Radio Presets
A radio preset gives the transmitter the character of a class of real equipment: how clean the signal is, how much power is available, how hard the amplifier compresses, how much hum and phase noise are present. Selecting a preset overwrites the power field and all Advanced Transmitter Settings; individual values can be edited afterwards.
Presets are simulation starting points that represent classes of equipment, not measured laboratory profiles of specific radios.
Preset list[edit | edit source]
| Preset | Power (W) | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Generic HF transceiver | 100 | Neutral modern transceiver, the default starting point. |
| Clean lab exciter | 10 | Near-ideal signal source: no compression, very low noise, excellent carrier and sideband suppression. Useful as a reference. |
| Icom IC-7300 class HF rig | 100 | Clean modern SDR-based 100 W transceiver. |
| Icom IC-705 class QRP SDR | 10 | Clean low-power portable SDR. |
| Icom IC-7610 class base SDR | 100 | High-end base station, very clean output. |
| Yaesu FTDX10 class HF SDR | 100 | Modern hybrid SDR transceiver. |
| Elecraft KX2/KX3 class QRP | 10 | High-quality low-power portable. |
| Yaesu FT-817/818 class QRP | 5 | Older portable design: modest headroom, more compression and hum. |
| Kenwood TS-590 class HF rig | 100 | Clean conventional 100 W transceiver. |
| Xiegu G90 class portable HF | 20 | Budget portable: audible compression and a rougher signal. |
| (tr)uSDX / uSDX QRP Class-E | 5 | Minimalist kit radio: heavy compression, significant distortion and drift artifacts. |
| Rugged HF manpack | 20 | Military-style manpack: robust but not clean. |
| Vintage tube SSB | 100 | Tube-era transmitter: soft compression, hum, slow keying. |
| Collins KWM-2 class tube SSB | 100 | Classic tube SSB station. |
| Vintage AM boatanchor | 50 | Full-carrier AM transmitter with strong hum and character. High modulation index. |
| Overdriven export AM/SSB | 25 | Deliberately dirty CB-style export radio: overmodulation, splatter, poor suppression. |
| Budget VHF/UHF handheld FM | 5 | Inexpensive FM handheld. |
| Homebrew Class-E AM | 10 | Home-built high-efficiency AM rig, full modulation. |
| Overdriven driver / poor ALC | 25 | Worst-case example: extreme drive, minimal headroom, heavy distortion and noise. |
Choosing a preset[edit | edit source]
- For intelligibility tests and clean comparisons, use Clean lab exciter.
- For realistic amateur operation, pick a preset in the class of radio being simulated; the 100 W transceiver presets behave similarly with small differences in compression and noise.
- The dirty presets (Overdriven export AM/SSB, Overdriven driver / poor ALC, (tr)uSDX) are useful for practising recognition of poor signals on a receiver.
Low-headroom, high-drive presets heat the amplifier faster at a given power, see Power Amplifier Behaviour.
Saved station presets[edit | edit source]
The Presets menu also contains complete station presets saved by the operator or installed from the Extension catalog. These .stxpreset files include the station, RF, source, and antenna configuration. They are distinct from the radio hardware character presets listed above.