Category Archives: SDR

GRCon19: gr-satellites

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gr-satellites: a collection of decoders for Amateur satellites by Daniel Estévez

It is an OOT module encompassing a collection of telemetry decoders that supports nearly 40 different Amateur satellites. This open-source project started in 2015 with the goal of providing telemetry decoders for all the satellites that transmit on the Amateur radio bands. It supports most popular protocols, such as AX.25, the GOMspace NanoCom U482C and AX100 modems, an important part of the CCSDS stack, the AO-40 protocol used in the FUNcube satellites, and several ad-hoc protocols used in other satellites.

This OOT module can be very useful as a supply of building blocks for people interested in developing their own communications systems for satellites and other applications, as a material for the study of how different satellite modems are implemented, or as a readily available ground-station solution for many existing satellites.

SigintOS

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SigintOS

Also for HAM Radio enthusiasts SigintOS can be a way to get acquainted with the Linux operating systems and SDR radios.

SigintOS; as the name suggests, SIGINT is an improved Linux distribution for Signal Intelligence. This distribution is based on Ubuntu Linux. It has its own software called SigintOS. With this software, many SIGINT operations can be performed via a single graphical interface.

Hardware and software installation problems faced by many people interested in signal processing are completely eliminated with SigintOS. HackRF, BladeRF, USRP, RTL-SDR are already installed, and the most used Gnuradio, Gsm and Gps applications are also included in the distribution.

SigintOS works live from a DVD or USB memory stick. Users can also perform the installation process on the hard disk. For installation, simply download sigintos.iso from this download link and write it to a USB flash drive or DVD. It can also run smoothly on virtualization applications such as VMware or VirtualBox.

Source: SigintOS

Posted in SDR

SDR# DDETracker plugin update

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Now that SDR# has switched to .NET 4.6 the plugins also have be re-compiled.

After contact with Ian Gilmour (MM6DOS), he compiled a new .NET 4.6 version that is known as V6 of this create SDR# plugin.

SDR DDETracker

Download the plugin via the Satsignal website, copy two dll files and add the following to your SDR# Plugin.xml file.

<add key="DDE Tracker" value="SDRSharp.DDETracker.DdeTrackingPlugin,SDRSharp.DDETracker" />

SDR# DDE Plugin: DDETracker (Version 6: DDETracker V6 Binaries)

When using SatPC32, the DDE interface is configured via the DivOptions.SQF file and I use the following settings:

- (1)
+ (2)
+ (3)
- (4)
- (5)
;
; Hints
;
; The  +/- signs in lines 1,2,3,4 and 5 allow manual changes of program
; options whiche cannot be done in the menu 'Setup' and its sub menus. 
;
; Don't forget to save possible changes, please!  
; All changes require a program re-start to take effect. 
;
; Line #1: Rotor and CAT steering functions
           +: are available in a 2nd program instance,
;          -: are not available in a 2nd instance (default),
; Line #2: The "general" DDE interface will output data
,          +: constantly, 
;          -: only when the satellites elevation is > 0 (default),
; Line #3: Frequency values sent by the DDE interface
;          +: do not include converter/transverter offsets (default),
;          -: include converter/transverter offsets, 
; Line #4: SatPC32 steers
;          +: only the Downlink frequency and mode,
;          -: Downlink and Uplink frequencies and modes (default)
;
; Line #5: Auxiliary files will be opened with
;          -: Notepad (default).                    
;          +: the build-in editor.

Major SDRSharp update

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SDRSharp LogoSDR# is moving to .NET 4.6

We have been relying on the .NET Framework 3.5 for quite some time until it’s no longer installed by default into the new operating systems. Microsoft also provides minimalist support of this version of the Framework on Windows 10 which handicapped the core and plugin developers in many ways. This also resulted in obscure bugs in the user base. So we moved recently the entire code base to the .NET 4.6 in order to refresh the software and make it compatible with modern operating systems like Windows 10.

This has many implications:

  • Better performance
  • Better programming API
  • Support of Windows 10
  • Support of Linux and Mac with Mono 4.0 and up
  • End of support of Windows XP and Vista
  • End of support of the ExtIO interface (not portable)

We coordinated this migration with all the plugins and front-ends developers so no body misses the boat.

The installation procedure has also changed and now the main package contains a batch file to download the dependencies required to run RTL-SDR.

This might be disturbing for a few, but the overall impact was judged positive and a better investment for the future, especially with the new API offered by .NET 4.6.

Source: Yahoo SDR# Team

Posted in SDR

SDRSharp 1347 released

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SDRSharp LogoTo my surprise I saw today (11-06-2015), that there was a new SDR# version released on there website. Below all the changes that have been done on the code since version 1337.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1347 | prog | 2015-06-09 18:22:46 +0200 (Tue, 09 Jun 2015) | 1 line

Added sticky tuning mode.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1346 | prog | 2015-06-09 17:27:06 +0200 (Tue, 09 Jun 2015) | 1 line

Fixed click to tune on non-tunable sources
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r1345 | prog | 2015-06-09 17:12:10 +0200 (Tue, 09 Jun 2015) | 1 line

Added additional modes: Center and Free tuning.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1344 | prog | 2015-06-09 00:35:23 +0200 (Tue, 09 Jun 2015) | 1 line

Fixed multi-device support
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r1343 | prog | 2015-06-08 23:52:56 +0200 (Mon, 08 Jun 2015) | 1 line

Added more checks for RTLSDR source.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1342 | prog | 2015-06-08 23:27:17 +0200 (Mon, 08 Jun 2015) | 3 lines

Revamped the RTLSDR controller to use the new API:
 - Added USB Enum;
 - Added Auto stop when the device is unplugged.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1341 | prog | 2015-06-08 19:46:11 +0200 (Mon, 08 Jun 2015) | 1 line

Ported Airspy plugin enhancements to RTLSDR plugin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1340 | prog | 2015-06-07 23:33:39 +0200 (Sun, 07 Jun 2015) | 3 lines

Enhanced the Airspy plugin;
Added a button center the current frequency on the spectrum;
A few GUI tweaks.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1339 | prog | 2015-06-07 21:07:08 +0200 (Sun, 07 Jun 2015) | 1 line

Enhanced the init behavior
------------------------------------------------------------------------
r1338 | prog | 2015-06-07 16:09:17 +0200 (Sun, 07 Jun 2015) | 5 lines

Added support for RFSPACE CloudIQ and CloudSDR sample rates;
Added new API to control the program from front-end plugins;
Changed the streaming from non-blocking to blocking I/O's.

Airspy pre-order started

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airspy_caseAirspy is an advanced software defined radio receiver capable of sampling 10MHz of spectrum anywhere between 24MHz and 1.7GHz – and even beyond with extensions.

Visit the following website to order one.

There are a 1000 units available in the first batch and they will be send to the customer the third week of November 2014.