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Test Drive FlexRadio PowerSDR™ 1.x on 
Your Own Computer.
Would like to test drive the FlexRadio PowerSDR 1.x software on your PC without having to attach software defined radio hardware? If so, we have just the thing for you; the easy three step demo setup.
How does this work, you might ask. Well, the software defined radio hardware sends a digitized I/Q data stream over a Firewire connection (or USB connection in the case of the FLEX-1500™) to PowerSDR (aka "the software") for processing. These digitized signals contain all of the spectral information for the bandwidth being sampled - up to 192 KHz, needed by PowerSDR to function as a full featured ham radio receiver.
FlexRadio PowerSDR has the ability to capture this incoming data stream before it gets processed by the software and records it as a specialized sound file. Using FlexRadio PowerSDR, you can take this specialized sound file and feed it directly into PowerSDR for processing. From the software's point of view, it does not know the difference if this is a previously recorded I/Q data file or a real-time I/Q data stream from an actual FlexRadio Systems software defined radio. Therefore you can use all of the software features of PowerSDR as if you had a SDR attached to your computer.
That is right! You can actually operate approximately 95% of the radio's functions as if you were using an actual software defined radio. Here are just a few of the things you can do using the PowerSDR demo configuration.
- Change the frequency and tune signals within the sampling rate bandwidth using the innovative ClickTune™ capabilities available in the interactive Panadapter.
- Select different modes and demodulate SSB, AM, FM digital and CW signals.
- Dynamically manipulate the receive filters, use the noise blanker and digital noise reduction.
- Use the 10-band receive EQ and the MultiRX™ capabilities to demodulate two different signals in the same passband.
There are no real operational restrictions on what you can do in demo receive mode with PowerSDR and pre-recorded I/Q data files, so you are getting a real live software defined radio experience. You can even set it up to decode digital modes using third-party software like WSJT and MixW†
So how do you get started? It is easy. Just complete the following steps to download and install the necessary software on your Windows XP or Vista PC. No other radio in the world has the capability for you to operate it in a truly live interactive configuration before you purchase the actual radio hardware.
Step 1 - Download the Instructional Videos, PowerSDR and the I/Q Wave Files
Create a folder on your PC to download the necessary software needed for running the PowerSDR demo
NOTE: Some of these files are very large and can take a while to download depending on the speed of your Internet connection.
For the files listed below, you want to save them rather than playing them directly from the Internet. How you do this varies by browser, but basically you right click on the link below and select either "Save Link As..." or "Save Target As...". You only need one I/Q Wave file to get started, but you can download them all to get different band conditions and modes of operation.
Instructional Videos:
The introductory "StartHere" video (12 MB)
The "How to Navigate the Panadapter" Video (127 MB)
PowerSDR SDR Software
PowerSDR v1.18.0 (5 MB)
I/Q Wave Files:
Phone on 80m - large (284 MB)
Phone on 80m - small (45 MB)
CW on 20m (75 MB)
Phone on 20m (31 MB)
CW & Digital Contest on 20m (278 MB)
Step 2 - Watch the "Start Here" Video.
This video will describe in a step-by-step manner how to install and configure PowerSDR on your Windows computer in demo mode and play an I/Q wave file. After downloading the StartHere video, play it using any media player that supports Windows Media files (*.wmv), such as the Windows Media player. Just double click on the StartHere.wmv file from the folder where you saved it in Step 1 and it should start to play automatically.
Step 3 - Watch the "How to Navigate the Panadapter" Video.
Once you have PowerSDR installed, configured for demo mode and start playing an I/Q wave file, you should watch the How to Navigate the Panadapter Video for a quick tutorial on now to manipulate the PowerSDR controls for changing frequency, manipulating filters and other features of PowerSDR.
Additional Resources For First Time PowerSDR Users
There are several other resources available for download from the FlexRadio Systems web site that you might find useful.
FLEX-5000 Owner's Manual - The FLEX-5000 Owner's Manual describes all of the functions of PowerSDR along with a description of the FLEX-5000 SDR hardware. If you are interested in the FLEX-3000, then download the FLEX-3000 Owner's Manual.
Another common question prospective Flexers have is what kind of PC is needed to operate a FlexRadio Systems software defined radio. One of the innovative information resources that FlexRadio Systems has is an extensive collection of "how to" and informative articles contained in our extensive Knowledge Center. Most of the answers to your questions, such as the one posed above, can be found in the Knowledge Center by doing simple key word searches. Specifically, information regarding what type of PC is needed to operate a FlexRadio Systems SDR is found in the What kind of computer should I buy for a FlexRadio Transceiver? article.
Now some of you may not have a sufficient high bandwidth Internet connection to download the demo video and I/Q wave files. Don't worry. We have a demo CD that has all of the necessary software to run the PowerSDR demo. To get the free FlexRadio PowerSDR 1.x demo CD, just call Sales at +1 (512) 535-5266.
NOTE: It has come to our attention that a recent
Microsoft Update for Windows Vista has created performance and compatibility issues with
the Test Drive demo version of PowerSDR. This in no way reflects the real world performance
of PowerSDR or the FlexRadio Systems software defined radios. Note that
this problem does not affect Windows XP.
† - Requires VAC for direct digital audio transfer capabilities. Not included on the demo CD.
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©2005-2010 FlexRadio Systems
FlexRadio Systems is a registered trademark
SDR-1000, FLEX-5000, FLEX-3000, FLEX-1500, PowerSDR, FlexWire, ClickTune, MultiRX, PanaFall, PanaScope and FlexReady are trademarks of FlexRadio Systems
FireWire® and the FireWire logo are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc., under license
FlexRadio Systems, 13091 Pond Springs Rd. #250 Austin, TX USA 78729
All rights reserved |
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