SDRAngel Rx & Tx

Like to report that on my clean installation of Ubuntu 16.04,
sdrangel_3.8.2-1_amd64.deb works like charm.
First time also SDRPlay RSP1 is working along with LimeSDR.

Just easy install using:

sudo dpkg -i sdrangel_3.8.2-1_amd64.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

Must try 3.8.2 on W10 too, at the moment still running 3.4.5 there.
73
Djani

1 Like

@F4EXB - Edouard,

If nothing else, we owe you a debt of gratitude for all that youā€™ve done, and still continue to do, in support of Amateur Radio with the LimeSDR. SDRAngel has been a monumental step forward for the LimeSDR to truly act like an Amateur Radio transceiver and I marvel at every release how solid itā€™s been. I havenā€™t tried the LimeSDR on using SDRAngel on Linux yet mostly because I love the way it plays on my very small LattePanda setup on Win10. I love the screen and think I may try to port one of the 4GB/64GB LattePandas to Linux - but thatā€™s a ways out right now. Maybe a UDoo card would be a better proposition.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that your efforts arenā€™t in the hands of just a few peopleā€¦I know others who are using SDRAngel here in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area (home of the Collins Radio factory where I work) and they are also very impressed and making their own setups for using the LimeSDR and SDRAngel with digital mode apps. So while thereā€™s a few of us working on this with you, there are potentially hundreds of Hams watching whatā€™s happening and setting up their own LimeSDR-based stations.

If it werenā€™t for you, I would have abandoned the LimeSDR project 6 months ago because there was nothing happening with development for more common communication modes used in Amateur Radio and for those that tried (and gave up) havenā€™t furthered it like you have, Edouard. As I said at the beginning, we owe a debt of gratitude to you for all your efforts.

We look forward to more and will be there to support you as we have, and with the same level of enthusiasm.

73 de Marty, KN0CK

4 Likes

+1 on the appreciation of efforts.
As for digital modes, how is that going? I think it would be much easier if there were a CAT interface on a virtual serial port. This would make SDRangel just look like another radio to apps like WSJT and fldigi. Then you would only have to get the audio in and out with the sox app. There may be a way to script something like this in with macros. I have lost time to work on radios lately as I have some large Solidworks modeling projects going, along with winter, life in general, etc. Sometimes I turn the experimental system on to try something but if it doesnā€™t work I donā€™t have time to troubleshoot.

Hello,

at some point someone will want a CAT interface, then later a XYZ interface then later on a ZYX interface, then ā€¦ Therefore my plan is to have a web REST or REST like API then you write your own adapter.

Best regards, Edouard.

3 Likes

With a generic interface like that it sounds like it would be trivial to code an adapter to something like hamlib.

Edouard,

I just wanted to send a quick note to let you know that 3.8.3-1 is running EXCELLENT with new LP filter settings applied at 100 MHz. Tried receive and transmit and just wonderful performance even in rough band conditions. Another GREAT release.

73 de Marty, KN0CK

1 Like

Hello Edouard,

Just wondering if there will be a return of the windows 32bit version or that has been abandoned?

Regards,
Bevan

Hello,

I think it disappeared for some issue. I have to try a build again. Ironically the 32 bit toolchain is the one from stock when you install Qt environment on Windows and you have to struggle to get 64 bit working.

Best regards, Edouard.

I agree with the above, @martywittrock. Plus, I have digital modes working with wsjtx using pulseaudio null-sink and loopback modules in linux. Just no rig control yet.

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Agree on thatā€¦
Here running both, on Ubuntu 16.04 and Win10 :smiley:
Even managed to run 2 x LimeSDR units, doing RX on one Ubuntu 16.04

BTW Luftek case need some active cooling, in case you do not like to see 54 C++
Therefore yesterday have upgraded mine (purchased second hand, from member here)
with some heat sink and nice big fan outside.
Now SDRAngel is reading 31-32 C, even on longer run.

73
Dj

1 Like

Hello Edouard,

you are on a good way with sdrangel3.8.3.
Sideband selection now works.
But I have no idea why I have no audio signal in Pluto TX mode.
I have tested it with two different PCĀ“s (Win10 Pro, 64 bit, one of them is a fast i7-6700k 4 GHz).
What is the difference to the working LimeSDR?
I played with all settings you mentioned, but no effect.
Do I need a special audio coder for PlutoSDR in the background?
Are you or anybody else using a PlutoSDR without this problem?

73,

Bernd

Hi Everyone

I have SDRAngel 3.8.3 on Windows 10 and cannot set the Main centre Freq below 30MHz - 0,030,000 - Did I miss a setting?

Thanks and 73s

Jean

Put NCO on, than adjust bellow 30 MHz
73

Hi 9a4db

I tried - NCO is selected (can take the NCO down to 026,000) but centre still same.

73
J

Plus, bandwidth and filter have to be greater than the offset from 30MHz to the frequency you want to tune to.

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Tried to duplicate the following SDRAngel 3.7.3 and the LimeSDR...Here's what you can expect...COOL!

Is anyone else having the same problem?

open this link and play with settingsā€¦
Application may hang few times but you can not learn better
without trial and error :wink:

1 Like

@Axeman - Lance,

I found that 100 MHz is the sweet spot for me - anything too close to 60 MHz and lower the gain falls off appreciably. I set it at 100 MHz and I have all sorts of gain listening on 80/75m and 40m last night. Also, the lockup in the Channel GUI is gone and itā€™s smooth tuning - really is working excellent.

Now for the nugget of the day: Hold onto your soxā€¦Iā€™m on the cusp of designing a COR (Carrier Operated Relay) for receive and transmit that will put the receive channel being used into 50 Ohms while transmit is on the antenna and blazing away - but it will be a COR T/R switch with a common antenna for the Lime (ā€¦and I need this same capability for the Red Pitaya SDR I have, too). Iā€™m going to breadboard it up this week and then as soon as itā€™s ready for PCB design Iā€™ll get that together in EagleCAD and then submit the design to SEEED Studio to have cheap boards made. Once I get a few boards in my hand (Iā€™m thinking that the size will be about the size of a small Post-It note (about 1.25" x 1.75") with the connectors) I can send you one of those boards to build up using your own parts (unless I have spare - Iā€™ll let you know). Iā€™m going to try to power it from the USB port, but letā€™s see how that plays out - I want to use a ā€˜fly weightā€™ relay for the low power coming out of the LimeSDR. You do realize this also sets me up for putting this to the drive of a larger PA I have that drives at 0dBm (1mW) and puts out +46dBm (40W). I have a 10dB attenuator Iā€™ll use to pull the Tx side to 0dBm on the Lime since itā€™s at +10dBm (I think on 80/75m and up - I guess I should really measure that). Again, Iā€™ll keep you advised on my progress on that. Iā€™m not going to do any filtering for now at low power, but later on I will be designing the Tx output filter and Rx preselector/preamplifier - but thatā€™s a ways out (couple of months).

Stay tunedā€¦Should be a pretty interesting week if I donā€™t get sidetrackedā€¦

73 de Marty, KN0CK

1 Like

Good idea fro the COR. And, yes, I believe the LP filter is split both up and down frequency and the roll off is pretty bad, so you do have to have it more than twice your offset in NCO.
I have an old Henry solid state preamp stage for the old 2KW tube amp that gets up to 20 watts on HF from milliwatts. I have been using it to test wsjtx and it works. The Limeā€™s output is adjustable down to sub mW levels, if you can trust yourself not to set it too high.
What we really need is a TX/RX I/O on the SDRangel app, as well as a way to set the frequencies and read what they are set to. A fake CAT interface can be made from that.
I have been looking at the Lattepanda, interestingā€¦

1 Like

@martywittrock
Afraid that COR is good enough for FM, AM or digital modes, CW maybe - but for SSB can be pure pain. Writing from own experience on 2 m linear PA.

2 Likes