[hpsdr] PowerSDR/OpenHPSDR mRX PS v3.3.7 released

[Doug W5WC]

All,

PowerSDR/OpenHPSDR mRX PS v3.3.7 has been released.

This release can be downloaded from the openhpsdr.org website.
http://openhpsdr.org/download.php

This release contains the following changes:

* Added a completely new MIDI mapping interface from Andrew, M0YGG. This new
interface is called Midi2Cat and replaces the DJ Console midi controller
interface. It has the ability to map any midi device. We want to give Andrew
a huge thanks for sharing this very nice project.
The User Guide for MidiCat is located in the PowerSDR program folder or can
be downloaded from the Yahoo Apache Labs group files folder. Look for
'Midi2Cat_Instructions_V3.pdf'. One change to note that has changed since
the user guide was written is the Midi Interface is located on the 'CAT'
page within the Setup Form.

* Our Spectral Noise Reduction, NR2 has some significant audio improvements.
If you haven't tried it in a while, please take a moment to do so.  Just as
a reminder, Noise Reduction is for Random Noise, which we all have.  Also,
be sure to set your AGC Gain properly when using noise reduction --- AGC is
the "enemy" of noise reduction if the gain is set too high, i.e., if the
green "G" line is set too low.

* MNF, the Multi-Notch Filter, is now functional on transverter frequencies.

* There are some enhancements and changes to the Display controls.  
- First, you'll find that you can now set averaging and choice of detector
separately for the panadapter and the waterfall. 
 
- There is now a choice of "detectors."  For a digital "spectrum analyzer"
like your SDR display, a "detector" can be defined as the algorithm used to
convert FFT bins into the values displayed for the pixels across the screen.
The "Peak" detector (default) is best for signals; however, it consistently
overstates noise.  If you're interested in noise measurements (band noise,
phase noise, etc.), the "Average" detector would be the optimum choice and I
recommend one of the larger FFT sizes.  A "Sample" detector and "Rosenfell"
detector are also provided.  To learn more about detectors, see Agilent
Application Note 150, "Spectrum Analyzer Basics," which you can find with
Google's help.
- Multiple averaging modes are provided.  For general signal display and
operation, the "Log Recursive" mode (default) may be your favorite choice as
it has a visual appearance of being very responsive.  For noise
measurements, you should choose one of the other modes for accuracy,
probably the "Recursive" mode is optimum.  The "Log Recursive" mode will NOT
be accurate for noise measurement.
- For convenience, when either the Average or Sample detector is selected
for doing noise measurements, checking the "1 Hz BW:  Av / Sa" box will
automatically normalize the displayed result to that of a 1 Hz bandwidth,
i.e., this yields the "dBm/Hz" level.  This check box has no effect if
either the Peak or Rosenfell detector is selected.

Several changes to the RAForm were made to this release.
- fixed signal level discrepancies between PowerSDR S-meter readings and RA
utility readings.
- corrected the signal averaging code to take the logarithm of the averaged
power values instead of the incorrect average of the logarithms of the power
values
- added global region support to make file read/write functions operate
correctly in all country regions
- increased the maximum number of data points limit to 2,000,000 for each of
the time, RX1, and RX2 data arrays
- increased the maximum selectable value for x-axis display range to 100,000
seconds
- the above two new limits permit more than 27 hours of continuous data
recording                         
- added control value updates on file read/write for the
"numericUpDown_mSec_between_measurements" control and the
"numericUpDown_measurements_per_point" control
- added display of Date/Time and Comment information on file READ

Other additions and fix that were added are:
- While PowerSDR is running, the Windows system timer will be set to a 1mS
precision. On exiting PowerSDR the system timer will revert back to its
previous setting.
- The 60m band frequency for the Netherlands region was changed to allow
transmit between 5.35MHz and 5.45MHz.
- Removed the DJ Console project.
- Removed the transmit low filter cutoff restriction.
- Corrected a problem when using CTUN when Stereo Diversity (SD) is enabled.
- Added a Keyboard mapping for Transmit and Receive.
- Corrected several issues with the Waterfall display.

You WILL need to reset your database.

Thanks & 73,

Andrew, M0YGG
Warren, NR0V
Joe, K5SO
Doug, W5WC