Want to try out SDR++ but ---

[BM82557]

I am getting tired of the continuous changes that have been made to SDR# the last year or so and decided to try SDR++. I have Windows 10 so I downloaded the SDRPP_Windows_X64.zip, un-zipped it and copied everything into a new Windows folder. It starts up ok but the entire program window is dark and I am unable to change any of the configuration settings in the column on the left. I am able to start it and manually change the frequency, it appears that it is receiving . Anyone else run into this?? See attached screenshot --

 

[PDXh0b0]

click the stop button and change the source?

 

[lwvmobile]

The only thing I can think of is you may need the latest VC runtimes installed. x86 and/or x64

Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads

This article lists the download links for the latest versions of Visual C++ Redistributable packages.

docs.microsoft.com

If that doesn't help, it could be the version of OpenGL required by SDR++ isn't supported by your computer, or you may need to install the proper graphics driver.

 

[Reconrider]

It's possible the "dark" theme is messed up - so lets change it via config file.

Go into the folder where the exe is at.
Open config.json and look for ""theme": "Dark"
Now change that with "theme": "Light",

 

[BM82557]

Ok, that seemed like a good idea so I tried it, instead of being all dark it is now all light --

 

[BM82557]

I then setup a test batch and it shows this flagging openGL, that is beyond my pay grade so I guess I'm stuck with SDR# --

 

[lwvmobile]

I then setup a test batch and it shows this --

Looks like an OpenGL issue, try running dxdiag or open the device manager, wonder what kind of graphics driver you have. It may or may not support the required version of OpenGL, although it would have to be quite old not to support it. Also want to check to see if you have the actual graphics driver installed.

 

[BM82557]

Ran DxDiag and here is the report --

 

[lwvmobile]

DxDiag shows you are running an a first gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 380 @ 2.53GHz with the associated first gen Intel HD graphics. Did a little google searching, and found that people have issues running other OpenGL software as well that needs OpenGL 3.0 or higher on that era of computer. I honestly don't know if you can install a newer graphics driver for this chipset or not to get OpenGL 3.0 in Windows. I can't even find a version of the driver for anything higher than Windows 7 officially, and I don't know if installing anything else would help either.

 

[BM82557]

DxDiag shows you are running an a first gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 380 @ 2.53GHz with the associated first gen Intel HD graphics. Did a little google searching, and found that people have issues running other OpenGL software as well that needs OpenGL 3.0 or higher on that era of computer. I honestly don't know if you can install a newer graphics driver for this chipset or not to get OpenGL 3.0 in Windows. I can't even find a version of the driver for anything higher than Windows 7 officially, and I don't know if installing anything else would help either.

Thanks for your looking into that, I've been thinking for a while that it's time for a new machine.

 

[lwvmobile]

Thanks for your looking into that, I've been thinking for a while that it's time for a new machine.

I was actually kind of surprised that there wasn't a more up to date driver to support OpenGL 3.1 ES, especially since its Intel, looks like they last updated that driver in 2013 and OpenGL 3.1 ES rolled out in 2014 or something like that. If you had a mind to try out something like Linux, the open source Mesa driver stack for Intel graphics may possibly support that where the official Intel and Windows driver doesn't.

DragonOS is an Ubuntu based Distro with SDR in mind, and comes with SDR++ and many other applications, and can boot and run off of a USB stick wuthout having to install or overwrite your Windows set up. If you had some free time and wanted to give it a shot, you would need an 8GB USB flash drive and can write the iso with balena etcher.

DragonOS_Focal

Download DragonOS_Focal for free. *Until you install the operating system, the default user = live / no password. DragonOS FocalX (22.04) and DragonOS Focal (20.04) are out-of-the-box Lubuntu based x86_64 operating systems for anyone interested in software defined radios.

sourceforge.net

https://www.balena.io/etcher/

 

[hamradionl]

Instead USB stick, run it from external SSD connect to USB, its little faster.

 

[thewraith2008]

I am getting tired of the continuous changes that have been made to SDR# the last year or so and decided to try SDR++.

I have the same sentiment.

I thought I'd try SDR++ as it's UI looks OK and seems to have a small footprint, but it doesn't even start for me.
Using the '-s' option also shows an OpenGL issue. I don't think I can do anything (with the existing hardware) to change this.

Sadly this puts SDR++ in same boat as the newer SDR# where it's not usable on older hardware.
I still would like to try SDR++ sometime though.

Another SDR program you could try is uSDR
see rtl-sdr.com here.
and download available from here.

This seems to work OK but more time my see it develop into something better.

 

[lwvmobile]

I thought I'd try SDR++ as it's UI looks OK and seems to have a small footprint, but it doesn't even start for me.
Using the '-s' option also shows an OpenGL issue. I don't think I can do anything (with the existing hardware) to change this.

If you have a laptop, most likely nothing you can do. If you just so happen to have an old desktop computer, even small form factor, you can get an AMD FirePro W2100 on eBay for $20-$30, its a low profile workstation graphics card. It can work in a PCIe 2.0 x16 or 3.0 x16 port, has 2 display ports, 2GB VRAM, sips only 26 watts right off of the motherboard, has recent drivers for Windows 10, and supports OpenGL 4.6. I've got one sitting in my Dell Poweredge T310 Server right now and another one in a low profile Lenovo Core2Duo computer, and I can vouch for it working extremely well for OpenGL applications, I've used it for Blender which needs OpenGL 3.3 (or maybe its higher now, idk). They can also play some older games just fine to boot.

https://www.amd.com/en/products/professional-graphics/firepro-w2100

These cards are all over eBay and the prices haven't gone insane on them during the shortage since they are no value to miners.

AMD Dell HP FirePro W2100 2GB DDR3 Dual Display Port High Profile Video Card | eBay

Up for Sale is a genuine AMD FirePro W2100 2GB DDR3 Dual Display Port High Profile Video Card unit. This AMD FirePro W2100 2GB DDR3 Dual Display Port High Profile Video Card is in excellent condition and ready to be redeployed.

www.ebay.com

 

[thewraith2008]

Sadly that card would not be useful to me as the available monitors do not use DisplayPort.
For the moment, using SDR++ is out of reach for me.

 

[lwvmobile]

Sadly that card would not be useful to me as the available monitors do not use DisplayPort.
For the moment, using SDR++ is out of reach for me.

They do make adapters, I have one DP to DVI port, and another DP to HDMI adapter. Both work fine for me. DisplayPort is compatible with multiple outputs, and the adapters are cheap too.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

I just tried SDR++ for the first time last night & really enjoying it so far. Love that it has native support for the SDRPlay line. My only wish so far is for a frequency scanner like the plugin for SDR# especially since SDRPlay support stopped after SDR# version 1361 & the SDRUno scanner has to be constantly supervised for it to work properly

 

[logan437]

I just tried SDR++ for the first time last night & really enjoying it so far. Love that it has native support for the SDRPlay line. My only wish so far is for a frequency scanner like the plugin for SDR# especially since SDRPlay support stopped after SDR# version 1361 & the SDRUno scanner has to be constantly supervised for it to work properly

Work has already started on the frequency scanner module. I assume that the scanner will be next on the list after the "server" is completed.

 

[dave3825]

For my needs, Sdr#1742 works flawlessly. Unless something major changes in Sdr#, I don't usually upgrade.

 

[Forts]

Check out SDR-Console too... It's a very nice piece of software.

Software Defined Radio

All about software defined Radio (SDR)

www.sdr-radio.com