[hpsdr] MacHPSDR and Ipad

[Jeremy McDermond]

On Oct 24, 2010, at 2:21 PM, Richard Stasiak wrote:

> Today I realized that the Ipad may be able to process I & Q signals as there is an Apple USB connection dongle that allows in and out with stereo audio.

This would allow the iPad to work with a QSD/QSE type receiver like the softrock, but doesn't help you with OpenHPSDR at all.  What you need is a USB connection to plug Ozy/Metis into, and one doesn't really exist yet.  There are rumors that the Camera Connection Kit is really malleable, but it's unlikely this will be useful.  The reason is because the evil Steve Jobs App Store Approval Process probably would never approve an app that misused the CCK.

That being said, my plan for a while has been to wait for Metis to come out.  The iPad has a WiFi connection, and it would be easy to access Metis from that wireless connection.  That way you cold get the full stream off of your OpenHPSDR rig and do whatever you want with it.

> I am hoping Jeremy may see if he it would be possible to port his MacHPSDR code to the Ipad to take advantage of the portability of this device.

I've been thinking about this for a while, and there are at least three issues that have to be considered:

1)  I use automatic garbage collection in MacHPSDR because I'm fundamentally lazy.  It means that I don't have to do a lot of detailed memory management.  Unfortunately, it's not supported on iOS.  So, I have to do a code review and analysis to make sure I allocate and deallocate objects correctly, and find leaks.

2)  MacHPSDR uses OpenGL for the waterfall and panadapter.  iOS does not support OpenGL, only OpenGL ES, which is kinda an "OpenGL Light for small devices".  I haven't studied the differences yet, and don't know if there are going to be any changes to the OpenGL code to make it work on iOS devices.

3)  The UI will have to be rethought and redesigned.  Cocoa is very similar to Cocoa Touch, but there are things that are appropriate for a pointer/mouse interface that will translate badly to a touch interface.  So, there will be some experimentation involved to figure out the best way to interact with the components.  That being said, there are a lot of exciting possibilities for such an interface to be really user friendly.  Using the pinch gesture on the filters to change the width would be kinda cool.

The final issue is really personal.  I don't have an iPad yet to experiment on.  I've been meaning to get one for a while, because I do think they're a cool device.  But, I have a lot of personal expenses involved with applying to the bar and taking the exam, and have impending student loan repayment to consider.  So, the $500 hasn't really come available yet.  I also need to pay the $99 to join the iOS developer program so that I can load code on devices.  As soon as these things happen, and I get my hands on Metis, I'm sure you'll see something coming from me.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see John Melton's personal brand of genius come out with some stuff for Android based platforms such as the Galaxy Tab, which looks like an interesting device.

> 73
> 
> Rick ve3mm

--
Jeremy McDermond (NH6Z)
Xenotropic Systems
mcdermj at xenotropic.com




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