N6NU SDR Bridges

Windows installers for the SDR bridges that feed wideband I/Q into a modified WSJT-X / QMAP for wide-band Q65 EME and other digital modes. Pick the bridge for your hardware. Latest family release: v2.1.1. See the user guide PDF for setup, per-bridge quirks, the TCI remote section, and troubleshooting.

What's new in v2.x

These bridges were built first and foremost to feed QMAP with a full 256 kHz of bandwidth. (They also work for narrower digital modes, but the 256 kHz QMAP feed is the whole point.) The bridges also deliver 3 kHz-wide SSB/USB either via VAC or TCI.

Two new bridges

TCI RX / TX support on all bridges

Every bridge in the family now speaks TCI. WSJT-X drives the bridge as a TCI transceiver over the LAN — frequency, mode and PTT over a single WebSocket, with the demodulated RX audio carried on that same link (no VB-Cable / virtual audio cabling on the remote end). On the TX-capable bridges — Pluto RX+TX, HackRF RX+TX and the IC-705 — the TX audio rides the TCI link too, so you transmit over TCI as well. The bridge and the device can be at the dish (think Raspberry Pi / Zero).

EME niceties

Quality-of-life

Raspberry Pi builds (beta)

The bridges also build and run on the Pi. If you'd like to try them, email me.

A big thank-you to everyone who has tested the bridges, sent feedback, reported a bug, or asked for a feature — a great deal of what's in this release came straight from those notes, and it's genuinely appreciated. Please keep it coming.

— 73, Andreas, N6NU

Bridges

SDRplay (RSP1A / RSPduo / RSPdx)

14-bit ADC. Requires SDRplay API 3.x service installed first from sdrplay.com.

Latest: sdrplay-rx-bridge-2.1.1-setup.exe

RTL-SDR (R820T2 / V3+)

8-bit ADC, max 2.4 Msps. Needs WinUSB via Zadig (bundled).

Latest: rtlsdr-rx-bridge-2.1.1-setup.exe

FunCube Pro+ V2 / FlexRadio DAX-IQ / Malachite

Sound-card IQ source (any USB sound card delivering stereo IQ as audio L=I, R=Q). No special drivers — Windows audio class.

Latest: iq-rx-bridge-2.1.1-setup.exe

AirSpy R2

12-bit ADC, 10 Msps native. Needs WinUSB via Zadig (bundled).

Latest: airspy-rx-bridge-2.1.1-setup.exe

HackRF One (RX)

8-bit ADC, 1 MHz - 6 GHz. RX-only feeder. Needs WinUSB via Zadig (bundled in installer).

Latest: hackrf-rx-bridge-2.1.1-setup.exe

HackRF One (RX+TX) NEW

Same hardware as the HackRF RX bridge but with the TX path enabled — RX and TX through WSJT-X over TCI. In WSJT-X, choose TCI as the radio and enable TCI audio. Needs WinUSB via Zadig (bundled).

Latest: hackrf-wsjtx-2.1.1-setup.exe

ADALM-Pluto / Pluto+ (RX)

12-bit ADC, 70 MHz - 6 GHz. Requires Analog Devices' libiio drivers installed first.

Latest: pluto-rx-bridge-2.1.1-setup.exe

ADALM-Pluto / Pluto+ (RX+TX)

Same hardware as pluto-rx but with TX path enabled — now keys and streams TX audio over TCI. Use this if Pluto is your only radio (QO-100, indoor low-power tests).

Latest: pluto-wsjtx-bridge-2.1.1-setup.exe

Icom IC-705 (WiFi) NEW

Network-attached Icom IC-705 over WiFi/LAN — no USB cable, keeping USB hash off the receive. RX and TX through WSJT-X. In WSJT-X, choose TCI as the radio and enable TCI audio.

Latest: ic705-bridge-2.1.3-setup.exe

Fixed in v2.1.3: on a fresh Windows install the bridge would not launch — double-clicking did nothing because it tried to reach the radio before opening its window. It now opens the window first; enter your IC-705 Host / User / Password in Settings and click Reconnect. (The Visual C++ runtime is also bundled now, so no separate redistributable is needed.)

User guide

PDF covers what's new in this build of WSJT-X / QMAP-improved, why the bridges exist, per-bridge setup (drivers, gains, quirks), a troubleshooting table, and a technical reference at the end — including the TCI (Thin Client Interface) section for remote WSJT-X.

WSJTX-QMAP-improved-beta-guide.pdf (latest build, served from this site)

The same PDF also ships inside each bridge installer at {install dir}\WSJTX-QMAP-improved-beta-guide.pdf, accessible from the bridge GUI via Help → User Guide (F1).