I tuned in my local 50 KW AM blowtorch. It registers S60 with no problems.
New SDR CommRadio CR-1
- Status
I tuned in my local 50 KW AM blowtorch. It registers S60 with no problems.
W8RMV
Member
I could not reproduce that issue. I do not have an AM station near my home. But I do have a 96kw FM station very near my home that does raise hell on some radios. - Bob
Thanks guys,I'm at home and have it hooked up to my dipole and didn't have the problem since then. Maybe it was just a fluke rf interference that caused it. I see it has a new style case unlike the older case I saw in the photos, so I hope it won't be too difficult to change the battery when time comes to replace it.
WB2KTG
Member
MrMushroom-
Less screws mean easier remove and replace for battery. It should last many years if you treat it like you should treat a cell phone battery and leave on charge as much as possible, charge as often as possible. No memory effects, no need to fully charge/discharge. Should take a total of 3 minutes to R & R, not counting time spent marveling at all the surface mount circuitry...
Bob
Less screws mean easier remove and replace for battery. It should last many years if you treat it like you should treat a cell phone battery and leave on charge as much as possible, charge as often as possible. No memory effects, no need to fully charge/discharge. Should take a total of 3 minutes to R & R, not counting time spent marveling at all the surface mount circuitry...
Bob
To replace the battery it's a little more difficult then just removing a few screws. From what I can see the back panel is one piece with the bottom cover. so to remove the panel you would have to remove the lock rings on the bnc jacks. and hope that it slides off. might have to remove top cover also I don't need to replace the battery yet. but a year or two from now I will and from what i see the average joe might not be able to .
WB2KTG
Member
MrMushroom-
My apologies if I gave you bad advice, as I haven't seen one of the revised chassis yet. My vintage first generation has a top and bottom C-shell, with the rear and front panels staying on the internal frame holding the circuit card assembly. Lots of screws, but easy to get in and out.
My apologies if I gave you bad advice, as I haven't seen one of the revised chassis yet. My vintage first generation has a top and bottom C-shell, with the rear and front panels staying on the internal frame holding the circuit card assembly. Lots of screws, but easy to get in and out.
Bob,
No apology needed you didn't say anything wrong. I know you got an early style case and they updated it . I just notice things like that when I fabricated an external battery pack and used the power jack and plug. nice to know that the battery pack will recharge the internal battery also.
and thanks for taking the time keeping us all informed about the CR1. your a good salesman also hi hi
No apology needed you didn't say anything wrong. I know you got an early style case and they updated it . I just notice things like that when I fabricated an external battery pack and used the power jack and plug. nice to know that the battery pack will recharge the internal battery also.
and thanks for taking the time keeping us all informed about the CR1. your a good salesman also hi hiNRD-505
Member
Are there pictures of the revised casing?
WB2KTG
Member
CR-1 Revised Case Pictures from Don
Hi-
I asked Don what the story was w/r/t cases. He sent me the attached pictures plus the following explanation:
"Here are some pics of the new chassis starting with SN0100. It’s easier. The knurled nuts are just hand tightened and held with a dab of pliable clear silicone ‘gasket’ maker. The top cover is held by 6 screws, 2 on sides and 4 on top. Two screws on bottom chassis that attach to the front panel need to be removed. Then there are 2 or 3 screws holding the PCB to the chassis-bottom. The radio with front panel and PCB slides forward (with the 5” speaker pigtail as a tether). The battery can be pried out on one end with a flat screwdriver.
I don’t expect the battery to need replacement for a long time 1-5 years depending on recharge cycles (500). It is 2.8 Amp-Hr. They should replace only with what I have there since battery diameters vary and might not fit the holder and this batt has a protective PCB (inside the batt) for short circuits, under-over voltage, etc. I suspect some will want to put in a larger batt, but the holder could limit it." - Don
My advice would be to take any supplementary battery - a deep cycle 12V marine battery 80Ahr or so - and plug it into the DC -in jack. No muss no fuss. Probably stay running for about 163 days straight, at full volume. Add a small solar panel and you'll have a 'forever' radio.
Hi-
I asked Don what the story was w/r/t cases. He sent me the attached pictures plus the following explanation:
"Here are some pics of the new chassis starting with SN0100. It’s easier. The knurled nuts are just hand tightened and held with a dab of pliable clear silicone ‘gasket’ maker. The top cover is held by 6 screws, 2 on sides and 4 on top. Two screws on bottom chassis that attach to the front panel need to be removed. Then there are 2 or 3 screws holding the PCB to the chassis-bottom. The radio with front panel and PCB slides forward (with the 5” speaker pigtail as a tether). The battery can be pried out on one end with a flat screwdriver.
I don’t expect the battery to need replacement for a long time 1-5 years depending on recharge cycles (500). It is 2.8 Amp-Hr. They should replace only with what I have there since battery diameters vary and might not fit the holder and this batt has a protective PCB (inside the batt) for short circuits, under-over voltage, etc. I suspect some will want to put in a larger batt, but the holder could limit it." - Don
My advice would be to take any supplementary battery - a deep cycle 12V marine battery 80Ahr or so - and plug it into the DC -in jack. No muss no fuss. Probably stay running for about 163 days straight, at full volume. Add a small solar panel and you'll have a 'forever' radio.
Last edited:
NRD-505
Member
Thanks! Looks nice. Same coverage but fewer screws!
And then there are those *intriguing* solder pads...
And then there are those *intriguing* solder pads...
W5RST
Member
I ordered my CR-1 on July 26 and it shipped yesterday (August 14), so I'm on the clock. This date was earlier than the company's first estimate (August 26), so, maybe an encouraging word for all of you still on the wait list. I was surprised to see that it shipped from Michigan, not Colorado... guess I missed that tidbet about CommRadio.
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2012
- Messages
- 242
Mine was ordered about the same time, and was shipped yesterday. Great news.
They may have just taken a good idea from Disney (and others) that by making you expect one thing- and then exceeding your expectations- that you will feel good about that company. It's a brilliant idea and Disney uses it with their ride queue lines all the time.
WB2KTG
Member
shortwaver-
As a personal fan of telecommuting I advocate the old saying that "work is what you do, not where you're at". Don is up in Michigan for a bit of R&R, but still maintaining personal control of the CR-1 final processing and inspection. Units are shipped to him for his personal touch prior to being shipped to the end user. Pretty soon units will again be coming from Golden, Colorado - home of CommRadio, Aerostream Communication, and Coors Beer!
Bob
As a personal fan of telecommuting I advocate the old saying that "work is what you do, not where you're at". Don is up in Michigan for a bit of R&R, but still maintaining personal control of the CR-1 final processing and inspection. Units are shipped to him for his personal touch prior to being shipped to the end user. Pretty soon units will again be coming from Golden, Colorado - home of CommRadio, Aerostream Communication, and Coors Beer!
Bob
W5RST
Member
Wow, I'm impressed that Don is keeping such a close eye on his baby. It reminds me of a telescope that I bought several years ago from a company where the owner/designer did the final optical alignment of each lens personally before shipping. By the way, the scope is excellent, in case you are wondering.
WB2KTG
Member
N5jky-
I'm a telescope guy too. Which scope do you have?
Bob
I'm a telescope guy too. Which scope do you have?
Bob
W5RST
Member
Currently I have a Stellarvue SV-4 4" refractor, a Televue 60 and a PST solar telescope. Nothing earth shattering, but I enjoy using them. Now, if we only had some clear nights....
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2012
- Messages
- 242
I'm a scope guy too...but the choice for me was either a new Zhumell 8" Dob, or the CR-1. The rest is history.
wolobmp
Member
Hello All. Looking at buying a used CR-1...serial number dated before 0050. Any known problems, updates hardware/software needed? I see that the case has changed but any known issues that need to be addressed? Also...if my conversion from dbm to microvolt, is correct the sensitivity seems to be much less then a typical HF-VHF/UHF rig.
Comments suggestions? Thank you.....Mike
Comments suggestions? Thank you.....Mike
WB2KTG
Member
wolobmp-
Inside the box the radio is the same. Software updates are being worked on continuously, to explore adding new features as well as to polish the sharp corners of some of the existing features. In the beginning, software updates were on a weekly basis, it was a work in process. Now, software updates are happening ~every month or so. I am part of the beta test team that work closely with the CommRadio software developers. I have two betas that I'm working with right now that have some nice additions as well as refinements.
As far as 'microvolts' are concerned- there's this audio hardware company called Bose that makes some great speakers and headphones. I have four of their speakers in my living room audio / video setup that I love. Bose is notorious for never even publishing specifications. The CommRadio CR-1 falls somewhere in the mid-ground between Bose's philosophy and some other manufacturer's who provide you with the serial numbers and measured parameters of each single component on the circuit card. The CR-1's published sensitivity and any other parameters measured are critically dependent upon the test setup and procedures followed. This is also true of all other manufacturer's of RF as well as audio equipment. I look at published specifications as a guideline, not a black / white performance metric. What means most, actually the only thing that really matters, is how it works for me. My observations are that the CR-1 will pull in the same signals, across the board, as my Racal 6790 receiver. The Racal is my all time favorite and benchmark standard. It was designed and manufactured for government customers during the 1980's and 1990's. It's only shortcomings, compared to the CR-1 is that it is a full rack mount radio (19" wide) by about 7" high by maybe 19" deep, weight is probably 20 lb. or so and is not powered for 10 hours by an internal battery and can't be thrown in my backpack or briefcase for a quick business trip or vacation. I think from my own personal observations, as well as those on the board, the CR-1 is a 'real' receiver, not a plastic cased, made in the orient with a built in whip antenna, clock radio FM broadcast receiver which also covers the ham bands. I think the consensus on this board will agree with that. Like Nike, "Just Do It". Worst case, you play with it for a few weeks and resell it so somebody else. Just sayin'...
Bob
Inside the box the radio is the same. Software updates are being worked on continuously, to explore adding new features as well as to polish the sharp corners of some of the existing features. In the beginning, software updates were on a weekly basis, it was a work in process. Now, software updates are happening ~every month or so. I am part of the beta test team that work closely with the CommRadio software developers. I have two betas that I'm working with right now that have some nice additions as well as refinements.
As far as 'microvolts' are concerned- there's this audio hardware company called Bose that makes some great speakers and headphones. I have four of their speakers in my living room audio / video setup that I love. Bose is notorious for never even publishing specifications. The CommRadio CR-1 falls somewhere in the mid-ground between Bose's philosophy and some other manufacturer's who provide you with the serial numbers and measured parameters of each single component on the circuit card. The CR-1's published sensitivity and any other parameters measured are critically dependent upon the test setup and procedures followed. This is also true of all other manufacturer's of RF as well as audio equipment. I look at published specifications as a guideline, not a black / white performance metric. What means most, actually the only thing that really matters, is how it works for me. My observations are that the CR-1 will pull in the same signals, across the board, as my Racal 6790 receiver. The Racal is my all time favorite and benchmark standard. It was designed and manufactured for government customers during the 1980's and 1990's. It's only shortcomings, compared to the CR-1 is that it is a full rack mount radio (19" wide) by about 7" high by maybe 19" deep, weight is probably 20 lb. or so and is not powered for 10 hours by an internal battery and can't be thrown in my backpack or briefcase for a quick business trip or vacation. I think from my own personal observations, as well as those on the board, the CR-1 is a 'real' receiver, not a plastic cased, made in the orient with a built in whip antenna, clock radio FM broadcast receiver which also covers the ham bands. I think the consensus on this board will agree with that. Like Nike, "Just Do It". Worst case, you play with it for a few weeks and resell it so somebody else. Just sayin'...
Bob
- Status
Similar threads
