SysLabs Rohde & Schwarz EB200 Device Driver 1.1 for RadioControl
The device driver allows the Rohde & Schwarz EB200 Miniport Receiver to be used
with RadioControl. The VFO mode (i.e. the "CW/Fixed" mode), the up- and download of
memory channels and the device-internal scan and search function (M-SCAN
and F-SCAN) are supported.
In addition, care has been taken during device driver development to fully support
the concurrent control feature of the EB200, which allows simultaneous
control of the radio device, e.g. by the user via the radio device's front panel
and RadioControl, or by more than one application. To achieve this aim, the
device driver handles the events sent by the EB200 and forwards state and value
changes to RadioControl which can then react accordingly. For example, when the
user enters a new frequency or starts the scanner directly on the radio device,
RadioControl immediately reacts by displaying the newly entered frequency, or by
switching into scan mode.
So, this feature not only allows simultaneous control of the same EB200 by using
RadioControl and the radio device's front panel, but also by using more than one
application. For example, RadioControl could be used for general control
and monitoring tasks and a special (maybe self developed) software could be used
for specific monitoring or measuring tasks, and both are connected to and
control the same EB200 device.
Device Driver Features
The most important features of the device driver will be listed in the following:
Support of EB200's RS232 control interface (in standard and PPP mode) and
LAN control interface.
Keyboard and/or display of the EB200 can be optionally locked/switched off
if the radio device is controlled by RadioControl.
Note: Locking the keyboard and switching off the display will
speed up scan and search operations.
Full support of EB200's concurrent control feature. As already said above,
the device driver supports scenarios where the EB200 is not only controlled by
RadioControl alone, but also by the user and/or other applications at
the same time, which opens up a wide variety of application scenarios.
Support of the VFO mode (direct control of the radio)
The following VFO attributes are supported:
Volume
Level Squelch (aka. Squelch in EB200)
Mute
Antenna Switching
Frequency
Step
Mode
IF Filter
Frequency Shift
ATT
AFC
Signal Strength
Squelch Status
Upload and download of memory channels
The following data fields of a RadioControl Memory File are transferred:
Frequency
Mode
IF Filter
ATT
AFC
Scan
Note: When downloading memory channels from the EB200, the
device driver applies default values to all data fields of the
RadioControl memory channel that are not listed above. When uploading
memory channels to the EB200, the device driver applies default values to
all data fields of the EB200 memory channel that have not been initialized
by the corresponding RadioControl memory channel.
The signal strength will be converted from dBμV to S-Meter units,
according to the IARU S-Meter Standard1).
As the unit of signal strength measurement in RadioControl is the so-called
S-Meter unit (or simply S unit), the device driver converts the
signal strength from dBμV, as reported by the EB200, to S units, as
specified in the IARU S-Meter Standard. In addition, this conversion, together
with the fact that the initial signal strength value is specified in (de facto
absolute) dBμV units, causes the EB200 to provide one of the most accurate
S-Meters among all radio devices.
Fast RadioControl-internal scanner. When the EB200 is used with the
LAN control interface, the RadioControl-internal scanner is up to 2 or 3 times
faster than with most other radios that are supported by RadioControl.
Support of the device-internal scan
and search function (M-SCAN and F-SCAN)
(with RadioControl Professional Edition only). The device-internal frequency
scanner (F-SCAN) can optionally be used for frequency search operations initiated
by RadioControl. Furthermore, the memory channels of an EB200 can be scanned from
RadioControl by using the device-internal memory scanner (M-SCAN).
All scan and search operations initiated by RadioControl and using the
device-internal scanner of the EB200 will be performed at a speed of up to
unbelievable 125 channels/second! The speed might even be increased further by
additional optimizations in future releases of the device driver.
System Requirements
Intel Pentium compatible processor
Windows 95 or better
RadioControl 1.2 (Preview 2) Standard or Professional Edition
with a license for commercial use
Rohde & Schwarz EB200 Miniport Receiver with either a
RS232 or LAN control interface
For RS232 control interface only: a null-modem cable
For LAN control interface only:
Ethernet adapter for your computer
A RJ45 cross cable if the EB200 is connected directly to the computer,
and a RJ45 straight (1:1) cable otherwise.
Getting the EB200 Device Driver
The device driver is not part of RadioControl and must be purchased separately. Keep in
mind that a commercial RadioControl license is necessary in order to be able to use the
device driver.
________ 1) The IARU S-Meter Standard is defined in the 5th Edition of the
IARU HF Managers Handbook.
An explanation of the S-Meter and the IARU S-Meter Standard can also be found on
Wikipedia.
