Alfred Gemsa has updated his Perseus Spectrum Analyzer to version 2.3. This now includes support for later Perseus installs (2.1i->) that use the WinUSB drivers.

Release notes are included inside the ZIP file regarding installation.

Download at source here.

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The Perseus Control DLL v3.3 (25 Feb. 2010 - 47 kB .zip file) has been updated today by Nico. Changes from the previous version are as follows:

• Fixes a compatibility issue with CWSkimmer under Windows Vista.

To install just unzip and install in the Perseus software and CWSkimmer folders.

Just a quick note to let everyone know that versuon 2.1H has been released today by Nico.

It is a larger install as you get new drivers. WinUSB is used and this gets around the issues of signed drivers in Windows 64bit OSes. Download at source.

What's new:

- Fully featured demonstration version.
- WinUSB drivers and new Perseus control DLL for Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 - 32 and 64 bit versions.
- Support for multiple Perseus receivers attached to a single PC.
- New FPGA cores with 48, 96, 192 kHz output sample rates.
- Direct support for CW Skimmer.
- Support for external frequency down-converters.
- Spectrum Display Max Hold/Clear/Pause Functions.
- New Waterfall Processing Modes.
- Waterfall Automatic Gain Control Options.
- Waterfall Time Ticks.
- User Configurable Color Palette.
- Markers Log.
- New S-Meter and Marker Units.
- Bugs fixed.

Perseus Control DLL v3.2 (19 Dec. 2009 - 47 kB .zip file) Fixes issues with multiple receivers installations. Improved support  for VE3NEA's CW Skimmer v1.5. Unzip and copy in the Perseus software v2.1h folder (and in the CW Skimmer folder). Download here.

ExtIO DLL for Winrad (20 Dec 2009 - 1.6 MB .zip file) Includes the support for all the Perseus output sampling rates. Download here.

Enjoy!

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Evening all, it's a pretty wet night here in the UK and with the children tucked up asleep in bed and the YL at work it seemed a pretty good idea to get some shack time in!

I’ve put together some pictures of the Perseus, QS1R and the Perseus running using the HOKA SDR interface. I have tired to keep them pretty similar on settings so you can get a look at the lay of the land as it were when it comes to the current crop of SDRs. I will say this and that is the QS1Rs SDRMAXII interface although not as polished as the Perseus GUI does has the advantage(?) of the waterfall and FFT spectrum at the same time; again the HOKA SDR also shows the two together.

It is a shame that as yet Nico has not decided to offer this feature – I am sure it is on someone’s Christmas list! As far as performance goes the HOKA SDR is in very early beta and as such does not benefit from some of the changes Nico has made to the firmware loads for the Perseus. I am sure this small issue will be corrected in a later version along with some more control over the GUI and spectrum monitoring bandwidths etc now as the native Perseus GUI has 2MHz on tap.

For all the screenshots have a look in the gallery.

Best 73 & good sDrX!

QRM, a nasty three letter word to anyone with a radio.

Ever since I moved to somewhere a little quieter (read not a suburban housing estate) I noticed that even with the loop between 250 KHz and around 600 KHz there was always this mush, no matter what I did or how I worked the antenna feeds or what options I choose as for feed line this mush was omnipresent. At times it would be evident higher up in frequency at other times nothing about 2 MHz at all. So having a little of the TADX bug inside me I decided it was time to swat this pesky noise once and for all! Armed with my Perseus (which is great for spotting noise) and a UPS I went for the big switch!

A recording of the the noise 390Khz_QRN.mp3 (469.39 kb)

Killing my own mains power removed the noise completely, A Ha! It was my QTH that housed the problem, in some ways great in others not so great! If it was somewhere else I could call on OFCOM and its team of QRM investigators to find it and cure it! However being my noise it was my problem, darn! So back to the QRM DFing, now I knew it was me I could turn on the houses’ electrical outlets one by one and see when it appeared, sure enough I discovered that once the lower floors “mains” was restored the noise returned.

I was glad it was not the central heating or anything like that! This now left me with basically the downstairs and the items plugged in or hard wired – not much really to “check”. Grabbing my trusty Yupiteru and tuning to where the noise was strongest 390 KHz I began to wonder around the house (-pretty glad my YL was not about as she always looks upon this hobby with some suspicion!) each time I got anywhere near anything electrical the noise would peak, so if I moved near a light switch, wall outlet or where the wiring runs in the walls the noise would appear. Which at least shows it was the house wiring that was radiating!

This meant it was findable … moving from item to item the kitchen appliances seemed to radiate the most – well! Now I was getting somewhere. The three items that had displays were the fridge, cooker and microwave; in turn I switched them off – voila! Switch the microwave off and the noise is gone! Switch it back on and a swish and the noise returns. Hmmm now this is not some relic from the 80’s this is a state of the art combo microwave from Panasonic, nothing cheap about it, metal cabinet, screwed together and with a bloody decent screen on the back of the unit, but even with all this as noisy as a junk yard dog on a good day!

Even moving the unit to other mains outlets did nothing, boy did this throw some junk up the house wiring. There is no local radiation as running it from a UPS there is only noise (the same noise) within a few inches of the mains lead and the back area where the PSU is located, so it is not the “item” that radiates but it is throwing QRM up the mains lead into the house wiring.

Anyway I have fired off an email to Panasonic detailing what I have found and I am awaiting a reply. Hopefully something will come of this, in the mean time I just leave it switched off until I need it.

Probably a good thing as I have read some reviews on web sites and someone noted that on standby they consume 75 watts! What the hell for, the front display? If it needed 75 watts to display the clock I would be able to see if from another town it would be that bright! Below are some screenshots of the noise so you get the idea of what it looked like on the Perseus spectrum and waterfall displays.

Narrowed in on the center where it was strongest.

A view of the lower part of the spectrum with the peak.

Zoomed in to see the noise in all its glory.

A waterfall view of the same spectrum

The audio component of the QRM from the microwave.

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Having some late starts has its advantages when it comes to LF DXing. This morning I was not needed in the office until 9am which meant some time having a look around the MW band for some US and Canadian stations. Don’t get me wrong I am up with the birds so if there is DX about at 6am then I am there to catch it! The sprogs do not as yet understand what a laying means …

I normally like to check 1010 KHz and 1050 KHz as both are pretty strong to me on the loop, well I was rewarded well this morning, Perseus was showing very strong carriers on all the 10 KHz channels across the MW band.

CFRB and WWZN were like locals to me. Pretty amazing to think that the 1.1 meter ALA330S loop was working that well! It’s not designed for MW DXing as the gain falls off below 2 MHz but even so – the recordings I’ve made this morning show that even at 8.45am they were still very audible. Much more so that the inverted L that I have up which is swamped by locals the moment the sun rises all trace of TADX more or less vanishes, whereas the loop is still going strong. That is one area that the wideband antenna and the Perseus are made for each other – showing the 2 MHz of the LF end of the spectrum at one time in waterfall mode allows you to spot the TADX a mile off.

With this in mind and what it seems a new aspect to my Perseus listening I have decided that father Christmas is bringing me something better for TADX – the ALA100 – this large aperture loop looks ideal for my QTH and would allow some lower frequencies to be DX’ed a little better. The ALA330S is great for UTEs higher up and to some extent the LF bands and the inverted L works very well all over, but the reviews of the ALA100 make it very tempting. I know what I will be doing on the 25th December this year! With the turkey in the oven cooking away I will be running some more RG58/U down the bottom of the garden to my new toy.

The TADX mp3 recordings are below; they were made at 8.43am and 8.45am. Most remarkable from my modest setup considering it was pretty much daylight by then.

CFRB-WINS1010.mp3 (4.58 mb)

WWZN_AM.mp3 (942.49 kb)

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