[hpsdr] New protocol , new apache hardware?

[Joe Martin]

Thank you all very much for your comments!  All are well stated and I don’t disagree with them in the slightest.  The fact, and I readily concede the point, is that the Atlas-based system, in its present form (Luke’s objection to CW op issues notwithstanding) has sufficient performance capabilities to satisfy many users perfectly well.  I certainly don’t dispute that and for those users it makes little sense to change hardware.

However, not all users utilize the HPSDR/ANAN radios for the same purposes nor in the same manner.  My particular case is but one example.  I happen to use my SDR radios for radio astronomy purposes primarily for pulsar and neutral hydrogen line work, not amateur radio communications only.  As it happens, as an example, the S/N of the exceedingly weak pulsar signals varies with the square root of the bandwidth used in the receiver.   Therefore I am always seeking to find ways to increase the bandwidth of my receivers, ideally I would like to find a way to make the SDR units work with tens of MHz bandwidth.  This requires higher performance than any Atlas-based system can provide.  Currently I use standalone Angelia and Orion boards at 4MHz bandwidth with a modified KISS Konsole program for my projects but I need more bandwidth to be able to detect weaker pulsars and to achieve better S/N on those I do detect.  This may be possible with the higher performance platforms but is impossible with an Atlas-based systsem.  An additional example of needing additional bandwidth is for detecting galactic and extra-galactic objects that are approaching us or receding from us that result in Doppler shifts of the observed frequency of the neutral hydrogen line greater than the maximum bandwidth possible with an Atals based system.  

Admittedly the applications I mention above do not represent those of the majority of OpenHPSDR users, but they are nonetheless vital to me and have the prospect of satisfying them are the principal reason for me participating in the OpenHPSDR development community.  You can therefore perhaps see why I have the opinions that I do regarding the Atlas-based radios; they simply don’t meet my needs and can never do so due to the severe limitations of bandwidth on that platform.  I do however work on the Atlas-based systems out of curiosity mostly but development time is valuable, of course, so I must (as everyone must) allocate it accordingly to make progress anywhere on the desirable projects.  

I am only a single developer with limited capabilities and my contributions to the overall HPSDR community do not significantly affect the status or capabilities.  There are plenty of bright and capable members of the community and they can certainly carry the work of Atlas-based support without me being involved in the slightest so please don’t fret that I happen to have my own opinions about any particular platform development work.  I apologize if voicing my opinion has caused anyone grief, that was not my intent.  I am now, as I have always been, sympathetic to issues that arise on any of the HPSDR/ANAN platforms and will continue as best I can to help resolve any issue that arises with them because I enjoy fixing problems even though some are beyond my ability to fix and are much better suited for others to address rather than me, so please don’t worry that I have become unsympathetic to Atlas-based issues over the years, I have not.   

73, Joe K5SO