PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

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PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

Postby G3NPI » Sat Jul 08, 2017 4:14 pm

Very many thanks for v3.4.2 Using it with an ANAN10 and transverters on the low level output.

It must seem the more you give us, the more we want......Anyway on the basis of, if you dont ask etc. Could you please consider the following for future releases.

1. When the database is restored following a new release, to include MNF data in the restored data.

2. Recently noted that the RIT count will change even if RIT is off, Or has it always been like that?

3. Others have asked for Mode to be linked with frequency for the Band Stack. I would find that very useful for VHF use.

4. I find the Band Stack in the VHF section is still on 3 sections. Not a big problem, but for consistency....

5. I do a lot of VHF contesting and in QSB conditions will have to switch to CW quickly. Maybe it is only when using XVTRs, but I find the SSB setting
for Drive, to be much too high for CW. This results in overdrive in the heat of a contest, until I realise what is going on. Hence my request for a Drive control linked to the CW mode selection that can be preset for the correct CW drive.

Love the new CTUN thank you.

73

Geoff G3NPI
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Re: PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

Postby W2PA » Sat Jul 08, 2017 7:38 pm

Geoff,

No harm in asking. Good ideas abound and no one has a monopoly on them. (The beauty of open source.)

1 - MNF already is saved and restored in the DB. Are you seeing otherwise. It works for me.

2 - RIT has been changeable when off for a while. It works that way on many rigs-with-knobs, too.

3 - Maybe I don't understand what you mean by "Mode to be linked with frequency for the Band Stack", because it already stores modes with each band stack entry. The band stacks store other things too, such as filter settings, zoom, display center, and CTUN state.

4 - Thanks - that's easy to fix.

5 - This will require some consideration. There's an idea floating around to have what amounts to mode stacks that operate similar to band stacks, and save a couple of mode-relevant things. It's on the list of things to think about.

I like CTUN a lot too. Glad you like the changes. There are more coming. It's still a bit quirky.
73,
Chris, W2PA
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Re: PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

Postby w-u-2-o » Sat Jul 08, 2017 8:14 pm

Chris,

You are doing great work with the UI. So very much appreciated, thank you! :D

73!

Scott
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Re: PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

Postby G3NPI » Sun Jul 09, 2017 8:26 am

Hi Chris,

1. MNF. My experience when moving from v3.4.1 to v3.4.2 was that the settings disappeared. Certainly they are saved within v3.4.2, thank you

2. RIT. I suppose I find it slightly aggrevating because I use a console with a large knob for RIT, which is accidentally moved during other activities.
I wonder why one would want to set RIT before tuning it on?

3. Band Stacks. Your right of course. It already does save MODE.

4. Thank you

5. If this is only a problem for XVTR users, perhaps the Power button in the XVTRs screen could be made into a CW Power setting as it is duplicated as Drive on the UI.

Thank you for considering my thoughts.

73

Geoff G3NPI
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Re: PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

Postby K9RX » Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:45 pm

Continuing on with that thought ....

-Please consider adding the ability to 'slice off' 3 bits of the 7 Outputs .... this would be to use 4 for an antenna switch and the other 3 for a FREQUENCY SEGMENT antenna switch. I know there is an option to slice it off to use for transverters so this would be an alternative to that. This is actually not uncommon at all for those using antennas on 80 and 160 as well as 40 although to a lesser degree.

Here's the request: "Frequency Segment Output Control"

So You select "Frequency Segment Output Control" for those 3 bits (instead of "Transverter")... there are 3 bits and thus 8 'states'. You assign a band to this control. Then for each of the segments you define a frequency range within that band. So for me where I have a rotary 80/75 dipole that uses 3 relays and thus has 8 band segments I would choose "3.500 - 3.549" for the first one, 3.549 - 3.611 for the second, etc etc... then when tuning up in frequency the outputs would transition from one segment to the next at the top end of the current segment .... if going down you'd transition at 500Hz below the bottom end value (to provide hysteresis). All segment relay states do not need to be defined - but the range needs to be contiguous thus preventing any undefined frequency/state value(s). So one might for example operate on 3.500 - 3.550 CW .... and 3.750 - 3.800 for phone ... they'd still have to define what the ranges outside of this would be - which relay value ... so they could for example define state 0 ≡ 3.500 - 3.750; 1 ≡ 3.750 - 4.000.

I actually have a design for this as an antenna controller product ... it uses an Atmel ATMega164 microcontroller.... but if I can get this in the radio that would be fantastic - I'm not too proud! Again: this IS a function/feature that I believe would get used!

I brought this up with Phil who suggested I write to Warren ... but I've tried to write direct to Warren a couple of times with no reply.

Additionally I brought up to Phil the fact that at least with the 8000DLE, Orion II control board there are 4 'spare' I/O on the IO HEADER. They're specified as IO4, 5, 6, 8 coming off U25 .... they are all buffered ... it would be nice to bring those out to a connector on the back panel and use these to control a second relay box for a second tower! That might be stretching it ... but I offer it up...

and finally I've been asking for ALC control even before I bought the 8000DLE. For some reason every time I brought it up the responses were along the line of "you don't need that - there's a great processor, use it" ... as if this was intended to be for a poor-man's compressor ... its not - its for the modern use of this function which is as a bang-bang controller either faulting the radio out if the (amp supplied) ALC line goes active or as a means to reduce the power. The former could be accomplished just by taking the amp line (conditioned) to the TX INHIBIT input ... the latter by using this amp line, again conditioned, to shunt the DAC_ALC line (page 12 of the schematic) going to a buffer which is providing the reference to the output DAC for xmit ... such that the power is below a certain level - say 10%. It looks like this was in mind in the design owing to the name "DAC_ALC" and the fact that there are 2 spare analog input lines to the A/D also coming off the header... it would be nice to implement the latter ... note again this is ONLY for protection of what nowadays are expensive parts - the output of a solid state amplifier! My Expert 2K would be very expensive to fix if it was hit with 100W (or worse). And its naive to believe one can ALWAYS remember to set the power appropriately if there are times when the higher power of the rig is needed independent of the amp. Why would one rely on "hope" ... hope is not a strategy.

Thanks for listening. If you need more I'm happy to provide.

Gary Myers
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Re: PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

Postby K9RX » Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:40 pm

this (above) was posted on the 11th with no replies... is there a better place for "wish list" type items?

regards,

Gary
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Re: PowerSDR mRX PS v3.4.2 A wish list

Postby w-u-2-o » Mon Jul 24, 2017 1:22 am

Gary,

This is as good a place as any. The thing is, the tiny, very tiny, community of volunteer, openHPSDR developers, work on things they find personally interesting. They get hundreds of "wish list" items a month, mostly by direct personal email. They simply don't have the time and energy to answer and deal with them all. So they work on the stuff that they personally think is worth working on.

So please don't feel slighted when your wish list items garner zero response. It's likely that a hundred other people have made the same suggestion over the last few years. I have made many suggestions myself. Some have made the cut. Most have not.

The code is currently a DSP tour de force. However we all know the UI is a bit dated. Right now there is exactly one guy who's total focus is UI issues. His list of UI improvements to work on is a light year long. If you can recruit more people interested in working on UI issues, that would be great!

73,

Scott

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