[hpsdr] manual switching of ALEX possible?

[Achim Vollhardt]

Joe,
I was about to test my eyesight as I only counted 9 pins on METIS :)
I confirm the pins 1+2 being open collector and they should indeed be
able to drive my relays (5V). I fail however to find the control in
PowerSDR. Could you please give me a hint?

You also gave me another thought. I also have PENELOPE installed and
probably the J6 connector also delivers some OC signals which can drive
a relay. But first I would be interested to drive it from METIS.

Thanks!
Achim






On 24.06.2014 14:42, Joe Martin K5SO wrote:
> Achim, 
> 
> Apologies.  I got my Ozy/Metis connectors confused; Ozy has the DB-25 and Metis has the DB-9 connector.  Metis does have open collector outputs on pins 1 and 2 of the DB-9 connector that can be used to switch whatever you wish.  Perhaps those two pins could be used to do your transverter relay switching via the PowerSDR menu? 
> 
> 73,  Joe K5SO
> 
> On Jun 24, 2014, at 6:34 AM, Joe Martin K5SO wrote:
> 
>> Hi Achim, 
>>
>> RR, very well.  Understood.  In fact, the USB protocol is relevant to Metis too, but as I mentioned you would still need special coding in software to control the specific Alex relay lines in the way that you want, I think.  
>>
>> It seems to me that the external IO pins (open collector outputs) on the 25-pin DB connector on Metis might be usable to control your transverter switching.  Perhaps you can look at those to see if they will work for you?  If they will, HPSDR PowerSDR can control those outputs from the PowerSDR program menus.  
>>
>> Nice-looking PCB board!  Good job. 
>>
>> 73,  Joe K5SO
>>
>> On Jun 24, 2014, at 12:10 AM, Achim Vollhardt wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Joe,
>>> thank you very much for the quick reply. First and foremost, I have to
>>> admit that while I am a decent hw designer, I am a terrible coder and as
>>> I am using Metis, I am uncertain how the USB protocol could help me anyway.
>>>
>>> I found the ALEX manual setting in the latest HPSDR version (running mRX
>>> PS v3.2.13 with latest firmware versions) but my problem seems to be
>>> that I cannot enter the required frequency ranges into ALEX's entry
>>> fields. Which is commpletely natural when using with ALEX :) as a 6.5
>>> MHz highpass is not of much used for a frequency range of 144-146 MHz.
>>>
>>> But that is exactly what is required for me :) I have two relays
>>> switching between 'direct to MERCURY' (so 0-50 MHz) and converter
>>> output, and the second relay switching between 2m input and 23cm input.
>>> Transverter ops are nicely supported by PowerSDR, if I just got the ALEX
>>> command lines to work as hoped..
>>>
>>> A picture of my prototype:
>>> http://gulp.physik.uzh.ch/hpsdr/IMAG0211.jpg
>>> (bear with me, still alpha)
>>>
>>> 73s Achim, DH2VA
>>>
>>>
>>> On 24.06.2014 03:12, Joe Martin K5SO wrote:
>>>> Hi Achim, 
>>>>
>>>> Yes, it is possible to manually switch ALEX filters however you wish.  This can be accomplished directly in software as specified in the OpenHPSDR communications protocol document at
>>>>
>>>> http://svn.tapr.org/repos_sdr_hpsdr/trunk/Documentation/USB_protocol_V1.57.doc
>>>>
>>>> Most likely, utilizing these features would require that you modify the software program you are using to take advantage of the Alex relay control capabilities that are specified in the protocol.  
>>>>
>>>> If you would rather not modify your software program to implement the available protocol capabilities yourself the recent HPSDR versions of PowerSDR do allow manual switching of the Alex filters in the Setup > Alex > HPF/LPF menu when “manual” Alex mode is selected there.  However, I understand that the existing filter switching approach in PowerSDR may not be what you are seeking for your particular application because to activate the various filters you must enter frequency ranges for which you wish the swithcing to occur for the various filter relays, rather than utilizing a strict on/off control for the Alex relay control bits themselves as you would be able to implement if you wrote your own modifications to the software you are using. 
>>>>
>>>> I hope this information was at least a little helpful to you; but it may not have been, I understand.  
>>>>
>>>> 73,  Joe K5SO
>>>>
>>>> On Jun 23, 2014, at 10:05 AM, Achim Vollhardt wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>>>>>
>>>>> Is there a possibility to manually switch ALEX filters? I using the ALEX
>>>>> control lines to switch with coax relays between different receive
>>>>> transverters (just like I would switch between filter banks) but fail to
>>>>> enter e.g. 144-146 MHz in the Alex manual entry mode.
>>>>>
>>>>> 73s Achim, DH2VA
>>>>
>>>>
>>
> 
> 

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