Tagged: plugin

New CTCSS Detector Plugin for SDR#

CTCSS is an acronym for Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System and is a system that is used in shared two way radio systems. It is common for a single radio channel to be shared over a number of user groups for frequency use efficiency. CTCSS uses a special tone to identify each group of users, and this tone is used to prevent a group hearing radio chatter from another group sharing the channel.

Over on the SDR# Yahoo Groups forum, a CTCSS detector plugin for SDR# has been posted. The plugin can detect CTCSS tones and provide a squelch for the desired tone. The latest version of the plugin can be downloaded from this link.

CTCSS SDR# Plugin
CTCSS SDR# Plugin

SDRSharp Frequency Manager + Scanner v1.31 Update

The SDRSharp Frequency Manager + Scanner plugin has just been updated to version 1.31. Scanning is now extremely fast.

Scanner

  • All scanning now uses automatic tuning based on peak signal strength. Mode and squelch do not matter; only the signal strength is used for tuning.
  • A completely re-written scanning engine now provides higher performance than in previous versions.
    • On my equipment frequency range scans average a speed of 782 MHz scanned per second. When the wind is blowing right I have reached 918 MHz per second!
    • On my equipment group scans average a speed of 161 “channels” per second!
  • The new watchdog timer will force the scanner to resume scanning after a defined period of time.
  • A new Hold/Release button lets you pause the scanner to stay on an interesting frequency.
  • You can now mute the audio while scanning.
  • There is a new window for editing scanner configuration and for tuning its performance to suit your equipment.
  • The last selected scan group, defined scan frequency ranges, and all other scanner configuration settings are now stored as your defaults for use the next time you start SDR#.
  • A built-in benchmark utility tells you how fast the scanner is running on your equipment.

Frequency Manager

  • Tuning Helper is now disabled by default.

Browse Window

  • “Clear” buttons on the Filter by Group and Filter by Flagged/Locked dropdowns.

See the Reddit release thread here, and the Yahoo Groups release thread here.

Download from http://www.sdrsharpplugins.com.

Digital Noise Reduction Plugin for SDRSharp

A new digital noise reduction plugin for SDRSharp has been released. It is packaged as part of the SDRSharp binaries. Head to the SDRSharp downloads page, and download and use the automated installer for rtl-sdr under the heading “Important note for RTL-SDR users”.

Then in SDRSharp, simply click “Enabled” in the Digital Noise Reduction plugin window and adjust the slider until you get good results. In testing I found significant improvements in noise reduction.

SDRSharp Noise Reduction Plugin