Willis DXERS'CORNER // REMOTELY from the garden

Recently I had this problem again: I made a mistake when programming the times for recordings. I only noticed it when I checked its functionality online that evening. The recording wanted to start, but stopped because the S3 could not be initialized due to the error.

Restarting the NUC didn't help. I can't switch the S3 remotely. It is started and ended by a timer. If the S3 is already running after starting the SDR software, it will not connect. I have already developed detailed instructions for this:

http://dxerscorner.tikishop.de/blog/categories/14-ELAD-S3-Special

So if the S3 doesn't start as described, you're out of luck remotely. The remote system is not working.

If you're lucky, everything works again after a restart, but only if the S3 is switched on after starting the software.

This is unacceptable for a device in this price range.

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Sometimes it just doesn't want to: either it refuses to cooperate with the SDR console and ELAD's own software FDM-SW2 or it doesn't record even though everything is programmed in. I have spent hours, days, weeks troubleshooting without really finding anything. As a diagnosis, I present possible diseases of the fine device.

Diagnosis 1: Refuses to cooperate
Symptom: FDM-SW2 and SDR Console do not recognise the device.
Possible cause: the temperature of the environment is significantly above 30°.
Remedy: Cool down or wait for better weather.

Diagnosis 2: Does not record
Possible cause: software update
Remedy: downgrade to the last version

Diagnosis 3: Does not start
If a connection between the S3 and the SDR console or FDM-SW2 is interrupted during operation by switching off, it is not possible to re-establish the connection, even after a restart. After the PC has been idle for a while, everything runs as usual again. I have repeated this attempt several times and since then I have stuck precisely to my switching sequences: a) Start software b) Switch on unit and later c) Exit software d) Switch off the unit.

Diagnosis 4: As described here

Diagnosis 5: As described here

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The situation: I operate a remote station in the garden with only 12 V as an MW DXer. Unattended recordings are the basic requirement for this. The station switches on or off in several time intervals. That was hardly a problem with the S2, but the S3 refused to work after the restart.

The NUC is put to sleep by means of the WOSB software and started from there. An example:

xx45h: the NUC is woken up, the SDR console starts or has already started
xx50h: the S3, which was previously de-energized, is supplied with energy by means of a timer
xx55h: the recording starts

After the end of the recording, the NUC is first put to sleep. Only then is the S3 disconnected from the power. After restarting at a different time, the S3 is switched on again and connects smoothly to the SDR console. If you stick to this guideline, nothing can really go wrong. And before I forget: only one USB3 port of the USB3 controller may be occupied by the S3. So check your controller.

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Tested on two differently equipped win8.1 systems

■ The short story of a long birth

History
Two shacks, one SDR. I intended to order nearly an RX-888 as second SDR after reading Nils Schiffhauer "32 KHz/16bit, 200 US-$ – pricks up your ears" on Sept 4, 2020. Also the swling post was involved in this hobby-related "marketing". Nils posted the first impressions of the S3 in October 2019 "Looking at Things: Elad FDM-S3 [beta]". But then came concerns about warranty about a exported RX-888 from China. There wouldn't be any support, was my thought, if anything works bad or is not operating at all. I didn't want to wait any more for the S3 either and was undecided until the next day ELAD announced the S3 as ripe for production. Did they think their profit swim away when the RX-888 was announced just before production of the S3 could start? Nevertheless, they acted quick in this situation and brought me to wait even longer for this device. After reading some comments on Nil's site I was convinced to do the right decision with this. The receivers are not the same. My decision was not the sales price but support. The opportunity to run an integrated GPS module was then crucial. It could help further "prick up the ears" for decades. On mediumwave.

After several years of preview on the ELAD website it came to the time the S3 could be preordered. On Oct 12 I placed my pre-order. It took several weeks to get a reply on the order. On Nov 25 2020 came the confirmation and payment request. I should pay immediately because ELAD reserved the pre-order for only 2 days. So, quick money transfer via paypal, and waiting again for the announced tracking number for 5 days. But: problems arose when transferring the purchase amount. A new payment request came. I had to retransfer. It can hardly get more chaotic in this business, isn't it?

As a DXer, ELAD sale strategy looks acceptable. One likes to forgive something for hobby reasons. For a normal consumer it is not. Customer friendliness looks different, but ELAD is sure to know that too. Hopefully later support is better und reliable as I was used to before. Sensitive customers might get confused by this.

In the meantime I found a place for the device that has to be more than two times bigger than the previous model S2 allows. 1.790 kg more technic were built in. He has the size of a slightly shrinked SONY ICF-2100. A transportable radio which I used when travelling Asia backpacked in the eighties of the last century.

Spedizione Ritirata from Trieste announces delivery in just one day. Isn't that a little too fast now, after all the long wait? The S3 came as predicted, in 1 day from Italy, flown by DHL over the alps to Leipzig and Cologne, brrr. Not because of the cold, because of the global heating and dirty emissions I always want to avoid.

Continue reading "ELAD FDM-S3 - OCXO Version with GNSS Antenna"

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