SDRPlay should invest in writing software for thier product like Elad does for the FD

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prc117f

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Think about it Elad sells you a complete package for 500 dollars. The HW they designed and the software they wrote for it. ie: FDM-SW2

SDRPlay should be able to do the same thing, they developed the hardware, they should develop the software. This was one reason I never thought of buying the SDRplay, It makes no sense to pay money for hardware if it does not ship with the software developed by the hardware maker to begin with.

What sold me on the FDM-S2 was the great software custom made for the FDM-S2 hardware. Same thing with Airspy, the hardware developer spent time and money to write the software for his product.

SDRPlay should follow the same route, write the software for your product and provide the complete HW/SW package.

SDR# is not open source, its primarily the platform for the Airspy hw he sells. I do not understand why people are angry about it. Software takes lots of time and money to make and produce. Think about it what if you spent 4 years writing software so you can earn a living selling a product and then your competitor uses your software to sell a competing product would you be happy about that? Software is where the magic happens, HW is useless without good software.
 

SCPD

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Though I agree that they 'could write software for the hardware' .. charging anything for it, will just not work.

I would venture to bet that very very few people would be willing to pay for the software. I know I wouldn't .. and I am a part time software developer myself.
 

Markb

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There is enough *free* SDR software out there. I strongly dislike SDR# both because of overall "ergonomics" and the attitude of the developer. Same reason I refuse to buy an Airspy, no matter how good it is.
If anything, the folks who designed SDRPlay would likely need to find developers and pay them to design the software, which would probably jack the price point up considerably.
There is really no such thing as "custom software" in the SDR world. There may be features that cater to particular radio model, but that's it. Most software packages support most SDR's nowadays.
Even SDR# was developed way before the Airspy came into existence and has supported numerous radio models for years

I would suggest trying some of the other software suites out there. You might be surprised.
I have been using SDR Console (SDR-Radio V2) for years and love it.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

prc117f

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Though I agree that they 'could write software for the hardware' .. charging anything for it, will just not work.

I would venture to bet that very very few people would be willing to pay for the software. I know I wouldn't .. and I am a part time software developer myself.

Thats what I never understood about people, they complain about no software for X hardware, but then they are unwilling to fund development for the software for X hardware.

Somehow people think software has no value because it is not a box with blinking lights. Anyone can buy COTS parts ie FPGA etc.. soldier it to a breadboard. But to actually make those components do anything requires someone to spend lots of time writing code.

So Sdrplay users can use other free software, but they should not expect optimal performance or usability compared to software written specifically for the Sdrplay.
 

SCPD

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prc117f: I agree with you 100% on having your own app and I'm a SDRplay user and an ELAD user. Some hardware companies are piggybacking on other free apps to drive the hardware. Almost every high end SDR has a dedicated app along with an EXT/IO to use in the other apps. I think it would without a doubt raise the price of the unit considerably. The Afedri is also guilty of this along with a few others that could use some in house software development. You can hate X and Y and Z to use with your hardware but having a native to the hardware front-end is 100% always a good thing.
 

Flatliner

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prc117f: I agree with you 100% on having your own app and I'm a SDRplay user and an ELAD user. Some hardware companies are piggybacking on other free apps to drive the hardware. Almost every high end SDR has a dedicated app along with an EXT/IO to use in the other apps. I think it would without a doubt raise the price of the unit considerably. The Afedri is also guilty of this along with a few others that could use some in house software development. You can hate X and Y and Z to use with your hardware but having a native to the hardware front-end is 100% always a good thing.

With the demise of SDR#, this now opens up opportunity for others. If Youseff and Co. has a little more forethought and less arrogance, they could have levered their software much better, and everyone would have been happy. Now they have got themselves to the point where are rarely, if ever, seen outside of their ever decreasing comfort zone. Instead, their on-line presence outside of their controlled spaces, appears to have been left to even more distasteful representatives.

Fortunately SDRplay appear to communicate considerably better with their users. I look forward to new independent developments. Literally.
 

Voyager

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Now they have got themselves to the point where are rarely, if ever, seen outside of their ever decreasing comfort zone. Instead, their on-line presence outside of their controlled spaces, appears to have been left to even more distasteful representatives.

Maybe they have decided to take the high road and not be dragged into a urination contest.
 

Voyager

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That would mean not getting into an online public-forum urination contest like the thread that was recently closed between you and someone else.
 

Flatliner

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That would mean not getting into an online public-forum urination contest like the thread that was recently closed between you and someone else.

I would suggest that Youseff finally gave up doing exactly what he began, because sometime ago, on RSP related threads, he organised quite a pissing contest. In reply, I was amazed at how cordial the SDRplay guy remained. Since then, Youseff took his ball back, then went home.

Anyway, what's your opinion on the OP thoughts?
 

Voyager

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I have no real opinion other than to say they (SDRPlay) have every right to develop their own software. It would be nice if everyone could get along, as everyone working to improve one SW package is better than having several packages each with strong points and weak points. It reminds me very much of the current trend where everyone has to promote their own digital voice format rather than working with one standard. In the end, all the users lose.

At this point, I think there are too many bridges burned to have a unified software. I would LOVE to be wrong, though. I haven't read all the other forum posts (nor do I care to), but reading the posted images of threats of corporate sabotage that came from SDRPlay's alleged authorized spokesperson certainly would appear to indicate there is no resolution to the issue possible. It might be best for the two parties to agree to disagree and go their separate ways.
 

Flatliner

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If that's all you've seen, then you've arrived very late to this party. He has been much quieter as of late, but his outbursts are legendary. And that's the reason for the utter contempt that many people feel now, to the point where several, as well as myself, refused to deal with him. The better stuff was on IRC, where the disdain that he displayed about "mere" users, was spectacular.

Anyway, I agree with you. A nice unified application would be great. Simon Brown is the current best candidate for that. Ver.3 of SDR-Radio is coming along nicely, being more friendly towards the VHF+ user. We're going to have to wait until next summer for that, though Simon is well on the case.

EDIT:
I missed a bit of your post. "SDRPlay's alleged authorized spokesperson" is just that. "alleged". He's actually just an enthusiastic owner of an RSP. I believe that he was fed quite a trough of drivel by the SDR# team, hence the reaction.
 
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Voyager

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Why would you have to deal with him? He writes the SW and we use it. If you don't want to deal with him, ask questions elsewhere - like here.

And correct I've seen nothing on IRC, and the only real comments I've seen on Facebook or Twitter are re-posted here or on the email lists. But, all three of those forums are known for their less than cordial content. (as a whole, not just WRT those issues).

I used to use Simon's ham radio program (I forget the name offhand). I was sorta turned off when he sold it off to someone who decided it should be a paid program (and highly paid at that). Was that his right? Of course it was. But, I was disappointed that it was twisted into something he likely never wanted it to be. So, I am a bit gun-shy about getting invested into another of his programs. I never found a good replacement for his ham radio program.
 

Flatliner

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That was Ham Radio Deluxe. SDR-Radio was then created and given for free to amateurs, and is more current now anyway.

I would have to deal with Youseff to buy his hardware, but as someone else around here once wrote, I refused to line his pockets with my money, and that was well before airspy was even released.

The second-hand price of an airspy is surprisingly low. By chance I found one at the main UK London Radio rally this very afternoon. It was only £80 so I bought it. I saw one auctioned off on eBay a few weeks ago for £108. It seems that the used ones aren't sold for the price of an RSP. If you have the money for an RSP, people would rather buy that. I can't find anyone who wants to sell theirs unfortunately, not even the complainers, ironically, so this cheap airspy will become a Flightradar24 feeder, as I almost gave my last used one away.
 

Voyager

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I would have to deal with Youseff to buy his hardware

I know for a fact that is not true, as he doesn't sell the hardware directly.

Just look at Airspy.com yourself. You would deal with a distributor (specifically SecQuest.co.uk - I think that is their URL).
 

Flatliner

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I know for a fact that is not true, as he doesn't sell the hardware directly.

Just look at Airspy.com yourself. You would deal with a distributor (specifically SecQuest.co.uk - I think that is their URL).

"I refused to line his pockets with my money". That's my point.
 

Flatliner

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A steady demise, in respect of audience. Previously, growth has been sustained by increasing hardware support. Now that this support is being rapidly reversed, rather than SDR# being a popular choice for the majority of SDR enthusiasts, it's quickly becoming just an application that you get with an airspy.
 

salamalekum

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A steady demise, in respect of audience. Previously, growth has been sustained by increasing hardware support. Now that this support is being rapidly reversed, rather than SDR# being a popular choice for the majority of SDR enthusiasts, it's quickly becoming just an application that you get with an airspy.

So incorrect. SDR# is still so extremely popular that people use older versions vs other readily available software. It is still the most popular SDR Software since the inception of RTL dongles as entry level SDR hardware.
 

SCPD

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All the fuzz in this forum made me decide to give SDRPlay a try.
I'm sorry, I sold it after 2 days.

From the beginning I have had a healthy skepticism towards Airspy, but as soon as I tried this miniature receiver, it totally convinced me. I'm quite allergic to developers bragging about their own devices, but Youssef was quite correct in his bragging after all ;-)

SDRPlay is plagued here with images on the wrong places, often making reception of a wanted weak signal not possible. I was hardly able to find a good compromise in gain setups, and gain setups had to be changed for every band. The noise in the center of the spectrum is quite troublesome, especially when centering a weak signal. I found the architecture with LNA threshold not eay to work with. It may be my impatience but the receiver could not convince me switching back and forth with my other receivers. I may be spoiled as well.

SDR-Radio still seems to have trouble with SDRPlay, it forgets gain settings and sometimes was receiving another frequency than I had dialed. On HF I found myself between "all or nothing" with gain settings, either I had to reduce sensitivity dramatically or found a lot of images, especially in the evening hours. Zooming in with lower sample rates did not seem to help, also within a narrower DDC window I had troubles on f.i. MW.

Airspy has been rock-solid at a single optimized gain setting for my QTH, has minimal spurs and overload, and besides that it is a fantastic combination with SDR#. I have received the weakest beacons on VHF and UHF, even slightly better than with my Funcube Pro Plus (which has dedicated SAW filters for these bands).

Airspy & SDR# is quite a smooth total solution for anybody stepping from a conventional wideband receiver (like my AOR AR5000) into the world of wideband SDR for a very attractive price. Like CloudIQ, perseus or Elad it offers a seamless integration between hard&software.

I'm looking forward to the Spyverter. Again there is boasting about a superb dynamic range, but my very good experience with Airspy and SDR# takes away my hesitation. It will probably be another positive surprise and SDR# seems already checkbox-prepared for it with frequency offsets and correct gain streamlining.

Since the Rafael R820T performs so well in the Airspy design, I'm also very much looking forward to the RFSpace CloudSDR, which will be my next hobby investment. It incorporates a downconverter section based on the same chip feeding a cutting edge ADC section.

The future of SDR looks quite bright, no sad feelings of "demise" at all here ;-)

Written without any company affiliation or hard feelings for whatever reason.

73!
Paul
PD0SWL

CloudIQ,SDR-IQ,Perseus,Elad FDM-S2,Airspy,FCDP+
 
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