FLEX-6000 Signature Series - SmartSDR for Windows Software User’s Guide
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Copyright 2018 FlexRadio Systems. All Rights Reserved.
The final Panadapter control, Weighted Average, emphasizes signals that are increasing in amplitude
over ones that are declining, a fast attack, slow decay mode. This tends to continue to show locations
where signals have been and show a more precise view of their full amplitude when they first appear.
Below the line at the center of the control are the Waterfall controls.
The Gain, Black and Auto controls work together to adjust how different signal levels are displayed
in the Waterfall. The Black control sets the level below which all pixels will render as black. In other
words, it sets the level at which signals are no longer of interest. The Auto control will automatically
set the black level to just below the noise as band conditions, preamplifier changes or antenna
changes alter the noise floor. To enable auto-black, click the Auto button so that it is blue.
The Gain control adjusts how rapidly the Waterfall will advance through the color spectrum for
minimal changes in signal level. Lowering the gain gives the Waterfall a broader dynamic range but
lessens its ability to show small variations in signals. Raising the gain lowers the dynamic range but
provides more detail in the variations in smaller signals’ magnitudes.
The rate control adjusts how fast the Waterfall will advance on the screen. At the lowest setting,
many minutes of data can be displayed. At its highest setting, the Waterfall displays a rapidly
changing spectrum in the most detail.
In most cases Auto Black properly adjusts the background color or black level for the display’s zoom
factor and the relative noise floor of the band you are viewing. You can however, manually adjust
the Waterfall display’s setting to allow for the display of weak signals at or near the noise floor. If
the black level is set too low, many of the "in the noise" FFT bins will always be zero, regardless of
the display gain setting. To achieve an ideal setting for the Waterfall black level, do the following:
• Turn the display gain level to maximum
• Adjust the Waterfall black level to a point where the Waterfall is primarily white, but there
are approximately 2-5% black areas displayed.
• Turn the display gain down until the background is deep blue.
This ensures that small signals in the noise will be easily seen.
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