Just ordered my SoftRock 40/80

[W4INF]

I just ordered my TXRX SoftRock 40/80. I dont know when Ill get it, but Ill be excited to see it! This little do diddle should provide hours of fun!! :-)

Ill keep you all posted when things come together!

Andrew

[W8NSI]

I just ordered my TXRX SoftRock 40/80. I dont know when Ill get it, but Ill be excited to see it! This little do diddle should provide hours of fun!! :-)

Ill keep you all posted when things come together!

Andrew

I was just looking over posts at the Softrock40 Yahoo group and didn't see that it had been released for sale yet.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/softrock40/message/21456

Seems to be the lastest definitive message or did I miss something? :confused:

[k2bet]

I have just completed the SoftRock 40 meter receiver. What a blast to use. I spend more time with it lately than I do my IC-756! Can't recall so much enjoyment and adventure since my Novice days... Mmmmmannny years ago!

The RX/TX units are on sale... I have two of the kits at this point but they are not together yet. I thought I'd better train on the less complex SoftRock Lite receiver. The Yahoo site and Terry Parks site can be a little difficult to navigate. I have not found it to be well maintained nor intuitive but the info is there in the form of emails previously posted by Terry which provide current status of various products. The kits, however, are really professionally appointed and work well.

I believe the older version of the RX/TX has been discontinued, though a few of the kits are still available last I knew. There is a new version nearly ready to hit the streets from what I recently read on the SoftRock site.

BTW, once you get your unit going ... download a free copy of the "Power SDR' control software from the Flex site. This is essentially the control program used on the Flex 5000 but it will also run your $30 radio (at least it works for the 'Lite Receiver', albeit with obviously fewer features. These are great kits to get your feet wet on if you have interest in this new SDR technolgy.

So, you have a blast too!

73,
K2BET

[WB2WIK]

I have a Soft Rock 40 (monobander). It was a very fun and easy kit, and it works!

However, it does not outperform anything else I have and indeed is about twenty "S" units below virtually everything else I own, in terms of user satisfaction. The best thing about it is the user interface, which introduces you to SDR and the "power" of using A-D and D-A conversion, along with the power of your computer, to make stuff happen. That alone was a good and educational experience.

Don't expect it to "outperform" anything, because it probably won't. My 15 year-old Ten Tec Scout 555 "hears" far better than the SR40, and also has a cleaner CW signal. The conversion process in the SoftRock is probably okay, but the CW signal produced isn't as clean as an all-analog system, especially if you're working 50 wpm.

There may have been improvements since then, I'm dying to hear about them from anybody who has 30 years operating experience with a variety of other stuff.

To me, it was just a prototypical method to understand a new technology and not a real way to operate.

WB2WIK/6

[N2RJ]

And vinyl sounds better than any digital audio, Steve. :rolleyes:

[k8jd]

I just Built a MFJ cub kit for 80 2 weeks ago....On the evenings when the lightning lets up I have done great with this 3 watt wonder. Already worked 10 states and it doesn't even need a computer to work !
I guess the real point of the softrock is learning to work with digital interfaces and I am too stubborn to take the step.

[W4INF]

Here is the e-mail I got from Tony:


Hi Andrew,

The kits now available are listed below:

SoftRock Lite receiver kit information is given below. Also now there is
the one watt RXTXv6.2 SDR family of transceiver kits. Band coverage
with each transceiver depends on the sampling rate of the soundcard. With
48 kHz sampling the band coverage is slightly over +/- 21 kHz each side of
each center frequency. If the soundcard can sample at 96 kHz the band
coverage is about twice as great each side of each center frequency.

The 40m/80m RXTXv6.2 kit has 40m center frequencies of about 7.014 MHz
and 7.055 MHz. The 80m center frequencies are about 3.507 MHz and 3.527
MHz. Kit price for the 40m/80m RXTXv6.2 kit is $30 for US or Canada and $31
for DX where postage costs are included in the kit prices.

The 80m RXTXv6.2 kit at $30 for US/Canada and $31 for DX includes
crystals to give center frequencies of 3.514 MHz, 3.549 MHz and 3.579 MHz
for band coverage from 3.50 MHz to slightly above 3.60 MHz.

The 160m RXTXv6.2 kit at a price of $30 for US/Canada
and $31 for DX. Center frequencies provided in that kit will include 1.812
MHz, 1.843 MHz and 1.919 MHz.

The v6 SoftRock Lite is a single-board receiver kit that provides
single-band
coverage with each kit. The board size is 1.5 inches square and a height of
about 0.6 inches. Connections on the board provide for QSD mute so the
SoftRock can be used with a separate transmitter.

A view of the of the earlier v6.0 SoftRock may be seen at

http://ewjt.com/kd5tfd/sdr1k-notebook/sr40/sr6-production/index.html

which gives a good idea of the general look of the SoftRock Lite board
except the Lite is a square board.

The software may be download at no cost with a number of programs available
that will play the SoftRock receiver. Please see:

Flex Software
< http://www.flex-radio.com/ >

Rocky Software
< http://www.dxatlas.com/rocky/ >

KGKSDR Software
< http://www.m0kgk.co.uk/sdr/index.php >

Winrad Software
< http://digilander.libero.it/i2phd/winrad/index.html >

Documentation to build the kit may be downloaded from files area of
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/softrock40/ You will have to register at
the website to download the documents for the kit.


Here are the SoftRock Lite kit options that are being offered at this time.

40m kit option
40m kit at $10 US/Canada and $11 for DX will tune the following ranges:

40m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 7.032 to 7.08 MHz

80m kit option
80m kit at $10 US/Canada and $11 for DX will tune the following range:

80m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 3.504 to 3.552 MHz

160m kit option
160m kit at $10 US/Canada and $11 for DX will tune the following range:

160m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 1.819 to 1.867 MHz

Upgraded 30m kit option
30m kit at $12 US/Canada and $13 for DX will tune the following range:

30m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 10.100 to 10.148
MHz

Upgraded 20m kit option
20m kit at $12 US/Canada and $13 for DX will tune the following range:

20m when used with a soundcard that samples at 96 kHz - slightly below
14.00 to 14.094 MHz

Upgraded 15m kit option
15m kit at $12 US/Canada and $13 for DX will tune the following range:

15m when used with a soundcard that samples at 96 kHz - slightly below
21.00 to 21.092 MHz



The Lite+Xtall v8.3 SDR receive kit is now available at a price of $42 for
US/Canada and $43 for DX orders of the kit. This kit prices includes the
postage.

The kit includes four BPF modules for the band groups 160m, 80m/40m,
30m/20m/17m, and 15m/12m/10m. The CMOS Si570 device is supplied with
the kit and provides the LO for each of the selected bands. A 4-position
DIP switch on the circuit board selects one of 16 center frequencies for the
various bands as follows:

0
1.846

1
1.892

2
3.546

3
3.846

4
7.046

5
7.221

6
10.146

7
14.046

8
14.271

9
18.114

10
21.046

11
21.321

12
24.936

13
28.046

14
28.092

15
28.346



Receiver tuning range from a given center frequency depends on the sampling
rate of the soundcard. A better quality soundcard that can stereo sample at
96 kHz provides for nearly +/- 48 kHz tuning range from each center
frequency.


Orders will be accepted by PayPal to user name
raparks@ctcisp.com or by mailing a check or money order to me at:

Tony Parks
1344 E 750 N
Springport, IN 47386

Thanks and 73,
Tony KB9YIG


HTH,
Andrew

[k2bet]

Yes, for me the SDR kits are a learning process as well but I love tinkering with things elegantly simple so I have used the 'Lite' receiver on a few QSO's while transmitting with an IC-756 at 50 Watts. I have two G5RV antennas so I can hook up one to each unit. (I ground the antenna to the SoftRock but have forgotten a couple of time with no dire consequences to the unit) I have found it makes a world of difference on the SoftRock Lite to use a tuner ahead of it with the G5RV. It will increase the signal strength exponentially as compared with the untuned version of the antenna.

Someone, on one of the forums recently made reference to the 'better sound card' with 192 KHz resolution. That will nearly double the size of the band on these receivers. The 'Bluegears' b-Enspirer board ($104.00 + S&H) was recommended. I purchased one on line from newegg.com. It arrived here in Michigan in three days, shipped from the East Coast. I have not yet installed it but I am eager to take a look and listen at the difference. I like putting the SoftRock through my laptop so for the time I am stuck with the lesser band width there.

The education never stops... and for that matter neither do the innovative technologies... so it seems.

bet, K2BET

[W4INF]

I think the SR is abt 1w out. How about an amp for abt 25w out? That would be IMHO a great setup!

I know of a few, but I am NOT paying $250 for the hfpack amp, no matter how good!

What about the Ramsey QAMP40C kit? The reviews I read have me dreaming nightmares and Im not asleep yet!

Thx-
Andrew

[WB2WIK]

And vinyl sounds better than any digital audio, Steve. :rolleyes:

::Whether it's better or not is in the ear of the listener, but I'll say it certainly sounds "different."

The CD player in my van hiccupped the other day and something happened that can't happen with vinyl: First, it "skipped" and missed several seconds of a track it was playing. Then, a few seconds later, it played the whole part it "skipped," but played it about double the normal speed. Then, it went back to normal operation. That was certainly interesting. I guess the skip filled a memory and then it dumped the memory at about double the normal data transfer rate. Have no idea how that could happen, but it sure did. My passenger and I cracked up.

WB2WIK/6

[N2RJ]

That probably has to do with the tracking and error correction rather than memory. It probably thought there was an anomaly on the disc and shifted the head to track the piece that was abnormal.

Anyway the CD is so 1980s these days. Even high end consumer formats that I play at home such as DVD-A and SACD are so...bleh.

But it's much better than 45 minutes of snap, crackle and pop with my music.

Anyway, back to the softrock, performance is largely dependent on your sound card. If you have a crappy soundcard (like the one built in to your PC's motherboard) the performance will suffer - noise floor will be higher and dynamic range will be less.

In fact the guys who use Flex Radio usually use sound cards made by Roland or M-Audio, with the Delta 44 being popular, or the HPSDR A/D board (Janus).

We have some pro sound cards here, and I'm tempted to borrow one to test it out with an SDR just to see how good the "good stuff" is.

[WB2WIK]

If I have to buy a $200 sound card for my $1000 PC to use my $30 SR40, this starts becoming a not-good deal.

SDRs like the Flex are already a not-great deal if one doesn't happen to have a compatible PC/sound card/everything else already. The big colorful display does nothing (ho hum) for me and when I ran the SDR1000 I found myself wanting to look away from it, the visual distraction sucked for me. Haven't used the 5000 yet.

I'd rather look out the window at the grass, trees, pool etc. when I'm operating, it's more relaxing and lets me focus on the task at hand, which involves listening.

WB2WIK/6

[N2RJ]

If I have to buy a $200 sound card for my $1000 PC to use my $30 SR40, this starts becoming a not-good deal.

Let's apply your logic - If I have to buy a $10000 antenna and tower, $2000 rotor, hardline and miscellaneous things for my $3000 radio, this starts becoming a not-so good deal.

The cost isn't the point. The cost is just meant as a means for someone to get in the game at an affordable price and get their feet wet.

You can use a basic sound card, which you may already have, or you may have a decent sound card (like I already did) for some other reason, maybe for gaming or you got it with the PC.

SDRs like the Flex are already a not-great deal if one doesn't happen to have a compatible PC/sound card/everything else already.

The flex 5000 comes with a sound card, and the 5000c comes with a PC built in.

By the way, since when were we talking about turnkey solutions (aka shacksin a box? )

When I started putting together my station, the rig just became one minor component. I have an antenna, rotor (and rotor controller), tower, ground system, amplifier, SWR meter, PC interface (for digimodes) and all associated cabling. I don't see the big deal in getting one more component to add to your station.

The big colorful display does nothing (ho hum) for me and when I ran the SDR1000 I found myself wanting to look away from it, the visual distraction sucked for me. Haven't used the 5000 yet.

There's no need to look at the display. The display is just one point though.

I'd rather look out the window at the grass, trees, pool etc. when I'm operating, it's more relaxing and lets me focus on the task at hand, which involves listening.

WB2WIK/6

So now we see the real reason - it aint radio unless it's go knobs to twiddle with and can exist without a computer. Hey that's fine with me, but I thought we were talking about raw performance here.

[w3wn]

My SoftRock 40 Lite receiver just came. I'm looking forward to playing with it and learning the software; once that's done, one of the TXRX units is next.

I don't expect it to outperform my current rigs. But it is going to be a learning experience... and who knows what it might lead to?

[N2RJ]

Quite a few contest stations are using the SR as a frontend for CW skimmer.

[W0BKR]

I have a Soft Rock 40 (monobander). It was a very fun and easy kit, and it works!

However, it does not outperform anything else I have and indeed is about twenty "S" units below virtually everything else I own, in terms of user satisfaction. The best thing about it is the user interface, which introduces you to SDR and the "power" of using A-D and D-A conversion, along with the power of your computer, to make stuff happen. That alone was a good and educational experience.

Don't expect it to "outperform" anything, because it probably won't. My 15 year-old Ten Tec Scout 555 "hears" far better than the SR40, and also has a cleaner CW signal. The conversion process in the SoftRock is probably okay, but the CW signal produced isn't as clean as an all-analog system, especially if you're working 50 wpm.

There may have been improvements since then, I'm dying to hear about them from anybody who has 30 years operating experience with a variety of other stuff.

To me, it was just a prototypical method to understand a new technology and not a real way to operate.

WB2WIK/6

I preferred the Wilderness Sierra. Wish I had kept mine.

Great radio and fun and easy to use.

[WB2WIK]

>Let's apply your logic - If I have to buy a $10000 antenna and tower, $2000 rotor, hardline and miscellaneous things for my $3000 radio, this starts becoming a not-so good deal.<

::I think the ROI on antenna systems is excellent and also compatible with any sort of radio equipment.

>You can use a basic sound card, which you may already have, or you may have a decent sound card (like I already did) for some other reason, maybe for gaming or you got it with the PC.<

::No, I'm not into gaming and the XBox 360 is its own computer and doesn't need another one -- that's about as far as I go.:p I do have a basic sound card and it works with the SR40, I've made contacts (lots of them, actually). But it doesn't "outperform" anything else I have, and it underperforms everything I have in reality.

>The flex 5000 comes with a sound card, and the 5000c comes with a PC built in.<

::Yes, I'm aware. Just never used it (yet).

>When I started putting together my station, the rig just became one minor component.<

::You know I agree with that.

>There's no need to look at the display. The display is just one point though.<

::There's a need if you want to know what frequency you're on, etc. Of course, there's a need for me to look at a rig's front panel display to know that without a PC-controlled rig, so this is a small nit. Main reason I still prefer "knobs and switches" user interface as opposed to the K-V-M user interface is knobs & switches allow me to adjust two things simultaneously, using two hands or even trained fingers on one hand; with the mouse, it's serial only -- you can make one adjustment at a time. I'll get used to it.

WB2WIK/6

[N2RJ]

::No, I'm not into gaming and the XBox 360 is its own computer and doesn't need another one -- that's about as far as I go.:p I do have a basic sound card and it works with the SR40, I've made contacts (lots of them, actually). But it doesn't "outperform" anything else I have, and it underperforms everything I have in reality.


The point was that the SDR's performance is dependent on the sound card. If you have a crappy/cheap Soundmax/ESS (or whatever) sound card, it will not perform like an M-Audio, turtle beach, Roland, or even a creative labs sound blaster.

[n4bfd]

W4INF, if you are going to start playing with softrocks, you may as well get a Delta 44 sound card. Or scour ebay for a Edirol FA-66... because you're going to end up with a Flex SDR1000... I can see it coming a mile away. :D

[KC4RAN]

The point was that the SDR's performance is hugely dependent on the sound card. If you have a crappy/cheap Soundmax/ESS (or whatever) sound card, it will sound like you're listening through a 20-40db constantly variable pad through $2 computer speakers.

Fixed it for you...

[wy6k]

I already have an Flex 5000 but I just ordered a Lite+Xtall. At 42 bucks it seems like cheap entertainment.

I walked down to a nice restaurant the other day and discovered that they have gone seriously upscale (fleecing the tourists). I opened the menu and the first thing I saw was that the salads start at $29. The entrees start at $30 something. The starters started at $18.

I'm not cheap and I love food, but this amazed me. So when I realized that I could have an SDR for about the same money as a salad, I ordered one immediately! It will surely provide more fun for a longer period of time than that salad!

[WB2WIK]

I already have an Flex 5000 but I just ordered a Lite+Xtall. At 42 bucks it seems like cheap entertainment.

I walked down to a nice restaurant the other day and discovered that they have gone seriously upscale (fleecing the tourists). I opened the menu and the first thing I saw was that the salads start at $29. The entrees start at $30 something. The starters started at $18.

I'm not cheap and I love food, but this amazed me. So when I realized that I could have an SDR for about the same money as a salad, I ordered one immediately! It will surely provide more fun for a longer period of time than that salad!

::Ya never know, you might enjoy the salad for days, depending what was in it.

[W4INF]

W4INF, if you are going to start playing with softrocks, you may as well get a Delta 44 sound card. Or scour ebay for a Edirol FA-66... because you're going to end up with a Flex SDR1000... I can see it coming a mile away. :D

I know... I know... I smell it also. But, Im thinking of that Indian SDR (SDRTech) rig... New is still cheaper than used Flex. :cool: Have not made up my mind yet, but thinking it over.

Andrew

[WB2WIK]

"Rig here is the new $30 Soft Rock. It works GREAT, connected to my $2000 PC with its $300 sound card. I only have $2330 invested in this 1W CW only station that covers less than 200 kHz of the band, and what a great deal it turned out to be. Having a ball. How copy?"

[n4bfd]

By the time they slap a 100watt PA in it, your going to pay the same or more for the Indian rig. Used SDR1000's with a 100 watt PA and FA-66 usually go for 1000. Thats a 300 dollar sound card by the way.

I know... I know... I smell it also. But, Im thinking of that Indian SDR (SDRTech) rig... New is still cheaper than used Flex. :cool: Have not made up my mind yet, but thinking it over.

Andrew

[n4bfd]

I run my Flex on a 500 dollar computer. When PowerSDR is running I am using 15% or so on CPU resources.

"Rig here is the new $30 Soft Rock. It works GREAT, connected to my $2000 PC with its $300 sound card. I only have $2330 invested in this 1W CW only station that covers less than 200 kHz of the band, and what a great deal it turned out to be. Having a ball. How copy?"

[wy6k]

I run my Flex on a 500 dollar computer. When PowerSDR is running I am using 15% or so on CPU resources.

What computer and OS are you using? Mine uses 40% of CPU and hiccups all the time.

Thanks,
Mike

[n4bfd]

Windows XP and a home brew dual core AMD @ 2.2ghz overclocked from 1.8ghz.

[W4INF]

1) Ive already have an amp
2) The Delta 44 is $150 on ebay, should be enough from what I read
3) I cant wait for the Rock to get here!

Something along this line is what I have in mind for a computer if I get serious about SDR:
http://techreport.com/r.x/shuttle-sv24/sv24-front3.jpg

http://techreport.com/r.x/shuttle-sv24/sv24-rear.jpg

Andrew

[k2bet]

I have one of those 'lil computers and I think I am going to dedicate it to the shack to include SDR as well.

I have now installed the 'bluegears' sound card which was only in the $104.00 range. It makes all the difference in listening to as well as getting the wider bandwidth from the the SoftRock Lite 40 RX. I can now reach into the DX SSB segments and listened to a few hits for the IARU contest over the weekend. I don't think I was even getting the proper encoding with my standard card set up.

I will begin to assemble one of the RX/TX units this week and I expect to be ordering one of the new multi band receiver unit this shortly as well. These little guys are fascinating and very educational kits.

I look forward to my first 1 watt QSO so I can earn another stripe for some bragging rights! ;)

bet, K2BET

[n4bfd]

I used to use the Delta 44, but it drove me crazy thinking that 100 bucks was separating me from a 9 or ten db higher dynamic range, so I sold it on ebay and bought the FA-66.

The FA-66 has a built in mic preamp as well, and it will supply 48v to a condenser mic, and it has XLR jacks for said mics, which solves some problems and cuts down on the cable clutter. Most people that use the Delta end up getting a mic preamp in the end, so the difference in price usually is less if you factor that in. If you plan on not doing voice, the preamp isn't that big of a deal.

http://kb.flex-radio.com/article.aspx?id=10052

[wy6k]

One thing to keep in mind is that the FA-66 and the Flex 5000 don't coexist well on the same PC. One must be disabled for the other to work and that requires a reboot. Which, given all the problems getting PowerSDR and the Flex to actually start, is a royal PITA. It has driven me to get a second PC at the operating position - I run the FA-66 and the SDR-IQ and other SDRs on one PC and have only the Flex 5000 on the other PC. Once getting the Flex to start up, I am loath to reboot and spend another half hour or so getting it to start up again.

[WB2WIK]

One thing to keep in mind is that the FA-66 and the Flex 5000 don't coexist well on the same PC. One must be disabled for the other to work and that requires a reboot. Which, given all the problems getting PowerSDR and the Flex to actually start, is a royal PITA.

::Software conflicts? Unheard of! You must be the only one in the world with this problem.:p;)

That certainly is something to think about. Most conflicts can eventually be resolved. If you let 1000 developers write 1000 scripts for 1000 years, all the world's problems will go away. Kind of like what they said about monkeys, typewriters and the great works of the western world.

WB2WIK/6

[AG3Y]

"gazornimplant!" ! ! ! :p :D


I have a little Softrock 20 meter receiver, here, and both of my computers have 24/96 soundcards which do a very fine job with it.

I have been seriously considering trying to build a stable VFO , but it would have to be running at 15 Mhz ( If I recall ) to provide the proper offset for the 20 meter version, and that is a bit more difficult than making one that runs at, lets say, 5 mhz !

It would be a kick to put a softrock on the 20 meter and 40 meter SSTV frequencies and just let them run around the clock.

As for the QRP operation, I'm still using my HeathKit HW-8 ! :eek: :)

[k2bet]

Check out the Yahoo SoftRock Group discussion. There is a project kit offering a USB version VFO kit which can be used with any of the SoftRock kits being offered. It sounds pretty good to me and I expect I will be getting one in the near future.

Type 'subscribe' in the subject line

softrock40@yahoogroups.com

[W4INF]

Kit came today! Woo Woo!

http://rogertango.com/images/softrock40-80.jpg


Andrew

[n4bfd]

Hello Andrew,
Is this the kit that will do several bands that you can shift about with the dip switch?

[W4INF]

Hello Andrew,
Is this the kit that will do several bands that you can shift about with the dip switch?

No sir, it is not. I have limited knowledge of that, but I *think* that is only a receiver.

Here is the information directly from Tony, I hope it helps:


The kits now available are listed below:

SoftRock Lite receiver kit information is given below. Also now there is
the one watt RXTXv6.2 SDR family of transceiver kits. Band coverage
with each transceiver depends on the sampling rate of the soundcard. With
48 kHz sampling the band coverage is slightly over +/- 21 kHz each side of
each center frequency. If the soundcard can sample at 96 kHz the band
coverage is about twice as great each side of each center frequency.

The 40m/80m RXTXv6.2 kit has 40m center frequencies of about 7.014 MHz
and 7.055 MHz. The 80m center frequencies are about 3.507 MHz and 3.527
MHz. Kit price for the 40m/80m RXTXv6.2 kit is $30 for US or Canada and $31
for DX where postage costs are included in the kit prices.

The 80m RXTXv6.2 kit at $30 for US/Canada and $31 for DX includes
crystals to give center frequencies of 3.514 MHz, 3.549 MHz and 3.579 MHz
for band coverage from 3.50 MHz to slightly above 3.60 MHz.

The 160m RXTXv6.2 kit at a price of $30 for US/Canada
and $31 for DX. Center frequencies provided in that kit will include 1.812
MHz, 1.843 MHz and 1.919 MHz.

The v6 SoftRock Lite is a single-board receiver kit that provides
single-band
coverage with each kit. The board size is 1.5 inches square and a height of
about 0.6 inches. Connections on the board provide for QSD mute so the
SoftRock can be used with a separate transmitter.

A view of the of the earlier v6.0 SoftRock may be seen at

http://ewjt.com/kd5tfd/sdr1k-notebook/sr40/sr6-production/index.html

which gives a good idea of the general look of the SoftRock Lite board
except the Lite is a square board.

The software may be download at no cost with a number of programs available
that will play the SoftRock receiver. Please see:

Flex Software
< http://www.flex-radio.com/ >

Rocky Software
< http://www.dxatlas.com/rocky/ >

KGKSDR Software
< http://www.m0kgk.co.uk/sdr/index.php >

Winrad Software
< http://digilander.libero.it/i2phd/winrad/index.html >

Documentation to build the kit may be downloaded from files area of
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/softrock40/ You will have to register at
the website to download the documents for the kit.


Here are the SoftRock Lite kit options that are being offered at this time.

40m kit option
40m kit at $10 US/Canada and $11 for DX will tune the following ranges:

40m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 7.032 to 7.08 MHz

80m kit option
80m kit at $10 US/Canada and $11 for DX will tune the following range:

80m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 3.504 to 3.552 MHz

160m kit option
160m kit at $10 US/Canada and $11 for DX will tune the following range:

160m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 1.819 to 1.867 MHz

Upgraded 30m kit option
30m kit at $12 US/Canada and $13 for DX will tune the following range:

30m when used with a soundcard that samples at 48 kHz - 10.100 to 10.148
MHz

Upgraded 20m kit option
20m kit at $12 US/Canada and $13 for DX will tune the following range:

20m when used with a soundcard that samples at 96 kHz - slightly below
14.00 to 14.094 MHz

Upgraded 15m kit option
15m kit at $12 US/Canada and $13 for DX will tune the following range:

15m when used with a soundcard that samples at 96 kHz - slightly below
21.00 to 21.092 MHz



The Lite+Xtall v8.3 SDR receive kit is now available at a price of $42 for
US/Canada and $43 for DX orders of the kit. This kit prices includes the
postage.

The kit includes four BPF modules for the band groups 160m, 80m/40m,
30m/20m/17m, and 15m/12m/10m. The CMOS Si570 device is supplied with
the kit and provides the LO for each of the selected bands. A 4-position
DIP switch on the circuit board selects one of 16 center frequencies for the
various bands as follows:

0
1.846

1
1.892

2
3.546

3
3.846

4
7.046

5
7.221

6
10.146

7
14.046

8
14.271

9
18.114

10
21.046

11
21.321

12
24.936

13
28.046

14
28.092

15
28.346



Receiver tuning range from a given center frequency depends on the sampling
rate of the soundcard. A better quality soundcard that can stereo sample at
96 kHz provides for nearly +/- 48 kHz tuning range from each center
frequency.


Orders will be accepted by PayPal to user name
raparks@ctcisp.com or by mailing a check or money order to me at:

Tony Parks
1344 E 750 N
Springport, IN 47386

Thanks and 73,
Tony KB9YIG



Andrew

[K3VR]

A few years ago I picked up a Dell Dimension 8400 running WinXP to use with my (at that time) new SDR-1000. It has been a perfect match for the SDR-1000. I surf the net, upload, download, and run the radio at the same time. No problems at all running the SDR-1000 with this machine.

I paid $300 for it. You can still get the same machine on eBay for $300-400 today including a 17" monitor with WinXP pre-installed for that price. See eBay item number: 150270706228 for the exact machine I'm using.

I also bought the Delta 44 sound card to plug into the Dell and it plays very well with the Dell and with the SDR-1000. No complaints at all.

I used to use an Audio-Technica 3035 microphone; Presonus Tube Preamp with 48V phantom power; and an 8 Band IHY box, but the EQ in the SDR is so good now, I just run an amplified D-104 straight into the front of the SDR and it works great. A used SDR-1000 is an absolute steal for a great radio! I have two and am thinking of picking up a third and a dedicated laptop for vacations.

[W4INF]

K3VR, TU for the info... but all I need is a place to plug my key! :D

Good info there, I hope to graduate to a full size SDR of one flavor or another in the future!

Andrew

[wb7dmx]

great, I have several of them littel rigs, two of the rxtx,40 and 20 meters.
also the all band reciver with the xtall added to all of them, it pretty much covers everything.
next month I am ordering the new version 8.3 rxtx all band rig and then I will need to put it all in a case,
thinking about the 5 watt linear amp for when it may be needed.

there is also a usb interface controler for programming the frequency of the Si570 from your keyboard instead of the dip switches, which I may also get, just to try it.
I really like the softrock kits.

I also just finished building the bitx20-v3 from scratch, no kit, even made the pc board, all tested and works great, just need to make a case for it.

[n4bfd]

Get the kit built yet?

[wb7dmx]

just finishing up the rxtx V8.3 with the usb interface, it will work with rocky and power sdr software, and it is not just a cw rig, it is also any digital mode that is supported with the software.
I have yet to finish the connecting cables, then fire it up.
the center frequencys are set up in the software, no more need for the dip sw's and will cover everything from 160- 10 meters with plug in PA moduals and band pass input filters.

[W4INF]

Get the kit built yet?
Sigh... no. I just discovered the PICAXE embedded micro controller, and how to make my own PCBs, so Im a little distracted at the moment. :cool:

Andrew

[KI4NGN]

::Whether it's better or not is in the ear of the listener, but I'll say it certainly sounds "different."

The CD player in my van hiccupped the other day and something happened that can't happen with vinyl: WB2WIK/6
And you could play vinyl in your van? Must have a terrific suspension system! :)

Mike