New Receiver on Way
I AM EXCITED about the new FUNcube Dongle Pro+ receiver (part number FCD2-15). One is on its way right now to my home mailbox, directly from Howard G6LVB in London. Should arrive in two days, perhaps sooner.
This is the SDR receiver that I hope to show off at our AMSAT-DC Workshop Spring 2013 coming your way on Saturday, March 23. I expect to be running it with either the SpectraVue or the SDRsharp software.
If you would like to "join me" in checking it out and bringing yours with you too then keep track of the FUNcube Dongle Web site. Better yet, don't wait until orders are announced as being re-opened to the public on the main Web page. Go straight to:
https://funcubedongle.3dcartstores.com/FUNcube-Dongle-Pro_p_8.html
and click the button for "Put me on the waiting list" intent to order. Just fill out your e-mail address. At the same time you might want to create an "account" there with your name and address to save time later.
The total cost in today's exchange rate is under $214 (US dollars) including shipping and handling. We do NOT have to pay the VAT (tax), and the ordering site knows that from your address. (I hope I don't need a disclaimer to say that I am not benefiting financially from this "sales" pitch.)
FYI, if you want to compare the new features of this receiver with the old then browse these pages:
New Specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=1201
Old specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=74
I trust someone will bring one of the "Cheap and Easy SDR" receiver dongles that was recently featured in QST Magazine (January 2013, page 30, 6 pp), to show us as well.
QST Digital Copy: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_201301/index.php
The price range is claimed as being "$20 and up" depending on the features of the specific dongle you choose. A large part of the six pages is dedicated to step-by-step tips to get the SDR# software up and running. This is good for everyone! The other major part of the article covers a construction project which is needed only if you want the expanded frequency coverage of HF. Any takers to dive into this for us??
We'll talk later about antennas and tracking as desired.
I am dying to hear about the antennas that folks are using or planning to use, especially if anyone expects to experiment either on a band above 70cm in frequency or with small circular polarization (CP) yagi types.
Cheers,
Pat N8PK n8pk@amsat.org
On Jan 23, 2013, at 11:22 AM, "Pat Kilroy" pat@patkilroy.com wrote:
I AM EXCITED about the new FUNcube Dongle Pro+ receiver (part number FCD2-15). One is on its way right now to my home mailbox, directly from Howard G6LVB in London. Should arrive in two days, perhaps sooner.
[…]
FYI, if you want to compare the new features of this receiver with the old then browse these pages:
New Specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=1201
Old specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=74
Note that the new FCD Pro+ includes SAW filters for 2M and 70cm amateur bands. This has proven to be a big positive for me, as I live about 5 miles, direct line of sight from a 1.5KW NOAA weather transmitter. A few of my "wide coverage" VHF radios suffer terrible desense, but the FCD Pro+ works like a charm on the same signals. I wish I could provide more than anecdotal evidence of the performance difference, but it is obviously better in the simple testing I've done.
Also, for those Mac users out there, there are two native applications that also support the FCD-Pro and FCD-Pro+ hardware now. This includes the beta version of SDR-DX and "DSP Radio" version 1.3.7 or later. Google will find them for you.
louie WA3YMH in central-PA these days..
I've got one of the original FCDs and it works quite well under Mac OS X 10.8. I'm using DSP Radio v1.3.9 and concur that strong nearby signals from NOAA stations can "de-sense" your amateur band 2M reception depending on your antenna connected to the FCD.
Nice little SDR to take a dive into the next wave of radio technology.
By the way, there's an Italian ham group (search for Kits under www.ct1ffu.com) that sells an upconverter for the FCD to allow for HF reception.
73s de Bob, WP4BQV/VQ9BQV.
On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 11:22 AM, Pat Kilroy pat@patkilroy.com wrote:
I AM EXCITED about the new FUNcube Dongle Pro+ receiver (part number FCD2-15). One is on its way right now to my home mailbox, directly from Howard G6LVB in London. Should arrive in two days, perhaps sooner.
This is the SDR receiver that I hope to show off at our AMSAT-DC Workshop Spring 2013 coming your way on Saturday, March 23. I expect to be running it with either the SpectraVue or the SDRsharp software.
If you would like to "join me" in checking it out and bringing yours with you too then keep track of the FUNcube Dongle Web site. Better yet, don't wait until orders are announced as being re-opened to the public on the main Web page. Go straight to:
https://funcubedongle.3dcartstores.com/FUNcube-Dongle-Pro_p_8.html
and click the button for "Put me on the waiting list" intent to order. Just fill out your e-mail address. At the same time you might want to create an "account" there with your name and address to save time later.
The total cost in today's exchange rate is under $214 (US dollars) including shipping and handling. We do NOT have to pay the VAT (tax), and the ordering site knows that from your address. (I hope I don't need a disclaimer to say that I am not benefiting financially from this "sales" pitch.)
FYI, if you want to compare the new features of this receiver with the old then browse these pages:
New Specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=1201
Old specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=74
I trust someone will bring one of the "Cheap and Easy SDR" receiver dongles that was recently featured in QST Magazine (January 2013, page 30, 6 pp), to show us as well.
QST Digital Copy: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_201301/index.php
The price range is claimed as being "$20 and up" depending on the features of the specific dongle you choose. A large part of the six pages is dedicated to step-by-step tips to get the SDR# software up and running. This is good for everyone! The other major part of the article covers a construction project which is needed only if you want the expanded frequency coverage of HF. Any takers to dive into this for us??
We'll talk later about antennas and tracking as desired.
I am dying to hear about the antennas that folks are using or planning to use, especially if anyone expects to experiment either on a band above 70cm in frequency or with small circular polarization (CP) yagi types.
Cheers,
Pat N8PK n8pk@amsat.org
Via the AMSAT-DC mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA AMSAT-DC@amsat.org http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-dc
Note that the new FCD Pro+ has a different HID control interface than the previous model, and it's nice that the makers of some of this software have updated to support the new model. I have an ~8.5dB gain antenna, intended for use as an APRS I-GATE that I've been experimenting with and thus the de-sense issue I've discovered.
It is a nice device that performs pretty well. I also picked up one of the cheap DVB-T USB dongles to play with. While only having an 8-bit A/D converter, it has a much wider passband and is also an interesting device to play around with. Fun times, lots of interesting work going on in this space.
louie WA3YMH
On Jan 23, 2013, at 12:07 PM, Robert Morales wp4bqv@gmail.com wrote:
I've got one of the original FCDs and it works quite well under Mac OS X 10.8. I'm using DSP Radio v1.3.9 and concur that strong nearby signals from NOAA stations can "de-sense" your amateur band 2M reception depending on your antenna connected to the FCD.
Nice little SDR to take a dive into the next wave of radio technology.
By the way, there's an Italian ham group (search for Kits under www.ct1ffu.com) that sells an upconverter for the FCD to allow for HF reception.
73s de Bob, WP4BQV/VQ9BQV.
On Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 11:22 AM, Pat Kilroy pat@patkilroy.com wrote:
I AM EXCITED about the new FUNcube Dongle Pro+ receiver (part number FCD2-15). One is on its way right now to my home mailbox, directly from Howard G6LVB in London. Should arrive in two days, perhaps sooner.
This is the SDR receiver that I hope to show off at our AMSAT-DC Workshop Spring 2013 coming your way on Saturday, March 23. I expect to be running it with either the SpectraVue or the SDRsharp software.
If you would like to "join me" in checking it out and bringing yours with you too then keep track of the FUNcube Dongle Web site. Better yet, don't wait until orders are announced as being re-opened to the public on the main Web page. Go straight to:
https://funcubedongle.3dcartstores.com/FUNcube-Dongle-Pro_p_8.html
and click the button for "Put me on the waiting list" intent to order. Just fill out your e-mail address. At the same time you might want to create an "account" there with your name and address to save time later.
The total cost in today's exchange rate is under $214 (US dollars) including shipping and handling. We do NOT have to pay the VAT (tax), and the ordering site knows that from your address. (I hope I don't need a disclaimer to say that I am not benefiting financially from this "sales" pitch.)
FYI, if you want to compare the new features of this receiver with the old then browse these pages:
New Specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=1201
Old specs http://www.funcubedongle.com/?page_id=74
I trust someone will bring one of the "Cheap and Easy SDR" receiver dongles that was recently featured in QST Magazine (January 2013, page 30, 6 pp), to show us as well.
QST Digital Copy: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/arrl/qst_201301/index.php
The price range is claimed as being "$20 and up" depending on the features of the specific dongle you choose. A large part of the six pages is dedicated to step-by-step tips to get the SDR# software up and running. This is good for everyone! The other major part of the article covers a construction project which is needed only if you want the expanded frequency coverage of HF. Any takers to dive into this for us??
We'll talk later about antennas and tracking as desired.
I am dying to hear about the antennas that folks are using or planning to use, especially if anyone expects to experiment either on a band above 70cm in frequency or with small circular polarization (CP) yagi types.
Cheers,
Pat N8PK n8pk@amsat.org
Via the AMSAT-DC mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA AMSAT-DC@amsat.org http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-dc
-- R. L. Morales wp4bqv@gmail.com RangeRats, LLC http://www.RangeRats.net http://www.rangerats.net/ _______________________________________________ Via the AMSAT-DC mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA AMSAT-DC@amsat.org http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-dc
participants (3)
-
Louis Mamakos -
Pat Kilroy -
Robert Morales