[hpsdr] Steady Waterfall

[Maximo EA1DDO_HK1DX]

Hi,



What I finally do is;



.- First center the band you want to see.

.- VFO Lock

.- MultiRx

.- Adjust VFO A gain to minimun



Now you can use VFO B as main along the full spectrum keeping the waterfall and the entire spectrum always centered.



It is not ideal but it could be used as solution.

The other solution could be to implement in a future new version of 
PowerSDR, something called, for example, "Contest mode" that changes the
 way to move the VFO A in the same way it happens with VFO B. I mean, a 
option to switch the operation of VFO A; "Default" as it moves now, and 
the new one, "Contest mode"  that keeps the spectrum steady and it is 
the dial the one who moves along the spectrum.



It would be great for Contest, VHF, etc. because you can monitor the 
full band keeping always the band limits on the screen, then you can do 
quick QSY with ease.



Actually I know that Doug is quite busy so someone else could help or leave it for a future.



73, Maximo - EA1DDO

                                               




From: pa5bw at xs4all.nl
To: hpsdr at lists.openhpsdr.org
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:46:16 +0200
Subject: Re: [hpsdr] Steady Waterfall

***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
 




Hello all, I use the PowerSDR waterfall display a lot, as it proves very usefull for finding weak DX signals in a quiet band. The waterfall gives a very good overview. And "memory" of short transmissions that have happened on other frequencies, so that you can check each of them one by one. To find that rare DX you still need, of course :-) (1) Just like Maximo, I would much prefer the waterfall to be steady, and not to skip around when I click-tune my receive frequency. It messes up the waterfall, and makes it difficult to find the signals back you previously spotted. You then have to wait for new transmissions to find those signals again. I tried Maximo's "work-around" solution, but that is far from ideal. I cannot click on the signals to tune to them, for example. So if someday, someone would update the waterfall, could this be changed, maybe....? Please? :-) (2) To get maximum sensitivity and best indication of weak signals, I set the (Setup - Display - Waterfall) LowLevel just below the noise level. I then set the HighLevel some 25 or 30 dB higher when the band is quiet. Weak signals are then showing up very clearly, and even short transmission are caught straight away.I found that adjusting the LowLevel is needed quite often, depending on the time of day, the band and the antenna used. And the HighLevel must be adjusted also to get best results. A band full of strong signals requires other settings than a very quiet band.  Would it be an idea to set the Lowlevel automatically to the average noise level within the full receiver bandwidth (200 kHz)? The Waterfall-HighLevel could than be replaced by Waterfall-DR (Dynamic Range). Dr would be the present �HighLevel� minus �LowLevel.� DR could be set automatically also, calculated from the strongest signals within full bandwidth or manually. Setting it manually to 30 dB would result in the DX setting I described above. If helpful I would be happy to devise a suitable formula for this. Kindest regards,Ben PA5BW  
 		 	   		  
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