PowerSDR-IF
v1.19.35
Installation & Setup
If
you are running Vista or Windows 7, it is wise to be logged in as
Administrator, or another user with admin privileges. If you are the
only user,
this is probably the case for your normal login. PowerSDR/IF requires
.NET
Framework 3.5 SP1 (Service Pak 1). Update to this version if necessary
before
installing PowerSDR/IF. Use Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel
(or
Programs & Features, depending on OS) to check installed version.
The
latest version can be found at Microsoft.com.
The
PowerSDR-IF v1.19.35 program can be downloaded here.
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Click
OK and wait for the routine to finish. PowerSDR will then launch. This
is basically
what it will look like (except that the name in the title bar will read
v1.19.35).
Click on the
Setup menu in
the upper left of the program. This will open up the setup screen, as
shown
below. Most if not all of the settings will match this picture. If not,
adjust
them to match the picture. It is imperative
that
“Receive Only” be checked.
Select rig type to match your rig.
Choices include K3, Yaesu (FT950/2000/5000), TS940S, TS950S and HRD.
The HRD choice assumes that HRD is connected to the rig and provides a
DDE link to HRD. This choice provides an wasy way to connect to rigs
that are not directly supported. Set
port number to match the port that your rig is connected to unless you
are connecting though HRD. This can
be a real serial port, a
USB-to-serial adapter or a virtual port such as those created by
LP-Bridge, LPB2 or microHam
Router. It is smart to get PowerSDR/IF working
directly with your rig before trying it through LP-Bridge or LPB2. Set
baud rate to the fastest that your rig supports, and set your rig to
match. Leave other
settings
at their defaults. If your rig is a K3, you have the option of syncing
the RX Filter
width in PowerSDR/IF with the K3. This feature has some limitations,
and you may not like
it. With a K3, it is normal to also poll for IF Frequency, which makes
mode offset tracking automatic.
Click on Collapsible
Display
tab. Collapsible Display is a new feature that allows the user to fill
the
PowerSDR window with the panadapter (or waterfall or Panafall),
covering up all
the extraneous buttons and controls. Additional controls can be “added
back”
into the display as desired. Check the additional items that you want
displayed
whenever displaying collapsed view. Click OK to close the
window.
Click Start in the
upper left corner of PowerSDR/IF. You should now see
the K3 VFO
frequencies in PowerSDR/IF, and you should see signals in the
panadapter,
as shown
below. The display defaults to the “fill” style, where the graph is
filled down
to the noise floor. This can be changed to the style shown by going to
the
Setup>Display tab and un-clicking the “Fill” selection. If you have
speakers
connected to the E-MU, you should also hear sound from them. If not,
check to
see if the Mute button is lit in PowerSDR/IF. If it is, click on it to
un-mute.
Listening to PowerSDR/IF is of course optional. It can be used solely
as a
panadapter display and interface if you choose.
Setup for Rigs Without CAT Interface
To
display a relative frequency scale instead of actual rig frequency,
check the
“Show Freq Offset” box in the PowerSDR Setup tab depicted above. The
resulting
display will appear as shown below. Tuning the rig will cause the
signals to
shift. The red line represents the center of the IF passband, ie.
frequency the
rig is tuned to.
PowerSDR-IF
v1.19.35 Collapsed View
Below is the normal (Expanded) PowerSDR/IF Stage display. We have added
color box
overlays to
help identify the various control sections. The sub-receiver is
activated in
this picture. Your view may be slightly different, depending on how you
size
the window. PowerSDR-IF can be sized from 1024x768 up to the full
screen
resolution of you monitor. As you zoom up the window, the pan display
becomes a
larger percentage of the window. Most of the receive controls are
active for
LP-PAN use. The transmit controls only work with FlexRadio hardware.
PowerSDR/IF
Stage provides several ways of tuning, and supports both VFO A and VFO
B of the
K3.
Tuning
of VFO A can be accomplished in these ways…
-
Using the tuning knob on the K3
-
Clicking and dragging the pan display for
large excursions
-
Using the mousewheel for fine tuning. The
tuning step size is set in the box between VFO A and VFO at the top of
the
program.
-
Point-and-click
is invoked by right-clicking in the pan display to
activate a yellow cursor. Position the cursor over a signal and
left-click to
tune to the signal.
-
Enter
a frequency directly into the VFO A window
Tuning
of VFO A can be accomplished in these ways…
-
Using the VFO B tuning knob on the K3
-
Clicking and dragging the blue sub-RX
passband and dragging it
-
Using
the mousewheel for fine tuning. The tuning step size is set in
the box between VFO A and VFO at the top of the program. Hold Ctrl
while using
the mousewheel to tune VFO B
-
Point-and-click
is invoked by right-clicking twice in the pan display
to activate a red cursor. Position the cursor over a signal and
left-click to
tune VFO B to the signal. When the red cursors are on, mousewheel
tuning
adjusts VFO B.
-
Enter
a frequency directly into the VFO B window
Here
is a summary of the various controls that are supported in this version
of
PowerSDR, referenced to their location on the screen.
PURPLE SECTION
RED SECTION |
X2TR… Not used
Red Dot, Green Arrow…Controls the sound recorder. Clicking on the
red
dot starts recording of the entire panadapter passband. Clicking on the
green
arrow allows playback. During playback, you can tune around anywhere in
the
recorded passband.
AF…Controls
overall audio monitor level
AGC-T… Sets the AGC threshold
Drive… Not used
AGC/Preamp… Sets AGC speed and preamp setting, only for
PowerSDR. If you set up
the Aux CAT interface in LP-Bridge, the preamp setting will follow the
K3
Squelch… Adjusts squelch… mainly useful for FM, but
active in all modes.
BCI rejection… Not used
YELLOW SECTION |
Split / A>B / A<B / A<>B… Self explanatory. Other
controls in this group are not implemented.
BLUE SECTION |
NR…
Digital Noise Reduction (PowerSDR Only)
ANF…
Automatic Notch Filter (PowerSDR Only)
NB, NB2… Digital Noise Blankers (PowerSDR Only)
SR, BIN… Not used
Display Selector… Determines what is displayed in the graph
window. Choices are
Panadapter, Scope, Phase, Spectrum, Waterfall, PanaFall (PowerSDR Only)
AVG / PEAK… Provide averaging or peak hold behavior for
the signals in the
panadapter. Settings are on the Display tab in Setup. (PowerSDR Only)
MultiRX / Swap… Controls the sub-receiver (PowerSDR Only).
Sliders determine the
routing and mixing of audio from the main and sub-receiver. When Sub RX
is on,
there are two passbands displayed… green for main and blue for sub.
Green
passband is linked to VFOA and blue is linked to VFOB.
WHITE SECTION |
Mode
Specific Controls… Panel
changes depending on Mode setting.
CW Pitch… The most important control is CW Pitch,
which only appears when a CW
Mode is selected. Set to match your K3 CW Pitch setting.
Show TXCW Frequency…When CW mode is selected, checking the "Show
TXCW Frequency" box places a vertical yellow line on the tuned
frequency. This is particularly helpful
when working split and looking for an open frequency in a CW pileup.
GREEN SECTION |
Band…
Selects band for both
PowerSDR and K3. This can be used as a quick way to change bands.
Mode…
Selects mode for both
PowerSDR and K3. Modes not supported in K3 are ignored by K3. Modes
such as DRM
require additional software to decode. SAM is Synchronous AM mode.
Filter…
Selects PowerSDR DSP filters
in both PowerSDR and K3, unless filter syncing is disabled in
SetupIF>IF
Frequencies.
Width and Shift…
Follow passband indicator on
the pan display. If you checked the “RX Filter Width” box in SetupIF,
the Width
will synchronize with the DSP settings on the K3, regardless of whether
changes
are made in PowerSDR or the K3. But there are limitations to the use of
this,
since Shift cannot be linked. This can cause erratic behavior,
especially if
you try to adjust the lower side of the passband. You can temporarily
disable
the link by clicking on “Var2”, or permanently disable it in SetupIF.
ORANGE SECTION |
RX Meter… allows several different modes for the S-Meter to be selected
TURQUOISE SECTION |
Pan & Zoom…
adjusts the portion of the
passband that is displayed in the panadapter. Wide display is far left
in zoom
bar, PAN should be centered.
TOOLBAR |
In
addition to the highlighted areas, there are several other controls
which are
useful. They are accessed in the toolbar at the top of the program.
RX EQ…
enables graphic equalizer
for PowerSDR receiver. The equalizer can be set in the Equalizer pull
down menu
at the top of the program.
Memory… save popular frequencies for recall.
DONATE… Please consider a donation to Scott and Chad
for their hard work in
customizing PowerSDR/IF for use with LP-PAN!
Expand/Collapse… Toggle between the Expanded (original) view
and the Collapsed
(uncluttered) view.
Calibration...