HQCT Module (new thread following HU RDS/RDBS)

[aeroanderz]

A little bit off topic but if anybody knows about a .Net component to use for the HQCT I'd appreciate it.

I'm working on mine at the moment. Havent started with the sending of commands yet though.

I don't want to release the source at this early stage though.. cause y'all just think I'm a poor excuse for a coder.. But I'm working full time, building my own house from scratch AND doing the coding when I have a spare hour now and then...

[froop]

Well today was a landmark day for me. The first day in over a year that I've driven home from work listening to the radio.
Reception is mostly okay, but there are definately improvements possible. My factory antenna is a flat glass mount (looks like a demister) in the drivers side rear window section (4wd wagon). It gave great reception with a HU.

When I got home I plugged in a 6dB gain UHF CB antenna, (Not made for FM, but in the past it has proven itself to improve FM reception) and there is a marked improvement over the factory antenna, although still not 100%.

There seems to be some inconsistency with the level that USBProject.exe shows and the actual audio quality. With the factory antenna, most strong stations give a level of 100-120. With the other antenna, the strongest stations get up to 140.

But some stations sound clear at a level of 90-100, whereas others are very very staticcy at 110-120.

The stations that have RDS, even if the sound is very clear, the RDS text is generally full of garbage characters.

[Griff1]

Is any 1 happy with HQCT at the moment?
I hate to lower the tone for those who have 1 but i'm starting to wonder what the point of this is,it seems to have more problems than the old Fm solutions.
I wish you all the best of luck but to me THIS device at THIS time is not worth the wait or the purchase price.

[froop]

I wouldn't quite say that. It is leagues ahead of all the options that I have tried over the past 12 months - Radioshark, Hauppage, WinFast. The others didn't even come close to a listenable reception. The HQCT is definately listenable, and software-wise much less hassle than any of the other options I've tried.

It's about 75% for me at the moment, whereas the others were all sitting around the 5% - 10% mark.

[JC-S60]

Most of the problems are related to:

- Cable questions and problems
We'll improve this by having more options on antenna adapters, USB cables and audio cables (and maybe even an external version).

- Software
This is coming along, and improves every day. RoadRunner has nice integration already.

- Shipping
We'll use another company next time round, as some people have been waiting for too long before receiving their module.

Joachim

Is any 1 happy with HQCT at the moment?
I hate to lower the tone for those who have 1 but i'm starting to wonder what the point of this is,it seems to have more problems than the old Fm solutions.
I wish you all the best of luck but to me THIS device at THIS time is not worth the wait or the purchase price.

[bigbun]

joa - is there any chance i can buy an extra adaptor cable from you please. I dont mind paying any high postage costs and waiting a while for it as its not going in my car till next month but this would give me peace of mind making sure i do not have a problem with the cable as ive allready messed about enough with getting the parts to make a cable and im still not 100% sure.

will this be possible for me? thx

[TheLlama]

Good news everyone!

Today I was able to send a control string to the radio in Linux -- and the radio actually received it. For some reason I can only send one string then I have to reboot, but it is probably some strange bug on my side.

I expect to have rudimentary Linux support for the radio by the end of the week.

[ingensin]

How do I connect the HQCT to my motherboard?
I can't find a usb cable that is "head to head".
Can some one show my what I need?

[aeroanderz]

I expect to have rudimentary Linux support for the radio by the end of the week.

Good work!...

[klokman]

How do I connect the HQCT to my motherboard?
I can't find a usb cable that is "head to head".
Can some one show my what I need?

Ingesin
Link at http://www.frontx.com/store/order_a.html
about halfway down the page