, and records the signal strength on each frequency. It repeats this quick 5 frequency scan 18 times to get a complete Beacon map in 3 minutes, but is not as accurate as the Slow Scan.
You might notice a startup lag (of up to 10 seconds) because PowerSDR needs to be in perfect sync with the Beacon stations.
Colors On the World Map: Gray = Not scanned yet. Violet = Currently Scanning, Red = Not detected, Yellow=Not detected/Weak, Orange=Light, Green=Strong.
On the SPOTTER window: All 18 stations x 5 frequencies are listed (total of 90 entries)
As the stations and frequencies are scanned, signal data is added to the SPOTTER entries.
-NA dBm = Not Scanned yet. S9 -018dBm = S9 signal level, but only -18 dBm above the noise level.
See https://www.ncdxf.org/beacon/index.html for further details
10/12/16 T10: Fixed SWL/SWL2 merge mistake. Updated SWL.csv file and SWL2.csv files adding HFDL, ALE, DSC, Maritime channels, and NXDXF Beacons to the list.
10/11/16 T10: Add: Automatic Antenna Control: Setup->CAT Control->Enable Rotor. You must select 1 side of a virtual COM port pair. The other side of the COM pair connects to DDUtil. DDUtil will automatically convert the beam heading into the proper format for your Rotor control.
Left Click on the BEAM HEADING of a DX spot in the Spotter window to Move Antenna
OR, Left Click on the Right Side of a DX Spot + CTRL Key in the Panadapter to Move Antenna
In DDUtil open setup form->AntRtr and setup your antenna Rotor control(s).
Then go to setup form->Ports->RCP1->Rotor Port and the “Other side” of the COM pair from PowerSDR.
YouTube Video Describing RevT10 (Rotor Control): https://www.youtube.com/embed/8hAMc_WUa2Q
10/08/16 T10: Fix: SWL daysofweek mistake
10/07/16 T10: Add: Http Server now streams live Display with no special commands or special setup. Setup->User Interface->Active. Open your web browser to https://localhost:8081/ to stream Display. Refresh rate sets the update time in msec. Still experimenting. Thanks to help from Nicholas RN3KK 10/06/16 T10: More fixes to SWL Spotter to reduce clutter.
10/05/16 T10: Fix: SWL Spotter now looks at DayofWeek to remove duplicate spot on panadapter display.
10/03/16 T10: Fix: Mininum size for windows (like the Memory or Spotter windows) no longer 0, so they wont disappear on you.
Fix: HttpServer no longer requires anything special (other than a "Port Forward" in your router only if you want outside access). Thanks to help from Nicholas RN3KK (user name and password not active at the moment). If the Httpserer checkbox is active, use: https://localhost:8081/image
10/02/16 T10: Add: if Wave->"QuickAudio Save Folder" box is checked,MP3 Quickaudio files now goes into QuickAudioMP3 folder instead of the QuickAudio folder (which contains just WAV files).
Fix: MP3 option (both Schedule and QuickAudio) set Wave to POST 48kSR during recording, and set back to original settings when done with recording.
Fix: Flex Temp & Volts now in its own thread.
10/01/16 T10: Add: MP3 option (Wave->QuickAudio CreateMP3 checkbox) to save an MP3 of each QuickAudio file (makes it easy to message or email your friends a copy of their audio recording)
09/29/16 T10: Fix Allow FlexControl to run VFOA slider.
09/28/16 T10: Experimenting Add: HttpServer. Setup->General->User Interface->HttpServer. Setup Port# and UserName and Password.
Example: If you use Port 8081 and want to remotely access, you must "port forward" port 8081 to your PC running PowerSDR.
Now you can use a web browser to view the PowerSDR Display window. https://localhost:8081/image Hit F5 to refresh for now.
09/27/16 T10: Fix: SWL listing screen, now that the list is larger. Fix: forgot to include dll's in installer for the mp3 creation. Fix scheduler mistake (losing data)
09/26/16 T10: Add: SWL2.csv short wave listing file. This gives the ability to add SWL or Utility frequecies not in the SWL.csv file provided by eibispace.de. For this first round I have added HFDL digital frequecies. Download the free PC-HFDL to decode the data streams. PowerSDR stitches the SWL.csv and SWL2.csv file together when you activate the SWL spotter.
Email me and let me know of any SWL or HF Utility frequencies not found in the current list, and I can add them. Between the SWL.csv and the new SWL2.csv files PowerSDR T10 will have a more complete list of signals outside the Ham bands (even if many signals cannot be decoded unless your part of the government).
YouTube Video Describing RevT10 (Beam Heading): https://www.youtube.com/embed/AOEclAFXI0s
09/25/16 T10: Add: Beam Heading added to both Spotter window and Tracking Screen. Put in your Lat/Long into the boxes next to your callsign on the Spotter screen. Checkbox to have them show up on the Map or just the Spotter window. When Tracker is enabled: Left Click on Display somewhere and hit SHIFT key to see the Lat/Long grid map to help you determine your Lat/Long. Enlarge VFOA/B even more
09/23/16 T10: Add: MP3 output of scheduler/recorder files. Much more compact file size. Easier to email or IM to someone. Still uses WAV for all other recordings (the standard WAVE and QuickAudio files)
09/20/16 T10: Add: My first attempt at a Sliding VFOA (i.e. the VFOA slides around a stationary display, instead of the normal display sliding under the VFOA bandpass ). Left Click the "PAN:" text button to activate (turns Red). Works, but needs more work. I am trying not to break anything while adding this feature.
09/14/16 T10: Fix: reduce Scheduler Recording SR down to 48k automatically to reduce .wav file size. Fix issues with clicking on memory column headers or starting with an empty memory file. Fix: If PowerSDR was Stopped when recording started, PowerSDR will Stop again after the recording is done. Now at 48k SR, it will be around 600mb/30minutes of recording. Persistance in clicking temp/volts, space weather, dx spotter NA or exclude NA. Working on adding an MP3 output to save more space.
YouTube Video Describing RevT10 (Scheduler): https://www.youtube.com/embed/JtKY6lwMTVY
09/12/16 T10: Add: Memory Event Scheduler / Recorder (modifies your memory.xml file by adding Memory/Frequency Scheduling, but makes a mem.bak backup first). Will change frequency and mode (based on Memory) either Weekly, or once a Month, and optionally Record Audio, for a specific Duration (in minutes)
09/09/16 T9: Slight enlargement of the VFOA and VFOB frequency displays
09/08/16 T9: Slight width enlargement of the Analog Meters
09/07/16 T9: Add: Auto Panadapter Scaler: Left Click on the "Zoom" slider text to toggle between Small signal (RED) and Standard signal Scales (WHITE). Small signal scale is based on the maximum strength signal present when you click on "Zoom"
09/06/16 T9: Fix Installer. Abandoned the microsoft installer for the very nice "Advanced Installer", BUT you will need to do an windows Control Panel UNINSTALL of any PowerSDR RevT9 if you previously installed T9 with the older Microsoft Installer I was using before.
09/04/16 T9: Fix 6m lower band edge for UK (was 50.08, now 50.00)
09/02/16 T9: Add: Lat/Long indicators on Sun Tracker World map. Tap Shift button (with the Main PowerSDR window in Focus) to toggle Lat/Long on/off (along with toggling between DX and Spotters call signs on the panadapter). includeds E,W,N,S as well as - / + indicators
09/01/16 T9: Fix: Space Storm indicator on sun tracker when Console space weather is not active
08/31/16 T9: Fix: Allow VAC1 to stay active if in Full Duplex mode and TX on VFOB and "Auto Mute RX1 on VFO B TX" unchecked.
08/28/16 T9: Fix: Add code from W0DHB to prevent changing TX filters, in FM mode, when VFOB TX is selected
08/26/16 T9: Fix: DDS increment size reduced
08/24/16 T9: Fix: When you minimize a window, you can now bring it back up from the same button that opened it in the first place, instead of findinig in the windows Tray to open it up again.
08/21/16 T9: Add: SWL list screen showing currently operating stations by frequecy and is searchable by name (example: type fax, shows all currenly operating fax frequencies). You must first go to the Spotter screen and turn on the SWL spotter: "Spot SWL" and then "SWL list"
YouTube Video Describing RevT9 (SWL Search): https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cv-Jm2j3jw8
08/17/16 T8: Fix: Bandstack memory LOCK feature (wasnt working)
YouTube Video Describing RevT8 (BandStack): https://www.youtube.com/embed/1JHV_CDQwIU
08/16/16 T8: Add: Bandstack memory LOCK feature (RIght Click on Bandstack Memory to toggle LOCK/UNLOCK)
Fix: Highlighting the current Bandstack memory. Update DXLOC.txt and SWL.csv files
08/04/16 T8: Fix: "Auto Wter/Pan Lvl" not working correctly when in straight Panadapter mode.
08/03/16 T8: Add: "Auto Wtr/Pan Lvl" button changes to BLUE with a LEFT CLICK and RED with a RIGHT CLICK
08/01/16 T8: Add 25mhz WWV to bandstack (CTRL + Right Click on the WWV button to add).
Fix: Prevent a PSDR crash when quickly clicking between CW message queue's.
07/20/16 T8: Clean up the bandstack routine, remove the powermate trace, clean up the space weather routine.
07/20/16 T8: Fix: space storm indicator. Change Wave audio to "Post" when the Rec/Play ID checked.
07/18/16 T8: Add: Estimated International Sunspot Number to main console window (updated at top of every hour)
YouTube Video Describing RevT8 (Space Wthr): https://www.youtube.com/embed/5xjzl5IkiJg
07/17/16 T8: Fix PowerSDR not closing properly
07/14/16 T8: Fix: CW Speed WPM syncs between the console window and CWX. Add: CW Key Poll feature. When Checked, allows your CW Key to interrupt a CWX transmission (both memory and keyboard), not just the ESC key.
Add: K-Index to space weather on the main console window.
07/13/16 T8: Fix: space weather not updating on the hour.(cross your fingers)
07/12/16 T8: Fix 10m bandstack causing crash. Fix: geo storm ind.
07/11/16 T8: Add: NOAA Space weather added to main PowerSDR console (just below date/time). Updates once per hour.
07/10/16 T8: Fix: RX1 mute feature (deactivate when RX2 turned back off). Fix Geo storm indicator.
07/08/16 T8: Add: Geomagnetic storms level to sun tracker SFI and A index readings. Already had Radio Blackout levels.
07/05/16 T8: Add: BandStack Panel. Left click on either Band Stack indicator (just to the right of the big "Restore" button at the top center of the PowerSDR). When the Panel is open, you can Left Click on any Frequency in the Band Stack and go directly to that Frequency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEQ2bzZn4bQ
07/02/16 T8: Add: RX1 Mute checkbox appears only when RX2 enabled. This allows RX1 to be Muted, still hear RX2, but still send RX1 VAC to your PC. Update to the current latest SWL.csv file
07/01/16 T8: Fix: had accidently had TXwaterID level output set too high
06/26/16 T8: Requires vcruntime140.dll for 64bit machines. this version installs it. If that doesnt do it, download the Microsoft installer: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145
06/24/16 T8: Add: PowerMate directly into PowerSDR (instead of using an external program). See Setup->General->User Interface->Active to activate PowerMate for changing frequency (currently based on the Tune Step). You can adjust the speed.
Tap Knob to cycle through Tune steps: 100hz, 250hz,500hz,1khz
If RIT is Enabled, the Knob changes the RIT value (Tap to Zero the RIT)
Also decided to just include DJConsole instead of compiling a seperate version with and without it.
06/15/16 T7: Add: Allow SWR in all modes instead of just Tune (for the 3000,5000)
06/12/16 T7: Fix MUT button function when using TUN button (caused by me reducing the TUN volume when in MONitor mode)
06/09/16 T7: remove space beteween meter and digital value. Update SWL.csv
06/08/16 T7: remove lines around meters and frequency. Lets see what happens.
06/05/16 T7: Fix: Allow RX2 meter on low res 1366 x 768 displays, but you must also activate "Auto-Hide the taskbar" to get maximum available vertical pixels available. Right click on the task bar ->properties->Auto-hide the taskbar.
YouTube Video Describing RevT7 : https://www.youtube.com/embed/635dur8SoKo
06/04/16 T7: Fix: RX2 RX meter when TX 2nd Meter Active is checked.
06/02/16 T7: Add: Use the RX2 meter for optional 2nd TX meter (i.e. TX meter = ALC, and TX 2nd meter = Fwd Pwr). Go to Setup->Transmit->"TX 2nd Meter Active" checkbox to activate feature. TX2 has all the same meters as TX1. Works with the Flex1500,3000,5000
Bypassed if you have a RX2 installed and the Auto Bypass RX2 is turned off.
05/19/16 T6: Fix: Panadapter Memories text wont overlap DX or SWL spot text. Fix: Extended Expert antenna function not selecting SWL ant.
05/18/16 T6: Add: MultiRX auto reset checkbox in setup->Display. When checked, Zero's MultiRX when button pressed to turn ON.
05/12/16 T6: Update SWL.csv file. Add ke9ns skins
05/11/16 T6: Add: Display "Memories" to Panadapter option in Spotter window. If you see a Memory displayed in the Pan, Left Click Mouse on Memory + CTRL key to change all parameters to that Memory. OR
find a new Signal you want to save as a Memory: then ALT & M keys to save a new "Memory" and the Pan will automatically reflect the update.
Fix: shut down waterfall when radio off and in Track mode. Allow up to 15k wide RX only (experimenting)
YouTube Video Describing RevT6 : https://www.youtube.com/embed/uPTpZCXCFw0
05/02/16 T5: Add: Slider offsets for the Auto Water and Auto Pan. Under Setup->Display.
Moved Hero's Menu item, over to the right a few spots to help allow Spotter Menu button room on small Displays.
Update to SWL.csv file. Update to DXLOC.txt file
04/30/16 T5: Fix: Exclude NA Spotters. Fix: Panfill alpha. Update DXLOC.txt file
04/29/16 T4: Fix: Color selection for Analog Meter and Edge meters.
04/27/16 T4: Fix: prevent crash if NOAA ftp site cant be opened.
Fix: MON turns on when in CW mode (if Sidetone is on), but wasnt turning back off in when changing back to other modes if you originally had it off.
04/26/16 T4: Add/Fix: cursor position freq offset, pan (dbm), cursor position waterfall history (seconds), Freq, now correct for rx1 and rx2
Fix: increase font size of dx cluster information. Fix DXLOC.txt
04/24/16 T3: Fix: missing callsign warning in DX spotter
Add: Panadapter color select and transparency of Pan Fill
04/23/16 T3: Fix: DX spot "age" routine, which wipes your dx spot list. (base 60 issue)
04/22/16 T2: Fix: MultiRX now starts syned up to VFOA ( syncs either VFOB or VFOASUB (if RX2 enabled)) so the blue window now always starts on top of the main VFOA.
This is a successful Spot DX launch
04/20/16 T1: Add: save multiple DX cluster:port data
Fix: waterfallgrid freq #s cutoff when in special panafall mode with a shortened screen.
04/1816 S12: Add NOAA Radio Blackout indicator to Sun tracker. Add inverted Analog meter.
04/17/16 S12: Fix: PowerSDR AppDataPath mistake
04/15/16 S12: Fix: crash caused by bad callsign or URL or port. Add Self-Extracting zip file for automatic install of PowerSDR Rev S12
04/14/16 S11:Fix: an issue that PowerSDR will crash when you hit the spacebar if the DX spotter is on, but nothing is in the dx list yet.
Fix: DXLOC.txt, Seperate out Australia into lat/lon areas
04/13/16 S11: Add: Right click on "Auto Wtr/Pan Lvl" button and auto correct the Panadapter Grid min level. Note: Flex did not store a seperate Grid MIN value for each band (like it did for the waterfall Low level value).
Fix: Meters not working when operating on Extended mode freq.
Fix: More DXLOC.txt updates
04/11/16 S10: Add: Click on any Red Dot on Map then hit CTRL button to go directly to DX Spot Frequency.
Fix: crash if you DX spot without copying over the DXLOC.txt file into the database folder.
Update DXLOC.txt file spots
04/09/16:S9: Fix DX mode parser not turned ON. Fix mistake if DX call prefix not found in the DXLOC.txt file. Fix DXLOC.txt file (some mistakes). You will need to copy over the DXLOC.txt file
Fix: 5kVU module now allows you to alter/save the LO
Error Khz setting (just like the external Xvtr's 2-15)
Fix: Map by Band now does show all spots on map for the entire band, not just your panadapter width.
Fix: SWL bands for those with extended capabilities
Fix: DXLOC.txt seperate out USA country into USA0-9
Fix: Deleting Freq from VFO entry causes crash
04/08/16 S9: Fix Mapping/Grayline code mistakes wasting too much cpu time.
Fix: turn off DX mapping if you dont have the DXLOC.txt file in place.
Fix if socket shuts down, you can get out of it without restarting PowerSDR. Fix certain freq spots where SWL spots disappear from screen. Update to latest SWL.csv and DXLOC.txt files.
04/07/16 S8: Add Ability to Filter out CW, Digital, or Phone DX Spots
Add Country to DX window. Fix DXLOC.txt file
04/06/16 S7: Fix: DXLOC.txt file
Fix: Brighten up the map slightly
Fix: Parse the Grid out of the comments for freq > 50mhz
04/05/16 S7: Add ability to log into Reverse Beacon Telnet cluster, like: telnet.reversebeacon.net PORT 7000
Fix: To avoid congestion only spots in your Panadapter will show up on the map (if selected)
Fix: SWL spotter loads instantly now.
Fix: Keyboard shortcut issue, caused by touching the waterfall ID callsign box.
Fix: mistakes in the DXLOC.txt file
Fix: Dont use reported spot UTC value, use your own UTC value for age determination (prevents spots from being wiped out)
Fix: Gridlines on/off not saving properly at powerdown when Track ON
Fix: Make special panafall waterfall area slightly smaller to view almost entire map
YouTube Video Describing RevS7 : https://www.youtube.com/embed/v5jl_ydjyuc
04/04/16 S7: Add Call signs OR Countries Directly to Map itself (in proper Lat/Lon position). Add Red dot(s) on map of countries in DX Spot list
Right Click on the Callsign window in PowerSDR to open the database folder. Now copy over the DXLOC.txt file (found in the ZIP file) to the database folder (drag and drop). Now you have the DXCC list of countries by prefix and lat/lon.
Its a work in progress.
04/03/16: Fix DX spot age
04/02/16 S6: Add: Special Panafall mode for Sun/GrayLine, 80% Pan, 20% Water only for RX1 (best of both worlds).
Fix: Sun/GrayLineOn its own Thread so DX spotting does not need to be on.
Fix: Recall color and alpha on startup for GrayLine.
Add: Grid lines turn off in Sun/Grayline mode, and turn back on when off
Fix: reduce thread cpu time.
Gray Line shows what is technically knows as Sunset (lighter area when the sun angle is greater than 90°) and Civil Dusk (dark area when sun angle is greater than 96°)
04/01/16 S5: Rework SUN/GRAYLINE code so it redraws into the background image instead of the display. This eliminates the CPU time wasting caused by adding items to the display code. The nice side effect is that everything drawn into the display automatically draws over the top of the GrayLine. Also doubled the resolution of the Gray Line for a better image.
ADD: GrayLine color and Alpha can be selected (right click on Center button).
New : SWL.csv file update from eibispace.de
YouTube Video Describing RevS5 : https://www.youtube.com/embed/3InG8QgMTIY
03/31/16 S4: Add: Gray Line option in the DX spotter (in addition to the Sun Track option).
Add: SFI and A-Index next to Sun (from daily NOAA space weather report)
Embedded an Equirectangular Projection map that automatically overrides your current image, when either Sun or Gray Line is enabled with DX spotting ON. You probably want to run this with Grid Lines Off. Again thanks to Dick W3WVG and Roland Leigh.
Fix: Darkened the night area more
03/29/16 S3: Add: Sun Tracker when using the "KE9NS6_World skin" (download from this page below) and only when the DX Spotter is ON. World skin I Photoshopped is a Robinson Projection that I darkened to allow for easier viewing of the Panadapter, however I scrunched it (vertically) to properly fit the Panadapter proportions. Lat and Long lines are all 15° spaced. The Sun image is embeded in PowerSDR and should track Lat based on the Day of the year and Long based on UTC (Right side is 2359 UTC , Left side is 0 UTC, Center is 1200 UTC). I will try to add Grayline. Work in Progress. If you resize PowerSDR window, it could take up to a minute before it does its next update and moves to the correct position on the map. I may need to change the map projection to make grayline easier. Received some Grayline help from Dick W3WVG and Roland Leigh
Fix: try to fix catching QSX or QRX splits
03/27/16 S2: Add: Adjustable TNF notch width (right click on TNF). Was 100hz. Now you can set up to 600hz. Instead of creating multiple TNFs to cover up a noise.
Also,
Factory Resets for NR and ANF settings.
YouTube Video Describing RevS1 : https://www.youtube.com/embed/fr523IwrApU
03/26/16 S1: Add Rec/Play ID checkbox: PLAY will Key radio and play last Audio recorded (or last audio file selected) and unkey when done.
REC will set Drive to 0, Key radio to record yourself.
Add: DX Spot Parser: parse out comments section and freq to determine Op Mode and Split (work in progress)
Add: DX spot age timer (on right side of DX Spot window). Fix DX spots update age better
Fix: ClickToTune feature not selecting the correct VFO when both RX1 and RX2 on. Fix when RX1 and RX2 both on but RX2 Display is OFF.
Fix: Rx2 Pan avg (when RX1 in Panafall) was not correct.
Fix: Allow DX spot window to grow if you stretch the window size.
Fix: Rx2 dislay off with mousewheel
Add: more Dx spot parsed modes: split,ssb,cw,am,fm, psk,rtty,olivia,sstv,packat,jt65,mt63,drm,
Add: click on Spot DX a 2nd time to close, but when you click again to reopen it will continue to use the old spots (you dont loose the last spots now) unless you change the DX cluster node
Add: Smother Dx window update screen.
Add: Pause dx window button
YouTube Video Describing RevR12 to R1: https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZmKDGKDfHbM
03/11/16 R12: Fix DX spotter timeout routine (was timing out wrong spots). Add more Right Click functions for the RX/TX EQ, NB,NR,ANL
03/22/16 R11: Fix Fix Grid display for over 50mhz. Fix Spotter issue after adding <> around Spotter
03/21/16 R11: Add SWL Spot hyperlinking to Google. Click on SWL Spot and hit the CTRL key to open up Google to search the SWL spot.
YouTube Video Describing RevR10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZbfIumET8
03/21/16 R10: Add: QRZ hyperlinking on DX spot on Panadapter (Click on the Call sign, then hit the CTRL button, or Hold CTRL + Right Click together). Add: Press Shift key to Show Spotters on Panadapter (toggle), release to go back to DX Spots
Fixed DX spotting (multiband issue). Add "Keep on top" to Spotter and Scanner forms. Fix dx spots correct freq on fractional khz. Change AF to MON when transmitting to make it clear the function of the slider has changed during transmit.
03/19/16 R9: Add: Right click on Transmit profile to open up Setup->Transmit panel
Add: Click on RX1 or TX or RX2 antenna display to open up Antenna panel
Starting to add a Band scanner. Uses Band you are currently on and starts with Default band edges, but you can override them. Stops when reaches High end or signal > Squelch
slider level (squelch does not need to be on). Fast scanning wont catch signals. need to keep it slow.
Work in progress. I want to use the waterfall history to detect signals to stop at instead of the squelch level.
03/17/16 R8: Add: Left click on any DX Spot in the text window and go to that frequency directly. Note use the top of your cursor as the point to the spot, I need to reduce the cursor size)
Add: Right Click on VAC buttons to open up VAC panel directly, and auto focus on I/Q checkbox [hit space bar to toggle on/off].
Redo socket stream reader.
Fix DX spot text window not removing dups.
03/17/16R7: Hopefully Fix correct reading TCPIP and Text file for Regional/Culture differences. Learn something new everyday.
03/16/16 R7: Add DX Spotting to RX2 as well as RX. Now you can click on the DX cluster status line "Spotting" to check if you still have a live connection. Fix mistake in exclude NA spotters. Add Grid square just below call sign for spots > 50mhz. Any Exception Faults will show up in the text window for diagnostics. Fix mistake that dropped first DX Spot when the 2nd was received.
YouTube Video Describing RevR6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Xuvn7-gII
03/15/16 R6: Fixed the CPU loading even after the SWL spotter finishes loading all 12k spots. A loose "Thread". No longer need the DX cluster name and dont need to worry if the Echo is on/off. Will show DX spots on 6m and Vhf and Uhf
03/15/16 R5: working on reducing the cpu load for the SWL spotter routine. Turn off SWL spot when transmitting. Turn off SWL spots over 30mhz. Its a work in progress. Note: currently DX cluster must have echo turned on to work.
03/13/16 R4: Add SWL Spotter using the CSV file downloaded from https://www.eibispace.de/. Rename the CSV file to: SWL.csv
(Please: If you like this feature you should consider a donation to eibi for the work creating this database file.)
SWL Spotter Still needs tweeking, but it works.
SWL.csv file is 12000 SWL records so it takes a while to read into memory, but it starts at 16khz and works up HF band, so the Panadapter will instantly show SWL spots that are on, and fills up the Panadapter starts in the LW and working up to 30mhz. It can take 1min to fully load. But many SWL stations are beaming to other parts of the world (this list has that information) so I need a way to remove spots that cannot be heard at your location.
YouTube Video Describing RevR3 to P3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOwYpAMm8S0
03/13/16 R3: Fix: Dx Spotter, checks for Spot dups (takes last unless same call on different bands then it leaves both), Freq dups (takes last spot), Spot timer (drops spot after 30min from the last spot of that particular station). Draw Vert lines first so Calls go over Vert lines..
Almost finished with SWL spots. Data now loads and is parsed ready to display.
03/12/16 R2: Add: NOT FINISHED: SWL spotter using https://www.eibispace.de/ who provides a SWL database in the form of a CSV datafile. You need to rename it SWL.csv. It checks the UTC time and Freq for a possible match on the Panadapter in the SWL bands. Fix DX dup inband outband. I think I have the DX Cluster formatexception crash under control?
03/11/16 R1: Add Spotter has its own window with spot to enter call sign, DX Spider node name, address, and port#
Newest Spots always remove older Dups in both Frequency and DX call. Added buttons to filter NA Spotters or exclude NA Spotters. Still working
LSB Bands show Spots on Left side of Freq line, USB Bands show Spots on
Right side of Freq Line.
Still trying to track down a FormatException error that can make PowerSDR crash (it crashes with causing any problems)
03/11/16 Q9: Fix DX spot is now the DX spot. Fix FILO buffer for 60 spots. Need to see if I can use a ring buffer for this instead?
03/10/16 Q8: Add DX Spots to panadapter (This is a rough working version of what I want it to do.) You can view all the spot from the Scanner button window still. I have a lot to fix, plus I want to add SWL to the spotter list. Currently after 100 spots, it resets the Panadapter but not the Scanner window. I lots of work to do (check for duplicates, call sign collisions on the screen, etc)
For the DX Cluster setup: The best thing to do in HRD (Ham Radio Deluxe) is to make sure your Call sign has logged into 2 different DX Spider nodes at least 1 time.
In HRD select node: spider.ham-radio-deluxe.com & Port 8000 and login at least 1 time.
Now In HRD go to View->DX Cluster->Options->Connections: Select another DX spider node (for example: K1RFI.com & Port 7300) and connect to it in HRD and then leave HRD set to that node.
Also, You can also setup both your DX Spider accounts to only show DX Spots that you want to see when your logged in, otherwise you may see many spot you dont want to see.
Now PowerSDR can use the
spider.ham-radio-deluxe.com"HB9DVR-9 as its DX spotter and it will not prevent you from using the HRD DX Cluster.
03/08/16 Q7: Add SWL bands to Antenna->Expert, Add: testing DX spotter:
First, your CALL SIGN must be in the "spider.ham-radio-deluxe.com"HB9DVR-9. Google for help.
But beware since I am using the HRD spotter, you cannot have the Spotter open in 2 places at the same time.
Enter your CALL SIGN into Setup->General->Options->Custom Title Text
Click on the Spotter button on the main screen to start the DX spotting.
Next Rev, the Spots will appear on the Panadapter by frequency and I will choose another DX spider.
03/07/16 Q6: Add: Add to Band Stack by <Ctrl> & Right Click on Band Button. Add: See Band stack "Index" and "Total" indicators under tune step.
03/06/16 Q5: Add: Drag/Drop File to Memory (copies the file name and location to memory). Right click to open file.
Add: click on Temp a 2nd time changes Temp C to Temp F
Fix VHF panel and VHF output due to mistake when adding SWL bands
YouTube Video Describing RevQ4 to P3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0GfHBjC1Zw
03/05/16 Q4: Add: Save and Recall a URL web address from your Memory list.
Save: Select a Memory, now use your mouse to, drag a browser URL address to the Memory window and Drop it anywhere. The URL is now added to the Memory you selected prior.
Recall:
Right Click anywhere on the Memory row to open a web browser to the saved URL for that Memory.
You can also Drag/Drop and create a new memory at the same time by Dropping the URL onto the ADD button
Fix: Tweek Signal calibration on TR7 signal meter.
YouTube Video Describing RevQ3 to P3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzc1tf24NBk
03/03/16 Q3: Add: QuickAudio PLAY File selection (if Wave->Quick Audio Save Folder is enabled). After you make at least 1 recording, RIGHT CLICK on the PLAY button and select the file you want to play (Clicking Cancel will set back to normal, playing last recorded file). Then PTT or MOX and LEFT CLICK to PLAY as normal. This way you can quickly make a bunch of recordings and then select any one to play back (easier than going through the Wave menu). Add: Frequency change automatically selects the proper Band button (HAM or SWL)
03/02/16 Q2: Add: QuickAudio Folder option (under Wave menu Item). When checked saves QuickAudio in QuickAudio subfolder and sequentially numbers files. Right Click on REC button to go to main folder. Add: add tooltip SWL data to new SWL bands.
03/01/15 Q1: Add: SWL Bands (under the GEN band button), complete with bandstacking for everyband: LW/MW, 120m, 90m,75m,60m,49m,41m,31m,25m,22m,19m,16m,13m,11m. Auto creates (Copies over your current working database into the new database) a new Database.xml with a RevQ in the name, and leaves your original database.xml file intact, so you can still run the old PowerSDR if needed. GEN SWL BAND buttons and panel, use the VHF BAND buttons and panel .png files.
02/28/16 P10: Continuum Display mode (Peak Power vs time) rx or tx, "Auto Wtr Level" changes to show span (in khz) of display used for Peak power calc. If you click the span khz it will restart the Display. Time stamps update every 5 seconds.
02/26/16 P9: Reduce MON audio level of the TUNE signal in your headphones (AF MON level / 8). Add: Continuum Mode to waterfall (not finished)
02/26/16 P8: Fix mistake in RX2 display (cpu time waster mistake).
02/25/16 P7:Fix TX panadapter min value. Forgot I never added a TX panadapter Low value, just a waterfall TX low value
02/25/16 P6: Fix: MON on/off with quickplay. Add: Toggle to turn on/off Panadapter Grid lines. Add Freq Scanner form page.
02/23/16 P5: Add: MON toggle between MONpr (Pre-Processed monitor) and MONps (Post-Processed monitor) for 3000 and 5000.
02/22/16 P4: Add: MON (pre-processed audio) to AM/FM for Flex1500 only in VAC mode though (not through the PHONES jack on the 1500).
02/20/16: P3: Add: MON (but pre-processed audio instead of post-prosessed) to AM/FM modes for Flex3000 and Flex5000.
Add: turn off DoScope() if your not actually using it to save cpu cycles
The MON is normally turned OFF for AM/FM modes. I enabled it for AM, but the MON output in the speakers, headphones, VAC is modulated AM (to the edge of the passband), this is because MON wants to use post processed audio. I will need to use pre-processed audio for AM/FM mode, so its not the audio you are transmitting, but at least the MON function works now.
YouTube Video Describing RevP2 to A1: https://www.youtube.com/embed/NCJqrKpf1gs
02/18/16 P2: Add: Auto Waterfall Transmit Low level adjustment. Key the radio and Click "Auto Wtr Level" to set Waterfall for transmit input level.
Fix: Waterfall only, not displaying correctly due to addition of avgP, avgB previously. Auto Wtr Level turns off if you just in panadapter mode.
02/18/16 P1: Add: Auto Waterfall Low Level Adjustment. Just click the "Auto Wtr Level" button below the display area.
02/17/16 O9: Fix: Found mistake in Source code when compiled under VS2015 caused the check for atu.dll to fail, so Flex3000 units were using OLD ANT Tuning algorithm. Also Dttsp.dll now is updated to current 2015 v140 toolset, hopefully no issues. I embeded vc_redist_x86 into the DttSP.dll.
02/16/16:
Figured out how to compile DttSP.dll under v140 platform toolset. Dumpbin showed v140 requires vc_redist.x86 since DttSP is a 32bit C application. Recompile DttSP.dll under C code generate runtime /MT (instead of /MD) will include all required DLL's
02/15/16 O8: Fix: Add toolTips to TXWaterID and Callsign box. Save the AvgP or AvgB settings in database.
Right Click on Callsign Box to open up Folder where you put your own bitmap files to send to the waterfall.
Right Click on the REC button to open up Folder where you will find SDRQuickAudio.wav files from your REC / PLAY use
Right Click on the your current skin (Setup->Appearance->General->Skins->current skin) to open the Folder to the SKINS
.
02/14/16 O7: Fix: Prevent (if you accidently hit the TX Waterfall ID with the Radio OFF) keying the Transmitter when the Radio is OFF (sitting idle)
02/13/16 O6: ADD: Flex3000 Now has 192k Sample Rate (you can view around 170khz on the screen at 1 time), in addition to the 10khz wide TX
02/13/16 O5: Fix: TX WaterID Now runs on its own background Thread (see video).Creates file when you change the Callsign text field.
02/12/16 O4: Fix: TX WaterID much faster to create image if running 96k or 192k Sample rates. Fix: Flex Audioplayer has a automatic resampler, but the code to make it work had some missing pieces, fixed the missing pieces, so now 48k waterfall resamples for 96k and 192k SR.
02/12/16 O3: Fix: TX WaterID labels: Creating->Transmit-Tx WaterID. Add Grayscale to database. Database name now: ke9ns1.dat
02/11/16 O2: ADD: Database to save mod settings: Callsign ID, Wide waterfall, etc.
02/11/16 O1: PowerSDR compiled under NET 4.5.2. PowerSDR.exe file slightly larger because Cdecl requires each function to have its own cleanup code. The Downside is that you must also copy over a "PowerSDR.exe.config" file becuase of the old FLEX1500USB.dll. NET 4.5 is supposed to be an improvment over the NET 3.5 PowerSDR was using.
02/11/16 Start learning DttSP: Update C++ code to VS2015 and recompile to SDK 8.1, which causes struct redef caused by time.h using timespec and pthread.h using the same timespec,but tv_sec is declared long instead of time_t, so I turned off the pthread.h version for now.
also determined that not all of the DttSP is here.
Completed full upgrade to NET 4.5 using CallingConvention = CallingConvetion.Cdecl in the DLLImport lines of win32.cs and dttsp.cs. Small change to app.config, set VS2015 to NET4.5 and recompile. (thanks to WA1GON for figuring it out)
But also determined that you need to bring a config file along with the exe file due to an old DLL
02/11/16 N7: Fix KHZ freq entry. Turn off KHZ entry for VHF and above freq on both rx1 and rx2.
02/10/16 N6: Fix: Increase TX Bandwidth on Flex1500 and Flex3000 to 10khz wide.
Fix: Improved Waterfall ID 24bit bitmap transmit. Automatically reduced the TX High filter down to 2.6khz during transmit, then back to its prior value. Still learning Bitmaps, and PCM and the conversion between them.
02/09/16 N5: Add: Waterfall ID will now load standard 24bit bitmap files as well as 8bpp 256 color bitmap files.
02/08/16 N4: Fix: VAC1 will automatically turn off when sending a TX waterfall ID, then back on when done.
Add: Transmit 256 grayscale 8bpp bitmap images.
Instructions:
1)
Create a small 8bpp 256 color or grayscale bitmap image around 80w x 60h pixels and call it a short name, for example: test.bmp
2) Place that file in the folder %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.7.2\ (where the quickplay audio files go)
3) Change the "callsign" to the name of the file with a . at the end of the name (for example: test. ) and it will load test.bmp from the folder and send it.
Warning: There is no file checking. If you do not follow these instructions, PowerSDR will crash. Your database should survive, as my database did.
I provided a "test.bmp" file to place in the folder mentioned above.
02/08/16 N3: Fix changing LSB/USB needs recreate waterfall ID image
02/07/16 N2: Fix image was 2.4khz but started at 250hz, now starts at 150hz
02/07/16 N1: Feature ADD: First attemp at: WaterFall TX CALLSIGN ID. Click the TX Water ID, and the Radio Transmits your Callsign as a Waterfall image that any SDR with a waterfall can see. You change your callsign from the menu item Callsign. Reduced Bandwidth of transmission.
Code Developed:
Wrote code to convert text string into a bitmap image
(grayscale or b/w).
Wrote code
to convert bitmap image (from file or memory) to digital PCM (any size and any Sample Rate)
Wrote code to save digital PCM as .wav file (any SR, mono or stereo)
Wrote code to copy digital PCM into Flex Quickplay routine
(only issue is the bitmap to PCM conversion time at 192k SR. Need a way to allow lower SR when operating Flex Radio at 192k SR)
How it works.
1) Type your Callsign into the box Callsign.
2) For TX on VFOA: VAC1 must of OFF, you can use VAC2. You cannot use VAC1 or 2 if you TX on VFOB
3) Click on the TX Water ID button to create and send the Waterfall ID4
4) The 1st time you click, there will be a noticable delay (very long delay at 192000) while the image is created before sending it, you MIC will be ON.
5) Subsequent Clicks on TX Water ID will start instantly (unless you change sample rate or callsign or mode).
6) The audio level can be controlled by going to the WAVE-> TX Gain adjustment.
7) Lower sample rates create the initial image faster, so less delay on the first click.
8) Bandpass is around ~ 2.4khz wide starting at 150 hz
9) If your running 192000 samplerate, you will not see a very clear waterfall image. This is because there are only 4096 point to display around 170khz worth of information (~40hz per pixel). It will still transmit clearly. You can only view waterfall images clearly at 96000 or 48000 sample rates
02/04/16 M10: Fix: I believe the studder in DJ console might be related to the PA temp/volts display which take .05 seconds to read and display. Made the Temp/volts display off by default, click on it to turn it on. It updates with the CPU, so whatever you set as the CPU Meter refresh rate is the refresh rate of the temp/volts when its ON.
02/03/16 M9: ADD: Check box in Setup->Display->Waterfall-> Enable Wider Waterfall. When checked this Increases waterfall bitmap size by factor of x2. By widening the waterfall left/right, you must go further up or down frequency to hit the edge of the bitmap. Hitting the edge causes a need to refresh the bitmap (which causes the deley ). The standard moving waterfall draw take ~.015 seconds, the wider waterfall takes ~.022 seconds.
Older computers may by laggy with the wider waterfall area. Recompiled under VS2015 UPDATE 1.
Font: Found somehow all console fonts got changed to MS SanSerif "Oblique". Trying to change back to "Regular". Swis721 is only for on the Meters.
02/02/16 M8: Feature ADD: On TX readjusts Panadapter Grid to span -90 to 0db, on RX Grid resets back to Low/High settings.
02/02/16 M7: Feature ADD: "Avg" button in Panafall affects Pan & Water. Now you can toggle have Avg Both, or Avg Pan
fixed waterfall issue on resize of powerSDR window.
02/01/16 M6: Fix waterfall move on RX2.
01/31/16 M5: Fix clicking on meter now saves that meter for the next powerup. And learning some of the moving parts.
01/30/16 M4: Fix Flex mistake setting RX2 preamp offset to +14 (sometimes) when it should be -14 (just like RX1 on high mode).
01/30/16 M3: correct crashing issues caused by me going between VS2010 and VS2015.
01/29/16 M1: Fix blank space at bottom of screen caused by not copying the embedded font into the output directory
01/29/16 M: Feature ADD: DJ console
01/29/16 L8: Fixed Emedded Font compatibility issues with Win7 computers. (had to do with multiple fonts and not writing them properly into the privatefontcollection.
01/28/16:L : Feature Add: Freq Entry in KHZ or MHZ. (720 = .720 mhz) (7123 = 7.123 mhz)
01/28/16:K10: Fix: Digital display above meters, shift left 1 space for new font. Put Rev history in the About panel
01/27/16 K9: Fix: embedded the standard Windows Swis721 Font series into PowerSDR.exe. Enlarged the Edge type meter face.
01/27/16 K8: Feature Add: click on RX1 meter to change meter style. Fix edge meter size changing.
01/26/16 K7: Fix:RX2 low level band dBm following what you saved for the RX1 low level band dBm
01/26/16 K6: Fix:Edge meter red number too large.
01/26/16 K5: Fix:High level on TX Waterfall automatically sets to 0 db (you set the TX Low), since 0db is what your trying for anyway.
01/26/16 K4: Fix:Clean out areas of waterfall bitmap no or bad data.
01/26/16 K3: Fix:Turn off temp/volt on Flex 1500. Sometimes waterfall didnt move correctly due to timing issues between freq change and bitmap creation
01/25/16 K1: Added ATU.DLL to resources. This should fix Flex3000 ATU not showing up.
01/24/16 K: Now the entire Waterfall for both RX1 and RX2 moves with the spectrum of the panadapter. This leaves gaps on the left/right as you scroll since there is no data in those areas, but the waterfall will fill them in. This feature is not perfect, If you change ZOOM levels, it will not follow.
01/24/16 J: Add temp and volts to main screen, it updates along with the CPU% (hopefully calling FWC wont mess anything up?). Corrected the POWER on the TR7 meter by modifying the alg. Corrected the text and numbers on the Analog meter. Changed the FONT from the bla "Arial" and "MS Sans Serif" to the nicer "Swis721 BT" (italic). This I believe is the exact Font used by Icom on their displays.
01/23/1 I: Add Signal Peak hold meter for RX1 and RX2 meters (2nd red hold peak line) and db numbers hold peak with 2nd needle. Also corrected S9 readings for > 30 mhz to -93dbm
01/21/16 H: Add Menu item on the top line of PowerSDR for toggling Grayscale and Color for waterfall. Found Grayscale cuts the bandwidth down needed for remote operation. Also added toggle on/off fuction to Peak offset, Peak Power, Peak Freq values in lower right corner of display by mouse clicking any of those values. Also added hover tips to them.
01/18/16 G: Fix the RX1 or RX2 waterfall size messing up when you expand or shrink the PowerSDR console size.
01/17/16 G: Clean up and smooth the Analog meter lines (arcs). Now Analog meter movement(s) for everything except RX ADC(s). Renamed Waterfall "Mic Level" to "TX Level" since its not just for the mic input.
01/16/16 F: Fix Flex mistake displaying CW TX spot on both RX1 and RX2, when it should just be RX1 or RX2. Added additional TX meters (i.e. ALC, Mic)
01/15/16 E: Now you can set the Waterfall Low Level for both RX1 and RX2. Now can you can set the Transmit waterfall low level seperately from RX1/RX2. Note that RX2 and Transmit low levels dont save in database like RX1 (until I figure out how the database works), but RX2 does pull the data for the band your on from the RX1 database, so its not a big issue.
01/15/16 D: Added Panafall mode for RX2. RX1 can run Panafall with RX2 in any mode, but RX2 Panafall will not enable unless RX1 is in Panafall as well.
01/14/16 C: fixed turning RX2 on/off causing issue in window display.
01/12/16 C: Worked in the RenderGDIPlus routine: Created/Enabled Panafall on RX1 to stay on with RX2 enabled.
01/10/16 C: Fixed meters not updating with RX1 or RX2 off by using .Invalidate()
01/09/16 B: Fix missing CW panel. Fix button panel spacings between RX1-Band-Mode-Filter-RX2 panels. Added new RX1 meters to RX2.
01/08/16 A: Found way to turn off RX2 for testing Single receiver Flex radios. Corrected display of Flex radios with only 1 receiver.
01/07/16: Initial release: Worked in MultiMeterDisplayMode: Created routine to convert linear Flex "pixel_x" values to Angle 0-180deg. Created routine to convert angle to Radians for graphical display. Removed Flex "Original" bargraph meter, added "Analog TR7" meter movement, and adding 3rd "Analog" mathmatically generated meter.
RF Linearization (please correct me on this, since this is my first thought about a this topic)
It improves the cleanliness of your output signal, so more signals can fit in the same band. It also improves the PA efficiency, so you could push the same PA harder and still maintain a Linear signal, or dont push your PA and save energy.
DC
The Concept. We linearize DC using a "Linear Regulator", the idea being that we set the DC output (Vout), to a level matched by a (Vref) relatively speaking. We just need a circuit fast enough to adjust the Magnitude level of (Vin) to keep up with load variations, temp changes, etc on (Vout). and keep Vout matched to (Vref).
How do we accomplish this:
We use an OP-AMP and place a Transitor, large & fast enough to handle the load, into the neg feedack loop of the op-amp. The Feedback sample from (Vout) forces the Op-Amp instantaneously, in the exact opposite direction that it sees the Feeback voltage go. The sum the 2 opposites will "cancel out" and Linearize the DC signal. But we cannot use this on AC since it would remove the AC and leave us DC.
AC
In 50/60hz AC systems (such as your home power outlet), AC "Power Factor Correction" is an attempt at Linearization of the AC signal. So as AC loads change, the AC is "corrected" to keep maximum power transfer (i.e. efficiency). With Line level AC, its all about the compensating the Phase, since the Voltage level is controlled by the Electric Utility.
How do we accomplish this: PFC circuits are normally just Capacitor(s) and/or Inductor(s) to shift the Phase back into alignment.
RF AC
But, we can also Linearize RF AC, that is keep the output AC signal as pure as the input AC signal. And since the input RF signal is digitally generated in an SDR, its fairly clean to say the least. But with Linearizing RF AC you are trying to correct Phase distortion and maintain magnitude. Non-Linear qualities in the PA will cause a pure input input sine wave to output harmonics of the original sine wave. To remove the non-linearities you "cancel out" the phase differance (I am not talking about the a phase shift which happens when the signal is passed through the PA, but the phase distortion as the signal is generated) present on the output signal. This requires precision in timing of the Feedback signal relative to the input signal. You need something fast and precise enough to handle RF speeds.
The Flex 5000 Transmitter is already clearner than any Analog HF radio, but you could improve its output by taking a small "feedback" signal from the Output of your External Amplifier, and use it to linearize the entire system. But I must assume there are issues of temperature, aging, and timing that mess things up.
How do we accomplish this:
First, OpenHPSDR has RF Linearization in software. Using a RF coupler to pickup a small amount of Output RF and feed it back through the 2nd digital receiver. I think timing is key.
It goes something like this: Using I/Qin signals from the original digital RF before the PA, and I/Qout signals from the RF after the PA (using an RF sampler and 2nd receiver), you take the I/Qout signal and rotate the phase 180deg (taking into account the phase shift caused by the PA circuit itself) and sum it to the I/Qin signal, which does a "cancel out" function, generating a new I/Qcompensate signal. But, to account for the phase shift you need to delay the I/Qin to allow a sync up with the I/Qout signal. This new I/Qcompensate signal is applied to the software that generated the orignal I/Qin signal in the first place.
If you dont want to all of this in realtime, you could create a LUT "Look up Table" and store some of the I/Qcompensate values obtained from a test of some kind. But I must assume LUT RF Linearation results wont be as good as realtime RF Linearization since the number of samples you correct, the cleaner the signal.
ATU
It turns out the ATU "Antenna Tuner Unit" has its own SWR metering circuit, but so does the Flex itself. This presents a problem. The ATU tunes up and indicates a perfect match, but when you key up the Flex indicates something less than perfect. The ATU has a capacitive adjustment for its SWR circuit, So I am going on the assumption that the Flex SWR was properly calibrated and get the ATU to match the Flex reading. Now both SWR circuits agree after the Tune.
If the ATU just wont match the SWR of the Flex, then the Flex may need a SWR calibration (explained above)
How to configure you Flex when using an AMPLIFIER with its own external Tuner and still use RX2. With an 2x6 antenna switch
If you happen to use an Amplifier (like most) with your flex and more than 1 antenna, it is not possible to use the built in antenna switch.
The best way around an external Amplifier but multiple receivers issue is a SO2R antenna switch (as shown below)
See https://home.comcast.net/~kk1l/kk1l_2x6switch/ or https://ac0c.com/main/page_so2r_kk1l_2x6_ant_switch.html
I added a homemade aluminum box and a remote switch head (just 6 3pos SPDT toggle switches)
This allows me to select any of 6 antennas for any of 2 radios. This way RX1/TX on the Flex always goes through the Amplifier no matter which antenna I choose, and RX2 never goes through the amplifier no matter which antenna I choose.
My setup: Ant #1: G5RV, ANT #2: Cushcraft R7, ANT #3: Mosley TA-33 Yagi, ANT#4: Cantenna Dummy Load
Below is a short youtube iphone video I took showing SO2R (Single Operator 2 Radios or 2 Receivers) operation.
Below: RX1 needs to be on ANT3 because RX2 cannot. Plus you can also switch RX2 over to RX1 tap (to share the same antenna). Note the Use RX1 Out to RX1 in Loop is for the External AM broadcast filter.
(FDX) Full Duplex Operation or (SO2R) Single operator with 2 receivers
Because RX1 and RX2 are seperate and independant modules inside the Flex 5000, its easy to do cross-band FDX or SO2R.
Below is a short youtube iphone video I took showing Full Duplex Operation. Do NOT try Full Duplex on the same band. Be careful to test out your setup first at low power to make sure you have good isolation when transmitting. When you are sure that your 2nd receiver is not picking up your Transmitter, then start raising the power.
I have tested this out, and its possible to receive on 20m using RX2 (VFOb) using a Yagi tri-bander, while transmitting 100 watts on 80m using VFOa and a G5RV ant. Both antennas are around 100' apart. I found no change in the noise floor when transmitting. I believe this would work on any band combination as long as you use 2 different antennas and they are spaced far enough apart.
I was also able to receive on 40m (using a R7 vertical) while transmitting on 80m
using the G5RV. Both antennas are around 100' apart. But you need to make sure not to overload the 2nd RX if you run any power.
You dont need the SO2R switch (described above) to make this work. The SO2R switch is only needed when you have more than 2 antennas and/or you have an amplifier.
You simply to go the Setup Menu and set the proper switches.
Connect 2 antennas to the Flex and set the antenna swtich menu up properly for your configuration.
!!! Receiver2 must have its own antenna for FDX !!!
Go to Settings->General->RX2:
1)
Uncheck "Auto Mute RX2 on VFOA on TX"
2) Uncheck "Disconnect RX2 RF Input on TX"
3) if you plan on Transmitting on VFOb (SO2R operation), then Uncheck "Auto Mute RX1 on VFO B TX" as well
!!!! Make absolutely sure to put back the switches on this menu when your done!!!
4) Now select one band for VFOa and a different band for VFOb
5) Test it out at low power to make sure you dont overload RX2 (or RX1 if transmitting on VFOb for SO2R operation)
6) You may see the noise floor go up if your TX and RX frequencies are close
I have not tried FDX on the same band (Flex says its possible on the 6000 series)
I am not sure how to configure logging software for SO2R (Flex has a procedure for the 6700)
!!! Make absolutely sure to put back the switches on this menu when your done !!!
Listen, or Record and playback your Transmit Audio
There are a couple of ways to hear yourself thru the Receiver directly, for TX Audio checks:
(Just remember the PowerSDR [REC] / [PLAY] records only RX1)
First, The [MON] button will let you listen to yourself, but with a slight digital delay, so its not really usable.
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1) You can use [WAVE] and [RECORD] your audio (POST audio as it is applied to the PA). [MON] does NOT need to be on. I would keep it off to prevent any echos in the recording.
a) Turn the Power out put to 0, and PTT the Flex.
b)
Hit the [RECORD] button in the [WAVE] menu, and talk (make your recording)
c) Hit the [RECORD] button again to end the recording.
d)
The %userprofile%\Music\PowerSDR\ folder contains all the recordings made using the [WAVE] button.
e) You can then take the file you just created and rename it SDRQuickAudio.wav and save it in the %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\FlexRadio Systems\PowerSDR v2.7.2 folder (which is where the [REC] / [PLAY] buttons work.
f) Now you can PTT the Flex and hit the [PLAY] button to play back your clip.
note: if you hit the [REC] button, your audio clip will be overwritten.
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2) or You can Leave the Receiver RX1 or RX2 on while you transmit
(explained below)
WARNING: DO NOT overload RX2.
Hear Yourself using RX2 (the 2nd receiver):
Go to Settings->General->RX2:
1)
Uncheck Auto Mute RX2 on VFOA on TX
2) DONT Uncheck Disconnect RX2 RF input on TX
(this will allow you to not worry about the DRIVE level on transmit).
3) Your TX ant should be a Dummy Load.
4) Plug in Headset to the Flex because the RX2 will not shut off when you transmit
I dont believe you can use the built in recorder to record RX2?
I use VAC2 to send the audio to the PC and record it using SpectraPlus
8bit address (not 7 bit) list for FlexWire output:
0x40 HERO's preselector
0x42 Band selector output for PCA9534 (1st) 8bit I2c chip (2200m=1 - 20m=128)
0x44 Band selector output for PCA9534 (2nd) 8bit I2C chip (17m-6m)
0x46 Band selector output for MCP23017 16bit I2c chip (2200m-6m)
0x48 Not used
0x4A LDMOS Amp Filter board selector PCA9534 (w6pql current design)
0x4E LDMOS Amp Filter board selector PCA9534 (w6qpl old design)
0x4C UCB (Universal Control board) Relay selector. PCA9555D (part of the Xvtr panel)
Flexwire I/O connector is a DB-9 female serial type connector wtih pin 3 blocked so you dont try to plug a serial bus into it.
DB-9 connector view from back of radio:
(
6-7-8-9 )
(1-2-3-4-5)
1: Ground
2: Line In
3: Blocked
4:/INT1
5: Ground
6: IIC CLOCK (SCL)
7: IIC DATA (SDA)
8: +13.8vdc out (1A max)
9: Line Out
IIC bus uses pin 5,6,7 low speed (100khz) bi-directional synchronous data bus. IIC bus allows multiple devices on the same bus where each device has an address 8bits long.
Important NOTE: example: 8bit address 0x46 = 0,1,0,0, A2,A1,A0, 0 = (01000110)
(bit0 determines Read/Write but its still part of the address byte)
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KE9NS added I2C (IIC):
Setup->General->User Interface->I2C Band Output checkbox
Upon band change, PowerSDR will send 2 IIC command strings:
(For PCS9534 I2C port replacement chip)
1) 8bit Address 0x42 Register 0x01 Value = <DATAA>
2) 8bit Address 0x42, Register 0x03, Value = 0x00
<DATAA> (below)
2200m = 1, 630m = 2, 160m = 4, 80m = 8, 60m = 16, 40m = 32, 30m =64, 20m = 128
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(For PCA9534 I2C port replacement chip)
1) 8bit Address 0x44 Register 0x01 Value = <DATAB>
2) 8bit Address 0x44, Register 0x03, Value = 0x00 (all output)
<DATAB> (below)
17m =1, 15m = 2, 12m = 4, 10m = 8, 6m = 16, reserved = 32, reserved = 64, reserved = 128
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(For MPC23017 I2C 16bit port replacement chip):
8bit address 0x46, register 0 & 1 to 0 (all output on PortA & B)
8bit address 0x46, register 0x12<DATAA>
8bit address 0x46, register 0x13 <DATAB>
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UCB (FlexWire Button) using PCA9555D IC
Open on XVTR page, you will find a FlexWire button OR
<CNTL> + <ALT> + U: "UCB" Universal Control Board Configuration page
Note: When FlexWire Button is "Yellow" then the IIC output is active
See page: k3tuf.com/FW.html , for info on FlexWire and UCB
This is used in conjunction with the XVTRs menu and the VHF+ button on the main PowerSDR screen
On the XVTR menu enable a item and give it a UCB Line Number. This corresponds to the above screen. You then select which relays activate for each UCB line number. The VHF+ button on the main screen is how you access this new band.
UCB transmits via IIC bus the following 4 sets of 3 bytes (PCA9555D):
0x4c, 0x06, 0x00
0x4c, 0x07,0x00
0x4c, 0x02, (low 8bits value of line#)
0x4c, 0x03, (high 8 bits value of
current line#)
ZZFY CAT command can be used to send a I2C command (address and 2 bytes of data). This can be used to program any I2C IC
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The HERO preselector menu button sends a address = 0x40 with 2 bytes of data representing the Band and Ant selected from that HERO panel.
Current HERO Preselectors have a USB connection to CAT and no longer need the I2C output.
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KE9NS Amplifier control using IIC
Activate the feature from:
Setup->General->Options->Use IIC FlexWire for External AMP Control,
and Setup->General->Options->IIC FlexWire AMP ON/OFF checkboxes.
Upon Band Changes the following 6 bytes of data are transmitted via IIC bus
Older W6PQL LDMOS RF Filter Design (address 0x4E)
0x4E, 0x01, <DATA>
0x4E, 0x03, 0x00
Current W6PQL LDMOS RF Filter Design (address 0x4A)
0x4A, 0x01, <DATA>
0x4A, 0x03, 0x00
<DATA>:
1 = Select bands: L/MW, 160m, 120m (no relay needed with W6PQL design filter board)
2 = Select bands: 90m, 80m, 61m, 60m, 49m
4 = Select bands: 41m, 40m, 31m ,30m
8 = Select bands: 25m, 22m, 20m, 17m, 16m, 15m, 14m (Address 0x4E only)
16 = Select bands: 13m, 12m, 11m, 10m (Address 0x4E only)
and
8 = Select bands: 25m, 22m, 20m, 17m, 16m(Address 0x4A only)
16 = Select bands: 15m, 14m 13m, 12m, 11m, 10m (Address 0x4A only)
32 = Select bands: 6m
64 = Remote ON/OFF (used N.C. contact... 64 relay on = remote control)
128 = Selected bands: VHF/UHF (bit7 is turned OFF)
<DATA> bit6 (64) is SET only if IIC AMP ON/OFF checkbox is set and on an HF/6m band
See my SS AMP page for controller board circuit
Digital Decoders (with further detail in the next section)
All decoders tested with
the Flex unless stated otherwise
Audio stream via VAC (Virtual Audio Cable) and Firewire connection (no audio cables required)
USING VAC: Because of Sample Rate (SR) up & down conversion between the Radio itself and VAC1, its best if you use 48khz SR for VAC1 & 2. This is because its a perfect multiple of 192 and 96khz SR.
You must also set the SR for your Virtual audio cables to 2 channel 16bit 48khz (for both Playback and Recording VAC cables (see Windows->Control Panel->Sound).
Failure to do so, will most likely result in buffer lag, which will cause Digital mode PC programs (like WSJT-X, FLDIGI) to not work correctly. If you do notice a lag in VAC audio, check all your Sample Rates to make sure they are ALL set to 2 channel 16bit 48khz.
There are many digital signals present throught the HF band, however most outside of the Ham bands use special digital modes and/or are Encrypted
See website for signal indent guide:
https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Signal_Identification_Guide
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Satellite Work:
(GPREDICT satellite prediction and pointing):
Flex-5000 (with the VU5K module) or external transverters for 2m/70cm:
1) Gpredict.exe
2) Hamlib-w6 (rigctld.exe) (example: rigctld.exe -vv -m 2048 -r COM12 -s 57600). Make sure rigctld.exe is running, then minimize its window.
3) In Gpredict, Edit->preferences->Interfaces->Add new->Host=Localhost, Port=4532, Radio Type=Duplex TRX, PTT Status=None, VFO Up/Down= B/A, LO down=0, LO up=0
4) In Gpredict, Edit->preferences->Ground Stations. Put your location in. TLE Update=Daily
5) In Gpredict, click on the small down arrow in the upper right corner, select configure. Now create a Group (i.e. SSB or FM) and add satellites for that group.
6) In PowerSDR, turn on RX2, Click on the VFOB TX button, then Right Click on it again, to lock it into TX
7) In Gpredict, Click on the small down arrow (upper right corner), then "Radio Control" then select the satellite and mode you want to use. Then the Track and Engage buttons
8)
In PowerSDR, for SSB satellites (once Gpredict is up and running and Engaged) you will need to then turn on RIT and set to -1300 for RS-44. All SSB linear satellite differ based on the spin and angle.
For commuincated APRS with the Space Station digital mode
UISS (by ON6MU)
SoundModem (by UZ7HO)
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PinPoint APRS:
Make sure the Flex Radio is in 5FMD (Data FM with 5khz dev)
PinPoint Coms monitor:
PinPoint Options:
Pinpoint Options TNC setup:
Then select Tools->Connect TNC (with SoundModem running, and VAC1 on the Flex connect to SoundModem), you can now transmit (make sure VOX is on and set for Fast trip, long hold). Now you can select Tools for Send Position, Send Message, Send email, Send Bulletin, Send message via winlink, etc.
Go to GPS screen to select your Lat/Long position. Then you can also go to aprs.fi to check as well:
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Amateur Email (Winlink Express)
USAGE: Email, File transfer
ENCODER/DECODER: Winlink Express installer: https://downloads.winlink.org/User%20Programs/
TNC software: VARA HF or FM modem. https://rosmodem.wordpress.com/
MODE: USB 2.7khz wide
FREQ: CW portion of ham bands
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
Email: RMS (Radio Message Server) Express is a free program for sending/receiving digital messages (ie. email). Download and install "Winlink" and "VARA HF" and/or "VARA FM" (for VHF winlink and APRS) as the modem.
Winlink demo video:
Winlink (left) and VARA modem (right)
Winlink setup(left) and Winlink Vara setup (right)
PowerSDR CAT and VAC setup(WSJT-X is the same I use for Winlink)
Windows PC (Sound) settings to match the Sample Rate of PowerSDR)
Winlink to PowerSDR (sound playback panel) (left) and PowerSDR to Winlink (sound recording panel) (right)
Make sure to Activate VOX for ultrafast RX/TX transfer (left) and Vara Sound Setup (right):
Winlink using VARA HF modem (channel select) then Connect (make sure to use VOX):
PowerSDR Winlink transmit (Vox Enabled):
PowerSDR Winlink Receive:
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Amateur FT8 (using wsjt-x)
NOTE: FT8 has a rather large penalty on your CPU in a crowded band (like 80m and 40m) trying to decode 20 or so signals simultaneously. The more signals to decode, the higher CPU and HDD usage. My old 4 core cpu maxed out at 100% decoding on 40m and running PowerSDR at the same time. I decided to upgrade my desktop motherboard to a 6 core (2 thread / core) and 16gb of DDR4. Now FT8 doesnt cause any troubles.
USAGE: Weak Signal or Poor band condition, very short QSO, QSL Communications. (good for collecting mixed and digital awards and checking antenna performance). After you make a few contacts go to: https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html and type in your callsign to visually see (on a world map) where your signal is getting out).
ENCODER/DECODER: WSJT-X (with JTAlert-X for checking QSL information and interfacing with your Logging software)
https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html and https://hamapps.com/
FT8 decode signals down -26dBm below the noise in 15sec sequences (up to 13 characters per sequence) with a typical 4 sequences
Use the TIME sync function in PowerSDR to sync your PC clock (must launch PowerSDR in ADMIN mode).
Use vsgMgr, DDUtil, and Virtual Audio Cable to link PowerSDR to wsjt-x
In wsjt-x radio setup use TS-2000 for now and set PowerSDR CAT to allow kenwood commands.
When you see a RED or VIOLET CQ signal appear in the Left "Band Activity" panel, click on it
(Here is the awkward part:As soon as the CQ appears you only have 1-2 seconds to respond, otherwise you must wait for the next 15 second TX interval).
Your Transmit appears in YELLOW on the right "RX Frequency" panel.
If the CQing station decodes your call sign, you will see them calling you as a RED decoded line the the Right "RX Frequency" Panel
wsjt-x will automatically step through the sequences (after you start by clicking on the CQ station) for short QSL exchange (15 seconds per line):
:
JTAlert-X scans your main logbook and the wsjt-x logbook and automatically adds your contacts to your main logbook.
And, it keeps track of what you need (Zones, States, Countries, Grids, etc.) and alerts you immediately after every "Decode"
MODE: Band Mode (USB on all bands). FT8 signals are 100hz wide found in a 2.5khz bandpass area
FREQ: 1.840, 3.573, 7.074, 5.357ch3, 10.136, 14.074, 18.100, 21.074, 24.915, 28.074, 50.313 Mhz
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
(top left: signal as it appears in PowerSDR panafall) (top right: wsjt-x encoder/decoder)
(bot left: wsjt-x waterfall allows you to manually select a transmit frequency within the bandpass)(bot right: JTAlert-x reads the decodes from wsjt-x)
WSJT-X SPLIT operation:
Example: For FT8 with Japan, VFOA = 1908, VFOB=1840, TX=VFOB, Click VFO Lock button until it reads "VFO A/B Loc"
Then setup WSJT-X, TS-2000, SPLIT= NONE
WSJT-X multi-instance operation:
(For those Flex-5000 and 2nd receiver RX2 option)
This is the normal WSJT-X Desktop ICON Property: C:\WSJT\wsjtx\bin\wsjtx.exe
To create the 2nd WSJT-X icon (that can run simultaneously with your current WSJT-X Icon):
1)
Open file location: C:\WSJT\wsjtx\bin
2) Right click on the WSJT-X
and send to ->Create Desktop shortcut
3) find the next WSJT-X shortcut icon on your desktop, Right click to rename WSJT-X2
4)Right click and select Properties and change
C:\WSJT\wsjtx\bin\wsjtx.exe to say:
C:\WSJT\wsjtx\bin\wsjtx.exe --rig-name=Flex5000RX2
5) run this WSJT-X and WSJT-X2 and run setup to config as below (as SO2R):
Left is VFOA, Right is VFOB (NOTE: Use JTAlert to automatically send QSO's to your logging program. JTAlert will automatically handle the 2 instances as long as you setup like you see in the next 4 screen shots)
Keep the Baud Rate on both at 57600. the WSJT-X2 (on right) uses the COM23 because its paired iwth COM22 in PowerSDR and that is the RX2 VFOB CAT COM link.
I use VoiceMeeter Banana as 1 set of VAC cables (Left side) for the VFOA setup of WSJT-X.
I use DAX drivers (from a SmartSDR install) as the 2nd set of VAC cables (right side) for the VFOB setup of WSJT-X
You can see the VAC1 configuration for VFOA
You can see the VAC2 configuration for VFOB
You will need to alter the UDP server of the WSJT-X2 (VFOB) version to allow JTAlert to handle communicaing with 2 instances of WSJT-X
WSJT-X on RX2 VFOB (one instance):
(For those Flex-5000 and 2nd receiver RX2 option)
Simply launch the "WSJT-X2" version and this free's up VFOA.
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CWSkimmer
USAGE: CW signal decoder
PowerSDR and CWSkimmer Settings:
1) Assuming you already have VAC1 setup to work with your other digital modes on your PC, just click on the VAC1->Direct I/Q "Output to VAC" checkbox. CWSkimmer appears to only work with I/Q audio.
2) in CWSkimmer->View->Settings->Radio->Softrock-IF SR set to 192khz, Audio IF = 9600 (This assumes a Flex-5000 with a pitch of 600hz). For a Flex-3000 set to your current SR (likely 96khz)
NOTE: For the Flex-1500 you must select 48khz Sample Rate, and Audio IF = 4400hz (This assumes a pitch of 600hz)
3) In CW mode PowerSDR reports the frequency including Pitch, but CW skimmer does not expect that, so you need to add the pitch to the IF frequency (i.e. 9600hz for 3000/5000 or 4400hz for 1500)
4) in CWSKimmer->View->Settings->Audio->set "Signal I/O device" to match your VAC1.
NOTE: For the Flex-1500 you must select Channels->Left/Right=Q / I
5) in CWSKimmer->View->Settings->Cat->Radio 1->PowerSDR (and your CAT settings like you would any other PC Program)
6) CWSkimmer only appears to work with VFOA and when your in CWU mode (not CWL)
7) Use PowerSDR->CWX panel (or your own Key) to transmit
8) Click on the little Radio icon in CWSkimmer (upper left corner) to start it working.
9) Remember to turn off the I/Q checkbox when your done, otherwise you will go crazy trying to figure out why FT8 doesn't work :)
For the Flex-5000:
For the Flex-1500:
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DREAM.EXE (Digital Audio decoder):
Click here DReaM_v2.2.1_zefie1.1_xHE-AAC_FDK_Win8.1_x86 to Download the latest v2.2.1 (compiled with VS and QT5.12.0 and works with xHE-AAC support).
The new version of DRM allows for lower bitrate requiring lower SNR
You must also install NPCAP (new version of WinPCap) from here: https://nmap.org/npcap/
This compiled version was posted here: https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/grp6m2/dream_v221_for_windows_with_xheaac_support/
FLDIGI.EXE (multiuse): CW,CONTESTIA,DOMINOEX, HELL, MFSK, MT63, Olivia, PSK, QPSK, PSKR, RTTY, THOR, THROB, WEFAX, NAVTEX-SITOR5, WWV
(Easy to use, TX & RX)
SIGMIRA (multiuse): FSK,PSK31,SITOR-B,CW,HFDL, STANAG 4285, JSM
(Easy to use, works well, TX & RX) (But requires a feature.dat date expiring file, which you can overide if you backdate your PC).
Also, Sigmira will only see signals from the DEFAULT windows recording device. I selected my virtual Line 1 as my output, then set it as default in windows.
MIXW2 (multiuse): CW,BPSK31,QPSK31,FSK31,RTTY, PACKET, PACTOR, AMTOR, MFSK, THROB, MT63, HELL, FAX, SSTV
(Difficult to decode in many modes, TX & RX)
MULTIPSK (multiuse): Decodes just about everything, but very difficult to use, doesnt work very well.
CLOCK (from the creator of MULTIPSK): Decodes all the time signals on HF
EASYPAL (images): DRM digital photos, Waterfall pictures
(Easy to use, great waterfall, TX and RX)
DIGIPAN (Ham Texting): BPSK31,BPSK63, QPSK31, FSK31, PACTOR(RX only)
(Easy to use, multiple conversations at the same time, TX & RX)
ALE (Automatic Link Establishment message system): MIL-STD-188-141B, MIL-STD-188-110A,B
(MARS-ALE difficult to control Flex, PC-ALE OK)
RMS Express (Radio Message Server for email/message system): TELNET, PACKET, PACTOR, ROBUST PR, WINMOR (all as WL2K or P2P)
(Easy to use, RX and TX)
MMSSTV (Slow scan TV): Robot36,72,AVT90,Scottie1,2,DX,Martin1,2,SC2,180
(Easy to use, need good signal, TX & RX)
Download at: https://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv-yoniq.php
WSPR (weak signal contacts): (requires PC clock time synced)
WSJTX (weak signal contacts): JT modes (requires PC clock time synced)
WSJT (Version 10): JT modes + ISCAT modes + FSK441 (ISCAT B and FSK441 modes used on 6m 50.248 50.246)
PC-HFDL: Airplane tracking (easy to use)
SORCERER (multiuse): FSK, STANAG, RTTY, CW,
(somewhat difficult to use)
MSCAN METEO (weather): RTTY, NAVTEX, FAX, Voice
(installed, but not tested)
NAVTEX (weather): (installed but not tested)
MMVARI (multiuse): RTTY, FSK, PSK, GMSK
(installed, but not tested)
FREEDV (Digital Audio): (low quality audio, requires strong signal, TX & RX)
WINDRM (Digital Audio): (installed, but not tested)
FDMDV (Digital Audio): (installed, but not tested)
HAMSCOPE (multiuse): RTTY, PSK,FSK
(installed, but not tested)
WINWARBLER: CW,PSK,RTTY
(installed, but not tested yet)
YaDD: DSC (Digital Selective Calling) for Maritime Mobile & Navtex
Links to Sounds Of Digital HF signals:
https://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/radio-sounds.html
https://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/qsl-audiofiles.htm
https://www.bcar.us/DigSig.htm
https://wb8nut.com/digital/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNZBuxIbWM0
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SDCx64 CW Skimmer
Usage: Decoder for CW, RTTY, BPSK
PowerSDR settings:
NOTE: For RX2 to work properly you must treat RX2 just like VFOA and Let PowerSDR "Setup->CAT Control->RX2 VFOB" reroute to VFOB of your Flex-5000. This is because most Ham PC programs that have a Powersdr or PowersdrRX2 rig control dont work properly.
NOTE: Due to a Glitch in SDC, the SKM CW Skimmer may force PowerSDR to the wrong band when you Start the Skimmer. You will need to go to PowerSDR to put the RX1 and RX2 back on the correct bands if SDC accidently changes them.
NOTE: SDC Uses IQ audio and needs to know the offset HZ of the IQ audio. The Flex-3000/5000 default offset is 9000hz and 3800hz on the Flex-1500. But if you run CW mode with SDC, you also need to include the CW pitch offset (which is 600hz as a default). I dont see a place in SDC to include the CW Pitch offset (like the real CW Skimmer does)
Note: I use TS-2000 CAT as the Radio, since PowerSDR CAT is compatible with TS-2000. Most HAM programs that have PowerSDR rig capability do not properly communicate with PowerSDR using CAT PowerSDR (not sure why).
NOTE: If you wish to use SDC to transmit CW, you will want to make sure PowerSDR is in CW mode and not in DIGI or SSB modes.
Below: CAT setting for SDC:For RX1 just pick a COM port pair (in my example I have COM18-COM19 pair).
For RX2 you need to use the RX2 VFOB (I have it set a COM22-COMM23 pair). Note the 115200 Baud that you will need to put into SDC RigSync setup.
Below: VAC1 setup using free Voicemeeter drivers for RX1
Below: VAC1 setup using free VB-Cable drivers for RX2
Below: SDC CW Skimmer with both RX1 and RX2 (Flex-5000) active
Below: SDC RigSync settings (baud to match PowerSDR. I use 115200). Note the 200mSec Poll time. Dont poll to fast since PowerSDR CAT is multiplexing many COM ports simultaneously
Below: SDC SKM Skimmer 1 Setup (RX1)
Below: SDC SKM Skimmer 2 Setup (RX2)
NOTE: For RX2 to work properly you must treat RX2 just like VFOA and Let PowerSDR "CAT RX2 VFOB" reroute to VFOB of your Flex-5000
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USAGE: Broadcast audio Communications, and text
DECODER: Dream.exe (free) Commercial DRM
(difficult to setup the codec and requires strong signals) Signals must be over S9 to work. Any interfearance on top of the 10khz signal will prevent decoding.
DREAM.EXE (Digital Audio decoder):Click here DReaM_v2.2.1_zefie1.1_xHE-AAC_FDK_Win8.1_x86 to Download the latest v2.2.1 (compiled with VS and QT5.12.0 and works with xHE-AAC support)
You must also install NPCAP (new version of WinPCap) from here: https://nmap.org/npcap/
The new version of DRM allows for lower bitrate requiring lower SNR
This compiled version was posted here: https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/grp6m2/dream_v221_for_windows_with_xheaac_support/
MODE: PowerSDR Mode DRM, otherwise USB 10khz wide will work.
FREQ: DRM broadcast schedules from around the world: https://www.drm.org/?page_id=151
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
(LEFT: DREAM DRM program showing the radio Station. Make sure to adjust the PowerSDR audio RX output level so no RED appears in the vertical Green bar)
(RIGHT: 9k wide DRM signal. Note the AM broadcast directly to the right is the exact same broadcast in Analog AM)
(below: Click on View->Evaluation Dialog. This is the setup you should use. The SNR "MUST" be at least > 16 dB. Wait for all Green boxes, then you will hear audio over your PC speakers)
click on images to enlarge
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Amateur DRM
USAGE: Still image, file transfer, chat, QSL Communications
ENCODER/DECODER: EasyPal.exe (free). Signals must be over S9 to work well.
Files & Chat & Pictures: EasyPal with Hybrid TX is a free program for RX/TX Files/Photes in a 2.7khz bandwidth. Use E,2.4,HI,QAM4,24 for weak signals, QAM 16 only for strong signals. You can adjust the DRM speed to allow easier reception as a cost of transmission time.
Photos can take from 30 seconds to over 1 minute to send via HF DRM
NOTABLE: HYBRID TX: Easypal saves your File/Photo on an internet server, then sends only the link via HF DRM. Saves time and allows for a weaker signal since it only takes a few seconds to send the link via HF DRM. Allows a big group to exchange audio, photoes, etc without having to get email addresses or Skype names.
MODE: Band Mode (USB/LSB) 2.7khz wide (
Notable Waterfall image is a solid 2.7khz line with dark shadows or stips that appear to barber poll )
FREQ: 3.713, 7.173,14.233 Mhz
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
(left: signal as it appears in PowerSDR panfall) (right: signal as it appears in EasyPal)
click on images to enlarge
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Amateur TV (SSTV)
USAGE: Analog Still images, QSL card Communications
ENCODER/DECODER: MMSSTV.exe (free) Need a strong signal to get a clear image.
Video: MMSSTV is a free program to decode 9 different Analog still TV images.
Download at:
https://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv-yoniq.php
MODE: Band Mode (USB/LSB) 2.4khz wide (although the signal is typically around 1khz wide)
FREQ: 3.800, 14.230, 21.340, 28.680
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
left side: SSTV signal, right side: as it appears in MMSSTV
click on images to enlarge
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Amateur Digital Audio DV
USAGE: Digital Audio Communications
ENCODER/DECODER: FreeDV.exe (free). Need a strong signal to get audio (audio quality is sub-par due in part to vary narrow bandwidth)
MODE: Band mode (USB/LSB) 2.4khz wide (although the signal is only 1.6khz wide)
FREQ: Google FreeDV qso finder or look for the image below (14.236 mhz)
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like (this is the 1600 mode)
(left: signal as it appears in PowerSDR panfall) (right: signal as it appears in freedv.exe)
click on images to enlarge
I dont use CAT, just a COM port pair (COM6 <> COM 7) as the PTT, but you could use VOX.
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Amateur Olivia
USAGE: Text based Communications
ENCODER/DECODER: Multipsk Olivia
MODE: USB 500hz wide
FREQ: CW portion of ham bands
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
(left: Multipsk) (right:PowerSDR)
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Amateur Contestia
USAGE: Text based Communications
ENCODER/DECODER: Multipsk or Fldigi
MODE: USB125hz, 250 hz or 500 hz or1khz
FREQ: CW portion of ham bands
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
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Amateur BPSK
USAGE: Text Communication
DECODER: Digipan
MODE: USB 4khz wide (each signal is 200hz wide , very narrow)
FREQ: CW portion of ham bands (3.580, )
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
(LEFT: multiple BPSK31 signals) (RIGHT: DigiPan decoder capable of tracking multiple signals (5 different types). The Green Flag indicates the conversation in the large window you are talking to. The other PSK streams are simply shown as a single line on the left side of the screen)
click on images to enlarge
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WWV or CHU Time/Date Decode
USAGE: Time/date
DECODER: PoweSDR T11 now decodes this. Clock (from the makers of multipsk). The free version will show you the correct time, but will not update your computers time.
MODE: AM
FREQ: WWV (AM mode) 2.5, 5, 10,15,20,25 mhz, CHU (ISB mode), and most otherTime signals
SOUND: WWV: Hidden 100 hz from the carrier are the Second's pulses that are either short or long second pulses, you can decode this into TIme & Date. CHU: Between 31st and the 39th second, transmitted in a FSK ( USB) transmits the Time/Date.
(Left: The Free CLOCK program, Right: WWV signal in AM mode)
If you want a free program to update your computers time (down to the second) download this file: Internet Time Update.exe
Just put it on your desktop and run it. you can set it up to update every hour. Windows 10 makes it difficult to update your time down to the second.
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Noaa Weather Fax
USAGE: Weather maps
DECODER: Sorcerer, MSCAN METEO, Fldigi, MixW2, Multipsk
MODE: USB (around 3.5khz wide)
FREQ: Varies (9.108, 6.3415, 4.3165 mhz)
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
(Left: The Free but not supported Sorcerer V1.01 with the Fax Decoder running, Right: HF Fax signal in the panfall, USB)
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NATO STANAG 4285
USAGE: NATO Communication
DECODER: Sorcerer, Sigmira, Multipsk
MODE: USB 4khz wide (signal is around 3.0khz wide)
FREQ: Varies (8.4785,8.701 mhz)
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
(Left: SIGMIRA program to decode STANAG 4285 signals)
You need to make sure the VAC1 out from the Flex is set as the default RECORD source for SIGMIRA to see it. 
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ALE (Automatic Link Establishment)
USAGE: Freq Scanner for sending/receiving short messages (for ham radio or Mars)
DECODER: ALE.exe (free), Mars-ALE.exe (free) You need to make sure the VAC1 out from the Flex is set as the default RECORD source for ALE to see it.
MODE: USB 2.4khz wide
FREQ: Google for listing
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
SETUP: PCALE.EXE has a FLEXRADIO Rig to allow control of your Flex via CAT commands. You may need to use the "Default" playback and Recording devices instead of VB-Audio Cables. PCALE appears to be very buggy, and doesnt appear to properly do SPLIT RX/TX operation.
(Left: ALE.exe program to decode MIL-STD-188-141A or 110 signals)
Notice the Vertical RED lines in the Tuning window when a 141A or 110 signal is present. 
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DSC (Digital Selective Calling) & Navtex
USAGE: Maritime messaging system
DECODER: YADD.exe (for DSC), NAVTEX.exe, Fldigi, Multipsk, (for Navtex)
MODE: USB 1.5 khz wide (NAVTEX: USB FSK 150 HZ shift, 100 Baud, CCIR476 character format)
FREQ: 2.1875, 4.2075, 6.312, 8.4145, 12.577, 16.8045
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
Shown below is the NAVTEX.EXE
Shown below is the YaDD (yet another DSC) which if Free. This has the DSC frequencies built in and allows you to receive Maritime Mobile Ship-to-shore messages.
Searchable list of Navtex stations:
https://www.ndblist.info/datamodes/NAVTEXvw2.3.zip
AM and HD AM broadcast Signals
Searchable list of HF ShortWave stations (including DRM):
https://www.ndblist.info/beacons/EIBIview30.zip or
https://www.eibispace.de/dx/EIBIview30.zip
EIBIview is a great free program for a list of Shortwave stations that are on-the-air NOW.
(LEFT IMAGE: Center: Clear Channel 20khz wide AM broadcast. Note the HD radio signal represented as [2] 5khz sideband digital signals.Right side is a traditional 12khz AM broadcast)
(RIGHT IMAGE: Center: AM broadcast with the LSB removed or
SSB AM)
click on images to enlarge
Below is (Free) HD AM radio (iBiquity) as it appears in my car (MKZ) from the 0.670khz signal above (the HD circuitry decoding the [2] 5khz digital OFDM sideband signals). The digital signal is compressed using a proprietary version of mpeg-4-ACC, specifically to make sure nobody can legally write software to decode it.
Depending on how many sub-channels, the Digital sound quality can be very good.
Most FM HD stations have 1 or 2 sub-channels in addition to the HD version of the analog signal.
HD Radio is Free, but unfortunately not free to decode. The only decoder I have is built into my car.
FM HD is almost useless (unless your close to the transmitter) because the FCC limits the digital signal to 1 to 4 % of the Analog signal power output.
The HD Radio is designed to fall back to Analog if the digital is lost. The Analog and Digital signals are synchronized perfectly, so its seamless going back/forth. However sub-channels have no fall back.
Unknown or Undecodable(by me) Signals
USAGE: Stock trading data beamed from Northern Illinois to London, Munich, Mumbai, and Tokyo (used to try and beat underwater fiberoptic cables).
https://www.raft-tech.com/raft-articles/
i56578-swl.blogspot.com/2020/09/48-kbaud-oqpsk-unid-wideband.html
https://hcab14.blogspot.com/2019/11/update-on-oqpsk-signal-from-chicago.html
DECODER: Proprietary
MODE: 48khz WBHF, OQPSK
FREQ: Varies. 6.889mhz or around this location
Very consistant in strength and appearance.
USAGE: Maritime digital channel marker?
DECODER:?
MODE: 350 hz wide + CW ID?
FREQ: 8.420.5 mhz
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like (ID: WLO)
Left: PowerSDR , Right: closeup view in Sigmira
USAGE: Technical Data Link (TDL)(Fast HF Automatic Link) Link-11
DECODER: Someone please suggest a free decoder (if available)
MODE: PSK +/- 3khz DSB, ISB, or SSB. Link-11, STANAG 5511, TADIL
FREQ: center: 5.430.6 mhz
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
Technical: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_Data_Link
USAGE: ?
DECODER: ?
MODE: 20khz wide Possibly British Pluto II radar ?
FREQ: 11.465.5 mhz & 8.300 mhz
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like
Right side of display: standard shortwave AM broadcast, but note the the 2 sideband peaks???)
USAGE: Ocean Study?
DECODER: ?
MODE: 80khz wide Possibly CODAR radar?
FREQ: 12.530 mhz - 12.612mhz
SOUND: Click to download audio file to hear what it sounds like (only +/- 10khz of it)
When it quits, it stays off for 10 minutes, then comes back on. Note the other signals its currently interfering with)
click on images to enlarge
USAGE: ?
DECODER:?
MODE:? khz wide Possibly Link11 SSB
FREQ: 8.304 mhz
SOUND:
(LEFT: 10 pulses than a long data transmission, repeat)
USAGE:?
DECODER: ?
MODE:8 khz wide Radar?
FREQ: 12.040 mhz
SOUND:
(RIGHT: Data burst, then randomly another but sound different. Sound faster or slower)
Filters for (BCB) AM Broadcast Band Interference
Even though the Flex-5000 has 11 sets of 11th order (LP) Low Pass band filters (1 set for every Amateur band), It doesnt have a AM Broadcast band Filter (BCB preselector). AM BCB Interference shows up on your Flex radio as an increased noise floor, or you may hear AM broadcast stations on Ham bands and see carrier spikes as well.
Flex-5000: You can place an external "RX only" filter inline. Get yourself an AM broadcast notch filter if you want to hear Marine and the LF/MF ham bands, OR and AM broadcast HPF (easier to find) if you dont care to hear anything in the MF/LF bands. Place the filter in the RX1 In - Out Loop BNC jacks.
Flex-1500/Flex-3000: You can place an external TX/RX (100 watt capable) filter directly inline with the Antenna output as either a AM broadcast Notch filter or AM broadcast HPF (this is easier to find)
I live 5 miles away from a large clear-channel AM transmitter. Certain times of night it shows up across 160m thru 60m.
My Clifton Labs BC notch type filter completely notches out the AM Broadcast band (S9+40db signals reduced to -120db)
(Shown: Clifton Labs Z10020B is a true notch filter 540khz thru 1700khz)
The B is the 160m option
DX Engineering now sells the Z10020
Inside view of the Z10020B
Clifton no longer makes my box, but they do make a seperate board / box combo (below):
DX Engineering Clifton Laboratories Z10020 AM Band Filter Module DXE-Z10020-PM
DX Engineering Dual Module Chassis DXE-DMC-2
For just a HPF there is the DLW-FL1718 for a 200w rated inline filter
or https://kf7p.com/KF7P/Morgan_Filters.html ( M-402X). But you will lose everything below 160m
Amateur 630m Band (472khz to 479khz)
The Flex-3000 will output 100watts (actually 130watts but I would limit yourself to 100watts) on 630m, and the SWR / Power meters appear to function correctly, but the calibration is way off this far below 160m, so the DRIVE level will be way off in relation to actual output. And you will need an external 630m LPF that can handle 100 watts.
The Flex-5000 does not appear to be able to transmit more than a watt on 630m (in Extended mode). Power tappers off as you dip below 160m, so there is nothing remaining by the time you reach the AM BC band.
FILTERS:
The Flex-1500,3000,5000 have no filtering below the 160m band (RX or TX).
The 160m LPF is selected when below 2mhz.
This means you will normally see many overload signals from the AM broadcast and 160m bands.
IMPORTANT: You will need to add a LPF filter designed for the 630m band for both RX/TX (100 watt capable).
This will not only filter your Transmit harmonics, but also the AM broadcast and 160m signal overload that ends up flooding the Panadapter.
IMPORTANT: When transmitting on 630m you will want to trim your TX profile low freq and high freq as narrow as possible to avoid transmit issues. (Example: low = 600hz, high = 2200hz)
You will also need to be running in "Extended" mode.
FCC requires you first get permission, from your local power company, before transmitting.
https://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-opens-630-and-2200-meter-bands-stations-must-notify-utc-before-operating
Or the direct application here:
https://utc.org/plc-database-amateur-notification-process/
This is the response email I received giving me authorization to operate 630m band
See http://www.472khz.org/ for lots of info on 630m band.
1/14/22: Homemade 630m LPF for RX and TX operation
(using parts I had around and vk6ysf for ref):
(2) ~16uH (16 turns of 14awg transformer wire around a 502T3003E2A toriod), and 562 (5600pf) 1kv caps (2 in parallel for the center, and 1 on each end to ground):
You can see its 44db down
at 1.6mhz. So when combined with my AM BC Notch Filter, the built in 160m LPF in the Flex radio itself, and my 630M LPF, this should clean up the RX and TX
You would be advised to make a LPF that is tighter with a cut-off at the AM Broadcast band.
I put my 100 watt capable TX/RX 630m LPF into an aluminum project box (still waiting for my SO-239 panel mount connectors):
Bucket Variometer loading coil for my G5RV in GMV configuration:
5gal paint bucket (29 turns of 14awg above and below the 1" PVC for max 600uH with 4 taps on the lower portion every 3 turns), (25 turns above and below the center of a 3" PVC pipe for 96uH of inductive buck). I can vary the inductance from ~200uH to ~600uH. 472khz.org says I should need around 400uH as a loading coil at the base of my G5RV converted to a T with ground radials.
(below) Attached the Bucket Variometer to my G5RV (shorting the PL259 as it connects to the ladder line). And utilizing the ground radials and ground rods I already had in place under the G5RV for my 160m switch.
Attached the NanoVNA to the coax that would connect to my Radio. Easy to adjust the inductance by turning the end of the PVC pipe. With the LPF inline, I can tune SWR for 2:1 on 630m.
First 2 contacts running JT9 on 630m at 50watts from my Flex-3000 thru a LPF and my G5RV (with Bucket Varimeter and ground radials).
Just found out that FST4-60sec interval is the more popular mode. FST4-120sec is for DX
Typically you will hear "WSPR" and "FTS4-60sec" signals around 474.2khz (+800hz to +1400hz). Download wsjt-x to decode and transmit.The FTS4-60 signal appears slightly wider than the WSPR signal. WSPR appears almost as a straight line.
(above) WSJT-x showing both wspr and jt9 decodes, manually switching modes myself.
(below) wsjt-x waterfall showing jt9 on the left side, and wspr on right
side
Since 630m requires a long antenna, you will typically need a very large loading coil at the base of the antenna to tune the SWR flat (search 630m variometer in google) and keep the losses down. Note: These coils can generate lethal voltages with only a few watts on transmit.
Receiver Birdies (Panadapter Bridies)
The PowerSDR Panadapter exposes a whole set of new issues to deal with in radio. When you open up the Panfall to 192khz, and adjust the waterfall color levels, you will see many signals across all parts of the HF band. Sometimes issues crop up and you start to see things that dont add up. All Radio's have their Birdies, its just on that on the Flex (with its great sensitivity) its disconserting to see them all at 1 time.
If you believe the signal you are seeing might be a data transmission try "Artemis Radio signal detection" program you can run from your PC.
Download at: https://aresvalley.com/artemis/
Click to download a copy of "US Navy Noise Handbook"
1) You see spikes appear and dont move as you scroll frequencies.
This could be a software issue in PowerSDR, or your PC or Firewire connection slowing down causing DSP conversion issues. Check PC services running in the background. Reset the software or your entire computer.
Or this could be a birdie cause by the DSP hardware/software
2) You see signals across the Panadapter, but upon inspection determine that they are real signals but repeating at intervals across the spectrum.
This is frontend overload. You may need to add a Broadcast band filter to RX1
This can also be Switchmode or IF hash coming from sources all over your house (see below)
3) You see the waterfall noise level changes or jumps.
This could be when you switch between bands, and because your antenna is designed for certain bands, its efficiency on any band will change.
When you leave a Ham band for a General Shortwave band, you dont have the same hardware filtering.
or the PowerSDR or PC has issues and you may need to reset.
Run remote desktop on your Laptop (running on battery) and go around your house and garage. Unplug everything and check the Panadapter.
The worst offender for noise/Birdie issues is the "Switchmode" power supply. Some can be so bad, they can be in your neighbors house.
1) Your Desktop PC switchmode will generate noise: Be carefull when putting the Computer to SLEEP, this can create noise throught the HF band, more than simply turning the PC off or leaving it ON. I think its becuase the PC goes into LOW POWER mode and the switchmode is designed for larger loads.
2) Your Desktop PC CLOCK will generate noise: Check
your bios settings for PC CLOCK "SPREAD SPECTRUM" try setting this both ways.
3)
Your Laptop inline power supply can be a big noise generator. Sometimes its worse when its plugged in, but your laptop is in lowpower mode.
4) Your Flat Screen TV: unplug it.
5) Light Dimmer
6) Garage Door Opener (the receiver circuit on the opener itself).
7) Your Cordless Drill battery Charger
8) Microwave oven (usually interferes with TV).
9)
DSL or UVerse or Cable
10) BPL
or HomePlug (Internet data over your home's AC wiring (Dish Network boxes have this feature)
Some of this may be removed by installing a CLAMP-ON Ferrite Bead designed to Choke HF
Changing your Flex Radio TURF (Region) & MARS
Look at the top line of v2.8 PowerSDR. It will contain the Model#, Serial#, and Turf "Region" of your Flex Radio.
Current list of "Regions":
US = USA, CA, ROW
UK
Europe = Germany, European Union, IARU1
UK_Plus = UK+ (adds 60m band)
Italy
Norway = Norway, Czech Rep.
Denmark
Latvia
Slovakia = Slovakia, Malta
Bulgaria
Greece
Hungary
Belgium
France
Russia
Sweden
IARU3 = China, Australia, New Zealand
Japan
Italy_Plus = Italy+ (40m band)
ES_CH_FIN = Spain, Switzerland, Finland
Netherlands
EU_Travel
Luxembourg
IARU2 = Central & South America
Australia
China
_______________________________________
The TURF region determines your Band Privileges (where you can transmit)
The TURF region is programmed into the Radio's EEPROM
Once you update the TURF Region of your Flex Radio, cycle power,
Run PowerSDR
setup->General->Options. Click on "Update BandText" button
This will update the "Band Text" that appears just below VFO-A and VFO-B
to match your "Region"
NOTE: If you just added 60m band transmit to your Flex and you run into trouble, search this webpage for:
60m update to IARU Region 1
NOTE: Firmware updates provided in PowerSDR software will NOT disable your "Extended" or MARS operation.
So dont worry.
_______________________________________
MARS / SHARES operation (Extended operation)
The Flex-1500, Flex-3000, Flex-5000 can be made to operate in "Extended" or MARS/SHARES mode.
SHARES=SHared RESources High Frequency Radio Program
(see https://www.cisa.gov/shared-resources-shares-high-frequency-hf-radio-program for details)
MARS=Military Auxiliary Radio System (and AFMARS Air Force MARS)
(see https://www.mars.af.mil/ for details)
NOTE: Firmware updates provided in PowerSDR software will NOT disable your "Extended" or MARS operation.
So dont worry.
If your Flex Radio has MARS (Extended) operation enabled, the top line of v2.8 PowerSDR will not only show your TURF Region but also show the word "Extended"
The Flex-5000a links to a Windows PC via a 400Mb/s IEEE1394 FireWire cable
PowerSDR Ver 2.7.2 SVN 5123 (Rev L) (in Program Files(x86) folder)
FlexRadio Ver 4.1.3 (in Program Files folder)
Flex-5000 Firmware Ver 2.1.3.9 (under Program Data folder)
Flex 5000 Specs (based on what I can determine):
ARM7TDMI 32bit processor, AD9511 master clock (500 mhz), AD9959 10bit 500msps DDS for generating the LO (seperate outputs for RX and TX), AK53394A 192khz A/D for RX (IF), CS42448 for A/D & D/A audio in/out, 74CBT3253PW used as a digital mixer (1 for TX and 1 for RX).
TX output signal is created by mixing the D/A CS42448 audio thru a 74CBT3253PW mixer with the AD9959 LO
RX input is determined by mixing the AD9959 LO thru a second 74CBT3253PW mixer with the Antenna circuit, then sending the I/Q signals to the AK5394A for 192khz bandwidth
Where the Flex 6000 series and Hermes SDR's use an A/D capable of directly sampling RF energy (so you can view huge sections of RF at one time), the Flex 5000 uses a LO to mix down the RF directly down to a192khz window.
Newer SDR's (like the Flex-6000 series) perform DSP Internally, where prior generation SDR radios required a PC for the DSP.
While the 5000 is no longer state-of-the-art, it still remains a top receiver (see https://www.sherweng.com/table.html)
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