Due to the nature of the SDR-1000, the largest part of this operating manual, by far, will refer to software. The operating manual has numerous screenshots of windows and forms to detail the various steps.
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Knowledge Base If you have any ideas on how to improve the SDR-1000, please feel free to contact us, or better still, to join our email reflector (see our website for details). Not only is the SDR-1000 a software defined radio; it is also a user defined radio.
Acknowledgements FlexRadio Systems could not be as successful, nor could the SDR-1000 radio be what it is today without the many selfless contributions of our users all over the world. These contributions have spanned and continue to span improvements to our hardware and software, ranging from bug reports and feature requests to actual design and implementation of certain functionality.
12kHz to 60MHz along with transmit capability on all licensed amateur bands within the coverage range. The theory behind the SDR-1000 is described in detail in a four part QEX magazine series entitled, “A Software Defined Radio for the Masses .”...
The filters improve 3rd harmonic rejection by more than 35dB over the original SDR-1000. There are BPF filters in front of the preamp board (in the signal chain) to provide overload protection for the LNA. The LNA is then followed by the low pass filters, which in turn drive the QSD (mixer) on the TRX board.
(DEMI144-28FRS). Only a single coax cable is required for both RF and TR control. The SDR1K-ENC enclosure has mounting holes to allow either common or separate transmit/receive connections for transverters. You can even set up the SDR-1000 to provide a dual 144/28MHz IF to cover all of the VHF through microwave bands.
2nd conversion IF for microwave transverters. The 144-28FRSK has a nominal linear output power of 50 - 100 mW with the 28 MHz. IF drive provided by the SDR-1000. On the receive side, a high dynamic range amplifier, a high level double balanced mixer (+17.0 dBm) and a three chamber helical filter...
The attractive GCN-SLV Griffin Technology PowerMate control knob connects to a USB port to provide variable-rate VFO tuning for the SDR-1000. A simple click of the knob changes the tuning rate to any of four user configured tuning rates. It can even be programmed to set the volume by a press, hold, and turn of the knob.
The SDR-USB supports all of the control and status lines required by the SDR-1000 and has special firmware to offload hardware polling tasks from the PC. A separate download and installation of driver software is required.
The SDR-1000 X2 connector provides 6 open collector output pins for user defined functions. The purpose of the UCB is to accept data from the SDR-1000 via the X2 connector to be loaded into a 16X16 memory matrix on the UCB. Pins 1 through 4 of the X2 connector are used as an address field by the UCB to address one of 16 registers within the memory matrix.
We recommend use of the Heil microphones, especially the PR series; however, the HM-10 and Goldline microphones will also work well with the SDR-1000. Use the procedure found in the Voice Transmission Operation section in order to match the microphone appropriately with the sound card and the DSP.
Chapter Hardware Setup The hardware setup process is as simple as making connections from the SDR-1000 enclosure to the hardware necessary to run the radio (power supply, antenna, parallel port, and sound card). Refer to the numerical callouts in Figure 3 below for the location of all radio connections.
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Reversing the cable will not allow the filter to operate properly. If you have any questions regarding the need to use this filter for your sound card, please contact FlexRadio Systems. Then connect the Microphone Input from the sound card (usually color coded red) to the plug labeled “To Mic In”...
Chapter Software Installation & Setup WARNING! Proper operation of the SDR-1000 depends on the use of a sound card that is officially recommended by FlexRadio Systems. Refer to the Specifications page on www.flex-radio.com to determine which sound cards are currently recommended. Use only the specific model numbers stated on the website because other models within the same family may not work properly with the radio.
After reviewing the new version and verifying that your setup works, uninstalling previous versions is fine (but not necessary). Note that it is necessary to manually delete the database file (PowerSDR.mdb) from the application directory (usually c:\Program Files\FlexRadio Systems\ PowerSDR x.y.z) in order to completely remove previous versions.
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Select the Yes or No button to indicate whether your configuration includes the optional 2m transverter. If yes, select your model using the drop down box. Note that FlexRadio Systems only sells the DEMI144- 28FRS model. It uses negative logic keying on the coax to the transverter. Click the Next button to continue.
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FlexRadio Website Specifications page, then select the Unsupported Card option (this will require further setup after the wizard is complete). Unsupported sound cards may be used at the customer’s own risk. FlexRadio Systems cannot vouch for proper operation or support for such cards. Click the Next button to continue.
C H A P T E R Image Null Calibration Since the SDR-1000 has an analog front end, phase and amplitude imbalances can exist between the I and Q channels. Fortunately, this is a simple correction for the DSP software. The procedure for calibrating the receiver is described below.
DRM: Digital Radio Mondiale (requires licensed external demodulator software not available from FlexRadio Systems; Enables VAC if VAC Auto Enable is engaged) Hotkeys are available in the Setup-Form, Keyboard Tab to cycle through the various modes using the keyboard.
On/Receive On/Transmit Figure 50: Power Button States If the SDR-1000 is connected properly and powered on, you will hear relays switch (click) as you cycle the software Power button. Note1: In Standby, the software Power button places the hardware in a lower, standby power state (around 500-600mA), but does not turn off the 12VDC power to the hardware.
(18) X2TR Click to enable using pin 7 of the external controls connector (X2) on the rear panel of the SDR-1000 to control an external amplifier (see the Plug Pinouts chapter). This is the same control as X2 TR Sequencing on the Setup Form–General Tab, Options Sub-Tab.
This control adjusts the percentage of maximum power that will be available in transmit mode. A typical setting for the 1W SDR-1000 radio might be 50% (roughly 500mW), while a radio configured with the 100W PA may be operated at full power (100W) into a proper 50 ohm load. The Drive control may be adjusted while in either receive or transmit mode.
If you have used the default directory during installation as recommended, the database file will be in C:\Program Files\FlexRadio Systems\ PowerSDR x.y.z\. The database file is called PowerSDR.mdb. Double click this file and it will attempt to import all the settings.
C H A P T E R Hardware Setup Figure 55: Hardware Setup The Hardware Setup section allows the user to configure the software to match the SDR-1000 hardware configuration. LPT Address: The memory location of the parallel port used to connect the SDR-1000. This is ...
RFE Present: Should be checked if the RF Expansion board is installed in the stack. The RFE is installed in all current (2005) SDR-1000 packages. Note that if the RFE is not installed (and the box is not checked), none of the controls below it will be visible.
Check the box to enable this option and to set the delay. The sequence when switching from RX to TX is: MOX → X2-7 goes high → Delay → SDR-1000 transmit relay gets set. The sequence when switching from TX to RX is: MOX → SDR-1000 transmit relay is reset →...
Above Normal or High might improve the performance of the software. Note that FlexRadio Systems does not recommend using the Real Time setting as this could cause timing problems with the operating system.
Installation & Setup chapter. Freq Cal Used to calibrate the frequency of the 200MHz oscillator in the SDR-1000. Enter the frequency of the signal source used for calibration in the control provided. The signal source can be a signal generator or a signal like WWV.
The sound card output voltage is the measured single channel AC voltage on the sound card Line Output when running the test. To run the test, first unplug the To Line Out cable from the SDR-1000 enclosure. Click the Test button to begin sending the full range signal. Use an AC voltmeter to measure the voltage between the connector tip and the connector ground.
Primary: Select the connection to be used for the primary connection. Selecting “SDR” allows use of the jack on the back of the SDR-1000. Secondary: Select the connection to be used for the secondary connection. Selecting CAT will ...
When finished, set the signal type to “Off” to allow the SDR-1000 hardware to once again be used. [The rest of this page has been left blank intentionally]...
The Wave form allows the user to Record and Playback either the post-processed audio of the current station, or up to 192kHz bandwidth (as determined by the sampling rate of your sound card) of pre- processed IF (I and Q) “audio” from the SDR-1000. Playback Currently Playing: Displays the filename of the currently playing wave file.
How to use the SDR-1000 in a typical operating environment. This chapter is intended to provide the user with a clear understanding of how the SDR-1000 should be used when performing basic operations such as Powering Up or making a voice transmission. We chose to use this section in this way in lieu of listing all of the features of the radio since the feature list would essentially repeat the information given in the three preceding chapters.
Power-Up Procedure The SDR-1000 is unique in that the software does not have a way to cut the 13.8V power to the hardware unit. For this reason, we recommend the following procedure to ensure that the radio starts in a stable, safe state on Power Up: 1.
USB Tuning Knob Both the Griffin PowerMate and the Contour Designs Shuttle Pro v2 can be used to tune the radio. See the FlexRadio Systems website for documents describing how to setup and use these controllers. [The rest of this page is intentionally left blank]...
Note 1: As more external applications follow Ham Radio Deluxe to incorporate the Flex Radio SDR-1000 with its extended set of CAT controls, the ID can be changed to SDR-1000. However, in the meantime it is more prudent to select the TS-2000.
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Figure 153: MixW PTT & CAT Configure the controls as shown above. MixW does not recognize the extended SDR-1000 CAT controls yet. Therefore we set it up as if PowerSDR were a Kenwood radio (In MixW All Kenwoods is the only option available when CAT is set to Kenwood).
Chapter Troubleshooting This section is intended to be a collection of solutions to commonly seen problems with the SDR-1000. While this is not a comprehensive list of everything that could go wrong, there is a good chance that if you are having a problem, the solution may be here.
If needed, FlexRadio Systems sells a set of qualified cables. You can monitor the input levels by comparing the RX Meter ADC L and ADC R levels. If they are more than 1.0dB apart, then there is likely a cable problem.
If using a microphone connected to the front panel of the SDR-1000 enclosure, it is necessary to connect the plug on the back labeled To Mic In to the microphone port on the sound card (see quick start guide).
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