Robotron WRG3P Users Manual
WiNRADiO
G3 Series Radio Receiver
User’s Guide
i
Published by
WiNRADiO Communications
PO Box 6118, St Kilda Road, Melbourne 3004, Australia
© 2002 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 and G303 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Rosetta Laboratories
Pty. Ltd.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respect ive
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 G3 SERIES 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 i n a residenti al 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 recept i on,
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 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 attac hed to the
computer containing the WiNRADiO receiver. All cables used to connect the computer and
peripherals must be shielded and grounded. Operation with non-certified peripherals may
result in interference to radio and TV reception.
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 t he 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 always has 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 G3 SERIES
receiver. Your new receiver is a world-first in more than one respect. Most
importantly, it is the first commercially available
(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 G3 SERIES 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 G3 SERIES
receiver. Use our on-line registration form on
to take advantage of this free service.
Software Defined Receiver
www.winradio.com/register
3
Installation
Installation
The WiNRADiO package contains the following items:
• WiNRADiO G3 SERIES receiver card
• WiNRADiO software on a CD ROM
• Start-up indoor antenna
• Audio cable
• 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
98/ME/NT/2000/XP
Hardware Installation
1. Turn the off 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.
4
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.
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.
input on your PC, as is the case with some laptops, you may use
alternative inputs, such as the Microphone input.)
6. Connect the supplied start-up antenna to the SMA connector at the rear
of the card.
7. Extend the antenna so that it is as far away from the computer as
possible.
Please use only the WiNRADiO-supplied audio lead cable to connect the
receiver to the sound card. This is a stereo cable (as is the case with all
standard PC multimedia cables). Mono jacks are not compatible with stereo
ones because they short the right channel to ground. A mono cable should
not be used under any circumstances and will not work with the G3 SERIES
receiver.
.
(This must be done to provide proper grounding for
(If there is no Line
Software Installation
1. After installing the card, turn the PC on. Windows will find the card and
automatically start the usual
routine. Insert the installation CD ROM into the drive, and follow onscreen instructions.
card, as it does not support Plug and Play.)
2. After installing the drivers, choose the
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 G3 SERIES application.
(Note: Windows NT will not automatically detect the
New hardware found
Run
driver installation
command from the
Start
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Note: If the card 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 driv er s .
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
radio system.
front-end
and the PC
back-end
of your
Setting up the Sound Card
In computer terminology a sound card is a
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 G3 SERIES application and click on
Setup
the
The Demodulator set-up window opens, as shown:
button (located below the
wave device
USB
button) in the Demodulator panel:
. A computer may
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Wave device
The
Windows default
| Control Panel | Multimedia Properties | Audio
in this Control Panel setting for both playback and recording (this is very
likely, but not always necessarily so), then you can simply select
Default
name of the sound card should be selected. The selected sound card
support duplex operation
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.
The next parameter to select is the mixer device associated with the already
selected sound card, using the
line
an external cable, the cable should be physically connected to the
Input
probably the input would be called
as the
(the sound card input line). If the signal is arriving at the sound card via
of the sound card. If the receiver is connected internally, most
drop-down list shows all the installed wave devices:
is the Control Panel setting specified under
. If a sound card is specified
wave device
for the demodulator. Otherwise, the specific
and the standard 44100 or 48000
Mixer device
Aux
drop-down list, and the
CD Line
or
.
Start | Settings
Windows
must
Mixer
Line
With some laptops, only the
case you will need to connect the receiver to this input, and also select this
input in the software.
In the drop-down list of sound card inputs, each line is available either as
normal, or
Right and Left 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 G3 SERIES Demodulator expects
the receiver output to be connected to the Right sound card input. If it is to
Reversed
. If the reversed line is selected, this means that the
Microphone
input may be available; in such
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be connected to the Left input instead, the revers e in put line needs to be
selected from the drop-down list.
These are all the settings required on the WiNRADiO G3 SERIES
application side. Now you need to set up your Windows sound card control
panel, and the marriage between the radio and the PC will be com plete.
Click on the speaker icon in the task bar in the bottom, to bring up the sound
card
Volume Control
you have difficulties locating and the sound card settings).
panel (consult
Appendix B – Sound Card Controls
if
Sound Card Volume Control Panel
Mute the input line the receiver is actually connected to. (This is the same
line as selected in the WiNRADiO G3 SERIES Demodulator Setup. Usually,
this will be the
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 why the sound card needs to be full
duplex, to allow for such simultaneous input/output processing.)
Failure to mute this line will cause a high-pitched intermediate frequency
sound to be combined with the demodulated signal.
Line-In
input.)
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If you are using the Microphone input instead of Line input, please check if
there is an
sound card control panel. If so, then click on it and uncheck the
check box if it exists. (The extra large gain would result in overloading the
sound card and cause distortion.)
Advanced
button under the Microphone volume control in the
+20dB gain
The same line must be now selected in the
card control panel. To get to the Recording Control, you need to select
Options | Properties | Recording
panel.
Sound Card Recording Control
The position of Volume control slider should be set to approximately half, to
get started. The same control is duplicated in the Demodulator Setup panel
(where it is labeled
Input level
in the top bar menu of the Volume Control
).
Recording Control
of the sound
You can adjust this level either in the sound card recording window, or,
preferably, return to the Demodulator Setup panel to take advantage of the
Clipping indicator
input signal clipping, i.e. just before the Clipping indicator turns red.
While adjusting the input level, you will also see the floor of the signal
spectrum shown in the main demodulator window rising proportionally.
Please pay attention to the
associated with using this type of receiver can be attributed to an incorrect
sound card setting. Typical problems include:
. The
input level
must be adjusted below the point of the
sound card set-up
, as most initial problems
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• Not selecting the Recording input line correctly (which will manifest itself
by the absence of any signal appearing in the spectrum scope);
• Failing to mute the Volume control line (which will result in listening to
the high-pitched 12 kHz intermediate frequency sound superimposed on
the demodulated signal);
• Failing to adjust the signal 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.
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
will return to that chapter, as the WiNRADiO G3 SERIES receiver has many
fine features which it would be a shame to miss.
Start the WiNRADiO G3 SERIES receiver application (double clicking on the
WiNRADiO icon). The WiNRADiO G3 SERIES receiver control panel will
appear as shown in the next page.
Using WiNRADiO G3 SERIES Receiver
. We hope you
Did you know?
The first shortwave transmission across the Atlantic was accomplished by
six US radio-amateurs on December 11, 1921. The message was picked up
by a Scottish radio-amateur. This achievement sparked a period of intensive
research and development which led to wide-spread use of short waves.
(Before then, it was believed that frequencies over 1.5 MHz were useless.)
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WiNRADiO G3 SERIES Receiver Control Panel
The WiNRADiO G3 SERIES receiver control panel has some elements
similar to from 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.
Using the keyboard, type in the frequency of one your local AM stations:
For example, for 774 kHz, type in
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.
7 7 4
, then k for kHz, then press
Enter
.
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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 G3 SERIES Receiver
.
chapter.
Connecting the Antenna
Your WiNRADiO G3 SERIES 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 lead-in cable is necessary for the antenna to be 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.
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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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 most of your WiNRADiO receiver,
you should install a proper shortwave antenna. There are many vendors
offering shortwave antennas. WiNRADiO may also be able to assist – check
our Web page
Did you know?
During the cold war, the Soviet Union and other Communist countries used
to jam shortwave transmissions such as the BBC, Voice of America, Radio
Free Europe and Deutsche Welle to their own citizens. The Soviet Union
alone was spending about $1 billion per year on jamming, and had 200
jamming stations that were continuously pumping out 600 Megawatts of
power.
www.winradio.com
.
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Using WiNRADiO G3 SERIES
Tuning to a Frequency
To change frequency, simply type the new frequency into the keyboard. As
soon as you press a number or decimal point, the frequency display will
activate, waiting for a frequency to be typed. You can also click on the
display to type in a new frequency. After typing the new frequency, press
Enter
and the receiver will instantly retune. To abort, press
To enter units, such as kHz or MHz, simply press K for kHz or M for MHz
after entering the digits. Any invalid keystrokes are ignored. Frequencies
outside the receiver limit (9 kHz to 30 MHz) will not be accepted and the
display will revert to the previous frequency.
WiNRADiO G3 SERIES Receiver Frequency Display
The up/down buttons under the individual digits make it possible to quickly
step up or down the frequency in the corresponding positions. (The little
slider buttons between the up/down buttons can be used for faster
adjustment.)
Escape
.
Under these buttons there is a
band allocation of the currently tuned frequency. These band descriptions
are based on those applicable to North America. However, these
allocations are based on international treaties and therefore are generally
applicable worldwide.
Note that the default band allocation can be overridden with a call sign or a
user-defined description of a frequency stored in memory. The default band
description is also user modifiable: it resides in the file
WiNRADiO installation folder. This file can be edited using a spreadsheet
application, such as Microsoft Excel.
band description window
. This shows the
bands.csv
in the
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Fine Tuning
The Fine Tune knob makes it possible to finely adjust the frequency in
0.5 kHz steps.
WiNRADiO G3 SERIES Receiver Tuning Knob
To use the tuning knob, position the mouse cursor over the knob (the cursor
will turn into a curved double ended arrow) and click on either the left or right
mouse button. If the cursor is on the top half of the knob, the left button will
decrease the frequency, and the right button will increase the frequency. If
the cursor is in the lower half, the opposite will occur (and the cursor will
invert its shape).
Using the keyboard only, the frequency can be similarly adjusted using the
up/down
To speed up tuning, the step size can be increased ten or one hundred
times by holding the
knob with mouse button or using the
very convenient feature if you wish to tune quickly across a frequency range:
hold the mouse button and accelerate the movement by pressing the
Ctrl
or
step ten times (to 50 Hz).
cursor keys.
Shift
keys. On the other hand, pressing the
or
Ctrl
keys respectively, while clicking the tuning
up/down
keyboard keys. This is a
Alt
key will reduce the tuning
Shift
Did you know?
Most Space Shuttle astronauts are radio amateurs and the first elements of
a permanent amateur radio station in space have already been despatched
to the International Space Station.
- 15 -
Setting the Modulation Mode
To select the modulation mode, click on the appropriate Mode button in the
Demodulator panel:
WiNRADiO G3 SERIES Standard Dem odu lat or Pane l
The real-time spectrum display shows the output of the receiver (i.e. the
intermediate frequency signal) as it is applied to the PC sound card. When
you press the mode buttons, you will note that the central highlighted region
of the spectrum changes its width. This corresponds to the IF (intermediate
frequency) filter bandwidth associated with the different modulation modes.
For example, standard AM mode has 6 kHz bandwidth, while narrow AM
(AMN) uses 4 kHz bandwidth. The CW mode uses a narrow bandwidth of
500 Hz. You will see the trace color change from white to yellow where the
spectrum falls within the filter bandwidth. This indicates that you are only
receiving the yellow part of the displayed spectrum and the surrounding
frequencies are rejected.
If you mistune the receiver somewhat, you will see the spectrum shifting.
This assists you to tune the receiver right to the center of the transmitter
frequency, and to select the correct AM mode to avoid interference from
adjacent signals.
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If you also purchased the optional
this demodulator from the
such as volume control, audio muting and mode selection are identical to
the Standard Demodulator.
WiNRADiO G3 SERIES Professional Demodulator
For details of the additional functions such as continuous IF bandwidth
adjustment and other special features of the Professional Demodulator refer
Appendix E - Professional Demodulator
to
Demodulators
Professional Demodulator
top bar menu. The basic functions
.
, you can select
Volume Control
The
Volume control
can range from 0 (no sound) to 31 (full volume). To enter a value directly,
click on the display and type in the new volume level. The volume can be
also increased or decreased by clicking on the up/down buttons next to the
volume display.
Another convenient way of changing the volume is by using the small
button between the up/down buttons. Place the mouse cursor on it and see
the cursor shape change, to indicate a ‘slider’ type of control. Hold down the
left mouse button to drag the slider up or down and the volume will change
accordingly.
is also located in the
Demodulator panel
. The volume
slider
- 17 -
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