{"id":9893,"date":"2014-06-12T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=9893"},"modified":"2014-06-12T12:04:58","modified_gmt":"2014-06-12T16:04:58","slug":"the-elad-fdm-s2-sdr-unboxing-installing-and-a-first-recording","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/the-elad-fdm-s2-sdr-unboxing-installing-and-a-first-recording\/","title":{"rendered":"The Elad FDM-S2 SDR: Unboxing, installing, and a first recording"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FDM-S2-Front\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At the Dayton Hamvention<\/em>\u00a0last month, I made a point to check out the Italian radio manufacturer, Elad<\/a>. Though I’ve known about Elad for some time, I hadn’t investigated their offerings yet simply because I was under the impression\u00a0they only sold and warrantied their equipment within Europe.\u00a0Fortunately, Elad has begun\u00a0supporting and shipping their products\u00a0within the US, via their division Elad-USA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Elad-Dayton-Hamvention\"<\/a>

The Elad USA table at the 2014 Dayton Hamvention<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Elad-Radios\"<\/a>Elad’s booth was one of the first stops I made at the Hamvention;<\/em>\u00a0I met with their representatives there, who answered my many\u00a0questions. While Elad is soon to release their flagship tabletop SDR transceiver (the FDM-DUO<\/strong>, see below), I was more interested in their flagship receiver, the FDM-S2\u2013<\/strong>which really impressed me during their demo.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The FDM-DUO attracted many visitors at the Elad booth.<\/p><\/div>\n

Yesterday, I unpacked a loaner FDM-S2 Elad sent for review; this review will be published first in The Spectrum Monitor<\/a><\/em>\u00a0magazine, and following, here on the SWLing Post<\/em>. \u00a0While it will take some time to piece together a full review for TSM<\/em>, I thought I would\u00a0periodically post recordings (and note FDM-S2 features) I discover along the way…<\/p>\n

Unboxing the FDM-S2<\/h2>\n

\"FDM-S2-Box\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Being a receiver with a small footprint (a major plus, in my world), the FDM-S2 comes in a small box (measuring only 6.5 x 5.5 x 2 inches).<\/p>\n

\"FDM-S2-Box2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Contents of the box are few and simple: the FDM-S2 receiver, a black cloth carrying bag, and a 4GB USB drive with installation software and documentation. A standard USB cable was also included in the shipping box.<\/p>\n

\"FDM-S2-Box-Contents\"<\/p>\n

The FDM-S2 metal\u00a0enclosure is beautifully engineered, and feels of excellent quality in my hands.<\/p>\n

Installation<\/h2>\n

I found installation of the Elad FDM-S2 to be fairly\u00a0straightforward. However, I would encourage you to follow the included guide, since\u00a0installation is a two-step process:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. First, you install a C++ package on your Windows PC which, when complete, triggers the actual Elad software installation: this is a two-part installation that you only initiate once.<\/li>\n
  2. Secondly, you install the USB driver for the FDM-S2,\u00a0found in the installation folder of the supplied software. At time of posting, the USB driver cannot be automatically discovered and installed by your PC; you must initiate the installation via the device manager. However, this is very easy: the guide takes you through the process step-by-step.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"On<\/a>

    On the back of the FDM-S2 you’ll find HF and VHF (SMA) antenna ports, a USB port, serial interface, and on\/off switch.<\/p><\/div>\n

    The FDM-S2 derives its power from the same USB cable that is used for data, no separate external power supply required–a huge plus, for those of us who like to travel.<\/p>\n

    Once I installed the software and driver, I hooked up my antenna to the HF SMA connector on the back,\u00a0turned on the FDM-S2, and launched the application.\u00a0The FDM-S2 clicked to life, and the application ran on the first go: very nice!<\/em><\/p>\n

    I spent a good hour or so familiarizing myself with the Elad software yesterday evening. It’s quite a departure from the WinRadio Excalibur<\/em> and Microtelecom Perseus<\/em> applications with which I’m most familiar. Nonetheless, while I’m still learning how to adjust the spectrum bandwidth (which can be a full 6 MHz wide!) plus\u00a0manage the four virtual receivers, I found I was able to do quite a bit of band-scanning.<\/p>\n

    In fact, I noticed some great music on 9,420 kHz, the former\u00a0Voice of Greece<\/a><\/em> frequency:<\/p>\n

    \"FDM-S2-Waterfall\"<\/p>\n

    I initiated my very first AF recording on the FDM-S2 (see screen capture above). The process was quite simple and I’m very happy with the level of customization Elad affords in its software; indeed, I can set the file name to automatically note the frequency, time, date and mode.<\/p>\n

    Click here to listen to that recording in the recent post,\u00a0The Voice of Greece, one year on<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n

    Day One with the FDM-S2? So far, so good. The Elad application is very customizable, hence has a higher learning curve than SDR applications I’ve used in the past. Thus I’ll need to log quite a few hours on the FDM-S2 before I can say\u00a0that I’m proficient.<\/p>\n

    Readers:<\/strong>\u00a0Have you had experience with\u00a0the FDM-S2? \u00a0Any hints or suggestions? \u00a0Please comment\u2013!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    At the Dayton Hamvention\u00a0last month, I made a point to check out the Italian radio manufacturer, Elad. Though I’ve known about Elad for some time, I hadn’t investigated their offerings yet simply because I was under the impression\u00a0they only sold and warrantied their equipment within Europe.\u00a0Fortunately, Elad has begun\u00a0supporting and shipping their products\u00a0within the US, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836,3,26,746,43,158],"tags":[968,3010,3011,2356,2357,800],"class_list":["post-9893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-products","category-news","category-radios","category-recordings","category-shortwave-radio","category-software-defined-radio","tag-elad","tag-elad-fdm-s2","tag-fdm-s2","tag-radio-station-of-macedonia","tag-radio-station-of-macedonia-ert-3","tag-voice-of-greece"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2zz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9913,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/shortwave-radio-recordings-the-voice-of-greece-one-year-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":9893,"position":0},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: the Voice of Greece, one year on","author":"Thomas","date":"June 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night, while learning the ropes of the new Elad FDM-S2, I noticed some great music on 9,420 kHz, the former\u00a0Voice of Greece\u00a0frequency. It was then that I realized yesterday (June 11) marked the one year anniversary of the day that\u00a0the Greek government shut down ERT\u00a0and the\u00a0Voice of Greece. If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"GREECE-ECONOMY-MEDIA","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/greece-ert-replacement-protest.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/greece-ert-replacement-protest.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/greece-ert-replacement-protest.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14715,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/elad-fdm-s2-on-sale-499-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":9893,"position":1},"title":"Elad FDM-S2 on sale $499 US","author":"Thomas","date":"September 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"While browsing the Elad website, I noticed an End of Summer\u00a0sale on their US retail page. The sale includes one of my favorite sub-$1000 SDRs--the Elad FDM-S2--priced at $499 US (originally $580). If you've been on the fence about purchasing the FDM-S2, this might be a good time to bite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Deals"","block_context":{"text":"Deals","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/deals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Elad-Summer-Sale","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Elad-Summer-Sale.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Elad-Summer-Sale.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Elad-Summer-Sale.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Elad-Summer-Sale.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11643,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/video-controlling-the-elad-fdm-s2-sdr-with-the-hp-stream-7-tablet\/","url_meta":{"origin":9893,"position":2},"title":"Video: Controlling the Elad FDM-S2 SDR with the HP Stream 7 tablet","author":"Thomas","date":"December 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Guy Atkins, who shares the following video\u00a0demonstrating how the Elad FDM-S2 can be controlled\u00a0with the $99 HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet PC: You can read more about Guy's FDM-S2\/HP Stream 7 setup in his previous post.","rel":"","context":"In "How To"","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel1-1024x452.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel1-1024x452.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel1-1024x452.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11531,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/elad-fdm-s2-erics-method-of-mitigating-strong-local-signals\/","url_meta":{"origin":9893,"position":3},"title":"Elad FDM-S2: Eric’s method of mitigating strong local signals","author":"Thomas","date":"December 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader Eric Cottrell, who writes: \"Thanks for your excellent review of the Elad FDM-S2. I bought one and received it yesterday. I tried out the software earlier this week by downloading 4GB of sample files from DK8OK and the Elad software. There are a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel-1024x748.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel-1024x748.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel-1024x748.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11585,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/a-review-of-the-elad-fdm-s2-software-defined-receiver\/","url_meta":{"origin":9893,"position":4},"title":"A review of the Elad FDM-S2 software defined receiver","author":"Thomas","date":"December 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The following review originally appeared in the November 2014 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. At the Dayton Hamvention this year, I made it a special point to check out the Italian radio manufacturer, Elad. Although I\u2019ve known about Elad and their products for some time, and often found them\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DRM"","block_context":{"text":"DRM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/drm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FDM-S2-Front","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FDM-S2-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FDM-S2-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FDM-S2-Front.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13042,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-romania-international-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":9893,"position":5},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Romania International","author":"Thomas","date":"April 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For your listening pleasure: one full hour of Radio Romania International's English language service. This recording was made on April 23 at 00:00 UTC on 9730 kHz. I used my Elad FDM-S2 software defined receiver\u00a0to make this recording. As you can see from the screenshot of the Elad spectrum display\u00a0above,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Screen capture of the Elad FDM-S2 recording RRI's interval signal","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Elad-FDM-S2-Screen-1024x547.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Elad-FDM-S2-Screen-1024x547.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Elad-FDM-S2-Screen-1024x547.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9893\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}