Scott McClements (WU2X) is fairly well known in the Software Defined Radio world. He is the creator of the original PowerSDR/IF Stage. Earlier in 2009, we joined forces to develop a new major version of PowerSDR/IF Stage. For a while we had been talking about doing co-development on the project, and we threw around ideas as to what things we should concentrate on when developing a new version.

When looking at newer versions of FlexRadio Systems' PowerSDR, we decided it would be extremely difficult to merge Scott's original 0.92 version into a newer version of PowerSDR. We also had concerns that if we wanted to stay on top of the latest PowerSDR, it would continue to be a problem. This gave us our #1 goal in our new PowerSDR/IF Stage development.

We decided to start from scratch with the PowerSDR Pretty Betty Branch. Our #1 focus in the new development was to keep all IF Stage code as separate from FlexRadio's PowerSDR code as possible to allow easy merging to the latest and greatest PowerSDR at any given moment.

Our second main feature/goal was to eliminate the dependency on Ham Radio Deluxe or LP-Bridge. This is where the bulk of my development effort has been focused on. We have created the ability to connect the transceiver rig directly to PowerSDR via a serial connection. Not only has this eliminated the need for Ham Radio Deluxe or LP-Bridge in some cases (although using HRD is still an option), but it has dramatically increased the tuning response between PowerSDR/IF Stage and the rig. Not to mention, the reaction to mute at TX has sped up 10 fold!

I know a lot of people are used to using these additional software components, but we highly encourage people to at least give the direct rig connection a try. You may be pleasantly surprised. Also, keep in mind, any additional software components can still be attached to your rig via the PowerSDR CAT Control.

Another altogether new feature I implemented is the ability to attach PowerSDR/IF Stage directly to an external Power/SWR meter via serial connection. The potential to hook just about any meter is there--whether it be a dedicated external meter or an amplifier--as long as it has the capability of serial connection. This allows PowerSDR/IF Stage to show you power and SWR levels in the multimeter during TX--even if you are transmitting using a linear amplifier. This is something that not even FlexRadio Systems' PowerSDR is capible of doing, and I'm proud to have made this available to Array Solutions PowerMaster users. Look for other meters and amplifiers to be supported in the future.