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| Reviews Summary for Microtelecom PERSEUS |
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Reviews: 14
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Average rating: 4.8/5
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MSRP: $829 EURO
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Description: PERSEUS is a VLF-LF-HF receiver based on a outstanding direct sampling digital architecture.
It features a 14 bit 80 Ms/s analog-to-digital converter with an exceptional 76 dB SNR (BW = 40 MHz),
an high-performance configurable FPGA digital down-converter with an up to 1 MS/s output sampling
rate and a 480 MBit/s, high-speed USB 2.0 PC interface.
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More info: http://www.microtelecom.it/perseus/
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G4BIM
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 3, 2010 03:34
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The Perseus SDR V Icom IC7800
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The Perseus SDR V Icom IC7800
I have owned both items for over a year now.
I make the following observations based on my operating experience.
The Perseus runs a very close second to the 7800.
After many hours of receiver comparison, on balance I always come back to the 7800.
There is little practical difference between them in terms of sensitivity, but the 7800 noise floor is definitely lower. Irrespective of how you listen to the Perseus output audio, (Sony MDR-F1 headphones, thru Quad ESL 63 electrostatics to Linn Keltik speakers and Linn Klout active Amplifiers). Somehow, it is always easier to listen to and decipher very weak SSB audio on the Icom, I suppose that’s what you spend all that money for...
The Perseus does however exceed the Icom in two primary areas.
Its spectrum analyser is frankly stunning in terms of detail and sensitivity, it really does make the 7800 look poor to say the least.
Probably of more significance is the Perseus's ability in terms of cutting dead encroaching signals on adjacent channels, of that there can
be little doubt. Its filter cut off/edge performance is 'off a cliff', very impressive.
However, if an adjacent interfering signal is actually producing rf in your listening band pass, as some over driven Amateur SSB transmissions
do, and there are some I could 'name and shame', then the sharpest filter in the world will not remove them.
One day a software defined receiver, maybe from Icom, will actually look at and analyze interfering signals either side of the listening band pass and by clever algorithms will subtract those interfering signal elements from those which you are trying to listen to, clever stuff
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G7TOK
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 18, 2009 13:05
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Peerless
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I am using the Perseus with a Wellbrook loop.
It is the best receiver I have used or owned in 30 years.
The K3 comes close, but the recovered audio on the Perseus is superlative and tips the balance.
The software package makes non-SDR receivers Neanderthal in comparison.
Only one con, no Macintosh software.
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K5JAX
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 13, 2009 14:33
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Very Nice
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Bought my Perseus in December 2009 from Gerry at SSBUSA.com
A great person to do business with.
I have been in amateur radio 40 + years. I own a K2, K3, Orion and other Yaesu and Kenwood rigs.
I have the Perseus hooked to a 300+ foot long wire about 10 feet above the ground. I am located in a rural setting relatively noise free.
The functionality of the NR, NB and DSP are equal to or better than any of the other equipment mentioned. I could not believe the signals I viewed on the waterfall display and the receiver’s ability to allow me to copy them. It is a fantastic receiver.
I also own an Icom PCR-2500. Not a very good SDR product at all. It was a poor choice on my part. The Icom purchase made me a little cautious about buying another SDR.
If I can figure out a reliable way to use the Perseus as my receiver and any of the other rigs as a transmitter without blowing the front end out I will probably use it in this configuration most of the time. I plan to hook it to a separate antenna at times to monitor openings on other bands. I would be interested in hearing from anyone that has used a RF sensing switch to protect the receiver when using separate antennas.
Factory support seems to be very good. I would not trade it for a TenTec 340 receiver.
I hope to try week signal VHF/UHF operating with the Elecraft transverters.
Highly recommend the product.
Email: info@k5jax.com
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2E1RDX
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Rating: 5/5
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Sep 19, 2009 02:17
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still superb
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Here is a short review of the Perseus SDR receiver,
I have been using the Perseus for a little over 12 months now
I have it hooked up o my Icom IC-78 this is the commercial version of the IC-718 I use a ELAD Switch box http://www.woodboxradio.com/uk/Switchbox.html
the swith box automatically switches my antenna between the Icom when I TX back to the Perseus for receive this way I am using only the Perseus for receive the Icom becomes a TX only
Now for the software side I use a program called BobCAT that easily links the Perseus and the Icom so that you can choose either Receiver or Icom as the master or should you prefer both this way when you click on the Perseus scope or tune the perseus the Icom automatically follows or if you tune the Icom VFO the perseus follows
I must say i prefer just to click on signals on the scope and my whole station follows
I also have Ham Radio Delux running at the same time and once again this will control either radio's as you choose this is a little more complicated as you need to have two options of Ham Radio Delux running and then sych them together on top of this I have Mixw running for digital modes and as my main station logbook once again this tracks all the other software and TX/RX Basically whichever piece of software I choose to use all others track and tune radio/Receiver thus making a very user friendly station
Please note the BobCAT software only works with Icom Radio's so anyone trying this with another make will need to go down the Ham Radio Delux route
I have used many top line transceivers/Receivers over the past 30 years TS-950SDX,TS-930S,TS-940,TS-850, TS-870, TS-2000 I could go on and on but I think you get the idea lots of equipment has passed through this shack and probably the best have been the 950SDX and the TS-930 which was always my favorite and I found that the FT-2000 was probably the best of the bunch once after many many weeks I had it set up something like
how Yaesu let such a superb transceiver leave the factory set up so badly is beyond me ????
I sold the FT-2000 to purchase the Perseus which believe me was not an easy choice but was certainly the right one
In operation the Perseus scope is just unreal as the bands are opening I can sit and view upto 2mhz of spectrum as soon as a station transmits anywhere on the band I am watching just one mouse click and I am tuned to that station along with my log book and other software it just could not be easier
Now on top of all that how would you like to record upto 2mhz of spectrum and play it back later and when I say play it back i mean you tune through the 2 mhz of spectrum and every station that was active is there as if you are tuning the band live how cool is that
you can set it to record top band at any stated time even while you are in bed and then play it back the next day !!! this just amazes me perfect for checking what stations are active while you sleep
now the bottom line I honestly would not swap this system for anything out there as i believe this set up will outperform anything on the market it's not perfect but for my style of operating I just love it and to top things off I use a MFJ-1782 Magnetic loop Antenna and with the scope on the Perseus I can tune the antenna to the peak on the screen and Iam tuned ready to TX
The downside is setting up all the software which was quite complicated so thanks to Dave G3RCQ, and many others for advice and support below are a few links to the items I use
73 Ian 2E1RDX
http://www.woodboxradio.com/uk/bobcat.html
http://www.woodboxradio.com/uk/Switchbox.html
http://www.microtelecom.it/perseus/software.html
http://mixw.net/
http://www.ham-radio-deluxe.com/
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IK1ODO
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 18, 2009 12:08
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The best
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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The best commercially available SDR RX. Have two of them, used in HF, VHF/UHF and satellite (after converters, of course). Absolutely happy.
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KE7GSK
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 7, 2009 12:10
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Just alot of Fun!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I’ve been working with the Perseus for about a month and thoroughly enjoy it. I have it hooked up to a Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antenna. The spectrum display is superb and the ability to record across a wide frequency range, and then playback any one frequency within that range, is an absolute blast. The amount of time you can record is only restricted by how much storage space remains on your computer. Along the same line, I’ve been downloading recordings made by other Perseus owners (in Norway for instance) and playing them back at my QTH in Washington State USA. I find it very interesting to hear what others are hearing from their locations thousands of miles away.
The Perseus’ DSP Noise Reduction, Noise Blanker and Notch (auto and manual) easily rival my Ten-Tec Orion. That is no small feat as I’ve always considered those features on the Orion to be second to none. My wish list for future upgrades: A RF Gain feature and pumped up preamp power. By the way I bought my Perseus from Gerry at SSB Electronic USA. First class service all the way!
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SWL2002
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 4, 2009 07:44
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Nice receiver
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Pros:
I owned the Perseus for about 6 months for evaluation. I purchased my Perseus from Universal Radio. The Perseus receiver pretty much outperforms all of my other analog receivers. It is sensitive and works very well on the crowded airwaves. I use it primarily for Shortwave listening, but I also use it for Medium and Long Wave DXing, as well as a receiver in combination with my FT-450.
I also have owned a SDR-14, and SDR-IQ. The Perseus far outperforms those receivers.
Cons:
One thing I found was that it needed additional filtering below 1 MHz due to overload from very strong broadcasters in my area. Other than that, it has performed well.
Besides not having an external clock input, as mentioned in a previous review, it is disappointing that the Perseus does not have an external muting input for use with a separate transmitter or transceiver for transmitting. I used a FT-450 for transmitting since I also have an Amateur Radio License.
Discussion Points:
I sold my SDR-14 and SDR-IQ before purchasing the Perseus. At the same time as I purchased the Perseus I also purchased a QuickSilver QS1R SDR Receiver to evaluate against the Perseus. After owning both receivers and running them side-by-side for a little over 6 months, I decided to sell the Perseus and keep the QS1R. Here is why:
1. As mentioned above, the Perseus does not have an external muting input. The QS1R has an external muting input which makes it very easy to use with a separate transmitter or transceiver for transmitting. The muting is instantaneous with no delay from activation to full muting. The manufacturer of the QS1R also plans on making a matching transmitter board available called QS1T. I am looking forward to this.
2. Using CW mode, Perseus has too much latency. I measured it to be about 500 mS. While the filters are good with no ringing, the latency is just too high for comfortable use with a transmitter. The latency is possibly too high because the Perseus uses the computer sound card for audio output. I found that the QuickSilver QS1R Receiver had very low latency and I had no problem operating full QSK on CW. The QS1R has its own audio output and does not rely on the computer’s sound card for audio output. The QS1R latency seems to be less than 10 mS.
3. I found that Perseus is prone to images of very strong signals in the FM broadcast band aliased down into its range of 0 – 40 MHz. I have a few very strong FM stations in my area and this was annoying until I figured out these “phantom” signals were images of local FM stations. In comparison, the QuickSilver QS1R did not have these images in the 0 – 60 MHz range nearly to the extent that the Perseus did. The strongest image on the Perseus was about -50 dBm where the same station image on the QS1R was about -100 dBm. I added an external low pass filter to both receivers which dropped the strongest image on Perseus to about -85 dBm and below the noise floor on QS1R.
4. Other considerations are that the Perseus software could only be used on Windows, where the QS1R software works on Windows, Linux, and OSX. I am slowly converting my computer use over to Linux and this was a future consideration for me. Also Perseus covers up to 40 MHz where the QS1R covers up to 60 MHz. It is very nice that the QS1R is able to tune the 6 meter band. In my area I often have signal levels in the 1 – 20 MHz range up to about 0 dBm at night. I had to engage the Perseus attenuator to prevent overload at these times. The QS1R does not overload until much higher, I measured about +10 dBm, so I never had overload problems with the QuickSilver QS1R. Lastly, the Perseus was about $300 more in the USA than the QS1R, although the resale value of Perseus was good. When I sold it I got about 80% of the purchase price.
Conclusion:
Purchasing the Perseus will not leave you disappointed. It has many positives, with only a handful of negatives as I have described above. Your intended use with determine whether these negatives are important to you. Overall, I am much happier with the QuickSilver QS1R for my use. The QS1R was less expensive for better thought out features and wider coverage. If you are a Linux or MAC user, then choosing the QS1R is a no-brainer. If you are considering purchasing a SDR receiver then the QS1R should be on your list as a possibility in addition to the Perseus.
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QRPNEW
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Rating: 4/5
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Jun 4, 2009 02:20
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Good product
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The Perseus receiver performance is fantastic. My Elecraft K3 sounds like a receiver that is in a sewer pipe when comparing them. The noise reduction is superior to the Elecraft K3s. The Perseus is also not a noisy receiver like the K3. The Perseus has the advantage over my K3 when it comes to weak signal reception. It also matches the K3's IMD dynamic range performance.
The big advantage if the Perseus is the narrow DSP filters which actually work very well without making the SSB signal sound pinched. The K3 filters sound awful when narrowed. The CW reception is vastly superior, and actually sounds like true analogue receiver, the K3s CW sound is washed out and mushy.
I am very happy with the Perseus. I just wish the Perseus had a VFO knob, a easy ability to slave with a transceiver and proper input protection when used with a transceiver.
The Perseus also excels when used as panadpter. There is no Japanese radio that can beat the Perseus in panadapter mode, full stop. The Perseus is a proper spectrum analyzer in the panadpter mode giving true amplitude and indication of signal in the frequency domain. The Icom 7800s display is a toy in comparison.
The very accurate amplitude scale is excellent, it would be great if other scales were available such as Dbuv or other field strength references. The Winradio product has these and makes a superb field strength monitoring tool.
The only criticism of the Perseus is the lack of external reference input. The lack of reference input makes it difficult to phase lock receivers for advanced users. I believe not including this was a marketing mistake especially for professional markets.
The Spectran and spectrum analyzer features in software are poor. This aspect of the Perseus use as a true spectrum analyzer needs improvement. I truly believe the potential of the Perseus is wasted not exploiting its true potential as a spectrum analyzer. I use a Rohde FSH3 at work and I believe the Perseus would easily match the FSH3 on HF if it were so equipped. It would be great with an integrated tracking generator or some VNA features. The Perseus could excel as a measurement test tool when used with various IMD masks for such things DRM transmitter checking. All it needs is the software to do this. I use a Fraunhofer DT4700 DRM monitor in my work and the Perseus could probably do the same job for much less money. The potential is there!!!
It would be great if Microtelecom also produced a companion transmitter in the future. A companion transmitter and Perseus would kill anything on the market if it was built to a high commercial specification that met NTIA or ITU standards for transmitter performance.
Its a pleasure to use such a good product aimed at hobbyists with such a great amount of professional performance and potential.
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KR4K
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Rating: 5/5
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May 9, 2009 12:27
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Super SDR
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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Purchased 5 Perseus receivers from SSBUSA.com. Gerry was great to work with.
Perseus receiver matches or out performs the receiver in my Kenwood TS-2000, Kenwood TS-480, and ICOM IC-706Mk2g.
Extremely happy with supplied or Winrad interfaces.
Building MATLAB control software interface, and Nico has a good starting software development kit.
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N5SKH
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 19, 2009 19:52
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Awesome Receiver and Spectrum Display
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased this last week from SSB USA with plans for eventually using this as the receive side of my station. I already have an ICOM 756 Pro III which is my benchmark for comparison with the Perseus.
I love my Pro III's receiver features but the Perseus blows it out of the water. The Perseus receiver is extremely sensitive and general S/N level response seems much more robust than the Pro III. In the past week I've heard more European stations with the Perseus than I've ever heard before (we just moved to a new QTH with a much quieter RF environment so I'm sure that is a positive factor as well).
My antenna set-up is very simple (an Outbacker Perth hidden in the backyard due to Homeowner's restrictions).
The filters on the Perseus are brick wall solid and the noise reduction feature is very effective.
The software's Panadapter display is very responsive and quick to display transient signals. It's rejuvenated my interest in utility monitoring as it's very easy to find the quick and terse voice transmissions often noted in the aero and military bands.
The box itself is very small and it's hard to imagine so much signal processing power in such a small package.
I've played around with decoding of digital signals using the Virtual Audio Cable software and Ham Radio Deluxe and that seems to work well also.
I also purchased the Elad switchbox (now also available in the USA from SSB USA) but I have not had a chance to test that as of yet. The Elad switchbox allows the Perseus to be used as the receive side of your station along with your normal transceiver as the transmit side.
My thanks to Ian, 2E1RDX, for his input regarding my purchase and to Gerry at SSB USA for great customer service.
You will not regret a purchase of the Perseus, it's an awesome product!
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