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How to syncronize SDR Perseus and ICOM 


In this page you can find a little guide about the best way to syncronize Perseus SDR and ICOM radio. I hope that what is written can be helpful to others.
Equipement needed (in addition to PC...):


 ICOM radio, in my case IC 706MKII		 ic706
SDR Perseus perseus
Switch Box switch box

Software needed:
Perseus perseus software
Bobcat bobcat
VSPE vspe


Connections:

  • Referring to the instructions of the switch box connect the antenna to the input jack, a jumper to RTX ICOM, and the second jumper to RX Perseus and of course to 13.8 Vdc.
  • To connect SDR Perseus to PC with USB cable
  • To connect ICOM radio to PC using the back CI-V jack and USB cable

Softwares settings:

  1. VSPE:  open VSPE (Virtual Serial Ports Emulator) and click "create new device" create, don't modify in "device type" the option "connector" and click Next, choose in "Virtual serial port" the "COM10"  that is usually used by SDR Perseus.Leave it configured in the background so that the program will connect the Perseus to Bobcat.
  2. Perseus:  start the Perseus software and click on the s-meter above 9+60 so that "reverse squelch" is on. In this mode the SDR Perseus stops to receive when signals are over that limit.This step is important because when you will transmit with the Icom will prevent to put the Perseus  into saturation and also to remove an annoying echo effect due to the natural delay between transmission and reception.
  3. Bobcat: start the program and click Setup icon down on the left, in the "CAT" menu you can choose the connection ports of Perseus (CAT1) and of RTX (CAT2).
    1.  As for Perseus select the COM10 previously generated by VSPE and clock "Check" .The result will be "OK"!
    2. In CAT2 select ICOM Serial Port .To know which is the serial port on the apparatus do right clik on My Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager -> Ports(COM and LPT).
    3. Choose the radio model and click on "Check". The result will be "OK"!
    4. Click onu Start (the second icon down on the left)
Now radio and Perseus are synchronized and if you'll tune the ICOM VFO will shift the scale of Perseus and vice versa.

Remember to put the squelch RTX to not hear the rustling of the bottom!

Opinions:

The feeling you get using the Perseus SDR synchronized with the ICOM is to have in front of you a complete and professional station and one gets the impression of being faced with a complex dashboard that to be fully exploited needs to be tested, learned and developed. 
The ease of use of Perseus however, makes it all very intuitive and easy to use after a few minutes of testing.
Seeing on the monitor a large part of the band facilitates the hunting to DX and makes the idea of the traffic and propagation in the frequency.
The interaction SDR / Traditional is surely a winner choice and brings a further wave of technology in the world of amateur radio.




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