Software Defined Ham Radio. Software Defined Radio. Disc Jockeys influence on SDR. The User Interface of computers suck when it comes to Radio Controlling.
In January 2010 I got so annoyed by being forced to control the radio with keyboard and mouse that I finally decided to look for something else. Now, almost one year later I’m happy that I can present you an interesting alternative. The interface costs less than 100 USD, is commercially available and improves the overall SDR experience significantly. While strolling through the shelves of the local consumer electronics retailer, I noticed some kids producing horrible noises by scratching on a digital turntable. When they left after a few minutes I went over to have a look by myself on this device. Even if the turntables, the knobs and the buttons on such a console are directly converted into digital signals, the tactile feel is almost the same as on a record player from the seventies.
Exactly this question also applies to Software Defined Radio. With this thought, the idea of a new SDR User Interface was born. DSP - Digital Signal Processing. Softrock Software Defined Radio Homepage (www.wb5rvz.com) Software Defined Radio This site is devoted to the area of Software Defined Radio (SDR), more specifically, the "Softrock" series of technology sampler kits and the GenesisRadio.Com SDR transceiver.
These kits are for working amateur radio HF receivers and transceivers. These kits have provided an economical, relatively risk-free, and exciting entry into the SDR tent. This site describes the kits and their availability and is intended to help newcomers who have absolutely no SDR experience ease into the topic with "Heathkit-Like" build instructions and easy-to-digest theory explanations. Frequently Asked Questions Bob KC4UAI maintains a very informative FAQ page in the files section of the Yahoo Softrock40 User group (you must be logged into that group to see the file). New WB5RVZ SDR FAQ page is being set up to capture issues that have been raised in the Softrock40 group (to compensate for the abysmally poor search capability in the Yahoo Group architecture).
Softrock Kits - an Overview. Websdr.org. Software Defined Ham Radio. RFspace SDR-14 Software Defined Receiver, RF Space sdr14. Specifications | Screens | Spectral Scan | Spectrograms | Front Panel | Rear Panel | F.A.Q.
The RFspace SDR-14 is a 14-bit software defined radio receiver. It offers a broad range of spectrum analyzer and demodulation capabilities. The hardware samples the whole 0-30 MHz band using a sampling rate of 66.667 MHz. The digital data from the ADC is processed into I and Q format using a direct digital converter (DDC). The I and Q data is then sent to the PC for processing using a USB interface. Supported formats at this time include USB, LSB, AM, FM, WFM, CW, CWr and DSB.
The SDR-14 comes with a High Frequency (HF) amplified frontend with switched attenuators and 1Hz tuning. One of the most exciting features of the SDR-14 is the ability to record band segments of any band to hard drive in real time. The SDR-14 operates from 12 VDC at 360 ma and comes with AC power supply, USB cable and computer CD. Please see the December 2005 issue of QST for an in-depth review of this radio on pages 63-66.