A sound card with stereo linein connector for receive and stereo lineout connector for transmit and a computer running sdr software are required to operate this radio. Softrock txrx ensemble transceiver dara thursday night group. Sixteen center frequencies are programmed into the pic on the rxtx board to provide one or more center frequencies on each of the hf ham bands. We categorize the programs into general purpose software, single purpose software, research software and software compatible with audio piping. Upon returning in 2000, tony discovered software defined radio or sdr, where he saw an opportunity to build starter kits for hf sdr receivers that became the softrock sdr kits. Does anyone have any good recommendation or experience to share. The reason for this has interesting history and is related to early form of signal compression. The rtlsdr can be used as a wide band radio scanner. I initially considered the peaberry sdr, but ended up with the softrock ensemble rxtx sdr transceiver kit since i have the required sound card capabilities laying around after my previous synth projects.
Now that i own a flex1500 sdr transceiver, the softrock ensemble sdr receiver that i bought a while ago has become somewhat redundant. This i did for him prior to the rsgb 2009 convention where he gave a presentation on his new sdr software using a. If softrock is not available, rocky can be used to play back iq data recordings. Ive modified flexradios powersdr software to work with the soft rock 40. I have been playing with a softrock sdr ensemble ii hf receiver for a while and then i read about a european ham, who modded his ft450 to work with his sdr a mercury sdr, not a softrock, so i thought i might follow in his footsteps and do some. The term softrock is used for the software defined radio sdr system that uses softrock ensemble. Qso today episode 046 tony parks kb9yig softrock sdr. The combination of the relatively simple soft rock 40 hardware with the powersdr software results in a low cost receiver with some very nice features.
Ft450 sdr interface to softrock ensemble ii ham radio and. Other interest are photography, computer programming, and design of electronic equipment. The line began with the softrock 40 rx and went through several iterations of receivers. I have just finished a soft rock rx ii i would recommend a cheap hot air rework station from ebay that made mine easy to solder up. Softrock rx receiving equipment northern utah websdr. Dec 28, 2012 this post takes a look at some of the software that can be used with the softrock sdr hardware that is designed for amateur radio use. Very impressive indeed, if you were thinking of getting into sdr, do it, you wont regret it.
For more information on softrock softwaredefined ham radio, visit and happy bee surf by kev. The softrock lite ii, the sequel to the sr lite v6. Introducing softrock ensemble a software defined radio. As the soft rock sdr radios were being developed there was a separate usb to i2c adapter kit being sold by tony parks. Unboxing the softrock rxtx amateur radio sdr transceiver kit. The rtlsdr is an ultra cheap software defined radio based on dvbt tv tuners with rtl2832u chips. This site is devoted to the area of software defined radio sdr, more specifically, the softrock series of technology sampler kits and the genesisradio. Software defined radio sdr is a radio communication system in which the hardware components, such as mixer, amplifiers, and filters are implemented using a computer.
With tony parks kb9yig on softrock softwaredefined ham radio duration. There are now dozens of software defined radio packages that support the ultra cheap rtlsdr. Welcome to the main soft rock software website, where you will find a variety of software mainly for computers running risc os, such as webchange, waituntil, quicksand, and more. With tony parks kb9yig on softrock softwaredefined ham radio. As the sdr widget is cable of running in different setups usb audio version 12 and hpsdr it was a great step forward when a unified firmware was released so that i can flip between them with just a reboot. This site has information concerning the softrock software defined radios created and kitted by tony parks kb9yig. They are kitted in batches of 20100 every few weeks and usually sell out within 2448 hours. Your source for softrock radio kits softrock rxtx ensemble transceiver kit the softrock rxtx ensemble transceiver kit provides a 1 watt sdr transceiver that can be built for one of the following five band groups. It is a very effective demonstration of the capabilities of the software defined radio approach.
Ieee at my college helped me fund this little project. Softwaredefined radio sdr is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented in hardware e. Ham radio operators often finish a qso or a contact with the number 73, which means best regards. On this page we will attempt to list, categorize and provide a brief overview of each software program. Apr 25, 2020 softwaredefined radio sdr is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented in hardware e. This setup has the advantage of vhf as compared to ensemble but is not as well engineered or constructed for amateur radio, for example it is missing the essential bandpass filters for amateur radio that. Jan 09, 20 the softrock lite ii, the sequel to the sr lite v6. Software defined radio resources ham radio science. It is still a serviceable radio and works fine, but it cant hold a candle to the amazing flex1500. It was only about 5 miles, scheduled with another local ham, but it was a contact nonetheless.
Nov 12, 2011 a few photographs of my latest tinkeringa softrock ensemble rxtx. Anyway, choosing a kit i might as well do it the modern way and build a sdr. Listed under the manufacturerssoftware defined radio category that. After a career in electronics engineering, tony parks, kb9yig, returned to ham radio, after thirty years, to find it very different than when he first started in the 1950s.
Because of the wide variety of soundcards, computers, operating systems and the way they are setup there can be no simple do it like this instructions. Amateur radio hobbyist ve3mkc has been working on a project involving running a softrock sdr on a teensy 3. Above all there seems to be a clarity to the signals and perhaps that is because the bandwidth may be a bit wider. Kk6mri setup of softrock rxtx for digital modes on. This receiver has a builtin local oscillator based on the silicon labs si570 the same chip used as the local oscillator in the elecraft kx3 and can be tuned anywhere from about 1. Dec 08, 2012 back in the summer i built a softrock ensemble rxtx from a kit, choosing 10, 12 and 15 metres for transmit. As the sdrwidget is cable of running in different setups usb audio version 12 and hpsdr it was a great step forward when a unified firmware was released so that i can flip between them with just a reboot. Flex radio sdr based ham radio transceivers perseus hf sdr receivers rf space hf sdr receivers quicksilver qs1r hf sdr receiver winradio hf and vhf uhf sdr receivers alinco hf and vhf uhf receivers with iq outputs elecraft kx3 hf transceiver with iq output coming this fall.
Ok, after that long winded exhortation of my sdr experience and why you should have one, onto the technical stuff. Other interest are photography, computer programming, and. Notwithstanding i do have several sdr kit radios including several softrocks and the omnia based on the peaberry and even one that uses a softrock with a raspberry pi. A new area, describing the ongoing efforts to put on a sdr buildathon for a ham club. There are different software available to use with the softrock receiver and the sdrwidget. A previous post explored the steps involved in building a simple softrock receiver for the 40m amateur radio band 77. I built mine for 40m, 30m, and 20m but it works very well on both 80 and 60 meters with a little less output. I will have to say again, that i am very impressed with the sdr receiver in the softrock rx tx. The sdr cube is a totally selfcontained, embedded software defined radio transceiver for cw and ssb operation. There are two softrock receiver types in use on this websdr system. This post takes a look at some of the software that can be used with the softrock sdr hardware that is designed for amateur radio use. It uses a softrock for the rf front end electronics rf mixer, amplifiers and filters and an embedded digital signal processor with software programmed to perform as an hf modem. R390a if output 15 db attenuator 455 khz softrock delta 44 sound card p42800 mhz1g ram delta 44 sound card hafler dh110 preamplifier hafler p3000 amplifier. Rocky documentation in german, with translators comments, is available here tnx eike dm3ml.
My name is cecil bayona, my main hobby is ham radio. Has anyone here been building those little softrock sdr radios. Tx on my softrock ensemble with hdsdr the linux ham. Back in the summer i built a softrock ensemble rxtx from a kit, choosing 10, 12 and 15 metres for transmit. All smt components are mounted on the bottom of the board. This is a pretty simple modification that converts a softrock ensemble rxtx sdr rf interface board from commonif rx and tx share the same antenna port to splitif rx and tx have separate ports. About rocky software for softrock40 the resource is currently listed in in a single category. So i am not brand new to sdr, but i am new to rolling my own. If you know of a program that is missing please leave. Free for public use as long as im not using them please use simon browns sdrradio client to access my radios.
I have been playing with a softrock sdr ensemble ii hf receiver for a while and then i read about a european ham, who modded his ft450 to work with his sdr a mercury sdr, not a softrock, so i thought i might follow in his footsteps and do some experimenting. It may interest ham radio enthusiasts, hardware hackers, tinkerers and anyone interested in rf. Windows 10 x64 pstrotator for sat tracking, rotator control and rig control ham radio deluxe digital master 780 hrd logbook wsjtx for ft8 with jtalerr uz7ho soundmodem software packetradio tnc, etc. Completed softrock ensemble ii sdr receiver kit on air. These kits are for working amateur radio hf receivers and transceivers. Sdr radio transceiver flex, elecraft, cube, softrock. Using the flex powersdr software for the sdr along with the software by sv1eia for homemade rigs and by adjusting the sound card voltage, the rig puts out a solid 2 watts.
Providing several software defined radios, a rfspace sdriq and a softrock ensemble rx ii. Wb5rvz sdr pages dedicated to helping amateur radio hobbiests construct and understand the operation of software defined radios, specifically the. Softrock dream drm decode k3rrr kilo three triple r. X 2 board representing the culmination of a long line of softrock sdr receivers from tony parks, kb9yig. Ham radio kits built radios enclosures ham radio, electronics, kits, softrock radio. Ensemble ii software defined receiver kit in operation in the ham shack. This page hosts the configuration information needed to use my online software defined radios. A few photographs of my latest tinkeringa softrock ensemble rxtx.
This link is listed in our web site directory since saturday jan 7 2006, and till today rocky software for softrock40 has been followed for a total of 10574 times. Operate a software defined radio from anywhere in the world. While i could turn it into a panadapter or sell it on ebay, eham, etc. May 21, 2017 for more information on softrock softwaredefined ham radio, visit and happy bee surf by kev. For more information on softrock softwaredefined ham radio, visit s. With tony parks kb9yig on softrock softwaredefined ham. I would have to say the softrock rx tx is an outstanding bargain for a qrp sdr radio. The kit is supplied with four bpf kits for hf band coverage on receive.
It is a system in which hardware components are replaced with software. Nov, 2011 this is a pretty simple modification that converts a softrock ensemble rxtx sdr rf interface board from commonif rx and tx share the same antenna port to splitif rx and tx have separate ports. The main category is software defined radios that is about sdr, software defined radios products. Im looking for an affordable amplifier to be used in companion to a softrock sdr 403020. Splitif is the standard for highperformance transverters on the 50, 70, 144, 222, and 432mhz amateur bands. Simon brown hb9drv of ham radio deluxe fame asked me a while back if id help with building a softrock v9. Oct 02, 2008 has anyone here been building those little softrock sdr radios.
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