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From: Tobias DG3LV <DG3LV@gmx.net>
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Date: Mon, 30 May 2016 21:54:24 +0200
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Subject: Re: Re: LF: SDR-Play and Spectrum Laboratory
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Hi Dave, Wolfgang !

You are right, 12 Bit is the "native" resolution, but not the 
"effective" resolution, as is written on the main page of sdrplay.com :

Technical Specifications:
Frequency range:
Total coverage from 0.1MHz to 2GHz
ADC performance: 12 bit native ADC
Sample Freq: 2MSPS – 10.66MSPS
10.4 ENOB
60dB SNR
67dB SFDR

It took me some time to find out what the abbreviation "ENOB" meant.
A datasheet of the chip is available at :
http://www.mirics.com/node/4

Ohh, and sorri, it is 10.4 Bits and not just 10.

73 de dg3lv Tobias


Am 30.05.2016 um 21:23 schrieb Wolfgang Büscher:
> Hello Tobias, Dave, and the group,
>
> Great, thanks Tobias - in that case, Dave doesn't need to fool around
> with virtual audio cables etc.
> After installing the ExtIO-interface, you can select ("install") it as
> an input device for Spectrum Lab as explained here:
> http://www.qsl.net/dl4yhf/speclab/settings.htm#ext_io_dll
>
> About the A/D converters resolution: Ummm... I thought it was 12 bits.
> If it's 10 bits, even a cheap DSPic with a bit of decimation could
> achieve a similar dynamic range. Maybe time for me to continue with that
> project.. too many other things got in the way lately..
>
> All the best,
>    Wolf .
>
> Am 30.05.2016 um 21:08 schrieb Tobias DG3LV:
>> Hi Dave, Wolfgang !
>>
>> Please have a look at this website :
>> http://www.sdrplay.com/windows.html
>>
>> http://www.sdrplay.com/software/SDRplay_EXTIO_Installer_v3.8.3.exe
>>
>> The Chip-manufacturer claims 10 Bit resolution ENOB (effective number
>> of bits), so the device should be somewhat better than the usual DVB-T
>> sticks at 8 Bits (at more than 10 times the price of those).
>>
>> 73 de dg3lv Tobias
>>
>> Am 30.05.2016 um 20:47 schrieb Wolfgang Büscher:
>>> Hello Dave,
>>>
>>> By coincidence, one of the developers of SDR-play recently asked me if
>>> I'd like to have one of these devices to add support for it. Since I
>>> cannot devote lots of time for it, my suggestion was that one of the
>>> SDR-play developers should write an ExtIO-compatible interface DLL for
>>> it. Most if not all SDR programs support it, for example Winrad, HDSDR,
>>> Spectrum Lab, and possibly many others, so writing such a DLL would make
>>> their radio more useful to many users.
>>> I don't know what happened since then, but maybe there is a
>>> Winrad-compatible "ExtIO"-DLL available already, which you can easily
>>> load in Spectrum Lab as driver for an 'input device'. Just let me know
>>> if you need more information.
>>> It would be interesting to know how the SDR-play compares with other
>>> (more expensive) SDRs. Maybe I will carry one home from the Ham Radio
>>> fair in Friedrichshafen this year...
>>>
>>> All the best,
>>>   Wolf .
>>>
>>>
>>> Am 30.05.2016 um 17:09 schrieb DAVE PICK:
>>>>
>>>> Dear LF
>>>>
>>>> I have a new toy which I've finished playing with and I want to use it
>>>> for some useful purpose. It's an "SDR-Play" USB SDR.
>>>>
>>>> What I'd like to be able to use it for is to replace my old Soft-Rock
>>>> SDRs for my LF and MF grabbers.
>>>>
>>>> I can get it to view a slice of the spectrum 500 or 600kHz wide from,
>>>> say 50 to 550kHz, then I want to be able to run two instances of
>>>> Spectrum Lab (or Argo?) to take grabs of the 136 and 472kHz bands.
>>>>
>>>> But, how do I configure spectrum Lab (or another program) to be able
>>>> to do this? I feel awfully out of my depth when I read anything about
>>>> setting this sort of thing up so any help in plain language would be
>>>> appreciated!
>>>>
>>>> I realise I'll have to pay great attention to the front-end filtering
>>>> in order to make the most of the limited resolution of the A/D but
>>>> that sort of stuff I can cope with!
>>>>
>>>> 73
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Dave G3YXM
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
>