We've deployed a better web site backend to handle the traffic and to improve the end user experience. We are currently fixing some 404s and hope to have all the old content back in a while.

Stay tuned!

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Q: I am getting a Perseus firmware download error when I start the program.
A: If you have the latest Nvidia display drivers installed try un-installing these and rebooting then check again. There would appear to be something 'odd' with the drivers and the Perseus software.

Q: Does the Perseus SDR run on Windows 7.
A: Yes! You'll need to install the drivers as an 'Administrator'. The main program runs fine under 32bit and 64bit OSes. The 64bit drivers on this site will allow you to use the Perseus under x64 chip sets. Currently Microtelecom do not have a signed 64bit driver which will load under Windows 7.

Q: Does the Perseus support DRM.
A: Yes! You can use Dream or VT Merlin Communications DRM software radio* to listen to DRM broadcasts. The Perseus GUI has a native DRM button on the modes menu.

Q: How do I download the Perseus driver software.
A: You'll need to email Microtelecom for them to send you a link to download the current 32bit driver. For the 64bit driver use the link on the right hand side menu.

If you're looking to power the Perseus hardware solely from USB then you've probably come across USBs 500ma power limit and either had the hub shut-down or the Windows error message relating to too much power demanded by the device. Well there may be a way around this. Armed with two semi common items I have found of the 'net it seems that for /M or /P operation you can get away with a laptop and a dual power USB lead.

The two items in question are dual power USB lead/hub and the 2.1mm USB power adaptor. Armed with both leads you can draw 1000ma from two USB ports and power the Perseus hardware without an external supply which means you could then go - truly portable - to a quiet location and DX for as long as the laptops batteries can supply power to both devices. Even then there are about some 13200ma/h external laptop battery cells that would probably give at least a few hours at 125Khz / recording / DXing. I have the 2nd lead on order and will let you know how it works out.

If you have a Perseus SDR then you know about HFSpan and how well that can display the spectrum covered by the Perseus hardware, but would it not be nice to have a few more features? Well thanks to http://www.gemsa-online.de/ you can!

They have developed a spectrum analyser that uses the Perseus hardware. Have a look at the below screen shot.

You can download the zipped file here. Installation involves un-zipping the exe file into your Perseus folder and running. There is a small read me - but it is not really needed HI.

The current version is 2.02 and fixes a couple of issues in the first release and add some new features. Fast scan from 1 to 100 frames/second. Recording and playback of complete spectrum and you can copy the display to the clipboard.

73

If you're a DRM fan then you most probably use Dream. However you can use the Fraunhofer software now as well. The fantastic software Ratemonkey has been updated to support conversion to 12kHz IF output streaming. Meaning that that Fraunhofer can now be used.

By default the DRM mode in Perseus uses 8kHz for the centre frequency which won't work as the Fraunhofer software needs 12kHz. However! using Ratemonkey you can convert the input signal centre frequency to any centre frequency between -800 and +800kHz.

If you need to run Perseus with a 12 kHz intermediate frequency (IF) output, use Ratemonkey with the new option: -outifhz 12000

You can download the new version of Ratemonkey here:
http://www.drm-sender.de/?page=tools&lang=en

If instead you're happy with Dream then you can bypass Dreams default start-up mode and use complex IQ and 0kHz offset by starting Dream from the cmd line or modifying the short cut to: dream -c 5, once changed you can use the 'USER' mode in Perseus to send 0kHz IQ to the Dream software.

By default Dream starts as "dream -c 2" which gives mono 12 kHz. There are a lot of Dream start up options which allow you to get the best from the software. The Dream WiKi or forum can provide some more examples.

73

A quick heads up.

If you're seeing the "Firmware download error" message when you start the Perseus software and the program does not open this would appear (and a few people in the Perseus Yahoo group are seeing this) to be the latest Nvidia graphic card driver.

You may have updated this driver from Nvidia's website or used Windows Update recently. As yet a version number is not known where the issue started but testing is ongoing.

A quick work-around:

• Open HFSpan from the Perseus folder.
• Click 'Run'.
• Click 'Stop'
• Close HFSpan.
• Re-Open Perseus - you should find the firmware error message gone. This seems to work under Vista and XP.

I'll update this post when the exact cause is found.

73