THIS PAGE contains very important corrections and additions to the ORIGINAL SKY-SDR Instruction Manual.

1. Correction on procedures on how to use XIT.
2. Correction on procedures on how to use SPLIT.
3. Tips for improving the TX audio.
4. Additional information about TX Output Power ratings and case heating.
5. Tip for accurate S-Meter reading.
6. Instructions for using Memory Store and Retrieve with the radio.  (forgotten in original manual)

 NOTE:  Version 1.3 of the manual reflects these corrections.

1.  CORRECTION:  How to use "XIT"

The instructions in the manual are wrong.

BEFORE you can turn XIT "ON", you MUST already be in TX mode!

The correct way to enable "XIT" is:

• Press the PTT on the MIC.
• While in TX mode, press the <RIT/XIT> button.

or

• Key a dash in CW.
• QUICKLY press the <RIT/XIT> button.

To turn OFF XIT, simply repeat the process.

NOTE:  "XIT" is displayed on the screen when it is enabled.

The procedure shown in the Instruction Manual for activating XIT is very DANGEROUS.   Instead of turning ON the XIT, it turns OFF the Virtual Intermediate Frequency ("IF") of the receiver.  The result is very bad performance of the receiver.

If you accidently do this (i.e. by pressing <F> + <RIT/XIT>, you will not see the two letters "IF" in the bottom right corner of the screen and you will notice that the receiver performance is terrible.

NO PROBLEM.   EASY SOLUTION:

• Repeat the command:  Press <F> + <RIT/XIT> .

After repeating the command, once again you will see "IF" in the lower right corner of the display and once again the receiver's performance will be OUTSTANDING!

2.  SPLIT  OPERATION

Assuming you are listening to VFO A...

• Press <VFO/PAN> to switch to VFO B.
• Tune it to the frequency you wish to transmit on
• Press <VFO/PAN> to switch back to VFO A.
• Press <RIT/XIT> ("RIT" displays in the top line of the display).
• Immediately press <VFO>
• This switches to VFO B and activates SPLIT.

The frequency immediately shown is the new TX frequency, and the VFO may be tuned anywhere to receive wherever you wish.

In most cases you will tune back to the frequency that VFO A was on before entering SPLIT. 

When you push PTT or key CW, the radio will transmit on the frequency VFO B was on when entering SPLIT Mode.

In addition, if you switch to VFO A, it will transmit and receive on whatever frequency it was on before enabling SPLIT.  You can tune the VFO and move the RX frequency without moving the TX frequency.

Practice this a few times to see how easy it is.

THIS INFORMATION has been added to Version 1.2.2. of the English language Manual.

There is a delay in updating the German language manual because there is not enough space for the text without re-formatting the manual.

3.  IMPROVING TX  AUDIO:

The SKY-SDR is sold  "Ready to Use"  and  "Nothing else to Buy".  It even comes with a microphone.  Other radio manufacturers sell microphones for 80 to 100 Euro or even more.  Obviously our standard mic is not the highest quality in the world!  But it is OK.

In order to get good audio out of the radio in voice modes, you will need to adjust the TX Equalizer and the Speech Processor.  These adjustments will be slightly different from one voice to another.

For my voice, I use the following settings:

• Speech Processor:   about 60  (100 is highest)
• TX Equalizer (10 is highest):
  • LOW:     10
  • MEDIUM:  6
  • HIGH:      6

IMPORTANT:  for most users, the TX SSB Filter should be set in the Maintenance Menu as follows:

• Lower Stopband Frequency:    150 Hz  (default is 350 Hz)
• Upper Stopband Frequency:  3150 Hz  (default is same - 3150 Hz)

Once the parameters are set as above, you should get excellent audio reports.

4.  TIPS  FOR  OUTPUT  POWER

DO NOT EXCEED 5 Watts of OUTPUT POWER

when running digital modes.

THE SKY-SDR DOES GET WARM AND THAT IS INTENTIONAL.

The transmitter's power transistor is bolted to the bottom of the radio's cabinet.  It does not have any further heat-sink.  

When you use the radio continuously, it will get very warm, especially in digital modes.  THIS IS NORMAL . . . and it is OK.

If you exceed the 5 Watt QRP limit when running continuous digital modes, then the radio gets very hot.  

THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR THE RADIO.

DO NOT EXCEED 5 Watts of OUTPUT POWER 

when running digital modes.

The radio was intended to be a QRP radio running 5 Watts of output power - "no matter what."

When running a 5 Watt radio off of lead-acid batteries, sometimes the D.C. voltage drops to 11 volts and the output power drops with it.

The SKY-SDR was designed to deliver 5 Watts even at lower voltages. Of course at higher voltage levels it delivers much more power (nearly 10w).  However it does not have sufficient heat-sink to run at this power level.  

We could add more heat sink but that would increase the weight of the radio. This is a lightweight 5 Watt QRP radio and we have designed it to be the best compromise of power vs. weight.

5.  S-Meter Accuracy

The SKY-SDR has one of the most accurate S-Meters in the industry.

Despite this, we have had many complaints that the S-Meter reads too low.

The reason is simple:  

The SKY-SDR was calibrated with its Pre-Amp "ON".

In order to see the accurate signal strength of the received signal, the Pre-Amp must be switched to "ON".

OR . . . simply read the S-Meter with Pre-Amp "off" and add 3 S-Units to it.

EXAMPLE:  

S-Meter reads S5 . . . so the station's real signal strength is S8.

6.  MEMORY  OPERATION

The original instruction manual did not include instructions for using the 100 Memory locations in the SKY-SDR.  Please see below:

MEMORY

The SKY-SDR has 100 memory locations, labeled from 0 to 99.  Other information such as mode, filter bandwidth, AGC settings, etc. is also stored together with the frequency.

STORING DATA IN MEMORY:

• Tune the VFO to the frequency to be stored and make sure that other settings such as mode, bandwidth, AGC, etc. are as you wish to store them.
• Press  [MEMO]  to switch to Memory Mode.
• Rotate the VFO Knob to the memory slot (0 to 99) in which you wish to store the data.
• Press  [DOWN]  to download the data into the selected memory location.
• Press  [MEMO]  to store the data, exit Memory Mode, and return to normal operation.

RETRIEVING DATA FROM MEMORY:

• Press  [MEMO]  to enter Memory Mode.
• Rotate the VFO Knob to the memory location (0 to 99) that contains the data you wish to retrieve.
• Press  [UP]  to upload the data to the VFO.
• Press  [MEMO]  to exit Memory Mode and return to normal operation.

NOTE:  Each time you power on the radio, the first time you enter Memory Mode, it defaults to memory location 0.

TIP:  Do not store favorite frequencies into memory location 0.  Leave 0 free and use it as a scratch pad.  During normal operations, if you wish to temporarily store something to retrieve a short time later, store it into memory location 0.  That way you don’t have to search for the temporary data.