A selection of radio capture cards from Sonifex. These radio capture cards don’t have inputs and outputs, other than an aerial to capture the required signal. They are designed to allow a PC to record or monitor a number of DAB/DAB+, FM or AM radio channels for logging and monitoring applications.
DAB RADIO CAPTURE
PCIe DAB+/DAB radio capture cards receive and decodes the entire contents of up to four DAB+/DAB ensembles, rendering each audio service as a virtual Windows audio capture device for use with multi-channel recording or monitoring software. Broadcast data services, including DLS text, MOT slideshows and full information from the fast information channel (FIC), are also available through a simple application programming interface.
The cards support both legacy DAB MP2 audio coding as well as the new HE-AAC v2 encoding used with DAB+ broadcasts. Any application that records from standard wave input devices can be used to record the audio streams from the DAB+ Radcap. A recording level and mute control are provided for each service through the devices’ mixer ports. A sample monitor application is included which displays a control panel for each card and creates buttons for each audio service. When a button is clicked, it plays the audio through the default output device while displaying information obtained from the service and any DLS text and MOT images being broadcast.
The number of ensembles is factory-set as 1 (PC-DAB1), 2, 3 or 4 (PC-DAB4) but is field-expandable through a purchased expansion key. Multiple cards can be installed, allowing simultaneous monitoring or recording of more than four ensembles. A sample application is provided with the card, allowing monitoring of DAB+/DAB audio and data as well as providing diagnostic ensemble spectrum displays, signal quality indicators and an uncorrected error counter. Each card panel displays the ensemble name and identifier, along with the phase reference correlator level and signal spectrum.
Versions available
PC-DAB - 1x ensemble
PC-DAB2 - 2x ensembles
PC-DAB3 - 3x ensembles
PC-DAB4 - 4x ensembles
OS platforms supported: Windows Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Server 2012, Windows 10 & Server 2016 (32-bit and 64-bit versions supported), Windows Server 2019. Note: Windows XP and Server 2003 are not supported. Minimum system requirements: 2GHz quad-core or better, 1GB memory minimum. Dimensions (WxDxH): 140 x 125 x 20mm. Weight: 100g.
FM Radcap PCIe is a radio capture card designed for simultaneous recording of multiple radio stations. The frequency of each station is set in software and its audio appears as a standard Windows audio input device. RDS decoding is also supported. The card uses a high-speed A/D converter to digitise the entire FM band, with up to 32 individual tuners. The Radcap achieves low audio distortion through the use of linear phase filtering and mathematically precise FM demodulation and stereo decoding. FM demodulation, stereo decoding and RDS decoding (if enabled) are all performed in FPGA fabric. The card provides 6 stations as standard but may be expanded to 12, 18, 24 or 32 stations for an additional charge.
Drivers have been fully implemented for Windows and Linux, with RDS being available on both platforms now. A 64-bit WDM driver for Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, 2019 and Windows 11 is supplied as well as software for setting the tuner frequencies and monitoring the received audio. A programming API and DLL for software control and monitoring are also supplied. The Linux driver is Alsa based and supports Kernels from version 3.8.
The card can be configured to operate in stereo, mono or paired mono (two mono stations combined on a 2-channel audio stream) modes. Multiple cards can be used in a single PC, subject to available CPU bandwidth. The audio de-emphasis may also be set to either 50us or 75us. A Windows utility called FMSpectrum is supplied. This displays the RF spectrum from 85MHz to 111MHz, using data from the card’s front-end 256-point FFT and may be useful in selecting the best location for the antenna or resolving interference problems.
Versions available
PC-FM - 6-channel
PC-FM12 - 12-channel
PC-FM18 - 18-channel
PC-FM24 - 24-channel
PC-FM32 - 32-channel
OS platforms supported: 64-bit windows 10 & Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows 11 Linux (Kernel 3.8 onwards) Note: Some HPE Gen11 and Dell server platforms may require compatibility checks Minimum system requirements: 2GHz or better, 2GB memory minimum. Dimensions (WxDxH): 140 x 125 x 20mm. Weight: 100g.
AM Radcap PCIe card is a radio capture card designed for simultaneous recording of up to 32 radio stations. The frequency of each individual station may be set in software and its audio appears as a standard Windows audio input device. The PCIe card uses a high speed analogue-to-digital converter to digitise the entire AM band, with digital signal processing on a Spartan 6 FPGA used to tune and extract the audio for each individual station. It can be configured to either create a separate audio stream for each station or to pair stations together as 2-channel streams. A WDM driver for Windows XP, Windows 7/8/10 and other versions is supplied as well software for setting the tuner frequencies and monitoring the received audio.
A recording level control, mute control and peak meter are provided for each station (or pair of stations) through the devices’ mixer ports. The default level setting is 50%, and at this setting 100% modulation will produce a peak audio level 6dB below clipping.
A utility called AmSpectrum is supplied. This displays the RF spectrum from 500kHz to 1700kHz and may be useful in selecting the best location for the antenna or resolving interference problems. The receiver bandwidth can be set to wide (default) or narrow. The narrow setting restricts the audio response to about 3kHz, which may be useful in noisy environments. A utility program called Tuner is also supplied which can be used to set the frequency of each station and to monitor each station through the PC’s standard sound card or motherboard sound port. The Tuner program also provides relative signal strength indicator bars which may be useful in adjusting antenna placement.
The card is factory-configured for 6 (PC-AM6), 12, 18, 24 or 32 (PC-AM32) stations, but may be expanded in the field for an additional charge.
Versions available
PC-AM - 6-channel
PC-AM12 - 12-channel
PC-AM18 - 18-channel
PC-AM24 - 24-channel
PC-AM32 - 32-channel
OS platforms supported: Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Server 2012, Windows 10 & Server 2016 (32-bit and 64-bit versions), Windows Server 2019. Minimum system requirements: 1GHz Pentium II or better, 256MB memory minimum (1GB for Vista Windows 7/Server 2008, 2GB for Windows 8, Server 2012, Windows 10, Server 2016). Tuning range: 500kHz to 1710kHz in 1kHz steps. Sensitivity: 50uV for 40dB S/N. RF input impedance: 50ohms. Dimensions (WxDxH): 140 x 125 x 20mm. Weight: 100g.