Technical Topics > SDR - Software Defined Radio

Exasperating ergonomics of Kiwi SDR (on small screens)

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Ray Lalleu:
Maybe it's because I use it on a small touchscreen, but :

- the waterfall is almost half covered by the tuning panel (I have to begin at the upper limit of a band, tuning downwards, to see both the waterfall -on the left side of the screen- and the tuning panel - on the right side of the screen)

- the touch buttons are much too close, so very often I miss the one I want to press, and then I'm  triggering anything else

- the strip of known stations above the waterfall is useless most of the time, a wasted place on the screen

Edit on 28 OCT 2022 :
adding '(on small screens)' in the subject line


- many options and settings are strangely placed, and often without any effect

In my sense, the Kiwi SDR software needs a complete redesign of its ergonomics.

NJQA:

--- Quote from: Ray Lalleu on August 17, 2022, 1735 UTC ---Maybe it's because I use it on a small touchscreen, but :

--- End quote ---

Yes, this is where most of your frustration comes from.  When I access a KiwiSDR from a PC and normal size monitor, it works fine.   When I use an iPad (smaller screen) it works, but more of the screen is blocked and controls are a bit more difficult.

The station list at the top isn’t that useful UNTIL you edit it for your particular needs.  On my KiwiSDRs I have deleted most of the default stations.  I edited it to include more useful information like channel numbers, etc.  On LF I’ve marked many of the semi-frequently heard stations.  This makes it easy to spot which weak stations are potentially something new vs something I’ve heard before.  Same thing on the 22M band.  After doing all of this I find it very useful.

I suppose they could code the interface to recognize when you are on a mobile device and give you a different interface screen…

Pigmeat:
This is why SDR's (Satan Designed Radios) need knobs. Add a knob or four and your problems are gone.

cyphermatic:
What the KiwiSDRs need is more extensive (Javascript?) html and CSS coding. It is possible to set different sizes for the control panels and buttons based on the screen size of the user's device. Setting them up by "Viewports" would make a nice difference.

I listen a lot on my phone and have to use the browser in "desktop" mode to get the SDR to behave.

Charlie_Dont_Surf:

--- Quote from: NJQA on August 18, 2022, 1205 UTC ---I suppose they could code the interface to recognize when you are on a mobile device and give you a different interface screen…

--- End quote ---

Unfortunately the kiwiSDR user interface does have a separate mobile interface because that would be very useful here. In contrast, some of the WebSDR receivers have mobile interfaces (e.g., Twente).

However, the Kiwi GUI does recognize "mobile gestures" on my iPhone. For example, you can tune the receiver by using a two-finger swipe left (decrease frequency) or right (increase) while over the waterfall. (One finger swipe does something else.) Zooming in and out is accomplished by the usual two-finger "spread" and "regroup" that is probably familiar to most smart phone users.

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