I received my Hermes card from the first production run in October 2012. This page has
notes about my bring-up process and links to resources I found useful.
I'm very impressed by the listening quality of this receiver. Finally, at last, I get the
type of reception I've always wanted. Everything about this SDR exceeds my expectations
so far. Including the learning curve of the PowerSDR user interface, lol.
Computer
I'm starting with a Dell 9100 computer. Pentium-4 at 3 GHz with 1 GB of RAM.
It's dedicated to SDR with nothing else but a fresh install of 64-bit Windows-7.
Not sure yet if it’s sufficient for this task. It works okay so far but it'
was built in 2005.
I will be exploring what situations overload the CPU. Seems to be running at 60 to 80%
utilization so far. In all likelihood the PC will need replacing, but the machine was
available on short notice and I'm interested to see how well it works.
I’m a big subscriber to the problem-solving approach of starting with the simplest
possible thing that could possibly work, and gain experience to make knowledgeable
decisions for improvement.
Operating Layout
A NASA control station would be fun, I've always wanted one. But NASA does it the
stupid way, with consoles arranged in long horizontal rows. They really should be
stacking them vertically for more efficient use of space. Think how simple it would
be for the boss to pass down instructions from his desk at the highest point in a
ballistic communications protocol. Isn't it strange how they never asked me personally
for my fabulous ideas on this.
My layout goals are:
Table is shared with work computer
Make efficient use of desk space
Dedicated SDR computer
Dual monitor
Easy field-of-view to watch SDR screen while working
Switch antenna for comparison with other rigs
Reserve space for: 10w amp, 100w amp, LDG tuner, rotator
Installing Hercules DJ Control for Hermes SDR
Bring up:
Plug in USB cables.
Insert setup CD and choose "Install DJ Control MP3 e2 Drivers."
From the Start menu, run "Guillemot WebUpdater" to install the latest software.
This software runs from a forked version of PowerSDR identified as
"PowerSDR-UI". This is manually installed by copying distribution files
into an installed FlexRadio PowerSDR folder. The versions must match.
Check version of base PowerSDR by examining file properties of
c:\Program Files\OpenHPSDR\PowerSDR (W5WC)\OpenHPSDR.exe".
Use the Details tab to find Product version e.g. 2.2.3.19.
At the time of writing, Oct 31, 2012 the versions are:
Install "PowerSDR RX1 2.2.3.19" from
OpenHPSDR.org - don't go to FlexRadio
Test it for basic operation.
Download "PowerSDR-UI 0.993 beta package" from
www.dh1tw.de
Unzip the content of PowerSDR-UI (six files) into the PowerSDR application directory,
e.g., "c:\Program Files\OpenHPSDR\PowerSDR (W5WC)"
December 2012 Update
I'm finishing initial bring-up of Hermes + Anan-10 package.
I installed Win-7 Ultimate on the Dell 9100.
Visit openhpsdr.org/download.php and install
"PowerSDR v2.2.5.0 (W5WC) Setup" in place of 2.2.3.19.
The new version came up fine on receiver. But still shows Hermes firmware version
1.8. So, how to update firmware for Hermes SDR?
Following steps in Hermes_User_Manual_V1.13.pdf:
Download the latest Windows firmware installer from
http://openhpsdr.org/download.php,
currently named "HPSDRProgrammer-v1.6-win32.zip"
The firmware installer is just a zip file. Unpack it and run its executable.
Install at least two sets of null modem emulator ports (COM5 and 15, COM6 and 16)
from com0com.
This is a kernel-mode virtual serial port driver for Windows.
My version is 3.0.0.0 on 2013-01-08.
The ReadMe instructions say to run 'bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON' but it produced
"The boot configuration data store could not be opened. Access is denied."
The serial driver will create two port pairs.
One is "Virtual Port Pair 0" with CNCA0 and CNCB0 ports.
One is "Virtual Port Pair 1" with COM3 and COM4.
Other two named "com0com - serial port emulator" on CNCAn and CNCBn ports.