Re: [IRCA] "Dream" Receiver

[Russ Edmunds <wb2bjh@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Les Rayburn <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> There has been an interesting discussion taking
> place in the UK publication, "Medium Wave
> News" and on their e-mail list. 
> 
> I'm going to quote heavily from a discussion between John
> Faulkner (john.faulkner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) and Nick Hall Patch. 
> 
> The basic premise is to take wideband SSB audio out of any
> analog receiver and fed it into the soundcard of your PC. (Many
> of us are doing this now for use with "Total Recorder")
> 
> You then use the freeware "Dream" software, originally developed
> for DRM reception to act as a DSP filter for the audio. The
> results can be impressive. Haven't personally tried this of yet, but
> plan to do so in the next day or two. 

*** What's the benefit of this over using TR ( with or without the
add-on comb filter / equalizer ) ?

> 
> If you're interested in downloading the software to try this
> technique, it is available at: 
> 
> http://pessoal.onda.com.br/rjamorim/dream.zip
> 
> http://home.planet.nl/~rickvdw/digitaal/drm2.html 
> 
> Below is an edited version of the discussion as it appears
> on the MWC E-Mail List: 
> 
> =========================================
> 
> Quoting John Faulkner <john.faulkner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> 
> >
> > I conducted some tests yesterday evening at a friend's house
> (someone who is
> > very technically capable) and we devised a system of operation
> which would
> > give
> > the best results combined with ease of operation.  Believe me, this
> software
> > will take some getting used to for some and I have found it a
> little
> > difficult
> > to grasp at times, though I am getting there.
> > 
> > As I said in my earlier message, I first discovered this Sunday
> evening at
> > Julians where we were able to hear north American signals with
> reasonable
> > clarity during the early evening where his Lowe HF125 was, in many
> cases,
> > unable
> > to resolve the audio on its own.
> > 
> > Dream will certainly enable some people to hear DX they otherwise
> wouldn't
> > hear
> > but this will depend on how selective their receiver is already -
> you might
> > notice little improvement with Dream, so I am currently trying to
> evaluate
> > if
> > Dream improves on the performance of my own setup.  Initial tests
> have been
> > mixed though I probably didn't fully understand what I was doing. 
> I have
> > just
> > conducted a particular test, however, which really was astonishing
> - I was
> > listening to the two stations on 6160 on my 7030
> > http://www.john-faulkner.com/6160/6160%20via%207030.mp3 and with
> difficulty
> > due
> > to the splatter from the Austrian station on 6155. I was using the
> 2.1kHz
> > filter
> > of my 7030.  Then I fed this into Dream, using 2, 3 and 5kHz IF
> filtering
> > and
> > this was the result ...
> > http://www.john-faulkner.com/6160/6160%20via%20Dream.mp3
> 
> > As you can hear, the results are very impressive - even compared to
> the
> > already
> > highly selective filtering of the 7030.  I really think this is
> going to be
> > the
> > way forward for MW DXing but some will clearly benefit more than
> others. 
> > You
> > will need to feed wideband SSB audio out of your receiver (10 -
> 15kHz
> > preferably) then into your PC or laptop sound card.
> > 
> > On the 7030 I need to detune the received frequency by 7kHz in USB
> in order
> > to
> > render the signals visible in the Dream spectrum analyzer.  Then
> you can
> > apply
> > all the necessary modes and filtering.  Result - hopefully a much
> cleaner
> > signal
> > and less (or no) splatter.
> 
> Quoting Nick Hall Patch
> 
> Quite fascinating.  It sounds like the IFDSP freeware, which was
> described in MW
> News awhile back, but IFDSP, (and, I think, the original intent of
> Dream) takes
> the IF from the receiver, not the audio, and after downconverting it
> to about 12
> or 14 kHz in hardware, feeds the result to the sound card for DSP
> demodulation
> using the program.  I'll have to see if I can make IFDSP work as you
> describe
> Dream working on the audio output of a detuned signal.
> 
> 
> Les Rayburn, N1LF
> NRC/IRCA Broadcast Test Coordinator
> Please call anytime 24/7 if your transmitter
> will be off the air for maintenance. 
> (205) 253-4867> _______________________________________________
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> 


Russ Edmunds
Blue Bell, PA  ( 360' ASL )
[15 mi NNW of Philadelphia]
40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20ID
<wb2bjh@xxxxxxxxx>
FM: Yamaha T-80 & APS9B @15'
AM: Hammarlund HQ-150 & 4' FET air core loop

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