So, this is it - the brainchild of German DX-er Reinhard Weiß:
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| Waterfall from12 hours of continuous recording + some more (zoomed beyond time and frequency edges for clarity) |
I hadn't heard about WavViewDX (hereafter WVDX) until late January. It turns out it's fairly new. Reinhard mentioned to me that it started off solely as a viewer in late 2021. Plans to include a player began a year later. Work on an integrated import/analyser commenced in the summer of 2024, and development has been rapid since then. After 12 years of using Jaguar, I'm very much into the "What you see is what you hear" concept. We older individuals tend to prefer linear TV and radio, and it seems the same applies to DX-ing: Linear (live) DX. However, with IQ recordings, we can pick and choose! DX on demand! All we need are the tools to select our DX. Tools like Jaguar, WVDX, Carrier Sleuth, the enhanced SDR Console Navigator, and possibly others are very helpful if we want to review long runs of IQ recordings.
WVDX can import a wide variety of IQ files: Perseus, Jaguar (Perseus), SDR#, SDRconnect, SDR Console, Winradio RXW, Winradio DDC, Linrad single channel, Linrad dual channel for phasing, and my old favourite, SpectraVue! More are likely to be added. The available step sizes (as of today) are 10 kHz, 9+10 kHz or 5 kHz.
The MWList Logbook and Databases are incorporated, and logging to MWList is straightforward.
WVDX is available for Linux and Windows down to Win7.
Jaguar users will be familiar with the waterfall shown above. Of course, you can also make a detailed spectrum view for every frequency. Below is one from 1320 yesterday:
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| 5 hours + on 1320 (uncalibrated) and the MWList integration with Logbook |
A detailed spectrum is done for one frequency at a time. If you’re using an external HDD and a slow CPU like I do, it can take a long time. You can compromise on details to speed it up. A fast CPU and an internal SSD will be way quicker than the 22 minutes I used for a 3-hour spectrum with 0.1 Hz resolution, 30 minutes time resolution and 10 Hz width. Here are your options:
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| If you opt for the rightmost values above, you're probably in for a long wait if you're not using a fast CPU and SSDs. |
Luckily, the data gets saved for later and reloads quickly. Jaguar, on the other hand, processes spectra in the background (livescan) while recording, so that's a bonus.
Now, Jaguar (and Perseus) files are single files. Software like SDR Console and SDRconnect can use RF64 files, which can be massive. Here's an example from SDRconnect of a 90+ minute, 46-GB recording:
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| Recorded with RSPdx-R2 and SDRconnect |
Navigating in time and frequency in the waterfall and spectrum is dead easy—just point and click, and it responds instantly. Might be a bit tricky to get the exact time, though. Traditional tuning is done with the right (upwards) and left keyboard arrows. Beware that only 5, 9 or 10 kHz step sizes are available. There is a Manual Tuning option in the More menu as well, where you can insert a frequency of your choice. There are loads of keyboard shortcuts available too. The spacebar starts and stops playback. Modes are selected with A for AM, S for SAM, F for FSAM, L for LSB, and U for USB. Just to name a few.
If you're into offsets, WVDX offers a choice of one or two calibration frequencies. We use a Bodnar mini-GPS that transmits on 1705 kHz, and after enabling auto-calibration in Jaguar, the resulting IQ files are spot on in WVDX. The Perseus SDR is known to drift quite a bit if ambient temperatures change, and the temperature in my radio room at the KONG HQ has varied between 3 and 12 degrees Celsius the past few days, with huge variations in the Perseus frequency response.
Since it's still early in development, there will be a few functions and GUI solutions that could be improved. After a "buggy" period, the current version 1367 seems pretty stable. All in all, I'd say it's a brilliant alternative for those who want to "DX on demand," almost regardless of their hardware choices.
And there is even a user manual! And a web page!
