Tagged: sdr#

New Version of the Frequency Manager Suite Plugin for SDR# Released

Recently the commonly used Frequency Manager Suite Plugin for SDR# has been updated. The plugin suite works well with the RTL-SDR and includes features such as a frequency scanner and manager, a scanner metrics recorder, a scheduler, an activity logger and a frequency entry plugin. The changelog is shown below:

Frequency Manager + Scanner

  • New feature: you may now optionally display the descriptions of frequencies in your database on the spectrum window. You control the colors and transparency of the descriptions and their marker lines. 
  • New feature: the Browse window now allows you to type a frequency directly into the grid, and the grid will dynamically filter your database to matching frequencies. You may type a partial frequency and all frequencies that start with the same digits will be displayed. The more digits you type, the more specific the filtering.
  • New feature: A checkbox in Preferences lets you control whether the Last Update field is changed when performing bulk edits. When unchecked this permits you to retain the original date and time the frequency was recorded in the database. 
  • New feature: You may now change the font size in the Scanner Decisions window and plugin. The new size will be remembered and used the next time you start SDR#. 
  • New article:  User David Bunyan has provided a how-to article in the Appendix on how to use the scanner effectively for WFM DXing.  See also the WFM DXing Databases download in the Download Here section to get pre-built databases for different regions around the world, also graciously provided by David Bunyan.

Scanner Metrics

  • Bug fix: fixed error in the queue manager that prevented recording activity when the date-time format on the computer was not United States. 
  • Bug fix: fixed error that prevented SM from putting its database in the same folder as FM, if the FM database location was changed after SM was loaded.

Data Tools

  • New feature: default values for imports. Will automatically assign values when they are missing from the source import data.
  • Bug fix: Fixed culture-specific issue with Frequency values when an Eibi database is downloaded. 
  • Bug fix: Fixed bug that caused Data Tools to change the current database in Frequency Manager + Scanner. 
  • Bug fix: Importing an SDR# Frequency Manager data file now results in a prompt to add or replace existing data in the target FMSuite database.

The Pluginator

  • New feature: The Pluginator now knows many of the most popular plugins. So now you may simply select one from a list and it will be installed to Plugins.xml, as opposed to requiring you to type the configuration data for the chosen plugin.

FreqMgr

 

SDR# updated to revision 1400 & SDR Touch updated to V2.6

The popular SDR# software which is often used together with RTL-SDR dongles has recently been updated to revision 1400. This new revision brings an interesting new feature which automatically estimates and displays the peak, floor and signal to noise ratio (SNR) values of the currently tuned bandwidth. Watching the SNR metric is very useful when tuning the RF gain settings, as best reception is obtained when the SNR value is maximised. The author also writes that there have been several radical changes to the code that leverage the latest .Net 4.6 framework which should improve the signal processing quality, CPU usage, user experience and hardware support. The changelog is pasted below:

Enhanced the Center tuning mode and extended it for RTL-SDR;
Enhanced the spectrum display;
Changed the frequency labelling to use multiples of 2.5/5/10 or frequency steps;
Added Peak, Floor and SNR estimation for the selection;
Enhanced the defaults for better user experience;

We note that some plugins may break with this update so be sure to make a backup if upgrading. Vasili, one of the most active SDR# plugin programmers has updated most of his plugins to work on this new version now.

Revision 1400 of SDR# with SNR estimation.
Revision 1400 of SDR# with SNR estimation.

In addition to this update, over on the Android OS the popular mobile app SDRTouch has been updated to version 2.6. This new version brings the following features and improvements:

  • Baseband recording and file playback
  • Direct sampling support for full-band receivers
  • Improved SSB image rejection
  • Fixed tuning step
  • Manual filter bandwidth
  • Improved accessibility
  • Bug fixes

Changes to SDR#: Update to .NET 4.6, Linux support and new install procedure

SDR# (SDRSharp) is probably the most popular software program that is used with the RTL-SDR. It is free, fast and fairly easy to use.

SDR# is coded in C# and so runs on the Microsoft .NET runtime. SDR# has always used the 3.5 version of the .NET runtime, however recently the programmers have made the decision to upgrade the runtime used to the latest 4.6 version of .NET. For non-programmers this means that compatibility with newer operating system such as Windows 10 is enhanced, performance and stability is improved and that SDR# can now be run on Linux and OSX with Mono 4.0. The downside is that Windows XP and Vista are no longer supported operating systems (Vista SP2 is supported). An OS compatibility list for .NET 4.6 can be found here.

If you are an SDR# user and run an older operating system such as XP or Vista we suggest that you either upgrade your OS, or simply continue to run the older versions of SDR#.

In addition to the new changes, the install procedure has also changed. Firstly, the old sdrsharp.com website now redirects to airspy.com. To install SDR# now, simply download SDR# zip file from airspy.com/download. Unzip it to any folder on your PC. Next, to download the RTL-SDR drivers simply run the install-rtlsdr.bat file. We will soon be updating our Quickstart guide to incorporate these changes.

To install SDR# on Linux or OSX you can follow the guide over at rtlsdr.org/softwarelinux.

The official announcement is as follows:

Hi,

We have been relying on the .NET Framework 3.5 for quite some time until it’s no longer installed by default into the new operating systems. Microsoft also provides minimalist support of this version of the Framework on Windows 10 which handicaped the core and plugin developers in many ways. This also resulted in obscure bugs in the user base. So we moved recently the entire code base to the .NET 4.6 in order to refresh the software and make it compatible with modern operating systems like Windows 10.

This has many implications:

  • Better performance
  • Better programming API
  • Support of Windows 10
  • Support of Linux and Mac with Mono 4.0 and up
  • End of support of Windows XP and Vista
  • End of support of the ExtIO interface (not portable)

We coordinated this migration with all the plugins and front-ends developers so no body misses the boat.
The installation procedure has also changed and now the main package contains a batch file to download the dependencies required to run RTL-SDR.
This might be disturbing for a few, but the overall impact was judged positive and a better investment for the future, especially with the new API offered by .NET 4.6.

Cheers,

The SDR# Team

sdrsharp_logo

Frequency Manager Suite Plugin for SDR#

Recently the popular Frequency Manager + Scanner plugin set for SDR# has been upgraded and renamed to the “Frequency Manager Suite”. The plugin can be downloaded from their new website at www.freqmgrsuite.com. The plugin suite includes a frequency scanner and manager, a scanner metrics recorder, a scheduler, an activity logger and a frequency entry plugin.

Apart from plugins the suite also now includes a plugin manager program called “Pluginator” which can help you to install and delete plugins without needing to edit the Plugins.xml file directly. There is also a new database manager tool which can help you to import frequency databases from online or other sources.

We have posted the full feature release below:

The Frequency Manager Suite (FMS) adds 4 more plugins to the previous set of 3:

  • Scheduler – allows you to schedule listening activities by date and time.

  • Activity Logger – records scanner activity to a file for later use.

  • Scanner Decisions – now a first-class plugin and also available as the classic stand-alone window. And you can change the position of the plugin without restarting SDR#.

  • Frequency Details – displays details about a frequency from your database. And you can change the position of the plugin without restarting SDR#.

New standalone applications also come with FMS:

  • Data Tools – this significantly upgraded import/export application lets you import data from 6 popular internet databases as well as generically-formatted files, and permits you to export your FMS databases to standard file format.
  • The Pluginator – an application that lets you add, delete, and change the order of plugins without ever having to hand-edit the SDR# file Plugins.xml. Just fill in the blanks.

New features in Frequency Manager + Scanner:

  • The new Preferences dialog allows customization without hand-editing a configuration file.
  • FMS configurations are now kept in a file separate from those of SDR#, permitting easier upgrades to SDR#.
  • You can have multiple frequency databases, and can change to a different database without restarting SDR#.
  • When tuning manually you can optionally change the radio settings (mode, BW, etc.) according to what’s in the database for the tuned frequency.
  • Scan resolution – high-res or low-res to favor speed over accuracy or vice versa.
  • Adjacent Frequency Rejection now displays its bandwidth on the spectrum analyzer.
  • Plus many other improvements and bug fixes.

fms_1v2   fms_3   fms_2   

pluginator

New SDR# Plugin: File Player

A new plugin for SDR# has been released by Vasilli over on rtl-sdr.ru. The new plugin is called File Player and replaces the default SDR# IQ file source player (page is in Russian, use Google translate if necessary). The new features include:

  • The ability to play 32-bit WAV files up to 4GB.
  • The ability to play very large 64-bit WAV files.
  • Adds a new display that shows a compressed image of the entire waterfall and shows where in time the playback is up to.
  • Allows you to modify the waterfall play time position with the mouse.
  • Adds a stop and pause button.

Note that to install this plugin you do not add the magicline to the plugins.xml file. Instead you need to add it to the <frontendPlugins> section of the SDRSharp.exe.Config text file.

File Player plugin for SDR#.
File Player plugin for SDR#.

List of all SDRSharp Plugins from rtl-sdr.ru

Vasilli, an SDR# plugins programmer has released a list of all his available SDR# plugins on his website rtl-sdr.ru (in Russian, use Google translate). Some even which were missing from our own list. The ones we hadn’t seen yet were:

  1. MPX Output plugin. Allows programs like RDS Spy to work with the audio output from SDR#
  2. Aviation band 8.33 calculator. Automatically converts the current frequency input to an aviation one according to the standard 8.33 kHz channel spacing.
  3. Frequency Lock. Simply locks the frequency change settings in SDR# to prevent accidental changes.
  4. SDR Update Script. Not a plugin, but a script that automatically updates SDR# and installs most of Vasilli’s plugins all at once. To use this script, it must be placed in a subdirectory of the SDR# folder.

Here’s an example video of SDR# running the MPX plugin so that RDS Spy can be used.

SDR # RDS Spy using MPX plugin by Vasili

New SDR# Plugin: IF Recorder

On rtl-sdr.ru, the author of several SDR# plugins has uploaded a new one called “IF Recorder”. This plugin allows you to easily record an IQ file of just the intermediate frequency (IF). In SDR#, the IF is the shaded area with the red line which you use to tune with.

This plugin looks to be great for recording example IQ samples of signals because the output file will be significantly smaller and more manageable compared to recording the entire bandwidth. It is also useful for recording IQ files for use in decoding METEOR M2 weather satellite images, as the decoding software requires an IQ file of the LRPT signal. The plugin also has a schedule option which could be used to start and stop recording the METEOR M2 weather satellite signals automatically.

IF (Intermediate Frequency) Recorder SDR# Plugin
IF (Intermediate Frequency) Recorder SDR# Plugin

New SDR# Plugins: IF Processor & Audio Processor

Over on rtl-sdr.ru, Vaisili the programmer of several popular SDR# plugins has released two new plugins: an IF and an Audio Processor plugin (in Russian, use Google Translate).

The IF Processor plugin is designed to upgrade the Zoom FFT plugin that comes standard with a fresh install of SDR#.  The IF processor plugin comes with a tracking notch filter and an asymmetric filter controls. These features will allow you to easily remove interfering signals that appear on top of your signal of interest.

The Audio Processor plugin allows you to improve the audio output using a controllable graphical audio bandpass filter. This feature can help you to remove any hiss or other undesirable sounds in the output audio.

The two new SDR# plugins demonstrated on an AM signal
The two new SDR# plugins demonstrated on an AM signal