HQCT Module (new thread following HU RDS/RDBS)

[JC-S60]

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

I'll see what I can do, as the adaptors are also coming from Datalex and I don't know what they have in stock.
Shoot me an email so I don't forget please

[klokman]

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.

Like everything else - there's bound to be a few teething probs. I admit the documentation was a little "limited" that came with the beast, but there were plenty of clues/pictures of what would be needed on the Xtronic website, before the unit was released.
For me its been like everything else in the CarPC life, nothing is perfect, but it just takes a bit of perseverance.
Today, after going through struggling to make the right cables, no Audio, lack of tuning with the unit, I finally drove home listening to Radio (intermittent) for the first time in 2 years.
I drive a Volvo XC-90, so have had to remove everything stock as I've built my system, as the whole Stock Audio system was Fibre based.
I know the only thing I've got to solve is the Antenna. I can't get to the original stock antenna, so have jury rigged something just to see if I can get it to work. Now I've got something, I can just refine it.
The HQCT is better than any other Radio I've tried, and believe I've done them all and have a museum of crap to show for it.
All I'd like to see is a little more documentation as to what the indications on HQCT1 mean, what they should be.... Apart from that its gonna work.

[bigbun]

email sent.

[froop]

Sounds like your experience with the HQCT is pretty much like mine klokman. I had better reception driving to work this morning than I had yesterday. Most stations were registering a level of around 140-150, and even my favourite station was listenable (although still crackly at 120-130). The RDS text came though with no garbage characters when the level stayed about 140 or thereabouts.

When I got to the carpark at work (level 6, no roof) I had the best reception yet. Most commercial stations level between 170 and 180, and my fave was at 140-150. All crystal clear. Even the AM pickup, which was rather ordinary on the way in, were getting levels of between 160 and 180.

From this latest test, I am guessing that at perfect reception, the level would read 255, so when I'm only getting a level of 110-120, that means I've only got a 50% signal?

[klokman]

Sounds like your experience with the HQCT is pretty much like mine klokman. I had better reception driving to work this morning than I had yesterday. Most stations were registering a level of around 140-150, and even my favourite station was listenable (although still crackly at 120-130). The RDS text came though with no garbage characters when the level stayed about 140 or thereabouts.

When I got to the carpark at work (level 6, no roof) I had the best reception yet. Most commercial stations level between 170 and 180, and my fave was at 140-150. All crystal clear. Even the AM pickup, which was rather ordinary on the way in, were getting levels of between 160 and 180.

From this latest test, I am guessing that at perfect reception, the level would read 255, so when I'm only getting a level of 110-120, that means I've only got a 50% signal?

When you talk signal level are you looking at the Signal Level on the Left Hand side of the HQCT1 screen?
If so you're streets ahead of me, I'm bouncing between 75 and 120. I can pick up a few local FM stations but nothing national in the UK unless I go and park near the mast!

I have two problems:
1) Can I change the "good signal" threshold, at the moment if I do a search on HQCT1 then I get an apparent signal on virtually every .10 MHz on FM, when the "Niewarde" (I think thats how its spelt that comes in the centre box of HQCT1 when you do a search) is equal to or greater than 30. I know from experience that only signals above 45 are any use, so can I change the filter level? If so how?
2) My biggest problem is that the stock antenna in my car is in my roof space and is opto isolated (good old Volvo sealed unit) so I can't break in and so have to put a new antenna in. Tomorrow I'm going to digout an old Mag Mount Whip I've got, trim it down to around 32" (which should be good for FM and AM) and try again. At least I know its all working as I've got something coming out, now I've got to trim it all in. Fingers Crossed.............

I did find taking the Motorola Connector off and using an SMA to SMA joint gave me a much cleaner signal. It should do (gold to gold) to cheap metal to cheap metal

I'm sure its gonna be worth waiting for

[froop]

When you talk signal level are you looking at the Signal Level on the Left Hand side of the HQCT1 screen?
If so you're streets ahead of me, I'm bouncing between 75 and 120.

Correct. There are two numbers - one in the text box (hex) and one just above it (dec). I am referring to the decimal one.

Can I change the "good signal" threshold, at the moment if I do a search on HQCT1 then I get an apparent signal on virtually every .10 MHz on FM, when the "Niewarde" (I think thats how its spelt that comes in the centre box of HQCT1 when you do a search) is equal to or greater than 30.

I am guessing this is a function of the software, not of the radio. So it should be easy to change. If this is the case, the "niewarde" threshold when using the SEARCH button is a lot lower than if you hit the ">>" button (which I assume should seek until it finds a good signal). Because my SEARCH function hits on frequencies which are little more than static, but the ">>" doesn't usually stop at all.

I know from experience that only signals above 45 are any use, so can I change the filter level? If so how?

Wow. I've found that as a general rule I can make out the sound on a signal up to about 90, but can't really bare to listen to it. Between 90 and 110 its listenable for short periods, then the crackling gets to me. Between 110-130 its okay, and above 130 its crystal clear, but with some "lisping" up until 140 or thereabouts. 140+ is puuuurfect.

Tomorrow I'm going to digout an old Mag Mount Whip I've got, trim it down to around 32" (which should be good for FM and AM) and try again.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a whip (to replace the factory glass mount) and mounting it on the right side of my bullbar (UHF antenna is on the left). Although I think the other thing I want to try first is try to reduce as much cabin interference. I know the Xenarc screws with my GPS, but turning the screen off doesn't improve radio reception. The HQCT is also only about 30cm away from the m/b and p/s, and in a (currently) open plastic kit box. I might try to enclose it in a metal box and see if that helps.

[aeroanderz]

Here's a preview of my C# .NET software...

I've so far focused on the correct interpretation of RDS data, but sending reports is easier and will be along shortly.

Main window:


RDS Details:

[klokman]

Wow AeroAnderz

Looks really good, I'll be the first to ask the eternal question - when can the rest of us get our hands on it? Please

[Ti-ejtsch]

Hello,

I have a lot of problems with the modul. Here are some questions:

1. The module find about 35 stations by click on the search button. Why can I hear only to 1 or 2 stations and these 2 stations with bad signal?

2. Which software version do You use?

3. Is something to change in the software for better radio quality?

4. How to save my own radio stations? When I click on "save" nothing happens when I start the radio. When I start the radio I have always to search for stations.

Thanks
Ti-ejtsch

[froop]

Hi Ti-ejtsch,

1. The module find about 35 stations by click on the search button. Why can I hear only to 1 or 2 stations and these 2 stations with bad signal?

The "Search" button seems to have a very high tolerance for bad signals. I suggest while you are still getting things going to manually type in known good frequencies.

2. Which software version do You use?

Use the HQCT1 software available for download from this site:
http://www.datalex.be/html/downloads.html

3. Is something to change in the software for better radio quality?

Not that I am aware of. The software only controls the radios input/outputs and tuner frequencies. To improve quality, its all about antennas, interference and signal quality.

4. How to save my own radio stations? When I click on "save" nothing happens when I start the radio. When I start the radio I have always to search for stations.

The sample software is just that - a sample of what you can do. The "save" button dumps out the contents of the radio EEPROM (on board memory) to a text file. It's probably not much use to you. To use it for real, you will either need to write or own software, or use a frontend which supports it. I know RoadRunner does. Not sure about the others.

Hope this helps.