CHIN Toronto ON 1540 Verification

I've tried numerous times over the years to obtain a verification from CHIN, alas with no luck. On October 13 my SDR-IQ recorded several hours from MW, and when playing back I noted that CHIN was running "Caribbean Connection" with Jai Ojah-Maharaj with excellent strengths at times. The program was very enjoyable indeed, and I emailed Ojah-Maharaj attaching a good quality MP3 file. A most friendly reply came last night.

Another interesting facet of using SDRs like the IQ, SDR-14, Perseus etc: The spectrum you record can not only be DX-ed, but actually enjoyed, during playback. You never have time to do that in a DX session.

KCCS Salem OR 1220 Verification

I heard KCCS on October 26, 2006 with a fair to weak signal in the CJRB mess, the first and so far only occasion I've heard them. Cindy Smith at the JC Media Group confirmed my report this evening. KCCS is now KPJC but remains a religious station.

SDR Sensitivity Measurements

Anonymous made a comment to my previous post: "These are the first measured of sensitivity or comparasions with other SDR RX with AM signal in the world on Perseus?"

Who knows. Very few people find it interesting or worthwhile to measure a radio's sensitivity. But then very few people own a signal generator which is what you need to do the job. Neither RF Space (SDR-IQ) nor Microtelecom (Perseus) have officially available AM sensitivity data. Instead they have MDS numbers for CW and SSB. The Perseus claims an MDS of -131 dBm in CW, 500 Hz bandwidth, and -124 dBm in SSB, 2.4 kHz bandwidth. Similar data for the SDR-IQ is -127 dBm in CW, 500 Hz bandwidth (no data given for SSB). So in theory (because I think these are calculated figures, not measured), 4 dB advantage Perseus.

There is no substitute for measurements though. I know of two AM sensitivity measurements on the SDR-IQ, mine and Dallas Lankford's. We both got -102 dBm or 1.8uV. Nico Palermo calculated the Perseus AM sensitivity for me to -102 dBm. A measurement will probably end up in that range, possibly 1-3 dB lower if my ears heard correctly. I believe that a correct Perseus sensitivity measurement will soon be done by Dallas Lankford.

Still, numbers, be they calculated or measured, will never replace real-world experience. I have yet to compare the two SDRs enough to declare a winner, and I'm not sure I want to put one ahead of the other anyway. It is highly unlikely that I will be able to hear a station on one radio that I can't hear on the other. That said, the Perseus appears to have AM bandwidth configuration options available that will dwarf most if not all other radios.

Some More Perseus Impressions

Since I didn't succeed in making sensitivity measurements, I thought I'd compare the Perseus and the SDR-IQ in an A-B test today. I connected my signal generator to a splitter, connected the two SDRs to the splitter's outputs, and set up a 1000 Hz tone with 30% modulation. Both SDRs were put in AM mode and 6 kHz bandwidth. I then gradually recuced the signal level until the tone was lost in the noise. The one that lost the tone last would be the most sensitive. The SDR-IQ won by a couple of dB.

RF recording should be easier with the Perseus than with the SDR-IQ but isn't. The problem is that you have to name a file before it starts recording, so there is a dialogue box to pass just like with the SDR-IQ. Playback is also more cumbersome than with the IQ since you can't start playback in a specific point in the file. You don't know where you are until you've selected the point. And you can't jump back and forth in the file; you need to highlight a period of your own choice (except you don't know how long it is and when it starts) and play that period. It automatically loops though and that's a good thing. When playing though, the program keeps track of the time.

Also I miss the option to tune via the up/down keys and left/right keys. And when you use the mouse, scrolling forward in Perseus means decreasing frequency while in the IQ it means increasing frequency. So operating the IQ and the Perseus at the same time can be a bit confusing.

I also experienced a couple of crashes; one resulted in the need of a reboot before I could start the software again. Maybe it's a Vista issue. I also hoped that the AVG settings chosen at one session were saved and used again in the new session; apparently they are not.

The AGC settings (there are four; Fast, Med, Slow and Off) seem well chosen, but I would have preferred to have the option of determining the values of each setting.

And horisontal lines on the display with dBm values would have been great.

The above might indicate that I'm not satisfied with the Perseus. That is not the case. As stated earlier, the audio quality excels, and the bandwidth option is exceptional. And some of my issues could be because I haven't explored all possibilities yet.

Oh, and one last thing, and an important one: The switching PSU. It is not as quiet as I thought. It actually produced tones every 8 kHz, not in the Perseus, but in the IQ! I had it placed in a 4-way mains socket which also sent current to the splitter they were connected to. When I placed the PSU in a different socket the noise seemed to go away, or at least be greatly reduced. But I really want a stabilised PSU for my Perseus.

The Perseus Has Landed

Sent from ssb.de on Dec. 4, arrived today. Yes I agree, the picture is NOT good... but the radio is. I tested it only briefly in Kongsfjord this afternoon. Compared to the SDR-IQ it appears to have better audio recovery, especially in AM mode. Tuning takes a bit getting used to, accustomed as I am with the IQ and Spectravue. The driver and the XP software installed without problems on my Vista PC.

For some reason I was unable to make a sensitivity measurement of it. Don't know what I did wrong. There is no reason to believe that it is less sensitive than the IQ. I didn't find any threshold signals where I could compare the two properly. But the Perseus appears, from the 30 minutes I played with it, to be an excellent receiver. And surprisingly enough very immune to the Loran C noise I usually hear in the 550-590 kHz area. And as many have pointed out: The adjustable bandwidth control is superb. Very slick.

KITZ Silverdale WA 1400 Verification

I heard KITZ in October 2005 at fairly good strength doing a dual-station full-hour ID (KITZ and 920 KGTK). A friendly and detailed email from GM Conn Williamson last night confirmed my reception and I even got an MP3 audio clip in return for the one I sent...but in much better quality!

KITZ transmits from Kitsap County Fairgrounds, adjacent to the new Baseball Stadium, and has done so since 1986. After running AdCon and Modern Country the first years, KITZ shifted to talk programming in 2000. This according to their website kitz1400.com.

KITZ is my 50th Washington state verie, and my 20th verie on 1400.

KBAR Burley ID 1230 Verification

KBAR was up on two consecutive full-hours one day in October 2006. It took a while for me to receive a verie though, but this evening it came in the form of an email from Scott Cameron.

Three Idaho veries in one evening. I am beginning to like this.

KFAR Fairbanks AK 650 Verification

Some stations respond quickly. Some take time. KFAR took 33 years... Admittedly I haven't drowned their mail boxes or email boxes with reports over that period, but quite a few reports have been sent. Today PD Steve Floyd responded to a report with an excellent quality recording. So KFAR came home at last.

KRXK Rexburg ID 1230, KSEI Pocatello ID 930 Verifications

These are co-owned, and at least this autumn seemed to run parallel programming as the KSEI legal ID included KRXK. KSEI was heard on October 16 (as earlier stated; a great day for DX) while KRXK dates back to January 6, 2006. Email from GM Bill Fuerst of Pacific Empire Radio Corp. confirmed my reports today. Later I also received an email from Sean Green. Both stations are new for me. KRXK was heard on an Icom 746Pro while KSEI made its way with the help of the IC-703.

WSM Nashville TN 650 Verification

WSM doesn't often put a decent signal in my direction, but on October 16 they did. My Icom IC-703 picked up a very nice ID at 0030 UTC, and WSM Promotions Director Misty Cochran replied to my report within minutes, promising a commemorative QSL card as well. I can like that!