Power SDR Test & Measurement Area

I am very fortunate to have a special area with in the "shack" which is separate from the HF operating console, as well as the test bench area. This small area, is were I am able to setup and do some software testing and hardware interfacing and not tie up the test bench, or the operating console. However, the area in the photo is just behind my HF console and close enough to the test bench if needed!


As you can see, I use a three level oversize rack to do the hardware setup. The top shelf holds the 19" Envision monitor. The monitor has dual video (AVG, DMI) inputs. On either side of the monitor are the two stereo Inland, Pro sound 2000 series multi media amplified speaker system. The speakers are connected to the output of the PC which is fed by the Delta 44 audio interface from the 1000D. These speakers work very nicely, as they are small and produce a very good quality audio for initial setup and testing. In addition, to the right of the monitor is a standard PC wired mouse, as well as the Griffin knob. The Griffin knob allows the operator to tune the transceiver, as if it were a hardware tuning dial, as opposed to using the mouse to tune the transceiver.


The second shelf (center) holds the "hardware box" 1000D, which is not visible because of the keyboard drawer being extended. I have placed the 1000D out of the way, as there is no need to have it visible, as there are no controls on it, except the power switch. The Delta 44 audio interface is also at the rear of the shelf and out of the way. To the far right is the desktop Acer AXT mid tower. The configuration of the tower is as follows: (1)Processor-Athlon AMD 64- 3800(+) 2.4Ghz, with 2GB of Ram, running Windows XP Pro version 2002 and service pack 2. (2)Dual DVD drives. (3)Hard Drives- dual 250GB drives, primary drive running windows operating system, second drive running Linux operating system. (4)Audio card- M-Audio Delta 44 with external interface. (5)Video Card- dual channel video output with standard VGA and DMI outputs. (6)Dash Board- front panel, with several USB, and firewire ports. (7)Power Supply- 350Watt standard.

The third shelf (lower) provides space for the power supplies. The primary supply for the system is an Ashtron 35 Amp linear supply with metered outputs. The secondary supply used for other items not associated with the flex system, is a Pyramid Phase III Model PS-25, also with meters for voltage and current.