Dxtra's RX-340 Shortwave Radio Receiver Page

Dxtra Is A Ten-Tec Authorized Value Added Reseller For the Ten-Tec RX-340

Our RX-340 driver also supports the Ten-Tec RX-331. Our RX-340/RX-331 software is also sold seperately in our store.

You get the latest version of our software with any radio purchase - version 4.0 now with ILG, and HFCC database support!

Customer Praise for WS 4.5 / RX-340 / RX-331

"I was able to download the EiBi shortwave database & it integrated into the DXtra software in a click! My hat's off to Bob/DXtra, NICE JOB of integration. The WS 4.0 software/ILG Database / RX340 work as one. I will have to spend more time to utilize all the goodies. The Frequency look-up tables work like a charm. Again, Thank You DXtra." Sid Leben KC2EE

Your RX-340 Is Shipped Directly From the Ten-Tec Factory

Your RX-340 Purchase Is Protected By The Standard Ten-Tec Warranty

For Pulling In Tough DX Signals, There Is No Equal To This Mil Spec Radio

The Ten-Tec RX-340 ultra performance shortwave receiver with sapphire blue display

Dxtra (deeXtra) is proud to be a "value added" re-seller for the Ten-Tec RX-340. Now, Dxtra offers you "one-stop" shopping for your RX-340, bundled with the latest version of our powerful control software - WorldStation™ 4.5 - heavily customized for the RX-340. If you are not already familiar with the RX-340, it is one of the highest performance shortwave receivers ever made available to the general public. It is a true "prosumer" high-end receiver.

As you can see from the below screenshot below, a great deal of customization went into the WS 4.5 interface to support the unique features of the RX-340. And we added a new mode to support the RX-340 DRM settings! One size does NOT fit all at Dxtra - we customize each driver and GUI (Graphical User Interface) to its specific radio. That costs us more to develop - but the results speak for themselves in daily use. Available from our Store for only $4,475.00. Again our deal includes free shipping, and of course our bundled software.

We know this is an important purchase. If you have any questions, please us at 1-516-765-2378. Please note that your order placed with Dxtra is routed directly to the Ten-Tec factory. Your brand-new RX-340 is shipped directly from the factory and is of course under the full Ten-Tec factory warranty.

WS 3.1 / RX-340 Showing HyperScan scanning multiple bands simultaneously!

The RX-340 Being Driven By Our Software - Note the Customized GUI controls

Ten-Tec has outlined a spec for using the RX-340 to receive DRM transmissions and we have implemented that spec. Additional DRM software is required to decode the DRM transmission. See the User Guide for details. WS 4.5 / RX-340 is also sold separately. If you purchase your RX-340 through us, you receive a substantial discount on your software.

What the amazing "specs" of the RX-340 don't tell you is that is has tremendous PC control capability. This is as you would expect given the crucial role this radio plays in Government work.

WS 4.5 / RX-340 supports all major features of the RX-340 and has a comprehensive collection of customized GUI controls (see the GUI screen shot). All WS 4.0 features including HyperScanTM and Clustering are available to the RX-340 customer. The powerful RX-340 with its amazing control suite is not the easiest radio to manually control. WS 4.5 / RX-340 gives you effortless control over this "king of radios".

The performance level of receivers in this class is possible only through extensive use of Digital Signal Processing. These designs utilize fewer analog circuits than traditional receivers. Powerful, specialized DSP microprocessors replace many of the discrete circuits with intensive software containing over 60,000 lines of code. High dynamic range analog stages provide 1st , 2nd and 3rd I.F.s (and 80 dB of AGC) where signals then pass through analog to digital converters. Everything else is accomplished in DSP including all mode detection, I.F. filters, AGC (remaining 40 dB), adjustable BFO, passband tuning and noise blanker. An astounding 57 I.F. bandwidths from 100 Hz to 16 kHz are included. All filters have shape factor of 1.5:1 or better (6 to 60 dB). USB, LSB, ISB, CW, AM, Synchronous AM and FM are built-in. Four AGC modes are provided. Conventional Fast, Medium and Slow modes are familiar but the "Programmable" mode is groundbreaking. User may build their own personal AGC characteristic by selecting attack, hang and decay rates. Manual control from front panel is also adjustable over 120 dB range. A tunable notch filter rejects unwanted signals in the passband. Receiver front end incorporates built-in preselector with eight ½ octave bandpass filters. Switchable 10 dB preamp and 15 dB attenuator are also provided. Signal strength meter is calibrated in both s-units and dBm.

Ten-Tec has been supplier of commercial/government grade receivers for some years now. Our RX-331 was previously available only in a "black box" version for remote control. That model is used in government/military applications worldwide where multiple units run 24 hours/ 7 days a week without interruption. RX-340 uses these field proven circuits (the PC boards are identical) brought together in a new cabinet with a comprehensive front panel. This provides conventional operation from the panel while retaining all of the remote control aspects of its’ predecessor. A built-in multi-drop RS-232 interface permits remote operation at baud rates from 75 to 38,400. Accessed from rear panel DB-25 connector, the interface can be configured for single or multiple receiver applications. The complete command language is published in the manual so enterprising users can write their own remote control software. RX-340 also includes Built-in Test or "BITE". This self-test capability will identify virtually all faults to the board level.

WS 4.5 Brings Shortwave Listening to a Whole New Level of Power and Ease of Use - Please see out YouTubes videos on the main web page.

If you are still manually tuning your old shortwave radio, read on to see what you are missing.

WorldStation™ 4.5 Radio Control Software Specs

Software Installation, Supported Operating Systems and Networking	WorldStation™ is a networked client server application. No user configuration is required to run the application on a stand-alone PC. The software makes use of the built-in TCP/IP loopback network interface built into the PC's operating system to communicate between the client and the server. The software is optimized for Windows 7, Vista and XP, since the vast majority of customers now utilize those operating systems. The WorldStationTM client can connect to the WS server remotely over a TCP/IP LAN connection by opening a DOS window any typing the client program name followed by the IP address of the server . There is built-in support for both iTunes and K\Skype audio feeds. WorldStationTM is shipped as an email attachment zip file with all required files and run time libraries. There are no external "run time" modules (such as Java) that need to be downloaded and installed. Included license "key" files must be placed into the WS directory for the software to operate. Other than that, no end-user configuration EXCEPT the serial port of the radio may need to be configured. The default serial port is COM1 - this can be easily changed by editing the global "dxconfig.txt" configuration file. The WS server opens a DOS console window that prints out various start up and connection messages. When the client GUI is shut down (by clicking the Power button), the server can be left running waiting for new connections. In this mode (no client connected) it uses practically no computer resources.
Tuning	Many tuning modes are supported including direct keyboard entry. All tables are "point and click" to set frequency and mode. There are upper and lower MAIN tuning buttons on the GUI. Also included are FINE TUNING buttons and a fine tuning slider. Fine Tuning automatically adjusts the step size below the main tuning step size. Integrated band slider allows for quick drag tuning within a band. Each Scan Panel supports point and click tuning and has mini-tuning buttons. Multiple tuning rates are supported in the "Tuning Rates" control including 9 kHz for European AM broadcasting.
Bandwidth Selection	Bandwidth selection is automatically linked to the selected mode. All bandwidth defaults settings are user configurable via the global text config file. All bandwidths for every radio are supported. The Orion driver supports 900 bandwidths in a step size of 10Hz.
GUI Controls	Customized GUI (Graphical User Interface) controls were created for each supported radio. The Orion driver adds sophisticated linked controls between the MAIN and SUB receiver drivers and GUI's. This makes possible (for example) support for "one-button" SPLIT operation. The Powermate USB tuning knob is supported - Dxtra is a dealer (see the Store).
Supported Radios	Drivers are currently shipping for the Ten-Tec RX-320D, RX-340, RX-350D, Orion ham transceiver, Drake R8A , R8B and the Japan Radio 535D
Frequency Offsets (RX-320D)	The RX-320D driver supports four (4) sets of frequency offsets for: USB, LSB, SYNC-U, and SYNC-L respectively. The Frequency Offset algorithm takes 3 user generated offset points and computes a linear regression equation to adjust the offset frequency for any intermediate frequency within the supported frequency range of the radio. This method produces a very accurate offset - close to 1 Hz. This makes synthetic SYNC mode effective. The RX-320D has no factory built-in support for SYNC reception such as you will find in the RX-340 and RX-350D. The SYNC modes have a wider bandwidth than pure LSB or USB. (See Bandwidth). All frequency offset points are in Hz.
Modes	Mode refers to the demodulation modes supported by a given radio. Examples are AM, USB LSB etc. The RX-340 supports specialized modes such as ISB and DRM and they are supported. All demodulation modes for every radio are supported (see the respective user guides). The RX-320D driver adds synthetic upper and lower SYNC modes and a DRM mode for audio routing. (See Frequency Offset). Simulated SYNC allows for the automatic tuning of the sidebands of an AM signal for greater clarity and resistance to fading. (See Frequency Offset)
Band Table	Every copy of WorldStationTM ships with an integrated Band Table. Common shortwave, utility and ham bands within the HF Spectrum are included. CLicking on a Band Table row sets up the mode, tuning step size, upper and lower band frequencies and bandwidth (See Bandwidth). There is a Scan button on the Band Table for one-button automatic scanning of a selected band. The Band Table is editable with any text editor such as Notepad. Multiple band scans simultaneously are supported. (See Scanning)
Memory Table	Every copy of WorldStationTM ships with an integrated memory table. This table contains about 1,000 commonly used utility frequencies for NASA, FEMA, maritime, and the US military. Full form entry of new frequencies is supported. Table Scanning is fully supported. The end user can create a synthetic band by selecting INDIVIDUAL rows of the table or GROUPS of rows. Row selection is done by the standard Windows SHIFT select or CTRL select key board commands. Once a group of rows is selected, clicking on the SCAN button on the top of the table will start a scan. The selected rows are automatically re-sorted from low frequency to high frequency and a synthetic band is created. Pointing and clicking on a channel in the table will automatically set the frequency, mode etc. for that channel. Multiple table scans simultaneously are supported. (See Scanning)
Program Scheduler	Every copy of WorldStationTM ships with an integrated scheduler table. This table allows the user to easily set up a programmed listening schedule. A wide range of program intervals are supported including daily, weekday, weekend, day of the week, and specific calendar day. Full form entry of new schedule items is supported, including a calendar pop-up to enter a specific date in the future. There is a one-button Activate / Deactivate scheduler at the top of the table. Individual Start and End times in UTC are supported for each entry in the table. The Scheduler can background record any broadcast in MP3 mode with automated playlist generation. A timed event is supplied that can be set to regenerate a new playlist at a specific time.
ILG Shortwave Database	The ILG shortwave database is a free download from ilgradio.com. ILG is noted for providing highly accurate shortwave schedules. WorldStationTM greatly enhances the ILG database by indexing it by every minute of the day and by frequency. The resultant "What's On" table is updated automatically every minute in background. If you are busy clicking the "What''s On" table, the software will detect this and not update the table "from under you". It will wait for at least one minute where no clicking activity has taken place before resuming updates. To select a station, the end user just clicks on a row of the table. Likewise you can tune to a shortwave frequency and the "Frequency Lookup" table will list all the station "playing" on that frequency - without filtering. Extensive ILG filtering is supported via the global text configuration files. You can filter by language or exclude (using free form text) any station in any field that matches your exclusion text. Typical conversion time for the ILG to Dxtra indexed format is under 2 minutes for a typical Pentium 4 system, proportionally longer for slower systems. Conversion is only done once each time a new database is downloaded - usually quarterly. Under "Tools" the user would select "Create ILG Tables". The software will open a file selection panel with a file mask of ".dbf". The user should have already downloaded this file from ILG into a known directory. The user can set his or her latitude and longitude in the configuration file. An additional column will be computed using the ILG data for "distance". This is the Great Circle Distance in miles between the users defined location and the ILG defined lat and long for the station in question. (See Configuration file)
Scanning	WorldStationTM supports powerful integrated Band and Table scanning. HF signals are notoriously "jumpy" and WS therefore uses signal averaging to smooth out these random noise spikes. WS scanning is optimized for the HF bands, which unlike VHF and UHF scanning always have a "signal" present - even if the signal is just noise. Band Table (see Band Table) and Memory Table (see Memory Table) scanning are supported. Scanning proceeds from left to right across a band or list of channels. The step-size of the scan is defined in the defined in the Band Table. A "Scan Panel" is created that draws a signal bar for each returned signal strength. The height and color of that scan bar is proportional to the signal strength. If a scan bar is clicked the scanning will stop and the radio will be set to that frequency or channel. Multiple simultaneous Scan Panels can be run at one time (See HyperScanTM). A user can select multiple bands to scan at once from the Band Table by using SHIFT or CTRL mouse select and then by clicking the Scan button. The software will then open the multiple selected bands for scanning. Each Scan Panel sports mini-controls that ease use of scan facility. There are tuning controls for example that allows up/down tuning without having to move the mouse to the main GUI.
HyperScanTM	A unique feature of the software is the ability stack multiple band scans at once. The sophisticated messaging system built-into the software keeps track of data flowing from the server and assigns each signal strength packet to the appropriate Scan Panel. For advanced users a Clustering scanning capability is also available at additional charge that permits background scanning. (See Clustering)
Clustering Support	Multiple RX-320D's (lithe typical configuration) can be set up as a "scan bank" to scan in background. One radio (.i.e. the primary radio) is set up for listening. Clicking into a Scan Panel will tune the primary radio instantly while allowing scanning to continue non-stop in the background. A "work load" manager built-into the software ensures that each radio gets parceled out an even amount of work. The more radios that are added to a scanning cluster the faster the scanning will be, since the cluster operates in true parallel mode. In the case where all the radios in the scanning cluster (including the primary of course) are RX-320D's, a special "Turbo" mode is provided whereby the main or listening radio can be temporarily added to the scanning cluster for increased scanning performance. Clicking the Turbo button in any Scan Panel can turn this feature on and off. In a small cluster of two radios (the minimum configuration), this feature can significantly boost performance. Adding more radios to a scanning cluster gives a linear (on for one) scale-up of scanning performance (2X, 3X, 4X etc.) Each radio requires a unique serial port. There is a section in the global configuration file which shows example lines in setting up a cluster. As shipped, the cluster section is commented out. If the end-user has a Cluster license and the cluster is not being used, the software will note this and print a message in the server console window.
Motifs	WorldStationTM ships with five (5) interchangeable"brushed metal" styled front-panels that are user selectable from the main control panel.
Clocks	The standard WorldStationTM GUI (Graphical User Interface) front-panel has two clocks, one for Local time and one for UTC time. UTC time is commonly used for shortwave schedules.
Logging	Dxtra provides a web based logging service available 24/7 on our web site at www.dxtra.com WS 3.5 will feature a real-time download capability into a WS table for point and click access to the latest user contributed logs.
Configuration File	The text configuration file that ship with the software has the following user customization features: default bandwidths for each mode for each supported radio, ILG languages and text filtering, RX-320D frequency offsets for USB. LSB, SYNC-U and SYNC-U, serial port for main radio, cluster radio serial ports and drivers, user latitude and longitude (see ILG).
Serial Ports	The software supports any legal serial port name under Windows and will work perfectly with USB serial port adapters. The software as shipped defaults to the "COM1" serial port, since most PC's come with at least this port enabled.
General Use of Software	The standard use of the software revolves around the use of the Band Table. The user should open this table and click on individual bands of interest. The Band Table also limits the chunks of the spectrum that the radio can scan through for one band. The PC screen can only accommodate a limited (but useful) number of scan "channels" at once. In addition to frequency limits, the Band Table automatically sets Mode, Step size and also bandwidth.

RX-340 SPECIFICATIONS

FREQUENCY COVERAGE: 50kHz - 30 MHz at typical sensitivity. Tunable down to 0 MHz with degraded performance (see Sensitivity tables) MODE: USB, LSB, ISB, CW, AM, Synchronous AM, FM; all standard.

TUNING RESOLUTION: 1 Hz steps.

FREQUENCY STABILITY: using built-in TCVCXO, provides +/-1 PPM over entire operating range 0 - 50 degrees C.

ACCURACY: All internal oscillators are locked to either internal or external frequency standard.

EXTERNAL FREQUENCY REFERENCE: 1, 2, 5, or 10 MHz ( +/- 1 PPM, 200 mv p-p into high impedance load). Receiver automatically switches to this reference upon application, at power up or after any serial link activity.

SPURIOUS RESPONSES: All spurious less than -119 dBm equivalent input - preamp on.

IMAGE REJECTION: 90 dB typical, 80 dB minimum

BFO: Tunable in CW mode only, +/- 8 kHz. Tuning in 10 Hz steps. Fixed frequency in SSB/ISB, disabled in AM and FM.

SYNTHESIZER LOCK TIME: 10 msec typical

ANTENNA INPUT: 50 ohm, unbalanced, BNC connector. 2.5:1 VSWR max @ receiver's tuned frequency.

SELECTIVITY : 57 bandwidths selectable from .1 kHz - 16.0 kHz. Shape factor 1.5:1 or better. (6 to 60 dB) Bandwidth is fixed at 3.2 kHz in ISB mode, and at 4 kHz - 16 kHz in SAM mode. Minimum bandwidth is 600 Hz in FM mode.

GROUP DELAY : no more than .1 ms variation over passband of 300 Hz to 3050 Hz.

ULTIMATE REJECTION: 70 dB minimum regardless of filter selected. L.O.

PHASE NOISE: -120 dBc/Hz @ 20 kHz offset typical, -110 dBc/Hz maximum.

IF REJECTION: 90 dB typical, 80 dB minimum.

MEMORIES: 100 memory store and recall.

OPERATING TEMPERATURE RANGE: 0 - 50 degrees C @ full specification. -10 to 60 degrees C with degraded performance.

SENSITIVITY:

			(PREAMP OFF)		(PREAMP ON)
Mode	BW	SINAD	Typical dBm/uV	Min dBm/uV	Typical dBm/uV	Min dBm/uV
AM (50% mod @400 Hz)	6.0 kHz	10 dB	-103/1.6	-101/2.0	-112/.56	-108/.9
FM (6 kHz dev @ 1 kHz mod)	16.0 kHz	16 dB	-102/1.8	-100/2.2	-108/.9	-104/1.4
USB/LSB/ISB	3.2 kHz	10 dB	-112/.6	-107/.7	-119/.25	-115/.4
CW	.3 kHz	16 dB	-116/.35	-114/.45	-124/.14	-120/.22

SENSITIVITY: LOW FREQUENCY RANGE (PREAMP OFF)

Mode	Frequency	Typical dBm
CW @ 300 Hz BW SINAD - 16 dB	>500 kHz	-116 dBm/.35 uV
	100 kHz	-115 dBm/.4 uV
	50 kHz	-114 dBm/.45 uV
	20 kHz	-107 dBm/1 uV
	15 kHz	-104 dBm/1.4 uV
	10 kHz	-94 dBm/4.5 uV
	5 kHz	-82 dBm/18 uV

DYNAMIC RANGE:

Mode	Noise Figure (dB) Typ Min	3rd Order Intercept (dBm) Typ Min
10 dB PREAMP ON	10 14	20 15
PREAMP OFF	17 19	30 25
15 dB ATTEN	32 34	45 40

2nd ORDER INTERCEPT: 75 dBm typical, 60 minimum.

WIDEBAND OUTPUT, 1ST MIXER: 45.455 MHz center frequency

IF OUTPUT, POST DSP: 455 kHz center frequency, bandwidth determined by filter selection

SIGNAL MONITOR OUTPUT, DELAYED AGC: 455 kHz, 16 kHz bandwidth, AGC delayed 40 dB

SIGNAL MONITOR OUTPUT, 2ND MIXER, NO AGC: 455 kHz, 16 kHz bandwidth

AGC: Fast, medium, Slow, Programmable. Manual gain setting is provided in all four modes, adjustable over 120 dB range. DUMP feature provided in all modes.

MODE	ATTACK (dB/ms)	HANG (sec)	DECAY (dB/sec.)
FAST	0.8	0	1200
MEDIUM	0.8	0	100
SLOW	0.8	0	25
PROGRAMMABLE	0.01-1.0	0.01-99.9	0.01-99.9