RFSpace SDR-IQ and FT-2000
If you read my blog you have seen my posts in the past on the FT-2000 and other higher-end radios. The FT-2000 is probably the next radio I will get. It seems all of the newer "higher end" radios all have, or have the provisions of, spectrum scopes - very useful tools for scanning the bands. The IC-756proIII has one built in (probably the most popular full spectrum scope radio there is right now), as well as the IC-7700 and IC-7800, with the IC-7600 now taking the IC-756proIII to a whole new level. Yaesu seems to be a bit behind in the eye-candy department. They seem a bit more in-tune with the knobs, buttons, and meters - what we adjust to make the radio do what we want it to do. Take a look at the FT-2000 and FTdx9000 series radios. The only one of those that has a spectrum scope built in is the FTdx9000D. All the others have the option of the DMU-2000 (for the FT-2000 series, and 950 as well) or the addition of other accessories to the other FTdx9000 series radios.
To make a spectrum scope work, the right way where an entire band can be seen on the screen, not the passband (the RF that is narrowed down to just what you are listening to after the filtering in the IF stages), a very wide RF signal has to be fed in for the device doing the processing to read. If the information isn't there you can't see what is there. The object of a spectrum scope is to see where signals are within a band - all up and down the band, well outside the range that any radio can hear in it's passband.
Most radios have a 15-20kHz front end on them. If the first IF is forwarded on to the spectrum scope's processor you are limited to 15-20kHz of spectrum - not much, considering an FM signal is about 12-15kHz wide alone. So the raw RF has to be analyzed by the processor, pre-stage one filtering. This allows the computer to see everything, filter it to whatever the user specifies, and centers it on the bandwidth selected based on the frequency of the VFO.
Yaesu has a device to do just this - the DMU-2000, which is the same processor from the FTdx9000 series only in a stand-alone box that works with the FT-2000 and FT-950 series. However, as anyone can see watching the scope, the processing speed is pretty slow. The scope doesn't move fluidly - it jumps around and when you scroll the band there is a bit of lag between the spectrum display and the frequency the VFO is on. Watch any of the YouTube videos on the FT-2000 with the DMU-2000 display and you'll see what I mean.
RFSpace has a device called the SDR-IQ that does what the DMU-2000 does - taking raw RF and letting your computer analyze it and display it - only, it does it MUCH faster. Watch the video on the SDR-IQ with the FT-2000, it really is pretty spectacular. The display tracks the VFO very quickly. There is no lag time and it is very smooth, unlike the DMU-2000.
The FT-2000 is most definitely still on my radar - as well as the add-on devices for the spectrum scope. I am not sure if the DMU-2000 is worth the $$ for what it does. It does a lot, but there seems to be some debate with the FT-2000 community as to how good of a unit it is. The quality, speed, and user interface seem to be lacking but it has a lot of features. The SDR-IQ is obviously a higher quality unit, but it is only a signal display device in this case (either a spectrum scope or waterfall). It doesn't have the other applications that the DMU-2000 does, and it doesn't allow for compact flash storage of the radio's parameters.
Note: the SDR-IQ is a software defined HF receiver. It can run as a stand-alone receiver, but in the context of my analysis here I am looking at it as a tracking panoramic adapter for the FT-2000, bringing the spectrum scope to the rig in place of the DMU-2000.
To make a spectrum scope work, the right way where an entire band can be seen on the screen, not the passband (the RF that is narrowed down to just what you are listening to after the filtering in the IF stages), a very wide RF signal has to be fed in for the device doing the processing to read. If the information isn't there you can't see what is there. The object of a spectrum scope is to see where signals are within a band - all up and down the band, well outside the range that any radio can hear in it's passband.
Most radios have a 15-20kHz front end on them. If the first IF is forwarded on to the spectrum scope's processor you are limited to 15-20kHz of spectrum - not much, considering an FM signal is about 12-15kHz wide alone. So the raw RF has to be analyzed by the processor, pre-stage one filtering. This allows the computer to see everything, filter it to whatever the user specifies, and centers it on the bandwidth selected based on the frequency of the VFO.
Yaesu has a device to do just this - the DMU-2000, which is the same processor from the FTdx9000 series only in a stand-alone box that works with the FT-2000 and FT-950 series. However, as anyone can see watching the scope, the processing speed is pretty slow. The scope doesn't move fluidly - it jumps around and when you scroll the band there is a bit of lag between the spectrum display and the frequency the VFO is on. Watch any of the YouTube videos on the FT-2000 with the DMU-2000 display and you'll see what I mean.
RFSpace has a device called the SDR-IQ that does what the DMU-2000 does - taking raw RF and letting your computer analyze it and display it - only, it does it MUCH faster. Watch the video on the SDR-IQ with the FT-2000, it really is pretty spectacular. The display tracks the VFO very quickly. There is no lag time and it is very smooth, unlike the DMU-2000.
The FT-2000 is most definitely still on my radar - as well as the add-on devices for the spectrum scope. I am not sure if the DMU-2000 is worth the $$ for what it does. It does a lot, but there seems to be some debate with the FT-2000 community as to how good of a unit it is. The quality, speed, and user interface seem to be lacking but it has a lot of features. The SDR-IQ is obviously a higher quality unit, but it is only a signal display device in this case (either a spectrum scope or waterfall). It doesn't have the other applications that the DMU-2000 does, and it doesn't allow for compact flash storage of the radio's parameters.
Note: the SDR-IQ is a software defined HF receiver. It can run as a stand-alone receiver, but in the context of my analysis here I am looking at it as a tracking panoramic adapter for the FT-2000, bringing the spectrum scope to the rig in place of the DMU-2000.
posted by Steve at
2:44 AM
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