Ordered an sdr-iq...

[KF1Z]

Seems odd Brett...

It should just work   

============
BTW:
Check out the ebay link I posted...  There's  a WinRadio 313E  on ebay for $750.

(They go for $1300. new) Supposedly 5 months old.

[N2DTS]

What is that thing doing with a 70 Mhz IF and roofing filters???
Look in the spec's and that is what it says...

Looks like something old?

Not sure its much better then the sdr-iq!

Brett

[WA1GFZ]

Don't spend a lot of money on anything  but a Perseus or QSR1. There are a number of older modules around that are not worth it any more money than a softrock. Softrock trashed a number of overpriced modules.

[WD5JKO]

I been following this thread intently. A few days ago I downloaded SDR-RADIO V1.0 so I could control some web based radio's, where there are many sdr-iq's all over the world listed. I get limited viewing times, but long enough to get a feel for the sdr-iq.

I even tried working my old high school buddy from Michigan on 75m. He could hear me fine, but I had trouble with him due to high receiving noise level at my QTH. As a last ditch, I got into an sdr-iq somewhere in New York, and we had a good FB contact that way. He copied me directly from Texas, and I copied him with an srd-iq in New York. The internet connected me to NY.

The contact got a little confusing since there was about a 1 second delay receiving the sdr-iq over the internet. I had to MUTE my laptop audio while I spoke, else I got confused with my own voice picked up in NY coming through delayed. That was VERY strange.

I was wondering if anyone has had experiences with the sdr-iq as a station receiver where you run your transmitter with the sdr-iq using PTT, and going back and forth? It seems that the latency delay of a second or so could present problems. Is the sdr-iq best as an auxiliary receiver, or can it be used as a primary receiver?

Jim
WD5JKO

[KF1Z]

Jim...

The latency you were experiencing was compounded by the internet link,,,'

Delay, on top of delay, on top of delay....

Typically there would only be less than 1/3 of a second latency, when the SDR is at your computer.
Depending on your soundcard and computer.

Latency like this is only a problem if you're trying to monitor your own signal... even then, it's just annoying....

[WB2EMS]

I've been using the sdr-iq side by side with my TS-2000 and there is a bit of audio delay, but I'd class it as in the 300-400 ms range. About a syllable behind I think. I don't think it would be an operational issue.

BTW, which sdr-iq did you connect to? Mine has been on the air and available and is in danby, ny. I think it might be the only one in NY state. Was it mine?

[N2DTS]

With the sdr-iq localy, the delay will depend somewhat on the computer (laptops suck).
The audio outputs through the soundcard.

When I used an on line receiver in Florida to see if I could be heard down there (on ssb), there was about a 3 or 4 second delay! ( I was quite strong!)

The sdr-iq can be used as a station receiver, but its not the best, no sync detector, tuning is a little funky, there is no muting, you have to short the antenna input and audio output (no big deal), the delay is not an issue.
I have been spoiled by the flex, but the sdr-iq will likely do better than almost any vintage receiver, you can adjust the filters wherever you want, in 100 Hz steps, and the filter is very effective.
If you can get winrad to run, you can get a sync detector...


Software is likely to improve a lot over time.

You should have no problem running the sdr-iq, pulling mail, and surfing here at the same time on a slow laptop.
As with all sdr's, you can look at a wide bandwidth, and click on a signal to hear it.

If you have really strong signals close by, AM radio stations, maybe loran, it can overload the sdr-iq, and you might need a filter in the front end.

If you travel, its just the ticket, a laptop, the sdr-iq, and a spool of thin wire and you are good to go.

One very interesting thing I have been doing is monitoring myself, looking at my TX spectrum, and recording it for later study, and adjusting the filters to see what I sound like with different receive bandwidths.

One thing I have noticed is that I sound somewhat brain damaged in my speech, lots of ahhhhs, spaces where my brain is empty and nothing comes out of my mouth, thinking out loud, etc.

Brett

[WD5JKO]

BTW, which sdr-iq did you connect to? Mine has been on the air and available and is in danby, ny. I think it might be the only one in NY state. Was it mine?

Francis,

   I have been into yours a few times, but the one I used that night was KA2GWR's. Yours sees to be busier, and I can only get into it once in a while.

   I don't recall which radio was which, but scanning band to band on some of these receivers, I'm pretty sure I have heard the same stations in the same QSO on two different bands, like 40m, and 80m. Then again, maybe I'm just confused.

Jim,
WD5JKO

[WD5JKO]

Brett,

   All the info you just posted gives me a lot to think about. I want to have one of these to play with. That said, my hamshack (garage) computer is an old klunker. So for right now I will play with web based stuff that is free.

   The idea of having an sdr-iq at a remote location away from man made noise is interesting. Then a noiseless connection to a computer and the internet is another hurdle.

   Was also thinking of coupling it to the 2.something 1st IF of my Gonset G76 transceiver where I could sneak a mini ham station in the house...Yea right...

Thanks,
Jim

[N2DTS]

Jim,
That is a very interesting idea, your own private remote RX in an undisclosed location.....

I get no noise from the computers, at least on 80 and 40 meters, it might be different on 10 meters....

I suspect if you have a computer with a usb port on it, it would work with the sdr-iq, although for really slow ones, you might have to stop some junk running in the background....

Brett

[W3RSW]

Considering the  QS1R see my copy of the developer's notes (Phil, N8VB) here.
Latency is on the order of a short audio echo. Good for fast break in on CW.

[N2DTS]

Yes, if you don't mind spending the coin, that is the one to get, if you like the software...
Not sure is other software runs on it...


Brett

[W3RSW]

Not cookbook yet except for Wincrash, but with some tweaking runs on Mac OS, Linnux, etc.  Also earlier versions run the Winrad  GUI, etc.  Phil has many Rev. C & D boards out there now.
Check into the Yahoo board if your interested.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/qs1r/
 No real index so you have to use search function liberally.
Smug but still curious. 

I did a lot of reading and research, starting with I/Q stream handling,  FPGA's, DAC's, you name it before I decided that it was for real and worth the money.
So we'll see.
I hope it remains viable for a couple of years, enough to get a complete neo classic receiver when looked back on a decade from now.
Kidding a little, of course; it's first class as it stands now.

Jeeze,  I still have my Sinclair ZX100, a whopping 16k ram, (with add on memory)
A kit before Timex bought them out.

[w1vtp]

<snip>
Jeeze,  I still have my Sinclair ZX100, a whopping 16k ram, (with add on memory)
A kit before Timex bought them out.

GO COMMODE er Commodore -- I still have my SX64

[KF1Z]

Still have..

Mac 512
TI99A
Commodore 64
Radio Shack  TRS-80  (and CoCo II)

Last I knew, they all still work... 

Though I don't think any of them will run the 'IQ'     

[KA1ZGC]

Still have..

Mac 512
TI99A
Commodore 64
Radio Shack  TRS-80  (and CoCo II)

Last I knew, they all still work... 

Though I don't think any of them will run the 'IQ'     

Oh, I don't know... the TI-99/4A* had that bus extension thang on the side. Might have gotten 8-bit audio out of it if the software was compiled onto a cartridge. 

Somewhere I believe I still have a Tektronix computer with a BASIC interpreter in hardware, a phosphor screen, a built-in cartridge tape drive, and a GPIB interface. It was ancient when I got my hands on it 20+ years ago.

I only grabbed it because I had software that ran on Tektronix terminals, and this thing could act like one with the serial port extension I had. Always wanted to make a test bench controller out of it, but never did.

Now that would make a lousy SDR front-end!**

--Thom
Keep Around One Zero-Good Computer
*Yes, I had to Google it to get it right.
**Not that I'm trying to one-up anyone, here...

[KF1Z]

Yup your right Thom.... TI 99/4A 

Also have, but not working...  The  Timex/Sinclair 1000

What a workhorse      (it was pretty great, in it's time, for $99 )

[N2DTS]

I had a vic 20.
I got a microlog air 1 that plugged into the side for rtty and cw.
It worked well.

I got winrad running on the sdr-iq, I used an older version and it works (with a few error messages on startup).
Nice sync detector, no whoop like psdr has, and you can watch the passband move around to follow the signal.
That is different from other sync detectors where the inserted carrier follows the received carrier, but does not change the receive frequency. Winrad moves the passband around to center the incoming frequency.
I think I sort of like the version where the passband stays put, so you can tune off to one side and still use sync detection...

I DO like winrad though...lots of cool features, the drag and drop filters are real nice.

Brett

[KF1Z]

Brett,

I use winrad with my QS1R, mostly when I know I want to record a chunk of RF for later...

I like the SDRMAXXII for QS1R much better, but, untill later this year the recording function isn't in the QS1R software.

SDRMAXX does have a much better panadapter and waterfall display, than anything I've had so far...
It has much fater update rate, and higher resolution.... (and can see 50Mhz of band at a time, if you have a broad enough antenna)

the display isn't "blocky" or "choppy".  It looks and feels like a real-time spectrum scope.


Bells and whistles, whistles and bells.... I know....

But I also love the audio quality.. and the ease of fast tuning etc

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Somewhere I believe I still have a Tektronix computer with a BASIC interpreter in hardware, a phosphor screen, a built-in cartridge tape drive, and a GPIB interface.

Used one of those over 25 years ago to control receiver and spectrum ananlyzers. The screen was the same at the kind used in the Tek storage scopes. I remember writing BASIC stuff to draw stuff on the screen including cursive text and sinewave variations. What hoot.

[KA1ZGC]

The screen was the same at the kind used in the Tek storage scopes.

Those toobs were the original flash memory: it took a bright flash to draw anything on them that wasn't already there.

Sorry. It's corny, but it true.

[w1vtp]

Actually ran a RTTY BBS with a COMMODE 128 (which I still have)  used the fancy 1571 drives - which I still have. Still have tons of SW for the COMMODE.   Memories

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Yes. A big flash to refresh or erase the screen. The graphics were vector based unlike the bitmaps just about everything else used/uses. Cool stuff back in the day. Seems quaint now. The one I used was a 4052. There were a few others in the series.

The screen was the same at the kind used in the Tek storage scopes.

Those toobs were the original flash memory: it took a bright flash to draw anything on them that wasn't already there.

Sorry. It's corny, but it true.

[w3jn]

Our college had one of those Tek terminals back in 1979.  It was *really* easy to draw graphics with that thing.  And yes I remember the screen erase flash...  Also,unique to the time compared to the other computer terminals around it had >80 char/line display as I recall.  And no screen flicker!

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

And very high resolution graphics - 1024 x 780 or 4096 x 4096 on the high end machine. Computers today don't match the 4096 spec.