[hpsdr] Computer required for HPSDR - a little bit off topic

[Jim Sanford]

Joe:

Thanks for your response.  Two things I left out:
     1.  The Atom has a solid-state drive.
     2.  I AM running Atlas-based hardware.

I am very surprised that you characterize my computer as inadequate.  
That's an admission, not an accusation.  As in my original post, I chose 
what I did based on what I THOUGHT I'd read as successful experiences on 
this list.  Guess I didn't read what I thought I had.

Please DO share your parts list.  If it is affordable, I'll look for 
something like it.  I have two HPSDRs, and want to use one as an IF in a 
rover microwave station.  The other will be my home HF rig and 2m 
weak-signal rig, with a 100 MHz LO transverter.  Obviously, at least one 
of these needs to be small.  I will spend the bucks for solid-state 
drives, since this will be a single purpose machine and I will eagerly 
trade capacity for speed.

I appreciate the guidance.

Suggestions from other experts eagerly welcomed.

Thanks!

73,
Jim
wb4gcs at amsat.org

On 1/8/2015 7:55 PM, Joe Martin wrote:
> Hi Jim,
>
> Sorry to hear that your dedicated computer isn’t doing the job for you.  From your description it seems clear to me that the Atom computer is simply not up to the task you’re asking of it in terms of performance.
>
> I’m not experienced enough with computers to prescribe in detail what you might need to do at a minimum in order to make your Atom computer perform better.  Marginal performance computer systems, such as the one you are using, are simply not a good match for the H(igh)P(erformance)SDR hardware, especially now that the group is increasingly focused on using higher and higher data rates (i.e., for wider bandwidth and mulltiple RX applications).
>
> If it is of any interest to you, I would be happy to share the parts list that I used to put together a dedicated high-performance computer for my HPSDR work this last August that has no problem at all in running the HPSDR hardware at the maximum data rates.  The system I put together is a quad-core Haswell i7 based 64-bit machine running at 3 GHz, using Windows 7 Pro with 8 GB RAM.
>
> You didn’t mention which HPSDR platform you are using.  If you are using the Atlas-based HPSDR hardware you should be aware that the FPGA firmware designs for the Atlas-based boards are currently pushing the data-rate limits on that particular hardware platform, particularly in terms of maximum data rates on the Atlas bus.  The fact is that currently the single-board transceiver hardware platforms handle the HPSDR high-data rate tasks much better than Atlas-based hardware but I think your marginal performance computer is the main problem for you; simply my opinion of course.
>
> Perhaps someone else will have a more authoritative response for you.  I hope so.  I didn’t see any response to your post on the reflector so I responded privately to you in case some of the info herein might be useful to you.
>
> 73, Joe K5SO
>
> On Jan 7, 2015, at 8:28 PM, Jim Sanford wrote:
>
>> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>>
>> All:
>> I have been a bit disappointed with HPSDR performance. Specifically, CPU load is high, I can't run RX2 without unacceptable distortion on both receivers, and forget the Automatic Noise Limiter.
>>
>> I am using a dedicated computer specifically built for HPSDR:
>>     Intel Atom  CPU D250 @ 1.8 GHz
>>     4.0 GB RAM
>>     Windows 7 SP1, 32 bit.
>> Software:
>>     Avast Anti-Virus
>>     Firefox browser (only runs to get info, software/firmware updates, does not run when using HPSDR
>>     HP Generic Print Driver
>>     the HPSDR software, pretty sure I'm on the latest version of the mRX flavor.
>>     drivers for LogiTech wireless mouse and keyboard
>>
>> It is connected to the HPSDR hardware via a giga-bit network switch here in the shack.  Access to the internet is via another gigabit switch, a Linksys router, and a satellite modem.  Due to satellite internet latency, I have no intention of trying to run HPSDR other than on local network.
>>
>> Based on what I think I read on here, I would have expected this system to be more than adequate.  I do not think it is, based on the performance I'm seeing.
>>
>> Background:  (The partially off-topic part)  The spousal unit's laptop, which she uses for email and web browsing just died.  I have recovered the data off the hard disk which appears to be good.
>>
>> SO, here's the questions:
>> 1.  What is the assessment of this learned group of the adequacy of my HPSDR computer?
>> 2.  If the hardware is assessed as adequate, any suggestions on changes to make?  In particular, I note that MS loads a LOT of services, which I suspect I don't need in this dedicated use.  Can someone point to a list of things I could disable, or a list of things that I MUST have?  I've turned a few that are obvious OFF, but do not know enough about the guts of Win7 to go any further without guidance.
>> 3.  If the hardware should be adequate, are there any other suggestions to improve performance so that I could at least run the second RX?
>> 4.  If the hardware is inadequate to HPSDR (In which case this device will be repurposed as the spousal unit machine, she doesn't need a laptop, just a small footprint on the desk), what would be minimum hardware to successfully enjoy all of HPSDR functionality? I'd like to keep it small (hence the atom) because once successful, a duplicate will be built to go on the road in a microwave rover station.
>> 5.  In particular, is there something other than Intel I should be looking at?  As I built this thing, I found documentation, drivers and support to be "sub-optimal".
>>
>> Thanks!!
>> 73,
>> Jim
>> wb4gcs at amsat.org
>>
>


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