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The Andromeda finally arrived!

Once out of the box it sat wrapped in its plastic bag for a couple of hours so it could reach temperature equilibrium. BTW, the package contained a Thunderbolt/USB-C adaptor that provides a couple of USB 3.0 interfaces, a HDMI interface and an Ethernet interface. A nice touch.

I spent some time next to decrapify Windows 10 Home. It always amazes me how much junk they manage to add. They really should have version of Windows for us technical folks. Anyway, with a few updates Windows boots quite fast now. BTW, setting the task bar to auto-hide makes better used of the screen real-estate.

Next Thetis was fired up. Observations: it is Ricky's latest version and the firmware is the latest version with Protocol 1 support.

On the bench I tested receive with a 50 Ohm dummy load directly on the BNC Antenna 1 connector. Noise floor at 500 Hz bandwidth was -120 dBm on HF and -127 dBm on 6m. Next I tested the S-meter calibration and found that the reading was about 10 dB too high. A quick level calibration (which must be done on 10 MHz) fixed the problem.

With the dummy load back in I checked around to birdies. There were a few on HF, but probably nothing that will cause problems for me. Worse were the birdies on 6m - about every 38 kHz. The s-meter reading went as high as -68 dBm!

The first on-the-air testing was going to be SSB. I was a little puzzled by the lack any VOX and compression settings, but I finally re-programmed the C-Tune button to bring up a mode-dependent form. This was the ticket and VOX, compression, microphone gain and Dexpander. In CW it gives you access to keyer settings,speed and APF.

The initial testing on the air using SSB went very well. Much more to be done.

A word of warning to those contemplating buying this radio: It is a very complex system to set up and it can be intimidating. I was fortunate in having used an Anan-7000 DLE for a couple of years, so the interface was familiar to me. Make sure to read the manual and keep it handy.

Please share your first impressions with this radio.

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

va7qi wrote:On the bench I tested receive with a 50 Ohm dummy load directly on the BNC Antenna 1 connector. Noise floor at 500 Hz bandwidth was -120 dBm on HF and -127 dBm on 6m.

Was this before or after S-meter correction? Signal or Sig Avg mode on the S-meter?

On my 8000, with an S-meter calibrated against a reliable external reference, noise floor into a dummy load in a 500Hz bandwidth on the S-meter is -124dBm (Signal), -130dBm (Sig Avg).

The first on-the-air testing was going to be SSB. I was a little puzzled by the lack any VOX and compression settings, but I finally re-programmed the C-Tune button to bring up a mode-dependent form. This was the ticket and VOX, compression, microphone gain and Dexpander. In CW it gives you access to keyer settings,speed and APF.

There is no lack of VOX and compression settings. With Thetis in Andromeda UI mode, use the Quick Mode (leftmost) button, hit it 3 times to access the TX menu, then select Mode Settings Form. However everyone is certainly free to reprogram buttons both hard and soft to their preferences.

A word of warning to those contemplating buying this radio: It is a very complex system to set up and it can be intimidating. I was fortunate in having used an Anan-7000 DLE for a couple of years, so the interface was familiar to me. Make sure to read the manual and keep it handy.

The Andromeda is a 7000DLE, merely one with a built-in PC and some custom knobs and buttons attached. More importantly, Andromeda is Thetis. Anyone who uses Thetis, regardless of the hardware they are using it with, need only learn to use the Andromeda UI mode of Thetis. And, if there is ever a problem, one can simply click the Expand menu button, go back to normal Thetis mode, and whip out the keyboard and mouse.

I'm assuming that you have a keyboard and mouse provisioned as well?

Hi Scott,

The measurements were after the calibration of the S-meter. I think my stand-alone 7000 DLE shows -124 dBm, but it is a while since I checked it out. BTW, I tried Dither and Random and neither seemed to make any difference.

I did find the button for the TX form and have been using it a lot lately to optimize my TX audio. Very nice, but a second click should remove the form, IMHO. It lingers around for longer than necessary.

A mouse is now used regularly, but I only needed the keyboard for the initial setup of Windows and to program the CW memories.

Compared to the PiController the button selection is a major improvement and I only changed the Ctune button since I do not use it. However, I wish I could change the sensitivity of the VFO dial. It is WAY too lively and especially so if my hands shake a little.

The Multi dial is a nice touch. You click on it and select your preferred function, click again and now the dial will control whatever you selected.

Could we create an Andromeda section directly under hardware? It may be useful for a lot of people. I actually had to use the search function for my own posting.

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

w-u-2-o wrote:.
.
.Anyone who uses Thetis, regardless of the hardware they are using it with, need only learn to use the Andromeda UI mode of Thetis. And, if there is ever a problem, one can simply click the Expand menu button, go back to normal Thetis mode, and whip out the keyboard and mouse...

Where can I find the Andromeda UI mode? I'm sure I'm just an idiot but I've been using Thetis for almost 3 years and I've never noticed an Andromeda mode.

Mark

va7qi wrote:Hi Scott,

The measurements were after the calibration of the S-meter. I think my stand-alone 7000 DLE shows -124 dBm, but it is a while since I checked it out. BTW, I tried Dither and Random and neither seemed to make any difference.

And they won't make a visible difference on Orion MKII and later hardware. On earlier hardware you might see a dB or two degradation in noise floor. Regardless you should always leave them turn on. Read more about that here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2736&p=5026

A mouse is now used regularly...

Not sure that should be allowed because Andromeda is supposed to be a knobified radio

Could we create an Andromeda section directly under hardware? It may be useful for a lot of people.

I have strongly resisted creating hardware model specific forums. The primary reasons for this are:

1. 99% of all questions are associated with the client software, and that client software is common to ALL Apache hardware, from bare boards to the latest models.

2. Perhaps 80% of all hardware is also common. There is little difference between the Hermes and the Orion MKIII.

If we had hardware model specific sub-forums then Thetis questions would be spread out over ten or so sub-forums and we'd see the same questions over and over again, duplicated across all of those forums.

I actually had to use the search function for my own posting.

You had to search for your own posting because I moved it and you didn't use the "Active topics" link. This can be found under the "hamburger" menu at the top left of every page. I strongly recommend everyone go to the Active Topics page first (make it a shortcut) when coming to the forum website.

You have motivated me to create an Apache-specific hardware sub-forum in order to break Apache hardware questions out of the "Everything Else" sub-forum. Since your initial post is very hardware-centric I will move it again to the new sub-forum. But that sub-forum is experimental and we'll see how it goes. If people misuse it and it becomes hard to curate I'll probably remove it.

In the meantime we are already getting thread drift onto the software side. For discussions of the Andromeda-specific UI features in Thetis starting an Andromeda topic in the Thetis forum is what I would recommend.

K1LSB wrote: Where can I find the Andromeda UI mode? I'm sure I'm just an idiot but I've been using Thetis for almost 3 years and I've never noticed an Andromeda mode.

Click the "Collapse" menu button. Then go to the "Display Controls" menu and activate both Andromeda options. You can use a touch screen, mouse, or any pointing device to use the softkeys at the bottom and the controls at the top.

Please post further questions about the Andromeda UI functions of Thetis in the main Thetis forum.

va7qi wrote:The Andromeda finally arrived!

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

Erik, could you be so kind and make HQ images of Andromeda from all sides Interior could be highly appreciated

Thetis was fired up. Observations: it is Ricky's latest version and the firmware is the latest version with Protocol 1 support.

I have a friend with a new Andromeda his has a version 2.8.0.0 and at this point the radio useless .

1 When radio is keyed ( foot peddle ) there is a delay ? from the back ptt in
2 The audio has a reverb sound and and sound like its in am mode
I have a 200 d so were using my setting to get close

Erik i have not heard you on it would be nice to hear yours

VE7ZJ
3710

lauchlin wrote: I have a friend with a new Andromeda his has a version 2.8.0.0 and at this point the radio useless .

1 When radio is keyed ( foot peddle ) there is a delay ? from the back ptt in
2 The audio has a reverb sound and and sound like its in am mode
I have a 200 d so were using my setting to get close

Your friend should be running 2.9.0.6.

This sounds more like a combination of operator error and RFI.

It's unlikely this has anything to do specifically with Andromeda. An Andromeda is nothing more than a gussied up 7000.

Is your friend a member of this forum? If not, then perhaps you should encourage him to get on here so people can help get him sorted out.

He is new to anan so you could be correct ..Going to get him to update the software and see what that does to start with .......

Aivars,

My Andromeda is installed too well into my shack, so I can't get pictures on it, but it looks like this on the front:

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4417

The back is exactly like the picture in the manual the Apache site.

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

I found a strange behaviour today. When I tried diversity only the outer rotary control worked. After that none of the buttons or any of the other rotary controls worked. I had to close Thetis and restart it in order to get control back.

This is an interesting one since it could be either Thetis, firmware or the Andromeda control. Will try and investigate further.

Has anyone else experienced any issues with Andromeda?

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

That would be a Thetis Andromeda UI problem, or a problem with the Andromeda front panel.

Certainly it's worked in the past! Probably the Andromeda UI in Thetis. I don't have an Andromeda but I do have some of the bits so I can try to reproduce but may take a while.

It would help if you could open the diversity window and send a screenshot; it may well be sensitive to the RX settings in the UI.

To exclude the front panel hardware, you could reassign that control to a different function and see if the control itself works.

also what version of Thetis are you using please?

Hi Laurence,

Thetis is 2.9.0.6 (4/23/22) and firmware is 2.1.26 (protocol 2). It should be the latest AFIK.

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

More on this: When the DIV button is pushed, LED2 is not lit. I checked the configuration of controls, buttons, LEDs and menus. All OK
I loaded the initial (from factory) database and it reacted the same way..

The DIV window shows DIV on when the button is first pushed and it reacts correctly to moving the outer control, but after moving the small control all buttons and other panel controls are disabled.

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

OK, I've found my andromeda PCB and I can reproduce the problem.

Interestingly, I'd also fixed it but somehow the change that fixes it hasn't been put back into the main code base.

I don't know who "owns" the Thetis source at the moment. I'll have to find out how to get this back into an established build.


As a workaround: the problem only occurs if you move the adjustable amplitude beyond the outer circle. You can reduce amplitude without a problem. If you do make it too large, then reduce the amplitude using the up/down buttons and the panel will work again.

Hi Laurence,

I think the source code was published somewhere by Ricky, but someone posted and update with new meter display, so perhaps there is some development activity again.

OK on the work-around. I'll try that.

In the meantime a correction to my last posting: LED2 should not be on. LED4 lights up correctly when DIV is pushed. I couldn't see it from my operating position.

I also checked the Encoder settings. The settings have a an option for Default, RX1 or RX2 only. The current setting for the DIV encoders is "Default". I wonder if it should be RX1?

73 de va7qi, ....Erik.

The latest release is here: https://github.com/ramdor/Thetis-2.9.0/release

Cheers, ....Erik.

A better, more specific, link: https://github.com/ramdor/Thetis-2.9.0/releases/tag/v2.9.0.6

I'd found the code, and I can rebuild it. I'm not sure how to create the .msi installer file (that didn't used to be a straightforward process) . I've emailed Richie and Doug to ask what the process now is to get my changes adopted into the code base. It might be that I can make a git clone, make a branch then send a "pull request" but I need to find that out!

I would like to help, but I'm trapped in the hospital. But I think Laurence can do it easily.

OK, I've cloned Richie's github repository.... His last public release was 2.9.0.6. There are several commits to the repository since then, including one that puts in the fixes for Andromeda diversity controls (it looks like I had sent him the code for that; it is commented as for release in 2.9.0.7). BUT there are incomplete changes to add the analogue multimeters and they seem to be on top of most of the rest of the window at the moment. So until that's resolved, I don't think I can do anything else!

laurencebarker wrote:So until that's resolved, I don't think I can do anything else!

Of course you can do something, Laurence, don't be silly. You could take the existing 2.9.0.6, add the necessary changes, and publish it on your own Git repo. There are no "rules" preventing this. This is open source. And even though you might not be conversant with making an installer that is something other people can do.

However...

It seems this problem may already be solved. If the fixes are already in the 2.9.0.7 pre-release then Sigi has already helped: https://community.apache-labs.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4365&p=22448#p22446

@va7qi - Erik, you should try Sigi's build and see if it fixes your problem.

Sigi: very sorry to read of your medical difficulties.

Scott

It's not a permissions problem, it's a knowledge one!

The source code that I have is 2.9.0.6 + 12 further commits. I don't know how to use git to undo those 12 commits. Otherwise yes I could make a change. I've never claimed to be a programmer.

Well, with luck Sigi's version will work.

Thanks Laurence and Scott. I will try Sigi's version. ....Erik.

P.S. Best wishes for a speedy recovery Sigi.

I'm happy to report that the Diversity controls on Andromeda works fine with the latest beta version (Sigi) of Thetis.

73 and Enjoyable Holidays to all de va7qi, ....Erik.

Andromeda folks: I've heard that the Andromedas are being delivered with a USB-C hub/adapter that includes an HDMI port. Is anyone using that HDMI port with their Andromeda? If so, did you have any problem getting it to work?