Compasseur

Hello Marvin, Can you try to download RFAnalyzer : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mantz_it.rfanalyzer&hl=fr&gl=US and check if it works with your SDR dongle. You should not need to go in developer mode. If it does not work, I suspect that the tablet does not have OTG despite claiming so. This would not be the first cheap Chinese tablet I hear about with this issue. You can also contact me by MP or email : thecompasseur (at) gmail.com

Hi everyone, I would like to introduce a new feature in the TXAdvance app : TXAdvance Scan Exchange (TASE). It is a collaborative worldwide map of RF spectrum scans. Scans are uploaded from TXAdvance and can be downloaded and imported by anyone. The scans are precisely geotagged and time-stamped by the phone/tablet and have a 5kHz resolution in any band from 50 to 1300MHz. More infos there : https://www.compasseur.com/txadvance-scan-exchange-tase/ And the app is there : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compasseur.txadvance Thank you.

Hi Daniel, I am glad that the auto mode worked well ! About it, the app does not take into account TX specific deviation but has a general settings TX bandwidth (and also IM bandwidth). This setting will affect the bandwidth of a frequency on the charts (so the red line representing TX), the number of "orange" dots in the frequency list (so the frequencies considered too close to an already taken (red) frequency and the auto mode. The auto mode will take every possible frequency for a TX (so the "frequency step" settings in the TX setting will affect the auto mode, especially the time it takes), and give it a rate. The higher the rate, the worst the frequency is considered ; for example frequencies which are already occupied by another TX or are at a 2T3O intermod will get a very very high rate. For every frequency, the rate will include the surrounding frequencies (the number of surrounding frequencies is determined by the TX bandwidth setting), so the closer you are to an intermod the higher the rate will be, but a 2T7O will not increase your rate as much as a 2T3O... And of course, the noise value of every frequency (and its surrounding frequencies) is also taken into account. Also, the surrounding frequencies are always with a 5kHz resolution like the scans are (and thus do not depend on the "frequency step"). I hope that it clarifies a bit how the auto mode works. Hi Fred, Thanks a lot for the feedback. Indeed you are right, all OTG were not created equal and some can be sensitive. I would recommand to put the phone/tablet and SDR dongle on a table or something so that they do not move while scanning.

Thanks Fred, and nice view! Here are also a nice view and pretty clean spectrum from not very far... Hi Daniel, I am not sure I completely follow you. You need to first set up your scan limits, let's say from 470 to 694. So any frequency below 470 or higher than 608 will not be scanned but can still be selected for a TX (you will just not know the frequency content in dBFS) then set your TX frequencies limit : you can keep the default one or in the case of MCR54, set them up so that they represent 32MHz. That will make sure the app only presents you with 32MHz worth of bandwidth frequencies. You can then add exclusion lists from 608 to 614 for example (I believe this band is forbidden in the US) and any other you need. The frequencies in exclusion lists will also be kept out of the list of frequencies for every TX. That can also be useful if you have to share the RF spectrum with other people. As for the frequency tables from the manufacturers, I don't think I will as the point of app is that you don't really need it anymore. But, you can also work the other way around and set up your TX/RX and then check if everything is fine thanks to the app. Sorry if I didn't get your point and thus did not answer right. Please tell me if that's the case ! Hi Soundflowers, Thank for getting the app. At the moment it is not possible but that is on my list.

Hi Daniel, To work with the MCR54 and its 32 MHz window, i recommend at the creation of your TX list to modify the low and high frequency limits of your first TX so that it has a bandwidth of 32 MHz. You only have to do it once for the first TX. When you add another TX, it will get the specifications of the last added TX. Exclusion lists are list of frequencies to avoid. So the frequencies in those list will be excluded from the list of available frequencies for any TX and from the auto mode. They will be scanned though and you can bypass them by manually entering a frequency for your TXs. I need to find an easier solution for those MCR54. I'm open to any suggestion. Hi Fred, From the receiver side, the length of the antenna is not as important as from the transmitter side. Of course it will be better to have the exact length for every band but if your antenna is tuned to the center of 470-694 MHZ, the app will detect any frequencies which could be problematic for our use in this band. You will even detect radio stations frequencies at 90-100 MHz or your car keys at 434 MHz.

TXAdvance v3 update : Turn your phone/tablet into a Real Time RF Spectrum Analyzer. ---> TXAdvance

TXAdvance v2.00 update : NEW FEATURE : Import/export of scans and/or TX lists for back up or sharing, Added Lectrosonics Block23-EU and IFBT4-VHF (users requests), Fixed a few minor bugs.

Hi Derek, Yes recent phones will definitely provide more power. I have a beta tester and now a few users with Pixel phones and it works fine. Alternatively, I know that some of those "powered" OTG can be tricky. You have to try different orders, like : 1) plug the power, then the phone, then the SDR 2) plug the phone, then the SDR, then the power ...... When and if you find the right one, remember it ! Keep me(us) inform please.

TXAdvance v1.5 update : Introducing exclusions lists : set up list of frequencies to avoid Added Sennheiser EK1039 and Leicozic SR2050 in the database (user request) Small bug fixes

The R820T2 has 29 different settings for gain, from 0 to 496 (0, 9,14, 27, 37,...439, 445, 480, 496). To make it simpler, I chose 7 values and named them 1 to 7. Here are the corresponding values : 1 -> 9 2 -> 77 3 -> 125 4 -> 229 5 -> 280 6 -> 402 7 -> 480 I found that the setting 2 (77) is a good compromise between seeing signals and noise floor. If the app was about listening some very weak signals, I would have put more gain values. For our use, with a gain of 2 (77), the SDR receiver would get the signal the same way our wireless RX do (this is approximate of course as it depends on the receiver and the antenna used). If you have wireless transmitters close to the SDR (less than 1m, depending on the transmitting power), it can be wise to lower the gain so as to not overload the receiver. Trying to find a good compromise between simplicity and customization... i am sorry but it is not possible to directly plug and communicate with the SDR dongle on iOS. Believe me, I would have loved to implement it on iOS too as most of sound engineers use iPhone... For the demo version, not at the moment, but you can buy the app and be reimbursed if needed.

No, sorry. But with the Play Store, you can get refund depending on their refund policy : https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2479637#policy (I never tried it so I can not say how it works)

HackRF One and RF Explorer are on the list but it will probably take a bit of time. Do you mean like Amazon Store ?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to directly plug and communicate with an SDR dongle on iOS at the moment. It is an Apple restriction but I am keeping an eye on it...

Hi, I would like to introduce TXAdvance, an Android app for managing wireless transmitters. It's an all-in-one solution providing RF spectrum analysis and frequency coordination. Main features : -Scan any part of the RF spectrum from 50 to 1300MHz with a 5kHz resolution using SDR technology, -intermodulation calculation up to 7th order, -automatic function for finding optimal frequencies. Available on Google Play : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compasseur.txadvance More infos : https://www.compasseur.com/ Thanks.

Hello fellow sound mixers, I am developing an Android app for coordinating RF transmitters (including frequency spectrum analysis and intermodulation calculations). The app is in beta state and I am looking for a few people to beta test it in real world with different configurations. Should you be interested, here are the requirements : -having an Android smartphone with at least Android 6 and OTG ability and being able to download apps from the Google Play store, -having and using several UHF links (mics, ifb, hop…), -being ready to test it and send me reports about the app (keeping in mind that it is a beta version so do not rely only on it for professional purpose at the moment). By coming on board you will help developing a new tool for the sound community and you will get the app for free (it will be a paid app). If you wish to participate, please send an email at thecompasseur@gmail.com with the following infos : -where you live (town, country), -your list of equipment (mixer/recorder + wireless stuff), -the model of smartphone you will be using. Thank you very much, Grégoire (also known as Roubi on JWSoundgroup)