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I have pre-ordered a Flex-1500 so naturally I have never operated one or seen one up close since they aren't even available yet hi hi I also have NOT really touched or operated any other Flex rig. I have played with SDR and SDR software with a Genesis 3020 kit transceiver which is NOT totally SDR but quasi SDR. It uses 4 crystal controlled oscillators to set the 4 different band segments that it covers and depending on the sampling rate of the sound card you use you can use all or part of 30 and 20 meter bands.
The band segments are, of course, defined by the crystal controlled oscillators.
I read the info on the Flex-1500 and it says it uses a 48khz sampling rate on it's internal sound device. So here is my question finally hihi If I only get 48khz on my panadaptor can I set the center freq to any frequency from 160mtrs to 6mtrs OR are the segments predefined? That may sound like and may indeed be a dumb question but I just wonder how it works. I will be using my Flex-1500 mostly on digital modes - so lets say I wanted to cover the 14.068 up to 14.116 segment on my panadaptor. Is that possible or are the 48khz segments predefined by some kind of frequency synthesizer in predefined steps?
--Gary WB8ROL
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Gary,
The FLEX-1500, as with all FlexRadio SDRs are general coverage radios and you can tune to any frequency between about 500 KHz and 55 MHz. When you tune to a particular frequency with the FLEX-1500, you will have about 40 KHz of viewable bandwidth in the panadapter. Tuning is contiguous, it is not segmented.
All FlexRadio SDR have bandpass and low pass filters that are optimized for the ham bands.
It works because the SDR uses a DDS to generate the RF frequency that is mixed with the incoming RF signal to down covert the signal to 9 KHz and then passes through the QSD where the I and Q components (complex signal) are derived from the incoming RF signal. Then the I and Q RF signals (which are at 9 KHz after being downconverted) are digitized by the A/D converter. Once I and Q are digitized, they are fed to the computer where PowerSDR does it magic and demodulates intelligence from the I/Q data bit stream. There is some programming magic that dispalys the correct frequency on the panadapter for the segment of RF you have digitized. When you are using a 48 KHz sampling rate, you are digitizing a 48 KHz segment of the band at one time centered (more or less) at the VFO frequency shown in the PowerSDR VFO display.
You inquired about predefined steps. The DDS has a 1 Hz step value.
One other thing. FlexRadio SDR technically do not have sound cards in them. They use A/D and D/A converters that operate in the audio frequency spectrum (the 9 KHz noted above).
-----
Tim - W4TME
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Hi Tim,
As I am waiting for a Flex1500 I was interested in Gary's question and your reply.
Lets say one sets up 48KHz segment to monitor - centered on 14084. Now you click the mouse or otherwise tune in a station on 14072. With Flex SDR software can one do this and still have the panadaptor stay centered on 14084? Or does the display automatically centre on the station being demodulated?
73, ZL1BOE
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The Panadapter will adjust its relative position to the signal you select to demodulate and will place it in the center of the display (minus the IF offset frequency). While you can "see" 48 KHz of bandwidth, you are only demodulating what is in the RX passhand.
So to answer your question, if you are on 14.084 and you click on 14.072 to tune in a station on that frequency, the Panadapter does not stay fixed (centered on 14.084), but adjusts to the new center frequency of 14.072.
Now there is a slight "twist" to all this. You can have two separate RX passbands within the Panadapter so that you can demodulate two frequencies at one time. You can more this RX demodulation "window" anywhere in the 48 KHz wide Panadapter display. This is called MultiRX and it is explained in the FLEX-3000/5000 operators manuals in the sections about how to use PowerSDR.
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Tim - W4TME
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I have been real busy BUT wanted to thank you for your reply Tim. That was a great explanation and I'm starting to get a better handle on how the Flex 1500 works. I'm really excited and can't wait to get my hands on the Flex-1500. I bought a Genesis G3020 quasi SDR Xcvr (5 watts) KIT last year and 6 days ago finished it. I have been working all over the place with it and it's really cool BUT the Flex-1500 with all it's features and capabilities sounds so awesome I can hardly wait for it to arrive!
--Gary WB8ROL
--Gary WB8ROL
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| Probably a dumb question, but I cannot find a method of moving the center frequency indicator (the vertical red line) when the panadapter is set for minimum zoom (0.5x). For example if I tune 3.870 MHz, the red line is offset to the right so that the visible band is 3.840 to 3.880 MHz. I want to move the red line to the left side of the display so that the visible band will be 3.865 to 3.900 MHz when tuned to 3.870 MHz. How can this be done? Thanks, Hal
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Hal (8/30/2010)
Probably a dumb question, but I cannot find a method of moving the center frequency indicator (the vertical red line) when the panadapter is set for minimum zoom (0.5x). For example if I tune 3.870 MHz, the red line is offset to the right so that the visible band is 3.840 to 3.880 MHz. I want to move the red line to the left side of the display so that the visible band will be 3.865 to 3.900 MHz when tuned to 3.870 MHz. How can this be done? Thanks, Hal
I don't think it is a DUMB question at all. I've been looking for the same thing AND FOUND IT tonight!!!! Should have figured it out a LONG time ago but I blame it on senility hi hi
Go to the General tab on the PowerSDR Setup page AND then the Hardware Config SUB tab. On the sub tab there is an EXPERT checkbox in the DDS group box.
Check the checkbox for EXPERT. Then experiment with the settings.
I wanted to get the center mark (RED) clear to the left - especially on 20mtrs. I found that by putting approx. -19000 into that field I could do that. That way I can keep an eye on the 14.070 digital section and have it on the left and STILL see as high as 14.110. I wanted to do this because there is also 14.103 - 14.108 section used for Olivia digital mode at 1000hz and sometimes 2000hz bandwidths. I can also keep an eye on all the RTTY stuff in between.
Anyhow, apparently you can use minus (-) or regular numbers and accomplish this easily!
Maybe there is some other way BUT this, I believe, was made for just that.
---Gary Wb8ROL
--Gary WB8ROL
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Just to clarify, because I think I did NOT mention the exact field in my post above, I changed my IF(HZ) field to -19000
---Gary WB8ROL
--Gary WB8ROL
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| Gary, I read your positive review of the 1500 on "e-ham" ,however, still on the fence about buying the rig. I was just wondering if you were using your "netbook" to make your "qso's" and what is the cost of the "virtual com ports and virtual audio cables? I'm also wondering if the new "Flex" firmware will support the small "netbook" display? I've read somewhere that "Flex" will support the small 1024 X 600 "netbook" display. I like the freedom of "qrp" rigs that only require small portable "netbooks". Bert M. Thompson KB3MHB/0 ps: I work psk31 and cw and some DominoEX 4. all qrp!
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hamradiobert (8/31/2010)
Gary,
I read your positive review of the 1500 on "e-ham" ,however, still on the fence about buying the rig. I was just wondering if you were using your "netbook" to make your "qso's" and what is the cost of the "virtual com ports and virtual audio cables? I'm also wondering if the new "Flex" firmware will support the small "netbook" display? I've read somewhere that "Flex" will support the small 1024 X 600 "netbook" display. I like the freedom of "qrp" rigs that only require small portable "netbooks".
Bert M. Thompson KB3MHB/0 ps: I work psk31 and cw and some DominoEX 4. all qrp!
Bert,
I generally use my Desktop to run the Flex 1500 because it's easier to see everything on the BIG screen.
I have also heard rumors that Flex will support the netbooks in the future. I do NOT know if that is TRUE or NOT.
Maybe one of the official Flex folks might want to comment on whether the netbook "rumors" are official?
However, I ALREADY support the netbook for the Flex 1500 with my own version of PowerSDR which has the same exact code as the FLEX version of PowerSDR except that I rearranged some controls and resized the panadapter so the whole application will fit on the 1024x600 screen.
I will be making my version available (free, of course) on my website. There is already a 2.05 PSDR netbook version on my website and I need to update it with the 2.08 I am using now.
I have my version of PoweSDR set up on my Asus eeePC which has a 9" screen - it's the Asus 904HD. It has 2GB memory and an Atom 1.6ghz processor. It runs real well and I just did a demo of the netbook with my Flex 1500 over at a friend's house last week AND will be doing a demo for the local radio club next week using the netbook + Flex 1500 again. I plan to take the netbook + Flex 1500 to Field Day and the Dayton Hamfest next year too. BUT at home my old eyeballs definitely prefer the Desktop with a BIG screen.
The PowerSDR software is open source (at least most of it is) so there is probably going to be many versions by many people available in the future - so whether Flex supports it themselves may not be so important.
By the way, just to make things clear - The 2.05, 2.06, 2.07, and latest 2.08 all run on my netbook fine - EXCEPT the main screen is just TOO big to fit on the netbook 1024x600 display. So you can NOT get to all the controls on these versions (unless you run a virtual screen program that lets you run higher resolutions that you scroll to). It is NOT about the firmware - it is about the GUI (graphical user interface) which just needs to be resized or rearranged to fit the smaller screen.
The cost for the Virtual Audio Cable was around $30 and is available on the internet from several people including : http://www.fox-magic.com/vac.php
The Virtual comport program I used was the N8VB vCOM Virtual Serial Port Driver and it is FREE and available on the internet.
---Gary WB8ROL
--Gary WB8ROL
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