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.

A new version of the Perseus software has been released, features and fixes are as follows:

Version 2.1i fixes some minor issues contained in the previous software version v2.1h:

• Preselection filters button misalignment in the Front-End panel
• System Date changes prevent software to be run unless fully registered
• New Marker Log File Format

Download at source here.

 

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!

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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