Robotron G3E User Manual

WiNRADiO®
G303 Shortwave Receiver
User’s Guide
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Published by WiNRADiO Communications PO Box 6118, St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3004, Australia
© 2004 WiNRADiO Communications, Melbourne
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher.
Trademarks
WiNRADiO, G3, G303 and Radio Basic are trademarks of WiNRADiO Communications
All other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Patents
WiNRADiO technology is protected by US Pat. No. 6,289,207 and other pending US and international patent applications.
Printed in Australia
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FCC Notice
The WiNRADiO G303 receiver has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver
Connect the computer into a different outlet so that the two devices are on different
branch circuits
Consult an authorised dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
Caution
To comply with the limits for the Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules, the WiNRADiO card must be installed in computer equipment certified to comply with the Class B limits. Only peripherals certified to comply with the Class B limits may be attached to the computer containing the WiNRADiO receiver. Operation with non-certified peripherals may result in interference to radio and TV reception. Removal of ferrite cores from power or interface cables is prohibited. Only original cables supplied by the manufacturer must be used.
Modifications
Any changes or modifications to the WiNRADiO receiver not expressly approved in this book could void the user's authority to operate this equipment.
Limitation of Liability and Remedies
The information published in this book has been compiled from several sources. While every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy, neither the authors nor the publisher can guarantee that all information is entirely correct or up-to-date. Furthermore, neither the authors nor the publisher can take any responsibility for the use of this information or any consequences arising therefrom.
WiNRADiO Communications shall have no liability for any damages due to lost profits, loss of use or anticipated benefits, or other incidental, special or punitive damages arising from the use of, or the inability to use, the WiNRADiO receiver, whether arising out of contract, negligence, tort or under any warranty, even if WiNRADiO Communications has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall WiNRADiO Communications ' liability for damages exceed the amount paid for this product. WiNRADiO Communications neither assumes nor authorises anyone to assume for it any other liabilities.
Warning
In certain countries or states it may be illegal to monitor certain frequencies. We cannot accept any responsibility for the consequences of your non-compliance with government regulations. If you are in doubt about the regulations in your country or state, please contact your nearest radio communications regulatory authority.
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Introduction
Introduction
One could easily conclude that, in the era of the Internet and communication satellites, short waves are destined for obsolescence. But the reality is quite different. On the contrary, shortwave communications seem to be experiencing a new period of revival and vigorous growth.
This revival is partially caused by the fact that shortwave is still the only technology able to send signals around the globe with minimum power and without the need for expensive, and potentially failure-prone or sabotage­prone infrastructure. In the era of increased security concerns, this is an important reason for the continuing interest in shortwave.
The other reasons include newly found applications, for example HF email, and emerging new types of digital modulations (such as DRM broadcasting), offering more reliable and higher quality communications than before.
All this will ensure that shortwave will remain what it has always been; an amazing place of action, a cacophony of sounds; a babel tower of exotic languages and music, alive with broadcasters both official and clandestine; a haven of spies; a playground of pirates, terrorists and freedom fighters alike; an exciting mix of the respectable, the serious, the crazy and the dangerous. Long before the Internet, the shortwave world was always borderless. And quite like the Internet, impossible to tame and control.
Welcome to shortwave and welcome to the WiNRADiO G303 receiver. Your new receiver is a world-first in more than one respect. Most importantly, it is the first commercially available Software Defined Receiver (SDR), where the entire demodulator and the last intermediate frequency stage are performed by software running on a personal computer rather than using conventional hardware circuits, or a dedicated Digital Signal Processor. Your PC probably has more power than even the fastest DSP had only a few years ago. Your new WiNRADiO G303 receiver is now ready to take advantage of that power. Enjoy!
WiNRADiO provides regular upgrades to our application software. Don’t forget to register as a WiNRADiO user to receive news about new products, accessories and software upgrades for your WiNRADiO G303 receiver. Use our on-line registration form on www.winradio.com/register to take advantage of this free service.
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Installation
G303 Receiver Models
There are two basic models of the WiNRADiO G303 receiver:
G303i (PCI card based “internal” model)
G303e (USB based “external” model)
Both receivers have similar parameters and identical software user interface. This manual covers the installation and operational aspects for both types.
The G303i model has two connectors: the antenna connector (SMA type, 50 ohm) and 12 kHz IF (intermediate frequency) output:
The signal from the 12 kHz IF output is normally connected to the PC sound card, where it is digitized, to be then processed by the PC.
The advantage of this model is that it does not require any external power supply, and does not occupy any additional desk space. The receiver is very well shielded to prevent any interference generated by the PC from entering the receiver.
The receiver comes with a suitable “audio lead” to connect the 12 kHz IF output to the sound card input.
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The external G303e model has three connectors:
The power jack accepts 12 V DC (the power adapter must be rated for minimum 500 mA). To minimize interference, a linear-mode power adapter is recommended (as supplied by WiNRADiO).
The antenna input is an SMA-type connector with 50 ohm impedance.
The IF output/control connector combines the 12 kHz IF (intermediate frequency output), USB interface and serial interface. Normally, only the USB interface cable is supplied, and the IF signal arrives from the receiver to the PC already digitized, via the USB cable. This method is preferable, because it relies on a high-quality analog-to-digital converter inside the receiver, and guarantees optimum and consistent performance. The installation is also simpler as it does not require adjustment of the 12 kHz IF signal input level (this is set to optimum level inside the receiver).
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It is also possible to control the receiver via the serial (RS-232) interface, which necessitates using the PC sound card for digitization of the IF signal. WiNRADiO provides a special “serial interface option” cable which takes care of all the appropriate connections, both to the serial port and the sound card input.
G303e serial interface option
As this interfacing method relies on the sound card to provide the digitization of the 12 kHz IF signal, it requires careful adjustment of the input signal level. The performance will depend on the sound card quality.
It is a suitable method in situations where the receiver needs to be controlled by computer systems without the USB interface.
Did you know?
DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) is a new digital broadcasting system for medium and short waves. By introducing sophisticated signal coding and compression, this system offers a dramatic improvement in broadcast quality. WiNRADiO has a DRM demodulator available for your G303 receiver. For more details please refer to www.winradio.com/drm.
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Installation
The WiNRADiO package contains the following items:
WiNRADiO G303i or G303e receiver
WiNRADiO software on a CD ROM
Start-up indoor antenna
Audio cable (G303i model only)
Power adapter (G303e only)
Interface cable (G303e only)
This User’s Guide
Warranty information
In order for the WiNRADiO receiver to function, your IBM PC compatible computer must meet the minimum system requirements specified below.
System Requirements
Minimum Recommended
CPU 500 MHz,
Pentium III RAM 64 MB 256 MB or more Display SVGA SVGA (16 mil. colors) HD free space 20 MB 40 MB Sound card SoundBlaster
compatible, 16 bit,
full duplex OS Windows
98/ME/NT/2000/XP
1GHz or higher, Pentium IV or Athlon
Creative Sound Blaster, 16 or 32 bit
Windows 2000/XP
Hardware Installation
G303i model (PCI card-based)
1. Turn off the computer and disconnect the power cord.
2. Remove the computer case. Choose an empty PCI slot, as far as possible from the power supply and from other cards.
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3. First touch the computer metalwork with your hand to drain any static charge, then carefully insert the card into the vacant slot and push down until it is firmly seated. Screw the metal bracket at the end of the card to the computer case. (This must be done to provide proper grounding for the card).
4. Replace the computer case and reconnect the power cord.
5. Connect the supplied audio lead between the receiver output (a standard audio jack) and the sound card Line Input. (If there is no Line
input on your PC, as is the case with some laptops, you may use alternative inputs, such as the Microphone input. This may be also necessary with certain types of sound cards, such as Creative Audigy 2.)
G303i receiver installed in a desktop PC
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G303e (external) model with standard USB interface
1. Connect the receiver to the USB port using the supplied cable.
2. Plug the supplied power adapter to the power outlet and connect its
output to the receiver.
3. Turn the receiver on using the power switch at front of the receiver. The
blue LED will blink to indicate that the receiver is ready.
G303e receiver with USB interface
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G303e (external) model with optional serial interface
1. Connect the receiver to the serial port using the supplied adapter,
which combines both the serial interface and the audio lead in one cable.
2. Connect the audio lead on the PC side to the sound card Line input. (If
there is no Line input on your PC, as is the case with some laptops, you may use alternative inputs, such as the Microphone input. This may be also necessary with certain types of sound cards, such as Creative Audigy 2.)
3. Plug the supplied power adapter to the power outlet and connect its
output to the receiver.
4. Turn the receiver on using the power switch at front of the receiver. The
blue LED will blink to indicate that the receiver is ready.
G303e receiver with serial interface
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G303e LED status indication
The single blue LED on the front of the WiNRADiO G303e (external) receiver can display a number of different states using various specific flash patterns. Each pattern is repeated once per second.
In the following table, “black” in the pattern indicates that the LED is on in that time interval.
Pattern Description Mode
Off No power
Long flash, equal gap Single short flash Serial connection, radio off
Single long flash Serial connection, radio on
Two short flashes USB connection, radio off
One short flash followed by a long one Two short flashes followed by a long one Three short flashes
No connection to computer
USB connection, radio on
USB connected, but driver not installed
USB connected, driver installed, but application not running yet
Did you know?
The blue LED is a semiconductor that glows blue when electricity is passed through it. Of the three primary colors for light, the red and green LEDs were invented more than 20 years earlier; the blue LED, however, proved to be elusive. In 1993, the blue LED was developed and soon brought to market owing to a new technology devised by Prof. Shuji Nakamura. Its world-wide success in consumer markets has been spectacular – as fascinating as the intensive and mysterious glow of the blue LED itself.
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Connecting the Antenna
Your WiNRADiO G303 receiver comes with a start-up antenna consisting of a 3-meter length of coaxial lead-in cable, with an additional 3 meters of insulated wire. The thinner, insulated wire at the end is the actual antenna. The long lead-in cable is necessary for the antenna to be located as far away from the PC as possible, to reduce interference from the PC.
Please note that this start-up antenna is supplied for immediate gratification only and is not intended to replace a good shortwave antenna.
The best placement of the start-up antenna depends on your actual situation, and will often involve some experimentation. However, the basic rule is simple: Place the antenna as close to the window as you can, and keep the active part of the antenna as far away from the PC, and other electronic and electrical devices, and metal objects, as possible.
Something to consider?
WiNRADiO also manufactures antenna impedance transformers (often referred to as “long-wire baluns”). The WR-LWA-0130 adapter shown on the left can be used to match the impedance of a long wire shortwave antenna to the 50 ohm input impedance of the WR-G303 receiver.
Such impedance matching usually results in a significant signal strength increase compared to the long wire antenna connected directly to the antenna input of the receiver. For more information on this product as well as the WiNRADiO range of antennas, see the WiNRADiO Web site www.winradio.com.
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An example of WiNRADiO start-up antenna placement
No matter how good a radio receiver is, the performance of the entire receiving system will depend on the quality of the antenna. The same applies to a WiNRADiO receiver. To make the most of your WiNRADiO receiver, you should install a proper shortwave antenna.
Check out our antennas
There are many vendors offering shortwave antennas. WiNRADiO with our extensive range of antennas may also be able to assist. Check out especially our low-cost wire antenna AX-05E, which is particularly suitable for the G303i receiver: www.winradio.com/home/antennas.htm
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Software Installation
1. If the PC is off, turn it on. Windows will find the receiver and
automatically start the usual New hardware found driver installation routine. Insert the installation CD ROM into the drive, and follow on­screen instructions. (Note: Windows NT will not automatically detect the receiver, as it does not support Plug and Play.)
2. After installing the drivers, choose the Run command from the Start
menu in Windows and type D:\INSTALL (if the CD ROM is the D: drive on your PC).
3. This will run the application installer, which will guide you in the
installation process.
4. After all the files have been installed to your hard disk, run the
WiNRADiO G303 application.
Note: If the receiver is not detected by Windows, you can simply skip the driver installation procedure, insert the CD ROM, and run the installation program, which will also install the drivers.
Setting up the Sound Card
This section refers to the G303i model, or the G303e model with serial interface, only. The G303e model with the standard USB interface does not require this set up and this entire section may be skipped.
After installing the hardware and software, you will now need to set-up the sound card parameters. This is done both in the WiNRADiO application and in the Windows sound card control panel – this provides the actual connection between the receiver front-end and the PC back-end of your radio system.
In computer terminology a sound card is a wave device. A computer may have several such wave devices installed (for example a modem with voice capabilities). That’s why you need to select the sound card as the desired wave device first. Start the WiNRADiO G303 application and click on the Setup button (located below the USB button) in the demodulator panel:
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The demodulator set-up window opens, as shown:
The Wave device drop-down list shows all the installed wave devices:
Windows default is the Control Panel setting specified under Start | Settings | Control Panel | Multimedia Properties | Audio. If a sound card
is specified in this Control Panel setting for both playback and recording (this is very likely, but not always necessarily so), then you can simply select Windows Default as the wave device for the demodulator. Otherwise, the specific name of the sound card should be selected.
The selected sound card must support duplex operation and the standard 44100 or 48000 samples/second sampling rates, 16 bits per sample, stereo. Most modern sound cards do satisfy all these conditions, but some cards may have a high level of distortion at 48000 samples per second; for such cases, the 44100 samples/second sampling rate is provided.
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The next parameter to select is the mixer device associated with the already selected sound card, using the Mixer device drop-down list, and the Mixer line (the sound card input line). If the signal is arriving at the sound card via an external cable, the cable should be physically connected to the Line input of the sound card. If the receiver is connected internally, most probably the input would be called Aux or CD Line.
In the drop-down list of sound card inputs, each line is available either as normal, or Reversed. If the reversed line is selected, this means that the left and right channels (of the sound card stereo input) are to be reversed. Normally, you should not need to select any of these reverse inputs. However, there is a very small number of sound cards where the left and right inputs are swapped. Normally, the G303 Demodulator expects the receiver output to be connected to the right sound card input. If it is to be connected to the left input instead, the reverse input line needs to be selected from the drop-down list.
With some laptops, only the Microphone input may be available and in such case you will need to connect the receiver to the Microphone input instead, and also select this input in the demodulator Setup panel. Certain sound cards, in particular Creative Audigy 2, have a design problem which prevents them from using the Line input in a full duplex mode. In such case, you will also need to use the Microphone input.
If you are using the Microphone input instead of Line input, please check if there is an Advanced button under the Microphone volume control in the sound card control panel. If so, then click on it and uncheck the +20dB gain check box if it exists. The extra large gain would result in overloading the sound card, and cause distortion.
The last parameter to set is the Input level. Set it to half the maximum level initially. When you then tune the receiver to your first station, you should return to this, and adjust the Input level below the point when the Clipping indicator turns red. If the signal still sounds distorted, reduce the level further down until the distortion disappears.
While adjusting the Input level, you will also see the noise floor of the signal spectrum shown in the main demodulator window rising proportionally.
This completes the software installation process. The G303 software then automatically configures the sound card control panel. It may be interesting to describe what it actually does and why:
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Firstly, in the sound card Playback volume control panel, the software mutes the sound card input line the receiver is actually connected to. This is the same line as selected in the WiNRADiO G303 demodulator Setup, i.e. usually, this will be Line or Microphone input.
This may seem a bit unexpected: Why are we muting the input line? This is because the signal coming from the receiver is not an audio signal, but rather the intermediate frequency signal. It needs to be processed (demodulated) by the PC first, before it is output back to the sound card. That’s also why the sound card needs to be full duplex, to allow for such simultaneous input/output processing.
Failure to mute this line would cause a high-pitched intermediate frequency sound to be combined with the demodulated signal.
To see how the line is muted, click on the speaker icon in the task bar in the bottom, to bring up the sound card Volume Control panel (consult Appendix B – Sound Card Controls if you have difficulties locating the sound card settings):
The same line will be selected in the Recording Control of the sound card control panel. To get there, you need to select Options | Properties | Recording in the top bar menu of the Volume Control panel.
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The Volume slider of the Recording Control is duplicated in the demodulator Setup panel (where it is labeled Input level).
Please pay great attention to the sound card set-up, as most initial problems associated with using this type of receiver can be attributed to an incorrect sound card setting. Typical problems include:
Not selecting the Mixer device or Mixer line correctly (which will
manifest itself by the absence of any signal appearing in the spectrum scope);
Failing to adjust the Input level properly, which may result either in low
(or no) audio output, or, on the other hand, distortion if the signal level is too high.
Did you know?
The ubiquitous PC sound card was invented in Singapore by Sim Wong Hoo, engineer and entrepreneur, who founded the Creative Technology company in 1981. His first product, an Apple computer clone, did not take off. However, his second product, the PC sound card, hit its target well: More than 120 million sound cards have been shipped by Creative Technology, mostly under the Sound Blaster brand.
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Getting Started
There is often a degree of understandable impatience when exciting new equipment such as a new WiNRADiO receiver is acquired. The following fast-forward introduction makes it possible for you to start using your new acquisition as quickly as possible. Detailed operation is described in the subsequent chapter Using WiNRADiO G303 Receiver. We hope you will return to that chapter, as the WiNRADiO G303 receiver has many fine features which it would be a shame to miss.
Start the WiNRADiO G303 receiver application (double clicking on the WiNRADiO icon). The WiNRADiO G303 receiver control panel will appear as shown below.
WiNRADiO G303 Receiver Control Panel
The WiNRADiO G303 receiver control panel has some elements similar to conventional shortwave receivers, and many additional features as well.
The quickest way to get started with this receiver is to check its operation on local AM stations.
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Using the keyboard, type in the frequency of one your local AM stations: For example, for 774 kHz, type in 7 7 4 , then k for kHz, then press Enter. The typed-in frequency will appear on the digital frequency display. Then select the AM mode by clicking on the AM button. At this point, you should hear the station. You can adjust the volume using the two buttons next to the small Volume display. (Note also the little slider between these two buttons: you can drag it up and down to change the volume faster.)
Manual tuning can be done in several ways. Let’s start with the tuning knob: Place the mouse cursor to the upper half of the tuning knob, at which point you will see the cursor change to a curved double ended arrow. Hold down the right or left mouse buttons to increase or decrease the frequency, and the knob will rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise, respectively. If you place your cursor in the bottom half of the tuning knob, the direction of the rotation will reverse.
The rotation increment of the tuning knob is 0.5 kHz. This can be changed easily using the Shift, Ctrl or Alt keys: If you press the Shift key while tuning, the increment will increase ten times (to 5 kHz). Pressing Ctrl will increase the increment a hundred times (50 kHz). On the other hand, if you use the Alt key, the increment becomes ten times finer: 50 Hz.
If you are still unable to tune to any stations at this point, please refer to Appendix A - Troubleshooting.
There are also several other ways to tune the WiNRADiO receiver other than typing the frequency or using the tuning knob. These will be explained in detail in the Using WiNRADiO G303 Receiver chapter.
Did you know?
The first commercial shortwave station was Radio Luxembourg. It was the first station to target areas outside of its own country with programs in other languages. For most of the 20th century, this was the most powerful shortwave station in Europe.
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