FlexRadio Systems FLEX-6000 SIGNATURE Series User Manual
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FlexRadio Systems FLEX-6000 SIGNATURE Series User Manual

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FLEX-6000 SIGNATURE SERIES
SMARTSDR SOFTWARE USER GUIDE
Version
2.3.9
9 July 2018
Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved. FlexRadio Systems is a registered trademark and SmartSDR is a
trademark of FlexRadio Systems. All other brands or names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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  • Page 1 SMARTSDR SOFTWARE USER GUIDE Version 2.3.9 9 July 2018 Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved. FlexRadio Systems is a registered trademark and SmartSDR is a trademark of FlexRadio Systems. All other brands or names are trademarks of their respective owners.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide TABLE OF CONTENTS How to Request Technical Support and Assistance ............... 1 Key Contacts ........................... 2 Installing SmartSDR for Windows on your PC ..............3 Recommendations and Requirements ................3 Minimum Windows and .NET Requirements ..............
  • Page 3 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 10.7 Predefined receive filters .................... 34 10.8 Recording and Playback of Slice Receiver Audio............34 11 How to Operate the Panadapter / Waterfall ................36 11.1 How to Create / Destroy a Panadapter / Waterfall ............. 36 11.2...
  • Page 4 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 18.2 Transmitting Using the Default Recording Device ............ 69 18.3 Configuring the Default Windows Sound Devices ............ 69 18.4 PTT Override when Operating LAN Remote ............. 70 18.5 Operating CW when Using PC Audio ................ 70 18.6...
  • Page 5 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 25 How to Configure Antennas ....................94 25.1 Getting Started ......................94 25.2 Selecting the Receive Antenna for a Panadapter Without Slice Receivers ....94 25.3 Using the Panadapter ANT Pop-Out Menu ..............94 25.4...
  • Page 6 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 31.1.5 DAX TX Channel Switching ................127 31.1.6 DAX TX Channel and Microphone Interaction............ 128 31.1.7 DAXIQ Configuration ..................128 31.2 Enabling the SmartSDR CAT interface..............130 31.3 Configuring a PTT (keying) interface ..............131 31.3.1 PTT Override when Operating Digital Modes ............
  • Page 7 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 35.10 XVTR Tab ........................ 157 36 Restoring to Factory Defaults ..................... 158 37 Main Window ........................159 37.1 Introduction ......................159 37.2 Upper Menu Bar ....................... 159 37.2.1 Menus ........................159 37.2.2 Volume Controls ....................
  • Page 8 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.7.7 Power Genius XL Panel ..................181 37.8 SmartSDR CWX panel ..................... 182 37.8.1 CWX Setup Panel ....................183 38 Error and Status Messages ....................184 38.1 Thermal Over Temperature ..................184 38.2...
  • Page 9 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 42.1 FlexRadio Software License ..................193 42.2 GPL Information....................... 196 viii Page Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved.

  • Page 10: How To Request Technical Support And Assistance

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 1 HOW TO REQUEST TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE If you encounter any issues installing or operating SmartSDR for Windows with a FlexRadio Systems Signature Series software defined radio, please on-line Community (https://community.flexradio.com/) to find information about SmartSDR and the FLEX-6000 radios.

  • Page 11: Key Contacts

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 2 KEY CONTACTS FlexRadio Systems - U.S.A 4616 W. Howard Lane, Suite 1-150 Austin, TX 78728 U.S.A. Phone: 512-535-4713 Fax: 512-233-5143 Email: sales@flexradio.com HelpDesk: https://helpdesk.flexradio.com User Support: https://community.flexradio.com Outside of the USA Please contact your local distributor.

  • Page 12: Installing Smartsdr For Windows On Your Pc

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 3 INSTALLING SMARTSDR FOR WINDOWS ON YOUR PC The SmartSDR for Windows application is the software used to interface with the FLEX-6000 radio hardware for viewing RF spectrum and controlling the radio. It must be installed before you can start using your FLEX-6000 with a Windows PC.
  • Page 13 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The first screen displayed is the Welcome to the SmartSDR Setup Wizard as shown below. Click NEXT to continue. The SmartSDR for Windows End User’s License Agreement screen is displayed as shown below.
  • Page 14 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The Select Destination Location screen is displayed as shown below. It is recommended that you use the default installation location, as it will use the Windows recommended location for the application files.
  • Page 15 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide default. If the DAX application files are installed (DAX sound drivers), the installer will prompt to reboot the system at the end of the installation. Click NEXT to continue. The Select Additional Tasks screen is displayed as shown below. It is recommended that you leave the “Create a desktop icon”...
  • Page 16 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Click NEXT to continue. The Ready to Install screen is displayed as shown below. Click NEXT to continue. The Installing screen will be displayed showing the files being loaded Page...
  • Page 17 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide After the application files have been installed, additional drivers will be installed as shown below. Page Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved.
  • Page 18 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide After a few moments, the Completing the SmartSDR Setup Wizard screen will be displayed as shown below. It is highly recommended that you review the SmartSDR for Windows Release Notes as they contain important information regarding the features and operation for this specific release of SmartSDR for Windows.

  • Page 19: Connecting To A Radio

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 4 CONNECTING TO A RADIO When SmartSDR starts, a dialog box is displayed showing any radios found in your local network. SmartSDR locates these radios using a network broadcast protocol that is limited to the local subnet of your network.
  • Page 20 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide If the radio is in use on another computer or is connected to a third-party application that provides radio GUI functions, you will see “In Use” and the IP address or computer name that is using the radio: To connect to a radio that is in use by another client, select the radio by clicking on it.

  • Page 21: How To Update The Radio Firmware

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 5 HOW TO UPDATE THE RADIO FIRMWARE In the event the installed radio firmware version is not compatible with the active version of SmartSDR, a firmware update will be required. You will notice that there is a yellow indicator followed by the text “Update”...

  • Page 22: Licensing The Radio For Smartsdr Version 2

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 6 LICENSING THE RADIO FOR SMARTSDR VERSION 2 Version 2 of SmartSDR for Windows is licensed software. FlexRadio Systems makes the Version 2 software available under license to owners and users of FlexRadio Systems 6000 Series radios.
  • Page 23 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide completes for the license to become available for installation. Note that the radio must have access to the Internet for this step to complete. A reboot of the radio may be necessary to complete this process.

  • Page 24: Smartlink

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 7 SMARTLINK 7.1 SMARTLINK OVERVIEW Use SmartLink™ to operate your Flex 6000 Series radio with a computer running SmartSDR for Windows Version 2 connected to the Internet from a remote location. SmartLink provides authenticated, secure access to the radio over the Internet at effective data transfer speeds.

  • Page 25: Smartlink Setup

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 7.2 SMARTLINK SETUP 7.2.1 Create a SmartLink Account SmartLink requires an online user account to store the SmartLink user credentials and connection information about the radios users are authorized to use. To create your SmartLink account or log into an existing account, start SmartSDR and click the blue Log In button near the top of the radio selection screen.
  • Page 26 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The following screen will appear. If you do not have a SmartLink account, click Sign Up in the SmartLink Login screen to create an account using either an email address and password of your choice, or the credentials of an existing Google or Facebook account.

  • Page 27: Register The Radio In Smartlink

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 7.2.2 Register the Radio in SmartLink The next step is to register your radio in your SmartLink account. Begin by clicking on the radio in the radio chooser. Connect and SmartLink Setup buttons will appear at the bottom of the screen.
  • Page 28 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide After a brief period to establish a secure connection, a prompt to key the radio will be shown. Use a Hand Mic, CW Paddles, or an RCA PTT input to key the radio. This cannot be done via the Maestro MOX button or any remote keying input.

  • Page 29: Test The Radio In Smartlink

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide When the radio is registered, the screen will update to indicate the registered status as shown below. The final configuration step is to map communication ports in the radio to the outside world. Open the Network Settings pane as shown above and select Automatic mode.

  • Page 30: Using Smartlink

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 7.3 USING SMARTLINK Use SmartLink to operate your Flex 6000 Series radio with a computer running SmartSDR for Windows Version 2 connected to the Internet from a remote location. SmartLink provides authenticated, secure access to the radio over the Internet at effective data transfer speeds.
  • Page 31 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide When the log in is complete, return to the SmartSDR start screen, which will now look like the following: Radios available through SmartLink are shown in the list with the logo.
  • Page 32 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Click on the desired radio to select it. Info, Connect, Low BW Connect and SmartLink Setup buttons will appear at the bottom of the screen. Click on the Connect button to connect to the radio and open the SmartSDR main window. The radio will start, using the same settings (number of panadapters, panadapter frame rates, etc.) it would...
  • Page 33 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide then start SmartSDR again, click the Name/Callsign banner at the top of the SmartSDR start screen, then click Logout in the Account Settings screen. Page Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved.

  • Page 34: How To Determine The Ip Address Of The Radio And The Software Version Numbers

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 8 HOW TO DETERMINE THE IP ADDRESS OF THE RADIO AND THE SOFTWARE VERSION NUMBERS Bring up the Radio Setup Panel by clicking the “Settings” drop-down menu at the top left of SmartSDR.

  • Page 35: Smartsdr Overview

    9 SMARTSDR OVERVIEW 9.1 THEORY OF OPERATION SmartSDR is a software system designed to run on radios such as the FLEX-6000 Signature Series. SmartSDR has been designed from the start to work on hardware platforms that perform wide-band sampling of the RF spectrum. How is wide-band sampling different from other radios? In superheterodyne (also called “superhet”...

  • Page 36: Panadapter

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide audio, each Slice Receiver shares the same base performance as the other Slice Receivers. For the operator, this means that access to two or more receivers with the same top performance may be used interchangeably without concern for differing performance characteristics of each receiver often found in superheterodyne receivers.

  • Page 37: Panafall

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 9.2.5 Panafall The Panafall display is simply a Panadapter and a Waterfall that are joined such that the horizontal axis has the same frequency location. In this way, the Panadapter portion of the display will show the current state of the spectrum and the Waterfall portion will show a historical perspective.
  • Page 38 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 11ms Good Very Low <= 500Hz 85ms Excellent Highest DIGU / DIGL <= 1kHz 43ms Very Good Medium <= 2kHz 21ms Good > 2kHz 11ms Good Very Low 43ms Very Good...

  • Page 39: How To Operate A Slice Receiver

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 10 HOW TO OPERATE A SLICE RECEIVER 10.1 HOW TO CREATE AND DESTROY A SLICE RECEIVER To add a Slice Receiver, click the +RX button in the Panadapter menu on the left side of the Panadapter.

  • Page 40: How To Tune A Slice Receiver

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide the indicator will tune the Panadapter display to center the slice, leaving the slice frequency unchanged. The indicator also will show if the transmitter is enabled in the off-screen slice.

  • Page 41: Making A Slice Receiver Active

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Tune Step Size: The amount of frequency change caused by one tuning action on the FlexControl, mouse scroll wheel or by dragging is determined by the active slice Tune Step Size. Tune Step Size is mode group specific and can be set by the user using the Step Size adjustment on the active slice Widget.

  • Page 42: How To Change The Rx Filter Of A Slice Receiver

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide between left and right channels for headsets or speakers. Clicking on the L and R buttons will step between panning to the far left/right and centering the audio in the stereo sound stage. The...

  • Page 43: Predefined Receive Filters

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 10.7 PREDEFINED RECEIVE FILTERS Slice Receivers provide a set of predefined receive filters for each reception mode: Clicking on the mode button in the Slice Receiver opens a drop-down menu in which you can select the reception mode or choose one of the predefined reception filters.
  • Page 44 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide To stop playing audio, press the play button a second time or wait for the recorded audio to finish playing. To record or play again, press the appropriate button. Only one audio recording per Slice Receiver is saved.

  • Page 45: How To Operate The Panadapter / Waterfall

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 11 HOW TO OPERATE THE PANADAPTER / WATERFALL 11.1 HOW TO CREATE / DESTROY A PANADAPTER / WATERFALL On the lower tool bar of SmartSDR there is a button to create a new Panadapter and Waterfall .

  • Page 46: How To Change The Signal Magnitude Scale Of A Panadapter

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Use the plus and minus magnifying glass buttons located in the bottom left corner of the Panadapter for rapid zooming. Zooming out (-) will double the bandwidth presented in the Panadapter while zooming in (+) will halve the bandwidth.

  • Page 47: Adjusting The Panadapter And Waterfall Controls

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The vertical scale is calibrated in dBm, showing the signal strength as measured at the antenna terminal. 11.5 ADJUSTING THE PANADAPTER AND WATERFALL CONTROLS Display menu button on the Panadapter menu will expose the display controls. A horizontal line separates Panadapter controls (top) from Waterfall controls (bottom).
  • Page 48 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The final Panadapter control, Weighted Average, emphasizes signals that are increasing in amplitude over ones that are declining, a fast attack, slow decay mode. This tends to continue to show locations where signals have been and show a more precise view of their full amplitude when they first appear.

  • Page 49: How To Change The Size And Position Of Multiple Panadapters

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 11.6 HOW TO CHANGE THE SIZE AND POSITION OF MULTIPLE PANADAPTERS Clicking the Maximize button will prioritize the arrangement of the Panadapter at the top of the display. Once a Panadapter is maximized a grey horizontal separator will appear between the maximized Panadapter and any other Panadapters that are open at the time.
  • Page 50 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide When multiple Panadapters are open, clicking on the main bar and dragging its position will rearrange the Panadapter windows. When two or more Panadapters are open, all but one of them can be popped out of the SmartSDR main window and sized and positioned anywhere on the PC display.

  • Page 51: Noise Mitigation In Smartsdr

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 12 NOISE MITIGATION IN SMARTSDR To properly utilize the DSP noise reduction features of SmartSDR, it is important to understand the type of noise causing interference. There is no single solution for noise mitigation since different types of noise require different algorithms.

  • Page 52: How To Configure Noise Mitigation

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 13 HOW TO CONFIGURE NOISE MITIGATION The FLEX-6000 Signature Series transceivers have several digital-signal-processing functions that enhance reception in noisy environments. 13.1 AGC THRESHOLD Automatic Gain Control (AGC) is a feature which automatically adjusts the Slice Receiver’s audio gain (volume) based on the strength of signals in the receiver’s passband filter.

  • Page 53: Dsp Noise Mitigation Features

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Operating with AGC turned OFF may be desired by operators who want to avoid having a strong signal drive a weak nearby signal into the noise floor resulting from AGC audio attenuation, such as when operating digital modes.

  • Page 54: Wideband Noise Blanker (Wnb)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 13.3 WIDEBAND NOISE BLANKER (WNB) The Wideband Noise Blanker (WNB) is used to combat fast rise time pulse-type noise such as power line hash and car ignitions. To enable the Wideband Noise Blanker, click the WNB button, then adjust the threshold control for the best noise suppression.

  • Page 55: Noise Reduction (Nr)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide spectrum, as is the case with WNB. The NB algorithm complements the WNB algorithm and may be used with or without WNB. It may more effective than WNB, less effective or have no effect on specific examples of impulse noise.

  • Page 56: How To Use Tracking Notch Filters (Tnf)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 14 HOW TO USE TRACKING NOTCH FILTERS (TNF) 14.1 TRACKING NOTCH FILTER THEORY With the notch filters found on most receivers, the notch removes an audio frequency after the AGC.
  • Page 57 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The Tracking Notch Filter will be created on the frequency where the right-click occurred. A TNF will be shown by a greenish vertical line with diagonal yellow stripes. Once the TNF is created, the TNF may be remembered, deleted or adjusted by right-clicking on the TNF again: To see details on the current TNF or change its frequency or width, hover your cursor over the TNF.

  • Page 58: Turning All Tracking Notch Filters On Or Off

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 14.3 TURNING ALL TRACKING NOTCH FILTERS ON OR OFF To disable all TNFs at the same time, click on the TNF icon in the bar at the bottom on SmartSDR: When all TNFs are disabled, the TNF icon will “gray out”...

  • Page 59: Automatic Notch Filter (Anf)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 14.4 AUTOMATIC NOTCH FILTER (ANF) The Automatic Notch Filter automatically applies a Tracking Notch Filter, as described above, to remove constant tones such as carriers and heterodynes from the received audio passband. These filters can be applied to each Slice Receiver as needed.

  • Page 60: Using The Flexcontrol Interface

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 15 USING THE FLEXCONTROL INTERFACE The FlexControl interface provides a handy physical knob and a set of buttons that can be programmed to perform selected operations in SmartSDR. 15.1 CUSTOMIZING THE FLEXCONTROL INTERFACE From the “Settings”...
  • Page 61 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The different options include: • Tune Slice – When enabled, the knob will tune the active slice • Band Zoom – Zooms out to the current band (then returns upon 2 use) •...

  • Page 62: Operating The Flexcontrol

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • CW Speed – When enabled, the knob will set the CW Speed in WPM. • CWX Macros [1 -12] – When selected, pressing the button will send the selected CWX Macro •...
  • Page 63 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide may solve the problem. If the problem persists, please open a HelpDesk support ticket so that a technical support engineer can attempt a manual load of the drivers. 2.) Serial port conflict – The FlexControl emulates a serial port via a USB connection which is dynamically assigned a com port number by Windows.

  • Page 64: How To Use Profiles

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 16 HOW TO USE PROFILES Profiles allow the user to name and save the state of the radio and recall it later. Profiles can even be exported and restored on another FLEX-6000 Series radio. This facilitates convenient backup of radio configurations and helps IT managers of DXpeditions or contest super-stations test configurations and then install or restore them at a site.

  • Page 65: Transmit Profiles

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 3. Change Slice A to SAM (This loads the default linked MIC profile Default) 4. Load Default PR781 Mic profile. (This Mic profile is now linked to the AM/SAM mode group) 5.

  • Page 66: Global Profiles

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Each Transmit profile saves a set of power settings, one setting for each band. To save power settings for each band, select the Transmit profile from the drop-down menu, then tune to each band and adjust the power settings.

  • Page 67: Saving And Deleting Profiles

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 16.4 SAVING AND DELETING PROFILES From the “Profiles” drop-down select the option “Save Global Profile”, “Save Transmit Profile” or “Save MIC Profile”. This will bring up one of the following Profile Manager Windows: There are three tabs at the top of the window.

  • Page 68: Loading Profiles

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Take care when creating a new MIC profile to ensure that the Slice Receiver that is selected to control the transmitter also selects the mode to be associated with the new MIC profile. If this is not the case, the new MIC profile may become associated with the wrong mode.
  • Page 69 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Transmit profiles can be quickly selected from the drop-down menu on the Transmit Panel above the “Tune” and “MOX” button, as shown below: Page Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved.

  • Page 70: Default Profiles

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide MIC profiles can be quickly selected from the drop-down menu on the P/CW Panel above the MIC gain slider, as shown below: The user can leave the Profile Manager open to the side of the SmartSDR window and instantly switch configurations by double clicking the desired profile.

  • Page 71: Comparing Profiles And Persistence

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Default profiles can be modified or deleted from the radio using the Profile Manager but will be restored if the radio is reset to the factory defaults (see section 0).
  • Page 72 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Persistence remembers many settings as shown in the following table: Radio PTT Timeout Show mic meter in receive TX1/2/3/Acc enabled and delay Show transmit signals in Waterfall TXREQ enabled and polarity (RCA & ACC)

  • Page 73: Importing And Exporting Radio Settings

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 17 IMPORTING AND EXPORTING RADIO SETTINGS From the “Profiles” drop-down menu select “Import/Export Profiles” This will bring up the Import/Export window: Select the appropriate tab for import or export controls. The Browse button on the Import tab will bring up a File Explorer window that can be directed to the file to import.
  • Page 74 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The available options are: • Global Profiles (Basic radio state settings, see below) • TX Profiles (Phone transmit settings, see below) • MIC Profiles • Memories (Frequency memories) • Preferences (Slice and Band persistence. See section 16.7) •...
  • Page 75 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Global Profile Fields PANADAPTER SLICE Global Center Frequency CWX Macro 1 Frequency RX EQ Enable XVTR Frequency CWX Macro 2 XVTR Frequency RX EQ Levels (all frequencies) XVTR Key CWX Macro 3...
  • Page 76 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide TX Profile Fields MIC Profile Fields Interlock Power TX Filter Low TX Delay Hardware ALC Enabled TX Filter High PTT Timeout Tune Level Mic Selection PTT Inhibit Power Level Mic Level...

  • Page 77: How To Use Pc Audio

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 18 HOW TO USE PC AUDIO SmartSDR for Windows can be operationally “decoupled” from the radio hardware by playing Slice Receiver audio through the default PC speakers (playback device) and using the default PC microphone (recording device) to make phone QSOs.

  • Page 78: Transmitting Using The Default Recording Device

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide grayed-out since a DAX device cannot be used as a sound device for remote operation. See section 18.3 for instructions for reconfiguring the default audio devices. 18.2 TRANSMITTING USING THE DEFAULT RECORDING DEVICE To transmit using a microphone connected to the PC, select the PC option from the MIC input menu.

  • Page 79: Ptt Override When Operating Lan Remote

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Windows will display a window like this: To choose a device to play the radio audio, click on the Choose your output device menu (outlined in red) and select the device. Similarly, choose the input device from the Choose your input device menu.

  • Page 80: Monitoring Remote Audio And Network Performance

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 18.6 MONITORING REMOTE AUDIO AND NETWORK PERFORMANCE There are two ways to monitor the performance of the network while using PC Audio. The first is with a convenient Network Health Indicator display in the lower right of the SmartSDR display. The second is a detailed Network Diagnostics display.
  • Page 81 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The Network Diagnostics window shows several different types of diagnostic data. There is a Network Status indicator that describes a summary of the quality of your network connection. Latency (RTT) is the round-trip time in milliseconds for a keepalive packet to be sent between SmartSDR and the radio hardware.

  • Page 82: How To Operate Cw Mode

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 19 HOW TO OPERATE CW MODE To use SmartSDR in CW mode, select CW in the slice control panel. This will bring up the CW specific controls in the transmit panel, and show the narrower CW receive filter presets.

  • Page 83: Cw Transmitting

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Slice Receiver A should be tuned to the DX station’s transmitting frequency. Slice Receiver B should be selected as the active slice, so you can tune your transmitter to the DX station’s listening frequency.

  • Page 84: How To Operate Qrq (High Speed) Cw With Qsk

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The keyer speed can be set between 5 and 100 WPM using the Speed control in the CW transmit panel. The IAMBIC selector must be enabled to use the built-in keyer. The Sidetone control will increase or decrease the sidetone volume in the speakers and headphones.

  • Page 85: How To Connect An External Keyer Using The Fsk/Key Input On The Accessory Connector

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 19.5 HOW TO CONNECT AN EXTERNAL KEYER USING THE FSK/KEY INPUT ON THE ACCESSORY CONNECTOR In CW mode, the FSK/Key input on the rear panel accessory connector (pin 4) can be used as a straight key input.

  • Page 86: How To Operate Single Sideband Mode (Ssb)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 20 HOW TO OPERATE SINGLE SIDEBAND MODE (SSB) To use SmartSDR in SSB mode, select either USB or LSB in the slice mode control panel. This will bring up the SSB specific controls in the transmit panel and show the associated receive filter presets. The image above shows the Slice Receiver in USB mode.

  • Page 87: How To Operate Ssb In Split Mode

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Standard SSB receive filter bandwidths from 1.6K to 4.0K can be selected from the drop-down panel under the mode selection button as shown below. Custom bandwidths can be adjusted either by clicking and dragging the side of the filter display on the Panadapter or by using the filter control enabled by hovering the mouse at the bottom of the carrier indicator.

  • Page 88: How To Configure The Audio Controls For Phone Modes

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 20.3 HOW TO CONFIGURE THE AUDIO CONTROLS FOR PHONE MODES The microphone connections vary by radio model. On the FLEX-6300, FLEX-6500 and FLEX-6700 a suitable microphone can be connected to the 8-pin front panel connector. On the FLEX-6400/M and FLEX-6600/M a microphone can be connected to the rear panel 1/8 inch TRS jack.

  • Page 89: Operating The Speech Processor

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide There are two indicator components of the microphone or input Level meter that show the actual audio input level. The leftmost component is a solid bar indicating the average input level and the smaller box-like component farther to the right of the average input level bar is the peak level indicator.

  • Page 90: How To Configure The Equalizer (Eq)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The recommended setting is to leave the speech processor enabled and in the NORmal or DX position. 20.3.3 How to Configure the Equalizer (EQ) The Transmit Equalizer control panel is illustrated above with the TX and ON buttons highlighted.

  • Page 91: How To Configure Vox

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 20.3.4 How to Configure VOX Press the button to enable voice operated transmit operation and adjust the VOX gain slider to adjust the VOX sensitivity. Sensitivity should be adjusted to the minimum that allows reliable keying by the voice without keying from other room noises.

  • Page 92: How To Configure The Downward Expander (Dexp)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 20.3.6 How to Configure the Downward Expander (DEXP) The Downward Expander reduces the microphone input gain during the quiet periods between spoken words, eliminating extraneous background noise. This improves the apparent signal to noise ratio of your transmitted audio by “soft gating”...

  • Page 93: Recommended Audio Adjustment Steps For Phone Modes

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide See section 10.8, Recording and Playback of Slice Receiver Audio for complete details on the usage of this feature. Also, see section 0, How to Export Transmitted Audio for a description of the DAX MIC Stream.

  • Page 94: How To Operate Am And Sam Modes

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 21 HOW TO OPERATE AM AND SAM MODES To operate in Amplitude Modulation (AM) or Synchronous AM (SAM) mode, select AM or SAM on the Slice Receiver’s mode drop down menu. In selective fading conditions SAM mode may provide better detection of AM signals.

  • Page 95: How To Operate Fm Mode

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 22 HOW TO OPERATE FM MODE The FM (frequency modulation) feature provides three modes of FM operation: Narrow FM (NFM), Wide FM (FM) and Digital FM (DFM). Wide FM is the standard FM mode used by commercial radio stations and provides 5kHz deviation FM modulation and demodulation with pre-emphasis and de-emphasis, CTCSS tone encoding and memories.

  • Page 96: Operating Fm Repeaters (Eu Only)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 22.2 OPERATING FM REPEATERS (EU ONLY) Repeaters in the UK and much of Europe may require an access tone to switch the transmitter from standby to ready for use. Commonly, this is a 1750 Hz tone of one half of a second or less.
  • Page 97 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The columns are defined as follows: • Owner - This is important for importing files and is typically the callsign of the person creating the memory. This will be populated automatically when creating a new memory if a callsign has been entered in SmartSDR.

  • Page 98: How To Operate Diversity Reception (Flex-6600/M And Flex-6700 Only)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 23 HOW TO OPERATE DIVERSITY RECEPTION (FLEX-6600/M AND FLEX-6700 ONLY) Diversity Reception is a powerful method for improving the reliability of a message signal by using two or more communication channels with different characteristics. Diversity is very useful to aid reception in weak and fading (QSB) signal conditions.
  • Page 99 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide SmartSDR automatically sets the slice audio faders to place the two antennas in the left and right ears respectively. Your brain does the rest. Remember that the sound will be very different from normal reception since you are literally listening in “stereo”...

  • Page 100: How To Operate The Atu

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 24 HOW TO OPERATE THE ATU The antenna tuning unit (ATU) is a device in the RF signal path between the transmitter and its antenna to improve power transfer between them by transforming the impedance at the antenna feed output at the transmitter to a value compatible with the transceiver’s power amplifier.

  • Page 101: Manual Mode

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 24.1.1 Manual Mode To operate the ATU in manual mode without saving the ATU L/C values, make sure the MEM (ATU Memory) button is unlit by clicking on it (ATU memories are enabled by default).
  • Page 102 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Once ATU Memories are active, perform an ATU tuning operation as described above. If the ATU could provide a better match than in bypass mode, both the ATU and MEM buttons will be...

  • Page 103: How To Configure Antennas

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 25 HOW TO CONFIGURE ANTENNAS 25.1 GETTING STARTED When SmartSDR starts for the first time, it loads a single Panadapter and Slice Receiver with Antenna 1 (ANT1) selected by default. Transceiver operation is then functional on ANT1 with no further setup or adjustment required.
  • Page 104 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide FLEX-6400/6600/M The ANT pop-out menu provides receive antenna selection, RF Gain control as shown in the images above, and Wideband Noise Blanker control. Changing the configuration in this menu affects the receiving setup for all Slices located on its Panadapter.

  • Page 105: Selecting The Transmit Antenna For A Slice Receiver

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 25.4 SELECTING THE TRANSMIT ANTENNA FOR A SLICE RECEIVER The transmit antenna for each slice is selected from the red drop-down menu as shown above. The selection of transmit antennas varies by radio model. Each Slice may have its own designated transmit antenna.

  • Page 106: Using Two Transceive Antennas On The Flex-6600/M And Flex-6700

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide reception. Slice A has ANT1 selected as the TX antenna and slice B has ANT2 selected as the TX antenna. Clicking on the TX indicator for the slice changes the TX indicator to red and activates the respective slice as the transmitter with its TX antenna.

  • Page 107: Receive-Only Antenna Operation

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide is used on its antenna. Accidental transmission on the XVTR port could put up to +10 dBm of reverse power into the connected preamp. 25.9 RECEIVE-ONLY ANTENNA OPERATION In the image above a FLEX-6700 is configured so that slice A receive antenna is set to RX A and slice B to RX B.

  • Page 108: Setting The Rf Gain/Preamplifiers

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The FLEX-6300 can be set to 0dB (default) and +20dB Note: Since the FLEX-6300 always operates in wide band mode, the preamplifier incorporates a tapered gain with -3db cutoff located at ~14 MHz. This technique is optimized so that preamp gain, and an improved noise figure is provided above 14 MHz, and the gain is tapered below 14 MHz to offset the rising noise levels below 14 MHz.

  • Page 109: Antenna Configuration Basic Terms And Rules

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide be pointed toward the band opening for this measurement because noise propagates with the opening. Note: Although the RF gain slider is present in every Panadapter, the setting controls the RF preamplifier of the associated SCU.
  • Page 110 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • All Slices placed on a Panadapter must use the same receive antenna as the Panadapter. Changing the receive antenna for a single slice will change the receive antenna for its host Panadapter and all Slices within.

  • Page 111: Displaying Spots In Smartsdr For Windows

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 26 DISPLAYING SPOTS IN SMARTSDR FOR WINDOWS SmartSDR v2.3 for Windows introduced a feature that allows Spots, supplied by third party programs, to be displayed directly in the Panadapter window. Some of these programs include N1MM, FRStack, Slicemaster, DXLabs, and Logger32.
  • Page 112 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide When a spot is clicked, the Active Slice will automatically tune to the spot frequency. When there are many spots in a single area, they collapse into a number value. In the image above, the “+3” is such a collection of spots.
  • Page 113 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide A specific spot can be deleted by right-clicking on a spot, as shown below: The spot settings menu can be found by going to Settings → Spots… in SmartSDR. This window is shown below: The Spots button enables or disables the Spots feature.
  • Page 114 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide starting position closer to the top of the Panadapter. This setting can be useful for users that prefer that spots appear above signals that appear in the Panadapter. The Font Size slider changes the font size of the spots.

  • Page 115: How To Configure Transverters

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 27 HOW TO CONFIGURE TRANSVERTERS To configure transverters, first bring up the transverter configuration panel in SmartSDR by clicking Settings… Radio Setup… and the selecting the XVTR tab. The radio setup panel should look like this: To add a transverter band, click the plus (+) tab.
  • Page 116 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide LO freq (MHz): the calculated value of the local oscillator in your transverter. This number should match the transverter manufacturer’s specifications. If it does not, check the RF and IF entries again and make corrections.

  • Page 117: Using A Transverter

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide When operating in a Transverter band the Transverter name will appear in the top right corner of the Panadapter as shown below: 27.1 USING A TRANSVERTER There are two ways to tune to a transverter. The first way is to use the band select panel in the Panadapter (shown below).

  • Page 118: Multiple Copies Of A Band

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The FLEX-6000 is receiving on the IF frequency and performing a frequency translation in the slice and the Panadapter to indicate the frequency being listened to. If you have more than one transverter on the same band, you can name them differently and then access them with different transverter buttons.

  • Page 119: Transverter Power Settings

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Example: • The current Panadapter is tuned to 50.125MHz • There is an external 144 to 28MHz transverter on a FLEX-6700 with an internal 2m band • The most recently used 144MHz band is the external 144-28MHz transverter •...

  • Page 120: Weak Signal Considerations

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 27.5 WEAK SIGNAL CONSIDERATIONS When using SmartSDR for weak signal operations, three kinds of receivers will be in use: Panadapters, Waterfalls and Slice Receivers. The noise floor of the Panadapter may be changed to facilitate seeing signals that are weaker than the “noise floor.”...

  • Page 121: Using The Flexradio Power Genius Xl Amplifier

    Full details can be found in the Power Genius XL User Guide, available from the FlexRadio Systems website. The only configuration change needed to operate the Power Genius XL amplifier from SmartSDR for Windows is to configure the correct transmit time delay.

  • Page 122: How To Connect An External Amplifier

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 29 HOW TO CONNECT AN EXTERNAL AMPLIFIER The FLEX-6000 has hardware interfaces for connecting an external power amplifier. There are four PTT outputs on the FLEX-6700, FLEX-6600/M, FLEX-6500 and FLEX-6400/M and two outputs on the FLEX-6300, each with independently configurable time delays, a transmit hold-off input for amplifiers that have QSK hold-off outputs, and a standard zero to negative four Volt hardware ALC input.

  • Page 123: Usb Cables

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 30 USB CABLES 30.1 USB CABLES OVERVIEW The USB Cables feature provides a means to control external devices such as amplifiers, antenna controllers, and tuners via USB to Serial data cables connected to the USB ports on the back panel of the radio.

  • Page 124: Cable Management

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 30.2 CABLE MANAGEMENT USB Cables are managed through the USB Cables window found in the Settings -> USB Cables menu: Using the USB Cables window, cables can be selected, activated and deactivated, modified, logged and removed.

  • Page 125: Cat Cables

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 30.2.1 CAT Cables CAT cables are serial data communication cables on which a small subset of the CAT command set is implemented. Most of the functions implemented on these cables are frequency reporting functions.
  • Page 126 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The CAT commands supported on CAT cables are: • FA and ZZFA: Report the source frequency, Get/Read Only • FB and ZZFB: Report the source frequency, Get/Read Only. FA and FB report the same information.

  • Page 127: Bit Cables

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 30.2.2 BIT Cables BIT cables provide a means to map the tuned frequency of the radio to a set of individual signals/wires at the end of the cable. These cables are designed to control external devices when the radio is tuned to specific bands or frequency ranges, and for external keying or sequencing that is triggered when the transmitter becomes active.

  • Page 128: Bcd Cables

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 30.2.3 BCD Cables BCD cables provide a means to map the tuned frequency of the radio to a 4 or 5-bit Binary Coded Decimal output representing specific bands. The BCD signal that appears on the cable is configured by use of the controls in the USB Cables menu: •...
  • Page 129 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide VHF VBCD Output Band Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0 1296 2304 3456 5760 10368 24048 47088 Page Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved.

  • Page 130: Ldpa Cables

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide HF + VHF Output Band Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0 1296 2304 3456 5760 10368 24048 47088 30.2.4 LDPA Cables Control cables for Low Drive Power Amplifiers for the 2 and 4 meter bands produced by Down East Microwave Inc.

  • Page 131: How To Operate In Digital Modes

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 31 HOW TO OPERATE IN DIGITAL MODES With the introduction of DAX (Digital Audio eXchange), digital audio signals can be transferred from the radio to third-party sound card applications without the need for a radio-to-PC audio interface or a physical sound card in the PC.

  • Page 132: Dax Control Panel Setup

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Set DAX Audio Source If you intend to use DAX audio for transmit, select DAX as the input source for the audio in SmartSDR. Enabling the MON (monitor) will allow you to listen to the transmitted signals via a DAX.
  • Page 133 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Each of the DAX Audio channels has several controls. The first control is the enable button in the upper left of each channel. This button and the line of text below it control and display the state of each DAX channel.
  • Page 134 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide A ToolTip box will appear with a more detailed status message and suggestions for corrective action as shown below: In this case, the No Slice status was present, and the last line of the ToolTip box suggests selecting a DAX channel for a slice.
  • Page 135 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide When a DAX Channel is set for a Slice Receiver, the DAX Control Panel(s) connected to the radio will also show the Slice Receiver that is connected to the DAX Channel as confirmation. When transmit is initiated by a digital mode program through CAT or other means, SmartSDR must decide which audio stream to send.

  • Page 136: Dax Channels To Sound Device Mappings

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide DAX will allow multiple PCs to use the same DAX channel(s). For example, you could use two PCs to listen to the same frequency with different decoding programs. If more than one PC is used on the same DAX channel, the TX selection in the DAX Control Panel will determine which PC will be the source of the transmit audio.

  • Page 137: Dax Tx Channel And Microphone Interaction

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 31.1.6 DAX TX Channel and Microphone Interaction When the DAX TX Channel has been selected to provide audio for the transmitter (DAX button in the transmit control panel), the radio will still accept audio from the selected microphone if the DAX TX stream contains no data.
  • Page 138 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Set DAXIQ Stream in DAX Control Panel On the DAX Control Panel, enable the stream that corresponds to the channel set in the SmartSDR Panadapter by clicking on the number. When enabled, the button will change to blue. Here you also can see the center frequency of the Panadapter and the Streaming status.

  • Page 139: Enabling The Smartsdr Cat Interface

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The DAX IQ channels have similar status states as the DAX Audio channels. A complete accounting of each state and the possible resolutions are detailed in the table below: Channel...

  • Page 140: Configuring A Ptt (Keying) Interface

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 31.3 CONFIGURING A PTT (KEYING) INTERFACE To key the radio for transmitting digital modes either a CAT connection or serial port PTT interface can be used. The most common method is to use CAT commands to key and un-key the radio, but either a physical or virtual serial port can be used as well.
  • Page 141 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 31.4.1.1 Fldigi RigCAT Configuration Steps • Start Fldigi and open the Configure Menu • Select the Rig Control menu option • Click on the RigCAT tab • Check the Use RigCAT checkbox •...
  • Page 142 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • Click on the SAVE button to save the configuration changes Shown below is an example of the Fldigi Sound Card Configuration for DAX Setting up FLDIGI to use DAX audio channels is done in the Fldigi configuration panel. Click Configure, Sound Card and the Audio Tab to bring up the sound card selection page.
  • Page 143 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Adjusting the Audio Gain Levels For the transmit level setting, adjust the DAX TX Gain slider until the peak hold bar registers below 0 dB on the SmartSDR for Windows Audio Input Level meter to achieve the power output reasonable and customary for the digital mode you are operating.

  • Page 144: Rtty Mode

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 31.5 RTTY MODE RTTY mode is a variant of DIGL mode, provided to facilitate tuning, click tuning and reporting of RTTY Mark frequency via CAT or the FlexLib API. In RTTY mode two fields appear in the DSP drop down menu in place of the APF/ANF sliders.

  • Page 145: Digi Mode Audio Offsets

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 31.6 DIGI MODE AUDIO OFFSETS When operating the radio in DIGU or DIGL mode a receive filter Offset control is available in the DSP tab of the Slice Receiver. This control allows the operator to set the audio offset in Hertz of the center of the receiver’s bandpass preset filters.

  • Page 146: How To Export Transmitted Audio

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 32 HOW TO EXPORT TRANSMITTED AUDIO SmartSDR provides a means to export digitized audio that appears at the transmitter’s input. This audio is exported to the DAX MIC channel where it can be connected to any program that opens a sound card device.

  • Page 147: How To Operate Using Waveforms

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 33 HOW TO OPERATE USING WAVEFORMS 33.1 WHAT IS A WAVEFORM MODULE? A Waveform Module or “waveform plug-in” adds signaling or mode capability to a FLEX-6000 Signature Series radio. Waveform Modules are installed and run inside the radio without any outside computer software, adding a new mode or capability into the FLEX-6000.
  • Page 148 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Press the “Install…” button, to bring up the Windows Explorer file select window for Waveforms. Select a waveform plug-in to install into the FLEX-6000. For this example, the name of the waveform plug-in file is “FreeDV.ssdr_waveform.” Double click on the entry with this name, or single click and press the “Open”...

  • Page 149: Operating A Waveform Module

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The Waveform Application is now installed in both the Windows computer and the radio. Any Waveform modules may be uninstalled by opening the window above and selecting the module for removal, then pressing the “Uninstall”...

  • Page 150: How To Operate In Full Duplex (Fdx) Mode

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 34 HOW TO OPERATE IN FULL DUPLEX (FDX) MODE All FLEX-6000 Signature Series Transceivers are inherently capable of full duplex operation. In normal simplex operation, all Slice Receivers are muted when transmitting. When Full Duplex (FDX) is enabled, the transmitting Slice Receiver is muted along with all other Slice Receivers on the same antenna.

  • Page 151: Fdx Capabilities By Radio Model

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 34.3 FDX CAPABILITIES BY RADIO MODEL The capabilities and rules for FDX operation vary by model as defined by its respective hardware capabilities. Specifics for each model are as follows.

  • Page 152: Flex-6300 And Flex-6500 Full Duplex

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The image below illustrates an example SO2R configuration using the FLEX-6700. 34.3.2 FLEX-6300 and FLEX-6500 Full Duplex Both the FLEX-6300 and FLEX-6500 models are enabled for full duplex operation using XVTR as a receive-only port so long as at least 70 dB of port to port isolation is provided for a 100W station.

  • Page 153: Preselection Band Filter Block

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The Spectral Capture Units (SCU) in the FLEX-6000 transceivers contain three primary component blocks: • Preselection band filters (except in FLEX-6300) • A preamplifier / attenuator • A high-performance analog to digital converter (ADC) also known as a digitizer Each of these blocks plays a role in receiver performance and must be considered when planning full duplex operation.

  • Page 154: High-Performance Analog To Digital Converter Block (Adc)

    FlexRadio Systems assumes no responsibility for damage incurred from high signal levels entering the receiver.

  • Page 155: Full Duplex Antenna Isolation Requirements

    The FLEX-6000 Signature Series transceivers are designed to disconnect the receiver from the antenna when signal levels are +18 dBm to +22 dBm depending on frequency. The front-end protection circuits will begin to engage at approximately +15 dBm.

  • Page 156: Radio Setup

    TURF file for changing the region. A TURF file is supplied by FlexRadio Systems or the international distributor where the radio was purchased. Navigate to the TURF file and click “Open”. The radio will automatically update the radio to the new region.
  • Page 157 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Next is the Remote On enable/disable control . When blue, Remote On is enabled, when grey, remote on is disabled. Closing the rear panel RCA connector (ground the center pin) will power up the radio.

  • Page 158: Network Tab

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 35.4 NETWORK TAB The network tab offers information and settings related to the radio’s network connection. The Network tab contains the IP address, sub-net mask and MAC address in use by the radio.

  • Page 159: Gps Tab

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 35.5 GPS TAB The “GPS” tab provides the option to Install or Uninstall a GPS module in the software. This option is not available on the FLEX-6300. If your radio has a GPS module installed from the factory, this process should already be complete.

  • Page 160: Tx Tab

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 35.6 TX TAB The TX tab offers adjustments timings, interlocks and global transmit parameters. The Timings section has adjustments for RCA TX1, TX2 and TX3 (only TX1 on FLEX-6300) as well as the Accessory TX, TX Delay and TX Timeout.
  • Page 161 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 3. Enable the respective TX1/2/3 outputs by clicking the Disabled button for the appropriate TX1/2/3 output on each radio in the transmit tab (enable the output for the port you are using in steps 1 and 2) 4.

  • Page 162: Phone/Cw Tab

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The user can also enable/disable the Hardware ALC by clicking on . When blue Hardware ALC is enabled, when grey it is Disabled. Δ – Please note this input is provided as a safety measure for external amplifiers. It is NOT meant to be used in regular operation as an active power control input or to modify the “attack”...

  • Page 163: Rx Tab

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Buttons are found on the Phone/CW tab to toggle Iambic mode and paddle swap for dot/dash. Iambic can be enabled or disabled in either mode A or mode B configurations. Blue signifies selected mode There are two settings for the Key configuration, Dot/Dash and Dash/Dot.
  • Page 164 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide NOTE: When running the frequency calibration, the radio uses Slice A and ANT-1 regardless of the radio’s slice/antenna configuration. The 10 MHz Reference section offers a selection of 10 MHz signal sources that synchronize the local 10 MHz master oscillator.

  • Page 165: Filters Tab

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 35.9 FILTERS TAB The three sliders in the Filters tab control the RX filter sharpness/latency for the three mode groups, Voice (USB/LSB/AM/SAM/FM), CW and Digital (DIGU, DIGL, DFM, RTTY). The processing time, or latency, of the digital RX filters increases as the slider is moved to the right.

  • Page 166: Xvtr Tab

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • USB/LSB/AM/SAM o Level 3 for all bandwidths • FM/NFM/DFM o Level 0 for all bandwidths All TX filtering is performed with low latency (less sharp) filters, but SmartSDR will sharpen the TX filters as necessary to prevent any signal being emitted outside of the lower limit set by the Lo Cut control.

  • Page 167: Restoring To Factory Defaults

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 36 RESTORING TO FACTORY DEFAULTS Restoring the radio to factory defaults will clear any installed waveform modules, persistence and profile data in the radio and return it back to its original state. Default profiles are restored if they had been deleted.

  • Page 168: Main Window

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37 MAIN WINDOW 37.1 INTRODUCTION The Main Window of SmartSDR is where the primary operation of the radio will occur. Inside this window there is a Top Menu Bar, Bottom Menu Bar, and Tiles.

  • Page 169: Volume Controls

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.2.2 Volume Controls In this section, there are two rows of controls. The first row controls the speaker volume for the radio’s powered speakers. By clicking you will mute the audio of any speakers connected to the PWR SPKR plug.

  • Page 170: Gps Indicator

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.3.2 GPS Indicator • FLASHING YELLOW = GPS in warm up • SOLID YELLOW = GPS in holdover (lost satellites) • SHORT FLASH BLUE = GPS locking • LONG FLASH BLUE = GPS in hold phase mode •...

  • Page 171: Panafall (Panadapter/Waterfall)

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.5 PANAFALL (PANADAPTER/WATERFALL) 37.5.1 Panadapter Definition A Panadapter is a visual spectrum display of radio frequencies (RF). Frequency is listed along the horizontal axis from lower to higher frequency, from left to right, measured in Megahertz (MHz).

  • Page 172: Waterfall Definition

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.5.2 Waterfall Definition A Waterfall is a historical representation of the frequency data over time. Frequency is listed along the horizontal axis from lower to higher frequency, from left to right, measured in Megahertz (MHz).

  • Page 173: Panadapter Menu

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.5.3 Panadapter Menu A set of menu options at the left side of the Panadapter control various functions of the Panadapter. The Hide Menu button collapses the Panadapter menu so that it is no longer obstructing the view of the Panadapter.
  • Page 174 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The RX ANT drop down menu allows you to select the antenna that you would like to use for receiving within this Panadapter. This will dictate which antenna is supplying the RF for the frequency display as well as the receive audio for the Slice Receivers within the Panadapter.

  • Page 175: Horizontal Zoom

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • It lowers the network bandwidth of data sent from the radio to the client (important in situations where you may have limited bandwidth) • As the rate of update is lowered, the extra data not displayed is averaged and so the variance...

  • Page 176: Vertical Zoom

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide zooming in (+) will cut the bandwidth in half. The frequency at the center of the Panadapter will remain the same after clicking a zoom button. • The second method is a click and drag method using the horizontal axis for more precise zooming.

  • Page 177: Panning Method

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.5.6 Panning Method Each Panadapter can perform a pan function to adjust the frequency range that is viewed. Clicking and dragging within the Panadapter grid will reorient the frequencies being viewed on the Panadapter in the direction that your mouse is moving.
  • Page 178 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Clicking the Close button will remove the Panadapter and any Slices that are displayed in the Panadapter. Once this occurs you will not be able to use the Slice resources until they are recreated in a new Panadapter.

  • Page 179: Slice Receiver

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide When multiple Panadapters are open, clicking on the main bar and dragging its position will rearrange the Panadapter windows. 37.6 SLICE RECEIVER 37.6.1 Definition A Slice Receiver is a software resource which represents an independent, full performance, receiver.

  • Page 180: Carrier Frequency

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.6.2 Carrier Frequency A slice consists of a center Carrier Frequency displayed by a solid yellow or red vertical bar. A yellow bar indicates the slice is “Active”, suggesting that this is the slice that you are currently manipulating.

  • Page 181: Slice Flag

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • If you hover your mouse over the right section a right Control arrow will appear. Clicking and dragging left or right will adjust the high cut of the filter and will display as the right side of the Receive Filter moving left or right.
  • Page 182 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • The Transmit Button enables Transmit (TX) for the slice. When transmit is enabled on the slice the button will highlight red . You can move the transmit capabilities between Slices by clicking the Transmit Button on another slice.

  • Page 183: Slice Menus

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.6.6 Slice Menus In this section of the Slice Flag are a series of menus for adjusting the slice settings. Greyed out menus indicate menus that are not yet implemented.
  • Page 184 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • The Mode Menu button displays the mode that is currently selected. Inside the menu there is a mode drop-down menu and three quick-select modes. To change the quick-select modes to a different mode, use a right click to expose a drop-down menu of available modes.

  • Page 185: Smartsdr Radio Control Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • In the DAX menu, there is a selection for your DAX Audio Channel. 37.7 SMARTSDR RADIO CONTROL PANEL The SmartSDR Radio Control panel contains the controls and metering required for optimal FLEX- 6000 RF transmission.

  • Page 186: Rf Power / Atu Control Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.7.1 RF Power / ATU Control Panel • RF Power bar meter: This meter is an indication of the peak RF power being transmitted • SWR bar meter: While transmitting, the SWR meter will measure the ratio of peak voltage on the minimum amplitude of voltage of standing wave, or VSWR.

  • Page 187: Cw Transmit Control Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.7.2 CW Transmit Control Panel • ALC bar meter: This meter is an indication of the analog ALC hardware input levels provided by external power amplifiers. If there is ALC being displayed, the external power amplifier is notifying the exciter (FLEX-6000) to reduce the drive level.

  • Page 188: Phone Transmit Control Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.7.3 Phone Transmit Control Panel • Level bar meter: This meter shows the real-time audio input level in dB from the selected audio input. A peak level of approximately -10 dB is the optimal target for fully modulating the radio.

  • Page 189: Voice Mode Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 37.7.4 Voice Mode Panel • Carrier Slider: adjusts the AM Carrier Level that is used by the radio. Sliding the control to the right will increase the carrier level while sliding to the left will decrease the level.

  • Page 190: Equalizer Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The Active Receiver Panel mirrors the controls of the active receiver. For a list of the controls and their function see the Slice Flag Section of this manual. The tune step control is the only control that does not also reside on the Slice Flag .

  • Page 191: Smartsdr Cwx Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide • SWR: The standing wave ratio, calculated by the amplifier from the forward and reverse power values. Note that the smallest value reported by this meter is 1.2:1. • Temp: The output power transistor heatsink temperature, in degrees Celsius.

  • Page 192: Cwx Setup Panel

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide To insert Prosign BK use & To insert Prosign SK use $ The user can quickly control the transmit speed by clicking the up down arrows next to the speed control or directly typing into the text box.

  • Page 193: Error And Status Messages

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 38 ERROR AND STATUS MESSAGES Various error and status messages regarding the operational state you your radio may be displayed to inform you of conditions that require attention. The following section describes these messages.

  • Page 194: Troubleshooting Tips

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 39 TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS If you encounter problems running SmartSDR for Windows, please use the following troubleshooting tips. If these tips do not solve the problem, please submit a HelpDesk support ticket for assistance from FlexRadio Systems.

  • Page 195: Mac Address Filtering

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide If the installed third-party firewall is redundant, it may be disabled at your discretion. Please contact your firewall vendor for information regarding disabling or modifying the firewall for FLEX-6000 access.

  • Page 196: Flex-6000 Fails To Upgrade To A New Version Of Firmware

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 39.4 FLEX-6000 FAILS TO UPGRADE TO A NEW VERSION OF FIRMWARE If the FLEX-6000 fails to upgrade to a newer version of firmware, usually indicated by the power LED being illuminated purple for more than 5 minutes after starting the upgrade, this indicates that the initial step of transferring the new firmware to the radio is not working properly.

  • Page 197: I Purchased A License, But It Doesn't Show Up In The Radio

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 39.8 I PURCHASED A LICENSE, BUT IT DOESN’T SHOW UP IN THE RADIO. If you have SmartSDR Version 2 running on your PC and your radio, and you purchased or are entitled to a Version 2 license, but you continue to see the “License Required”...

  • Page 198: Running The Network Settings Test, I Do Not Get A Green Response

    FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 39.9.3 Running the Network Settings Test, I do not get a green response. A yellow test result means that a remote connection might work depending on the configuration of the network at the remote end. Remote connections may work from some locations and not others.

  • Page 199: Legal Notice

    40 LEGAL NOTICE ©2013 - 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All rights reserved. FlexRadio Systems®, SmartSDR™, and related trademarks, names, and logos are the property of FlexRadio Systems and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
  • Page 200 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, FAILURE TO REALIZE ANY EXPECTED SAVINGS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, OR CORRUPTION OR LOSS OF DATA, FAILURES TO TRANSMIT OR RECEIVE ANY DATA, PROBLEMS...

  • Page 201: Copyright Information

    Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the behalf of FlexRadio Systems. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, for any purpose other than the purchaser’s personal use,...

  • Page 202: Software Licence Agreements

    THIS AGREEMENT, YOU MUST NOT INSTALL, USE, OR COPY THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT. License Grant FlexRadio Systems grants to you, and you accept, a limited, non-exclusive and revocable license to use the Software Product, in machine-readable, object code form only. You shall only use the Software Product only as authorized in this Agreement.
  • Page 203 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Restrictions on Transfer Without first obtaining the express written consent of FlexRadio Systems, you may not assign your rights and obligations under this Agreement, or redistribute, encumber, sell, rent, lease, sublicense, or otherwise transfer your rights to the Software Product.
  • Page 204 Texas in Travis County or the United States District Court, Western District of Texas, Austin Division. You and FlexRadio Systems consent to the jurisdiction of such court in any such civil action or legal proceeding and waive any objection to the laying of venue of any such civil action or legal proceeding in such court.
  • Page 205 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 42.2 GPL INFORMATION Portions of the software contained within the FLEX-6000 Signature Series transceiver are covered under the GNU General Public License (GPL). GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991. Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
  • Page 206 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide The precise terms and conditions for copying, distribution and modification follow. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION 0. This License applies to any program or other work which contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it may be distributed under the terms of this General Public License.
  • Page 207 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide work based on the Program, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the entire whole, and thus to every part regardless of who wrote it.
  • Page 208 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide 5. You are not required to accept this License, since you have not signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions are prohibited by law if you do not accept this License.
  • Page 209 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide Each version is given a distinguishing version number. If the Program specifies a version number of this License which applies to it and "any later version", you have the option of following the terms and conditions either of that version or of any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
  • Page 210 FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

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