SDR lite!

[reconrider8]

Is there another program that doesn't pull as much processer load as sdr#? I can run SDR and DSD on my desktop but I can't on my laptop which is good for local traffic but I can't take it on the road with me to play on different systems

 

[rbm]

In a way, you can create your own instance of SDR lite.

The FFT Display is the big hitter.
Reduce the FFT Display speed to the bare minimum.
Reduce the FFT Resolution to 4096.
Under FFT Display, instead of BOTH, select spectrum analyzer only.

Reduce the 'Sample Rate' in the configuration popup window to as low as useable for your needs.

Doing all of that, I can reduce my CPU usage from around 30% to around 5%.
You can run something like 'Process Explorer' to watch your CPU usage while you make changes.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Rich

Edit: Also, just by changing from Full Screen mode (14%) to a smaller Window mode (9%) is quite a savings.

 

[reconrider8]

I'll try that I ran another decoder and I had to turn my fps down to like .25 to just get that to like 40% and that wasn't even steady

 

[Markb]

I prefer SDR Console. I have a dual core laptop and run DSD+ with a hackRF. You may have better luck.

 

[reconrider8]

I'll try that also... I tried those settings and it helped a little bit but not alot

 

[rosecitytransit]

One option would be to try using the rtl_fm command line program that comes with I believe this download:
RelWithDebInfo.zip on rtl-sdr

See:
rtl-sdr
Rtl_fm Guide: Updates for rtl_fm overhaul

 

[reconrider8]

What's that command for?

 

[kermit_t_f]

rtl_fm is just a fm receiver without any GUI, FFT and so on. You have to specify all the parameters in the command line. It's good for receiving one known signal but if you're looking at new frequencies and want to use the bandwidth the SDR deliver, then it's not really an alternativ to "real" SDR software.
What hardware is in your laptop? Maybe there's a bottleneck that causes the problems...

 

[reconrider8]

Not sure of a bottle neck it runs fine for just scanning the net and such but as soon as I open up sdr# it starts lagging up

 

[kermit_t_f]

That's not really surprising, as the GUI of SDR# oder SDR-Radio is quite demanding. Maybe you could post the specs of your notebook, so we could get a better view on its capabilities...

 

[reconrider8]

VVCap Image thats my specs not much at all tho cutting everything all the way down een the fps and such i can get every few words of whats being said and even then its not clear

 

[kermit_t_f]

Sadly, your cpu is really really slow and this should be the problem...I don't have much experience with those netbook hardware, but maybe using rtl_fm is the only way to get some usable performance with your system, because SDR software is quite demanding, especially when it comes to bigger bandwidth...

 

[slicerwizard]

Is there another program that doesn't pull as much processer load as sdr#? I can run SDR and DSD on my desktop but I can't on my laptop which is good for local traffic but I can't take it on the road with me to play on different systems

I put together an SDR FM demodulator (with spectrum display) that's definitely lightweight. Running two copies (for two dongles) plus two copies of DSD+ uses 65-75% of an anemic Atom N450 netbook. It might be what you're looking for.

 

[reconrider8]

What's your SDR FM then? And I really don't have to worry just yet about it. They had some legal trouble and are back on analog now for the time being

 

[reconrider8]

Think hdsdr would work better then regular SDR?