New SDR CommRadio CR-1

[WB2KTG]

I'd Like Your Opinions on the CR-1 and Possible Upgrades!

If you an owner, a prospective owner, or just somebody frequenting this forum, I'd like to get your inputs as to what features you like about the CR-1, what you don't like, what features you'd like to have added, what features you don't care about.

For example, what would you think about having analog I-Q output via the headphone jack? If available, what bandwidth? 200 KHz? 100 KHz? How about discriminator output for VHF / UHF? What else? If you haven't bought a CR-1 yet, what feature(s) would make you want to buy one?

Thanks!

 

[corbintechboy]

If you an owner, a prospective owner, or just somebody frequenting this forum, I'd like to get your inputs as to what features you like about the CR-1, what you don't like, what features you'd like to have added, what features you don't care about.

For example, what would you think about having analog I-Q output via the headphone jack? If available, what bandwidth? 200 KHz? 100 KHz? How about discriminator output for VHF / UHF? What else? If you haven't bought a CR-1 yet, what feature(s) would make you want to buy one?

Thanks!

I've talked to Don about IQ data. Over the headphone jack would not be a good idea as this would make a soundcard based SDR. With that in mind, each users experience would be dictated by the soundcard they use. The only way to make the user experience universal is IQ over USB.

Yes I own the radio.

 

[NRD-505]

NRD-505
General observation: The tuning encoder is getting loose and the tuning is a bit "jumpy".
Reply With Quote

NRD-505
I'd suggest getting in touch with CommRadio and describe the problem. I know there is a panel mounted shaft. Perhaps the nut is coming a bit loose. If you have an Allen wrench, you could remove the knob and check the tightness of the nut you'll see under the knob. It may be loose. It can be tightened with a pair of sturdy needle nose pliers. Doubtful that you's have a thin wall nut driver, but then again you might. That would be best if it is loose.

Bob

Back from a month long trip! Whew!

Bob,

The encoder unit is attached securely. I'm talking about the behavior of the encoder itself: The shaft is beginning to have some physical play/wobble and there's the two/three degree loose rotation that can be felt as one tunes back and forth.

As for "jumpy" just tune down to 150kHz and keep tuning down rapidly -- you'll see the frequency "jump around" and not stay fixed at 150kHz. This is the behavior seen when tuning within the 150kHz-30MHz but is not so easy to observe.

Paul

 

[NRD-505]

I'd like to see:

1) Tone controls/EQ. The Wolfson chip allows for lots of tweaking.
2) Narrower AM bandwidth -- 4kc, for example.
3) Adjustable noise blanker
4) Clock display
5) Reset all settings (including the Amateur and SWL bands) to default
6) A Hybrid band setting that includes both Amateur and (SWL) Broadcast bands. When there is overlap, the preference is given to the Amateur or (SWL) Broadcast setting.
7) CW reader

 

[beischel]

If I purchase a CR-1 it would be for portbility, features and performance, I would never use computer control. I have other radios that are computer controlled and they take a backseat to radios with knobs.

Still waiting for a test report on the CR-1 from a trusted source like Rob Sherwood.
prcguy

Every radio I own is under computer control or connected to a computer for some purpose. In this day and age, whether a person uses it or not, a computer interface should be standard on every radio. Especially an SDR. This is the 21st Century.

 

[NRD-505]

Lots of continuous preamp hiss on the headphone out jack. With the volume set at minimum there is still the constant hiss.

 

[WB2KTG]

Is the hiss something new?

 

[NRD-505]

Is the hiss something new?

No. The hiss was introduced with the AGC/volume level fixes.

The Wolfson WM8960 has separate speaker (Class D) and headphone outputs, each with separate gain adjustments. I suspect that it *may* be a matter of adjusting the gain somewhere along the signal path perhaps requiring separate firmware gain settings for speaker and headphone.

http://www.wolfsonmicro.com/documents/uploads/data_sheets/en/WM8960.pdf

Paul

 

[NRD-505]

In manual tuning mode when one switches from VHF (FM) to HF the FM mode remains until one changes the mode. Then, FM mode is not selectable.

Still noticing a broad spectrum of broadcast FM bleeding through in the Amateur 41m band.

Will need to revisit, but I thought I heard some "pumping" of the volume with strong AM BCB signals.

 

[invergordon]

I'm awaiting the sale of my AOR AR5000 before buying a CR-1 so in the meantime I have some questions:

1. Can the large feet be removed or replaced?
2. In the VHF Airband can the sensitivity be expressed in old school microvolts, I can relate to those!
3. Can the battery be replaced out in the field?

I've been following the thread and information on this receiver for a while now and it seems that the CR-1 is well suited to mobile use and one can almost visualise it mounted in a car. Could there be a mounting option at a later stage?

Mike
nzradar.com

 

[WB2KTG]

In manual tuning mode when one switches from VHF (FM) to HF the FM mode remains until one changes the mode. Then, FM mode is not selectable.

Still noticing a broad spectrum of broadcast FM bleeding through in the Amateur 41m band.

Will need to revisit, but I thought I heard some "pumping" of the volume with strong AM BCB signals.

It appears that FM is not selectable in the HF bands based on the product information / specifications on the CommRadio page. It is not available on mine, which would confirm the product specifications. Since the radio remembers the last selected state upon power-up, or when power is already on, if you switch bands and have a 'forbidden' mode selected I would expect it to go away upon any knob turn. Similarly, when I am in HF with USB selected and I go to VHF (I happened to be in the FM broadcast band) it automagically switched to FM, as it should. The MF-HF specs from the CommRadio website are copied below.

"MW-HF: General Coverage: 500 kHz - 30.000 MHz

MW-HF: MDS: nominal -132 dBm in 500 Hz Bandwidth
User Configurable Band Key:
Amateur Band Selections: 160 m – 10 m
International Broadcast Bands: 120 m – 11 m
AM-SSB-CW manual or auto-mode selection (based on tuned frequency)
International Broadcasting: manual or auto-selection: AM - 5 kHz steps
Auto-Filter Width select with override: AM: 5, 7.5 kHz, 15 kHz - SSB: 1.8, 2.6 kHz - CW: 1 kHz - 500 Hz
Tuning Resolution (cursor control): 1 MHz / 100 -10 - 1 kHz / 100 - 10 Hz
LW: 150 - 500 kHz is included for experimental purposes. See Hardware Limitations below."

 

[WB2KTG]

I'm awaiting the sale of my AOR AR5000 before buying a CR-1 so in the meantime I have some questions:

1. Can the large feet be removed or replaced?
2. In the VHF Airband can the sensitivity be expressed in old school microvolts, I can relate to those!
3. Can the battery be replaced out in the field?

I've been following the thread and information on this receiver for a while now and it seems that the CR-1 is well suited to mobile use and one can almost visualise it mounted in a car. Could there be a mounting option at a later stage?

Mike
nzradar.com

Invergordon-

1. Each foot can be removed by simply unscrewing one screw which secures it to the bottom half of the case. It takes about 30 seconds if you take your time. (be sure to save the parts in a plastic bag or something) If you have an installation which leaves the bottom uncovered, the sound will have a way to get out so you should be OK.

2. Google 'microvolt to dBm' conversion and you'll have your answers.

3. Removal of the battery involves removal of the bottom half of the case, 12 screws. You have to be careful in removing the bottom half of the case since the speaker wires are soldered in place, and are not overly long. As an alternative, you can plug an external power source into the power jack which will (a) power the receiver and (b) recharge the battery, all without removing any screws. Just mind the battery status on the front panel so you know when to apply supplementary power.

I hope this helps, and I hope you will be happy with your CR-1.

I see from the CommRadio site that there is a special deal going on which expires TODAY!



Special Promotional Coupon - Expires May 5th 2013

Coupon Code - H2C4ICQ1C97I - $40 dollar value

The CR-1 Radio, battery and shipping is usually a $540 dollar expense.

This coupon will be applied for you to receive a free battery and UPS ground shipping.

This applys only to US and Canada shipments, one coupon per customer for one radio.

Expires on May 5th, 2013


May be advisable to exercize your credit card and take advantage of this deal TODAY!

 

[WB2KTG]

Save $40. on CR-1 - - Offer ends May 5th !

As I just advised Invergordon:

Special Promotional Coupon - Expires May 5th 2013

Coupon Code - H2C4ICQ1C97I - $40 dollar value

The CR-1 Radio, battery and shipping is usually a $540 dollar expense.

This coupon will be applied for you to receive a free battery and UPS ground shipping.

This applys only to US and Canada shipments, one coupon per customer for one radio.

Expires on May 5th, 2013

May be time to dust off the ol' credit card!

 

[NRD-505]

It appears that FM is not selectable in the HF bands based on the product information / specifications on the CommRadio page. It is not available on mine, which would confirm the product specifications. Since the radio remembers the last selected state upon power-up, or when power is already on, if you switch bands and have a 'forbidden' mode selected I would expect it to go away upon any knob turn. Similarly, when I am in HF with USB selected and I go to VHF (I happened to be in the FM broadcast band) it automagically switched to FM, as it should.

It's a bug. FM is not spec'ed in the HF band thus it shouldn't ever be enabled. FM does not automagically go away when changing back to the HF band and turning a knob -- one has to change the mode. Give it a try, you may be surprised and not what you expect.

Paul

 

[WB2KTG]

It's a bug. FM is not spec'ed in the HF band thus it shouldn't ever be enabled. FM does not automagically go away when changing back to the HF band and turning a knob -- one has to change the mode. Give it a try, you may be surprised and not what you expect.

Paul

Paul - I can confirm your results. I'll make sure the team is aware of it. Thanks!

 

[NRD-505]

Kind of quiet lately. Everyone enjoying their radio? Bad thunderstorms in Texas right now.

Paul

 

[docrock]

my wish list

I think this radio is a great concept but I think the brains behind this effort is missing the boat by overlooking a huge potential audience. If you look at the number of hits on this thread you know you have a ton of interest here; but your obvious love of HAM seems to be limiting your potential market. A 20 dollar dongle and some free software gives me access to everything up to 2 gigahertz, Sure there are limitations but some of us like Radio, not just the Ham bands so find a way to give us the whole frequency spectrum, a computer interface for advanced manipulation of the radio, good software with scanning capabilities and guess what, you have cornered the market.Win radio can do that but still needs a computer, So can fun cube for a lot less but still needs a computer and does not appear to have the scanning capabilities.Please the widest audience possible, give it all those capabilities with respectable specifications for less than one thousand dollars with your current compact package and you have cornered the market. No competion except for very specialized nitches.

 

[corbintechboy]

I think this radio is a great concept but I think the brains behind this effort is missing the boat by overlooking a huge potential audience. If you look at the number of hits on this thread you know you have a ton of interest here; but your obvious love of HAM seems to be limiting your potential market. A 20 dollar dongle and some free software gives me access to everything up to 2 gigahertz, Sure there are limitations but some of us like Radio, not just the Ham bands so find a way to give us the whole frequency spectrum, a computer interface for advanced manipulation of the radio, good software with scanning capabilities and guess what, you have cornered the market.Win radio can do that but still needs a computer, So can fun cube for a lot less but still needs a computer and does not appear to have the scanning capabilities.Please the widest audience possible, give it all those capabilities with respectable specifications for less than one thousand dollars with your current compact package and you have cornered the market. No competion except for very specialized nitches.

I agree with some of your points.

I do agree with the computer aspect, the wider frequency is not really needed. This radio can win the love of the users by doing something and doing it really really well. The problem is it does nothing really well aside from being a portable. But that is not really something that is needed in todays market as people have been using some crazy setups to get much more powerful radios to work in the field.

Computer interfacing is needed. We need what a software defined radio is thought of today. We need the ability to take this rig to the field and bring it home and get the power of the DSP power only a computer can provide.

Its sad that the developer is missing a boat here. There is hope that maybe it will happen. Then again whom really knows?

 

[scowl]

Kind of quiet lately. Everyone enjoying their radio? Bad thunderstorms in Texas right now.

My order is now "Awaiting Shipment". I don't know if that means it's shipped or just sitting around waiting for a box.

 

[docrock]

different strokes

As the saying goes different strokes for different folks, my point is why not try and appeal to the widest audience out there. I'm one of those guys who likes to listen to a wide variety of things, Although a licensed HAM, I enjoy the VHF public service stuff, police, fire,etc. every bit as much if not more. Some days I might want to listen to international broadcasts on shortwave. For years if you wanted a good quality wide frequency receiver you needed to spend thousands. With the advent of SDR I think this can be done, but at a much more affordable price point, thus opening these capabilities to a larger target audience. It would be nice to have one radio be able to listen to everything that is out there and not have to switch between two or three devices to "have it all". Winradio's wr-g305e comes about as close to this ideal as I have seen, good at HF, good at VHF ,good at scanning, and will probably be my next purchase. If the folks that developed the Comm-1 could put out a competing package, a radio that does it all good (if not somethings great),maybe has limited capabilities in portable mode but expands to full capabilities in computer mode, then I know I would be interested and I think thousands of others as well. The wr-g305e package with all the decoders and demodulators to be able to hear everything there is to hear would be in the $1000 range. Could a radio in a Comm-1 type package be developed and compete at this price point? If so I think it would be a hit.