Scanner feature problems

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StandingWave
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:54 pm

Scanner feature problems

Post by StandingWave » Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:00 am

I had some success using the new scanner feature in SDRuno to scan airband last night and this worked rather well, but I came across a some small issues which I would like to ask for help with.

Firstly, I couldn't input a scan step of 8.33kHz? Is this not supported?

Secondly, I know one can scan a frequency band automatically and add frequencies to the bank, but I was initially entering the frequencies manually based on information I could find about the two local airports and what I observed on the waterfall. The memory bank has space for 14 frequencies, but once that got filled, I could not see any way of adding a new line to the bank? Other than going to the source text file and adding the next line manually, is there a way to add a frequency to the bank within the SDRuno software?

Thirdly, some settings within the bank are very difficult to change. For example, trying to change the filter setting seems to be very difficult as there is a very long delay before the field changes to input mode and then one can't seem to input anything.

Entering the frequency and other data into the scanner config fields is also a bit of a challenge as well as there is no cursor in the field to indicate the position being edited.

Lastly, the scanner keeps stopping on a frequency of 133.316.000 which seems to be a steady digital stream. Its just a couple of DB below the threshold, but it is definitely below and scan is set scan to 'N' in the scan bank, but it still keeps stopping there. How can I set the scanner to ignore it please?

I know this has only recently been released so I guess some small problems are likely, but who do I feed them back to?

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Tech_Support
Posts: 499
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:00 pm

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by Tech_Support » Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:29 am

Hello StandingWave,
Let me try to address your issues. Firstly, there is no reason that you cannot enter a step size of 8.33 kHz. All I can think of here is that you are either trying to edit a pre-defined preset (which is not possible) or you were trying to set the step-size whilst the scanner was already running (which is also not possible). In one of the custom pre-sets, simply type 8.33k in the step size field and then save the preset. Please note that the RoW Air-Band preset already uses the correct step size.
To enter additional lines in the memory panel, simply use the 'Insert' key on your keyboard, or Control-s to save the frequency that you are currently on and it will simply add that to the memory panel. As far as we are aware, there is no limit to the number of entries that you can have in the panel.
The filter width is not an editable field. This simply displays the filter width that was being used when the frequency was stored and MUST be one of the four preset filter widths available in a given mode. In the future we plan to try to allow for custom filter widths, but this is currently not possible.
Regarding your final point, all that I can think is that the frequency that the scanner has stopped on is not exactly the same as the one within the memory panel with the S-Field set to N. a 1 Hz error is all it will take to stop this feature from working. To confirm this, when the signal stops on that signal, simply press the 'Lockout' button on the scanner and you should see a new entry applied to the memory panel with the scan field set to N. If the frequency is slightly different from the one you had previously tried to lock out, this will be your issue.

Sincerely

Tech_Support

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StandingWave
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:54 pm

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by StandingWave » Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:43 am

Tech support, thanks for your very quick reply!
Tech_Support wrote:Firstly, there is no reason that you cannot enter a step size of 8.33 kHz. All I can think of here is that you are either trying to edit a pre-defined preset (which is not possible) or you were trying to set the step-size whilst the scanner was already running (which is also not possible). In one of the custom pre-sets, simply type 8.33k in the step size field and then save the preset. Please note that the RoW Air-Band preset already uses the correct step size.
For whatever reason it was automatically getting changed to 1000hz. I just tried typing 8.33k (with 'k' on the end) and that worked. Thanks. :)
Tech_Support wrote:To enter additional lines in the memory panel, simply use the 'Insert' key on your keyboard, or Control-s to save the frequency that you are currently on and it will simply add that to the memory panel. As far as we are aware, there is no limit to the number of entries that you can have in the panel.
Yes, that works great. Thanks. :)
Tech_Support wrote:The filter width is not an editable field. This simply displays the filter width that was being used when the frequency was stored and MUST be one of the four preset filter widths available in a given mode. In the future we plan to try to allow for custom filter widths, but this is currently not possible.
Was just trying to switch from 6000 to 8000 so using standard widths, since it is currently not supposed to be editable, that explains it. Thanks.
Tech_Support wrote:Regarding your final point, all that I can think is that the frequency that the scanner has stopped on is not exactly the same as the one within the memory panel with the S-Field set to N. a 1 Hz error is all it will take to stop this feature from working. To confirm this, when the signal stops on that signal, simply press the 'Lockout' button on the scanner and you should see a new entry applied to the memory panel with the scan field set to N. If the frequency is slightly different from the one you had previously tried to lock out, this will be your issue.
Ok, I will give this a try. Thanks.

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Tech_Support
Posts: 499
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:00 pm

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by Tech_Support » Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:18 am

Hello StandingWave,
Please check that you are trying to edit the step size of one of the custom presets. Select the entire number that is already there as a step size and type 8.33k I have checked this and it works fine.

Sincerely

Tech_Support
Attachments
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G8PTN
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 10:12 am

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by G8PTN » Fri Apr 26, 2019 2:41 pm

Hi StandingWave,

Just a quick note on the filter setting.

It is possible to edit the memory file using any text editor (such as notepad) and change the filter bandwidth to any permissible value for the operating mode.

In the example below, the first entry was changed from 6000 to 8000.
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Regards,
Dave

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Tech_Support
Posts: 499
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:00 pm

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by Tech_Support » Fri Apr 26, 2019 3:15 pm

Hello Folks,
When manually editing s1B files, please be careful. Putting invalid values or information in the wrong format can cause SDRuno to crash.

Sincerely

Tech_Support

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StandingWave
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:54 pm

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by StandingWave » Fri Apr 26, 2019 3:39 pm

G8PTN wrote: It is possible to edit the memory file using any text editor (such as notepad) and change the filter bandwidth to any permissible value for the operating mode.
Hi, yes, I picked up on that myself as I had a look a look inside on of the files and discovered it was just text. I was able to add more manual entries that way. Changing filter bandwidth sticking to values available in SDRuno also works. For airband, sticking to 6000 seems just fine anyway. I must admit that I haven't tried mixing bands as you have in your example yet. Do you pick up much on the UHF band?

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G8PTN
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 10:12 am

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by G8PTN » Fri Apr 26, 2019 6:23 pm

Hi StandingWave,

Mixing bands does seem to work with SDRuno Rel 1.31, although the points made by Tech_Support in the thread “SDRuno Rel 1.3 Memory Scanning” should be noted. I have not noticed any major limitations so far.

The comment from Tech_Support about manually editing the s1B files is very valid, so please be careful.

With respect to activity on the UHF bands, it is obviously region dependent, but there are a few local air band frequencies and the 70cm Ham channels (mainly repeaters) in my area.

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StandingWave
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:54 pm

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by StandingWave » Sun Apr 28, 2019 8:59 am

G8PTN, thanks, and I take the points made in that thread.

With regards to editing, I have usually kept a backup of the original file just in case...
More recently I have used the Range option to search for active frequencies and populate the bank and just set scan to N for those that cause the scanner to stop (usually some digital transmission).

With regards to digital transmissions, there do seem to be a few of them in the airband space. What are they and can they be decoded?

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iu0azb
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 1:17 pm

Re: Scanner feature problems

Post by iu0azb » Sat Sep 14, 2019 1:42 pm

Hello guys,
I'm playing with an rsp1a since few weeks and i can only say.. Great product! Also the features on sdruno are amazing..

I would reply to this tread beacuse up to now the only "bug" noted is on the 8.33khz scan.
Using "8330" string on step field allow to scan the band, but not respecting the ICAO Guidelines, that define the required overlap between 25khz with 8.33Khz channels.
Example:
scrolling up tune from 118.000, multiple steps of 8.33 bring to have 25khz frequency channels not correct ( for a max of 6khz ). It's not a big deal but for instance, storing frequencies while scanning results can't be compared with official 25khz db already present.

Any suggestion to fix it?
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Last edited by iu0azb on Sat Sep 14, 2019 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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