SDR Panadapter Using an Antenna Switcher

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In this video we'll show you how to use your computer, SDR dongle and some free software to add a panadapter display to your older, non-display HF transceiver.
Affliliate links to things mentioned in the video.
RTL-SDR Dongle Kit
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MSI.SDR Panadapter (SDRPlay RSP1 clone)
amzn.to/355Nkjw
Antenna Switcher
amzn.to/2LhKa50
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Опубликовано:

2 янв 2021

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Комментарии : 44

@adventureswithsteve2981 10 месяцев назад

Set RTS and DTS to Low to ground PTT , connect PTT on your rig to PTT on the back of the SDR Switch, now when you transmit in SSB you won't have the relay continually switching on and off with the peaks.

@MrMeasureTwice 3 года назад

I've been wanting to delve into SDR stuff, but could not find a straightforward SDR setup video that explained it well, until this video. I recently bought an FT-857, so the additional instructions to interface directly to the rig made it even more interesting. Thanks for stepping us through the process, logically! 📻👍😀

@GadgetTalk4U 3 года назад

Thanks for watching and commenting. Have fun!

@mikereaves6911 2 месяца назад

Great presentation! Thank you!

@KonstantinSDR 3 года назад

Отлично!

@WaynesWorld69 Год назад

I'm hoping you're still using this panadaptor and can answer this question - it has a jumper inside it. Did you make any changes to it and if so did you have it open or closed? Thanks so much for the video - massive help for a noob like me.

@sincerelyyours7538 10 месяцев назад

Thank you for this very clear tutorial. I subbed immediately. I'm new to ham radio and due to my location I"m completely self-taught. Been wrestling with just the problems you discussed here and how to safely hook up my SDR-Play to my IC-7300 and antenna without risking damage to both. Would the MFJ-1708SDR-B work better given that its isolation is, I think, 68dB vs the 40dB of the Chinese switcher? It also automatically uses RF sensing in case the PTT fails which could save my expensive SDR-PLay from a fat-fingered burnout. Also, would I need all that software to connect the IC-7300 and SDR-Play together or is some of that already in one or both radios? Thanks! 73 JS2OLO

@rocky12364 2 года назад

Great video your a genius , I like to know if there is at EZ hook up to my monitor just for viewing the radio water fall . Yaesue 991-A also a ICOM 7300

@GadgetTalk4U 2 года назад

I've looked around a bit and I believe the answer is no. No easy way. You'll have to move to an upgraded model with DVI outputs for external monitors. We need to remember that both the 991A and IC 7300 are getting to be older models.

@MrJarbuck 3 года назад

Great Video, working on the same set up. May I ask what cable did you end up using to ground the PTT? Was it pin 2 of the Linear input on back of 450d? Was the cable a home brew or are they commercially available? 73s MI7WPX

@GadgetTalk4U 3 года назад

John, I used the sensing circuitry rather than the PTT signal to initiate the ground. It seems to work well. I figured my SDR receiver was cheap and easy enough to replace if it got smoked. Hasn't happened yet. (Fingers crossed)

@LimestoneCoastCustoms 9 месяцев назад

I too have been wanting to do this for some time on my HF Codan NGT AR mobile rig (with Autotune antenna)I already have a good laptop on board for some surveying I do, including GPS/GNSS gear. I'm about to experiment with a RTL-SDR dongle with 137Mhz antenna & try to receive & convert satellite weather pictures (which is how I tripped across this video) A lot of all this is way above my knowledge but I'd love to know if I can do this with my HF radio??

@glenlray 3 года назад

You mentioned using a barrel connector to isolate the T/R switch. Could you elaborate on how to do that? Thanks, Glenn K1MAM

@GadgetTalk4U 3 года назад

Glenn, I just meant that I use a short patch cord coax with a barrel connector to easily disconnect the antenna from the switch if I want to go directly to the xmtr. Just a bit easier to reach.

@amglover4361 3 года назад

Thanks for the video. It looked like the tx/rx switch 'flapped' on/off while you were keying the mic, presumably as it detected ssb rf (or not). Do you not have the switch connected to the 450's PTT line? That's much better than using the switch's RF sensing capability, no? Also, did you consider the MFJ1708BSDR as well? I had seen this cheaper chinese switch and was wondering whether the MFJ is worth the extra money.

@amglover4361 3 года назад

Just watched your earlier video on the switch, which answers this :-)

@GadgetTalk4U 3 года назад

Without instructions it took some time to figure it all out, thus the update. Thanks for watching and commenting.

@timbrusky1 Год назад

I have a Mac is there a HDSR software for that?

@GadgetTalk4U Год назад

Search Google for "SDR software for Mac." You'll find some options. Unfortunately for Mac users most of the radio related software including ham radio is Windows. If you can't find anything your like, consider getting one of the sub $100 Windows laptops for your radio work. They're limited but can handle most of these applications.

@mtngr1 2 года назад

Okay, how do I connect my PTT din pin to the back of my radio from the switch if my ftdi digital cable is already there? I have the sdr dongle connected to my laptop and my digital setup with the usb ftdi cable connected to my raspberry pi4

@GadgetTalk4U 2 года назад

A lot of radios don't have a separate PTT connection on the back. I know mine doesn't. I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to do. I don't use the SDR and switcher when using WSTJ-X as the display is in that software. When using the radio for normal operations (e.g. voice) you can use the PTT line on the switcher or not use any PTT connection as the switcher is very fast at grounding the SDR antenna lead when it senses output from your transceiver. That's what I do. There are several RU-vid videos out there describing ways to solder a separate connector to the right inputs on some radio models, but that is way more than I want to deal with. I haven't had any trouble isolating the SDR dongle using the switch's power sensing circuits. Good luck.

@mtngr1 2 года назад

@@GadgetTalk4USo my setup is a raspberry pi, with an 897D, signalink, tuner, running js8, fldigi and other digital modes. I wanted to use my laptop s a panadapter, with a sdr dongle, and the switch so I can monitor.

@GadgetTalk4U 2 года назад

@@mtngr1 OK. With the laptop as the panadapter it should be straight forward as described in the video. Antenna to switcher switcher to transceiver and dongle. Dongle to the laptop. Use the power sensing to ground out the dongle antenna when transmitting. To get audio to your transceiver move the jumper in the switcher as described in the Update video. Cheers

@Pricoxxx1 4 месяца назад

The "free software links are dead",,,, any suggestions?

@GadgetTalk4U 4 месяца назад

Google the titles of what you're looking for. The website for the RTL-SDR, (RTL-SDR.com) has a bunch of links to SDR software and associated support software. Spend some time there, too. Its an old video so it's not surprising some links have expired. Good Luck and thanks for watching.

@nickthompson5437 3 года назад

Ok, I'm gonna ask a dumb question... Why does it say it only works up to 160MHz? Is that just the rf range it can sense? I guess I'm wondering if using a ppt cable, what would it matter if I was on 440?

@GadgetTalk4U 3 года назад

You got it. The specs say it won't work on the UHF bands. In this application, I think most folks are interested in covering the HF bands and maybe 6 meters. It may work with the PPT cable as you said. Not sure how many 70 cm radios will have a PTT output, though. Cheers.

@nickthompson5437 3 года назад

@@GadgetTalk4U Right. I'm not wanting to be able to use it with VHF/UHF, I just don't want to have to disconnected my all band/all mode radio when I want to get on a 2m/70cm repeater. I guess I'm wondering if UHF can damage it or still get to the SDR receiver somehow and damage it.

@GadgetTalk4U 3 года назад

@@nickthompson5437 Some of the "all band" radio's I've seen like the Yaesu 991 and 991A and Icom 7100 have two antenna outputs. One for up to 6M and the other for 2M and 70CM. With the antenna connected to the lower freq output of your transmitter the SDR would stay safe. As cheap as SDR dongles are, get a second one and use it disconnected from your transmitter if you want to "see" the 2M and 70CM bands. Just a thought.

@carter7349 3 года назад

Good afternoon. I saw your video and have obtained this switching unit. I have it all hooked up but have no connection with the radio while under normal operation. The SDR side to the computer is working fine business. When RF is sensed by the switch, the relay works. The only time I get audio or reception to the radio is when the relay is switched. Is this how yours is working or are you getting output to both the radio and computer when under normal operation? Also when I transmit, HD SDR is picking it up and causing the signal to output from the computer as well which causes interference. Any ideas? My email is good on QRZ if you want to reply there instead of here. Thanks for any help you can provide DE K0HIO

@GadgetTalk4U 3 года назад

Like you I have found that the signal seems to route to the SDR but when the transmitter is keyed, it outputs. You can see it on the HDSDR display and it was pickled up on my portable HF receiver. This proved problematic for me as I do a lot of FT8 and the WSJT-X program would receive no audio to decode. I think this switcher would be OK for the person looking for a panadapter display for an older transceiver who primarily uses SSB but its a bit of a bust for digital modes. After working with it a bit, I'd give the switcher a C-.

@carter7349 3 года назад

@@GadgetTalk4U I decided to open it up to check for possible jumpers and the like. I removed the jumper that is available to make it open. This allows for it to receive on both HD SDR and my IC-7100. Further testing shows that the rf sensing relay works as supposed to at this point. I simply turned the sound on the computer off and the problem is solved.

@brentOhlookAsnake 2 года назад

How do you have the tuner connected to the switch and radio? I have the same tuner for my 891 and want to make an SDR display. Do you use the wire from The tuner to the ALC jack on the radio? Or just the coax and manually turn the power down for tuning

@GadgetTalk4U 2 года назад

Take a peak at the update video on this topic on the channel. It shows an internal jumper to set. Also, if your radio has a PTT output, you can connect via the plug that came with the device. Otherwise (since my radio doesn't) I let the sensing circuitry in the switch ground to lead to the SDR dongle.

@brentOhlookAsnake 2 года назад

@@GadgetTalk4U saw the update. Asked one question there lol. Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll definitely be buying one.

@oldjarhead386 Год назад

So why do you use TS-2000 in the Omni-Rig setup? What does HRD have to do with any Omni-Rig setup? Or vice versa? It shouldn’t. HRD should support an FT-450 directly. HDSDR has a function to interface to HRD with no ties to Omni-Rig. OmniRig as well should interface directly to the FT-450D with no HRD inter-action. There are some SDR applications that require emulation using the TS-2000 by using the command set. But not this setup. The TS-2000 doesn’t need to be even mentioned in this video. I’ve been using SDRs, TS-2000s, ANAN-100 (TS-2000 emulation) and a FTDX-3000 for many years n all of these configurations for a long time. Did I miss something? Or did you make this unclear? You run both at the same time? Like you said, kinda cool but adds complication and little real return. The reason reception is changed it due to the 3db+ insertion loss the switch has in conjunction with the RTL-SDR being a very low quality receiver. You get what you pay for with SDRs.

@GadgetTalk4U Год назад

Please take a look at the update to this video where I discuss most of the points you made. Cheers. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--OLWWF21YJU.html

@oldjarhead386 Год назад

Thank you, I will.

@JonAhlquist Год назад

I have read and seen (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I3QtuozE3vU.html ) that some Chinese SO239 connectors have metric thread pitches that mesh poorly or not at all with a standard PL259. (There are no problems if the PL259 is also Chinese.) Has anybody had trouble with the SO239 threads with this antenna switcher? More broadly, how widespread is the problems with Chinese SO239 connectors? (Xiegu, etc.) Thanks!