ham analyzer

Version 2.76 Spectrum Analyzer11-02

2000-2002 By Christopher [email protected]

http://www.hamalyzer.com/

Brief description:

HamAlyzer is a fast, single-channel FFT-based audio spectrum analyzer that has been customized for use by HAM radio enthusiasts.

Whats New in version 2.7:

Dynamic Pulldown Menus: When using the ControlStrip, pull-down menus allow full control over the Overlay Window. If your comfortable with the Overlay window, then the menus will be a piece of cake to navigate. You also get a pull-down menu for the options window button. This is a very handy feature, because it allows you to control nearly every aspect of the program from the ControlStrip!Added Sound Formats: Some hams had contacted me because they have older sound cards that can only handle 8-bit resolution. HamAlyzers input was fixed at 16-bit, so they were out of luck. You can now select the sampling resolution you want, from 8- to 24-bit (24-bit resolution is only available on very high-end sound cards) . Also, I added a sampling frequency, 8192 Hz. This is nice because it gives you a viewable frequency region of 0 Hz to about 4 kHz, which is perfect for the Ham frequency range. It also reduces file sizes when recording to wavefiles.Position Box: The Position Box is a useful feature, but it has only been available when your using the larger ControlBar to control HamAlyzer. Now, when using the ControlStrip, and when you left-click on the plot window, a Position Box appears showing frequency and amplitude info. You can close the window manually, or select close position box automatically in the options pull-down menu, and it will close when your done clicking on the plot window.As always, the best way to see whats new is to run the program! Its hard to explain what some features do and why they are cool, and the best way to learn about what something does is to use it!


Amplitude Range Slider: You can now slide the windows along the amplitude axis, like you could along the frequency axis. A second slider provides this function. When the amplitude range is scaled all the way out (0-100dB), this slider disappears, since its not needed.Plot window enhancements: There are now sliders located in the lower left hand corner of the plot window, so you can adjust the height and width of the plot window without taking your eyes off the action. Also, theres a gripper in the lower left hand corner that you can use to resize the plot window with.ControlStrip: Gone is the normal mode, where the controls are attached to the plot window. The floating toolbar is now standard, and a new mode has been added, called the ControlStrip. Its a very small strip of buttons, which provides access to almost all of the control windows functions, but in a very compact size. The only controls not there are the sliders (which are now on the plot window too, anyway), and the window type, fft size, and sample rate boxes.Sticky forms: The control bar isnt attached to the plot window anymore, but now, if you drag it close enough, it will stick to it, so that when you drag the plot window around, the control window goes with it. This is the case for the ControlStrip, and the options and overlay windows too.Overlay enhancements: You click the show button to overlay a spectrum plot onto the plot window, and now it stays there, even if you hit the start button. To remove the overlay plot, just click the show button again. It now works like SpectraPLUSs overlay feature.


Record to Wavefile: In the general options window, you can now select whether you want to analyze the data coming in from your sound card, or record it directly to disk as a wavefile. If you choose record, no analysis will take place, but you can always drop the wavefile onto HamAlyzer later to analyze it.Resize bug fixed: Fixed a small but irritating bug where when you resized the plot window, the x axis slider would reset to zero. Not that big a deal, but sometimes when you get it just where you want it, its very annoying to have to redo it everytime. Also, some hams have been asking for the ability to get a particular frequency range in the plot window. This bug fix will help with that. Now, you can slide the x axis slider so that the lower bound of the plot is where you want it, and then adjust the width of the window so the upper bound is where you want that.


Save and load spectrum data files: From the overlay window, you can save spectrum data as files onto your computers hard disk. These files can be loaded back into an overlay slot at any time. Files are saved using the extension .fft, to the default capture directory.New registration system: Previously, I had to compile a new version of the program for each registered user and send it to them as an email attachment. This way their name and call sign were compiled right in the program. Now, I just send you a registration key by email, and then the evaluation version becomes your registered version. This will make upgrades a snap. Once your registered, all you do is go to the website and download and install the new version at your leisure, and your done.


Resizable plot window: You can now resize the plot window to just about any size you like. This was really a big job, which is why it's the only feature implemented in this update.:)


Log frequency scale: There is now a log frequency scale option, selectable on the general page in the options window.

Save to the png image format: Png is really the ideal format for saving HamAlyzers plots. Its a lossless compression (which means png images look better than the same image as a jpg), and the same plot is smaller as a png than as a jpg. Png is also supported by all major web browsers and image viewers, so there will be no problem viewing them.

If you are not familiar with the png image format, it is similar to gif. The difference is that there are all kinds of copyright issues with gif, making it essentially impossible to implement without infringing upon the copyrights of Unisys Corp., who holds the patent for the lzh compression scheme, which is used by the gif format. Png was developed to be a royalty-free, open-source replacement for gif.

Improved tooltips: Tooltips are the textboxes that pop up when the mouse is held over a control. You can select verbose help text, and the tooltips will display a brief description of the functionality of each control.

Smoother X-axis scrolling: When you are scrolling along the frequency axis, it is now much smoother. This has been accomplished without any performance degradation.


Overlay: The most important new feature in version 2.1 is the ability to overlay saved traces back onto the plot window. You can save up to 4 different traces, and each can be overlayed independently. Plot colors can be specified for each overlay. This feature allows you to easily compare spectra on the same plot. A brief tutorial on how to use the overlay feature is included.

Multiple plot markers: Also new in version 2.1 is the ability to add two plot markers simultaneously. You could only add one at a time previously. Right click the plot window, and a marker is drawn at that frequency. The frequency and amplitude information are written in the upper right hand corner of the plot window. Right click again, and a second marker is drawn, each marker is numbered 1 or 2, and the frequencies of each is displayed. No amplitude information is written to the plot window when there are two markers present. I tried it, but it started looking like an msnbc news broadcast; very busy.

Plot-capture enhancements: You can now save the fft-data to the windows clipboard. Data are tab-delimited, and can easily be pasted into a text file or spreadsheet file. You can now capture plot images using specific filenames. Also, the saved plots can be time/date stamped.

Color enhancements: The controls now adhere to windows color schemes. This is important particularly if poor visibility forces you to use a high-contrast scheme. Also, the background of the plot window can now be made either white or black.

Numerous enhancements and bug-fixes: Lets face it. All software is a work in progress. Many of the bugs reported by users have been addressed in the new version. Some notable ones include screen font/redraw problems, installation problems and the notorious runtime error 5 at startup. In fact, all known bugs have been squashed.

Other features:

3 Modes of analysis (actually 4): Freerun, in which the (almost) instantaneous FFT plot is displayed. Peak, in which the maximum value of each fft bin is displayed.

Average: There are two. The user can select which one to display in the options window.Long Term: in which the time-averaged plot is displayed. When long term averaging is selected, the number of slices which make up the average is displayed in the upper right hand corner of the plot.Rolling: in which a rolling-windowed average is displayed. You can select how many slices you want to make up the average in the options window, from between 3 and 20.

User selectable FFT window size (1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, & 32768) & sampling rate(22050, 32768 (if supported), & 44100). Varying combinations yield various levels of frequency resolution, from bin spacing of 43 Hz (0Hz to 22kHz displayed on screen) down to bin spacing of about 1.35 Hz. When zoomed, the 'X Range' slider can be used to move to the desired frequency region.

Static wavefile analysis. Either drop a wavefile (or several wavefiles) onto the plot area for long term averaging of multiple files, or click the file button, and select a single wavefile you would like to analyze. The file should be in Windows PCM format, and have a valid RIFF header, 16-bit resolution, and a sampling frequency of either 22050, 32768, or 44100 samples per second. If the wavefile is in stereo, you will be prompted to select which channel to analyze.

Real-time input via a windows-compatible sound card. It should be autodetected by HamAlyzer.

Use HamAlyzer in conjunction with the windows mixer control to select which input HamAlyzer will use. Make sure the desired input (CD, Mic, Wavefile, etc.) is not muted and that the level is appropriate, and HamAlyzer should be able to 'see' it.

Capture plot to either the clipboard, a jpeg, or a bitmap file. Files are named: 'File001.bmp' etc.. Each jpeg is between 11k and 15k, and each bitmap is about 450k in size. The save-to directory can be specified in the options window.

Mouse position. When the mouse is dragged over the plot, the cursor becomes a crosshair. Hold the left mouse button down, and both the frequency, and amplitudes for the available plots that correspond to the cursor position will be displayed in the 'position' box. Click the right mouse button to draw a vertical marker line at the frequency position of the cursor, and the frequency and amplitude(s) will appear on the plot. Left-click anywhere on the plot to clear the marker.

Windowing: Hanning, Hamming, Boxcar (rectangle), Bartlett (triangle), Blackman, Harris-Nuttall, Gaussian, and Poisson windows are available.

Save settings: In the options window, check 'save settings' to have all of HamAlyzer's settings saved, to be reinstated the next time the program is run. Just about everything is saved, including window position. The only setting that is not saved is x-range slider position.

Amplitude scaling. The user can scale the Y-axis from a 100 dB range to a 20 dB range. The scale is in relative dBv.

Performance feedback. For static wavefile analysis, or whenever Long Term Average Mode is selected, the number of slices/sec is given in the lower left hand corner.

Warranty:

No warranty is expressed or implied. Please use HamAlyzer at your own risk.

Distribution:

Since this is a registered version of the program, please do not distribute it to others. However, you are free to install it on as many machines as you need for your own personal use.

Credits:

Tireless beta testing, advice, and support have been provided by Dick Turske, Tom Morton, and Sam Kennedy. Please see the HAM page on hamalyzer.com for details.

Murphy McCauly is responsible for the VB implementation of the FFT. HamAlyzer started out as his DeethSA. Thanks a lot, Murphy.http://www.fullspectrum.com/deeth/

Murphy, in turn, borrowed from Don Cross's C++ and Pascal FFT code. http://www.intersrv.com/~dcross/fft.html

The installer program is called Install Maker, a very high-quality, reasonably price program written by the Click Team, in France. If you write and distribute software, you owe it to yourself to check this program out. http://www.clickteam.com/

The high-quality slider control, progress bar and up/down control are from the Common Controls Replacement Project, CCRP.http://www.mvps.org/ccrp

The copy-to-clipboard feature and tab control is by Steve McMahon athttp://www.vbaccelerator.com

The save to png feature was borrowed from a great example project by Scott Seligman, athttp://www.scottandmichelle.net/scott/code/index2.mv?codenum=092

The jpeg technology was provided as a free dll by the DI project. This is a great open source project, check them out.http://www.disoft.com/

The color palette control is a drop-in active x control written by Eduardo A. Morcillo. The control and source are available at:http://www.domaindlx.com/e_morcillo/

The stay on top feature is from a VB How-To book's companion cd. I don't remember which book, but the comments say that author of the code is Bob Reselman, and the book publisher is MacMillan.

Version History:

1.0First version. Basically Murphy McCauly's DeethSA 1.0 with long term averaging.1.1Bumped up the sampling rate to 22k, and optimized some code. Lots of cleanup, added stay on top.1.2 X-axis labels. Windowing; working, but poorly implemented. Copy-to-clipboard.1.3Added separate options dialog, got clipboard copy to work right, also bitmaps. Y axis labels.1.4Finally, correct windowing. Tucker Davis interface. X and Y cursor coordinates.1.5Static wavefile analysis, all but last chunk. Now mouseover gives actual plot values. Adjustable FFT window size. Performance feedback.1.6X-axis sliding. Optimized plotting. Cleaned up static analysis. Adjustable sampling rate.1.7Drag'n'drop for multiple files. Now does last chunk in wavefiles. Log Y axis, and correct amplitude scaling. Added some windows.1.8First release version. All graphics are now handled by the API. Smoove-scrollin' X axis, background grid. Added color options, Plot marker. Now ocx-free! Uses a homemade progress bar, and a borrowed slider.2.0The long-awaited name change. Added a peak mode and a rolling average mode. Tweaked the interface just a bit, and cleaned up some minor bugs. Added an icon. Added a save options feature, save to jpg, save-to folder browser, and SpaceSaver mode. Started hamalyzer.com. Added installer, switched to ccrp ocx's for the user controls.2.1Overlay feature, multiple plot markers, capture time stamp and file naming. Black background, windows color scheme compliant, nagging screen font size problem finally gone. Other bug fixes, including the runtime error 5.2.2Save to png, log frequency axis, smooth updating on frequency axis scrolling, fancy tooltips.2.3Resizable plot window, cpu priority option.2.4Savenload spectrum plots from the overlay window, new registration system.2.5Couple of bug fixes, save to wave.--

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