On Jun 3, 3:22 pm, "Ron Baker, Pluralitas!" wrote:
"bm" wrote in message

ups.com...

There are many SDRs available today; the Winradio G-series is possibly
the best known. The Flexradio SDR-1000 (now replaced) and the RF Space
SDR-14 and SDR-IQ have properties most other SDRs do not have; the
ability to record a large (up to 190 kHz) portion of the spectrum to a
PC hard drive. The recording can later be analyzed using different
demodulators, bandwidth settings etc.

Ordinary front end filtering is difficult to match with a 190 kHz
spectrum, hence one might need extra high-/lowpass filter or even
notch filters to avoid very strong signals.

The SDR-IQ does emit RFI on higher shortwave, masking very weak but
audible signals. I didn't know until I was informed about it but I
only use higher SW for listening to strong international stations.

So you have one. Interesting.

There is no RFI on lower SW and MW. I don't know if this is also the
case with the SDR-14 and the Flexradio systems. For me the RFI is a
non-issue; for others it may be very important.

Every radio has its birdies. My TS-440 probably has about 20.
And I always have my CRT computer monitor on which
puts out spurs spaced 63 kHz through half of the HF band.

I wonder how strong and wide the interference from the
SDR-IQ is. Maybe it is normal. Maybe it will be reduced
once they go through FCC certification and the boxed version
is available.



For me, the ability to record 19 MW channels into a file for later
analysis far outweighs the RFI and front end issues with the SDR-IQ.
Others may judge otherwise or have a more hostile RF environment.

Yeah, the SDR-IQ has a lot of good applications.

Checking the TS-440, it covers HF with 10 filters of
varying width. One filter selects 0.5 to 1.5 MHz.
So when tuned to MW the whole
band is coming through the front end filter at one time.
A serious MW DXer might consider a preselector even
with an old style receiver.

I looked at the digital receivers a while back and pretty
much decided that I would go with the RX-320D when
I could afford to lose a week playing with a new toy.
But the SDR-IQ looks like it could go to the top of
the list.

--
rb

The thing I'd be curious about is the software. I can't find anything
very descriptive of the software on the website. I suppose I could
download it, install it and play around with it, but I don't like to
install software on my system unless I really need it. Perhaps someone
who has used it can comment? I'd also like to know how many
commercial, third party control softwares could be used with this
receiver.

Steve

There's no problem downloading and installing Spectravue. Easy to
uninstall. There is a "Winrad" software too but no AM demod on it yet.
Don't think other programs can run the SDR-IQ or -14. DRM: Use 3rd
party software like Dream. Spectravue has a learning curve and is not
always intuitive.

The thing I'd be curious about is the software. I can't find anything
very descriptive of the software on the website. I suppose I could
download it, install it and play around with it, but I don't like to
install software on my system unless I really need it. Perhaps someone
who has used it can comment? I'd also like to know how many
commercial, third party control softwares could be used with this
receiver.

Steve