On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 02:11:36 GMT, "B L R"
wrote:

Concerning Winradio as an SDR:

See the November 2004, December 2004 and January 2005 issues of MONITORING
TIMES.
Dr. John Catalano did a series on Software Defined Radios.
The Winradio is a "software CONTROLLED radio"

Sorry, this is not exactly correct. Winradio make a lot of PC-based
radios, which include Software-Controlled (the 1000, 1500 and 3000
range) *and* Software-Defined (G303, G313).

The Winradio G303i was the first Software-Defined Radio on the
consumer market.

A "SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO" could have it's frequency coverage and mode
of operation redesigned by software!

Sorry, this is correct only in terms of the mode of operation, but not
frequency coverage. I refer you to:
http://www.sdrforum.org/tech_comm/definitions.html,
in particular to the sentence (under the Tier 2 definition of
Software-Defined Receivers) "This front-end equipment represents a
constraint on the frequency coverage of the system,".

In order not to have any such frequency coverage constraint, you would
need to have the antenna connected directly to the A/D converter
(which would need an infinitely fast conversion rate with a huge
resolution). The current state-of-the-art A/D converters, if
connected directly to the antenna, would not provide you with a very
good radio at all. That's why all present-day SDRs must have some form
of a frequency-constraining hardware front-end.

As an appliance operator, the distinction makes no difference to me.

But in the big picture of things, it matters to all of us Radio Consumers
because radio specifications
will not be designed by the manufacture but by third party software
programmers.

It means lower cost, feature rich, flexible radios.
Imagine a radio doesn't do what hobbyist wants it to do so hobbyists
alter it's specifications. Mods are no longer in the realm of
the hardware hacker but in the software writer.

Indeed. This opportunity is already available with the Winradio SDRs.
There is nothing stopping any knowledgeable software writer from
writing his own IF filtering processor and an entire demodulator.
Winradio make the programming information available:
http://www.winradio.com/home/developer-g303.htm
Go for it! :-)

Geoff