FM – DAB+: my logblog!

On September 22 2024 I wrote a short review on AbracaDABra 2.5.92 and updates.
I was especially charmed by the new TII decoder in this update, making AbracaDABra a nice tool for DABdxing, more than just for DAB listening.
In the meantime Petr Kopecký has been very busy developing version 2.8.0.
It was an honour to be able to provide Petr with some user input.
Mind you: all great improved and new features can only be accessed in the Expert Mode UI in the settings widget (3 dots).

1. TII decoder

The TII decoder was implemented at first in 2.5.92. Don’t forget to check the TII settings before first use!
1. TII tab in the Settings widget.
2. Don’t forget to import the database fetched from FMLIST.
3. The database becomes useful only after entering your coordinates.
4. NEW in 2.8.0: logs can now be saved in a .csv file.
The default is ‘Documents’, but users can set another folder path.
5. A spectrum plot can also be activated.

The button at the bottom left of the TII decoder widget allows the user to record and save the received TII codes generated at the tuned channel.

I use Office 2021 Excel to open .csv files. Double clicking on an AbracaDABra .csv works perfectly well. However when importing the file via Data the decimal in the distance column is omitted.

2. Scanning Tool

Brand-new in 2.8.0 is the scanning tool, a great feature which was missing in AbracaDABra up to now.
Scanning DAB channels is great, especially for unattended logging.

The scanning tool offers some interesting options making it an excellent tool for DABDX scanning.

1. Dot indicating the home position (iris) and the received transmitters (neon red).
2. Start/stop button.
3. Select the desired channels to check.
4. Number of cycles you want AbracaDABra to run. Set it below 1 to run indefinitely.
5. Mode setting: Fast, Normal or Precise. The Precise setting takes longer but should produce more accurate results.
6. Export the scanning results as a .csv file for further analysis.
7. All columns can be sorted by clicking on the header.

3. Code smoothing
No visible for users: lots of code clean-up and optimisation.

Conclusion
AbracaDABra has come a long way since its very first release. If you have a bit of hardware (like a cheap RTLsdr stick), an indoor telescopic antenna and AbracaDABra not in in Expert Mode, this DAB suite is perfect for casual DAB listening. Set your favourites and you are good to go. Moreover the AbracaDABra GUI is neat too.

If you want more and have a good outdoor DAB antenna you could use AbracaDABra for serious DABDXing. Don’t forget to set AbracaDABra in Expert Mode UI then.
The TII decoder and the Scanning tool are what you need, especially for unattended logging.

As readers of this blog will have noticed I’m an avid DAB (and FM) DXer. QIRX and Qt-DAB are the tools I always use when there’s DAB tropo in the air and I often log at night after hitting the sack.

The past few weeks Petr was so kind to let me thoroughly test the beta versions of this new release and provide him with feedback.
The new AbracaDABra has great sensitivity and is quick to decode TIIs. The Scanner tool is a huge improvement. When another great tropo pops up I will certainly have AbracaDABra running along with my other DAB tools!

AbracaDABra 2.8.0 can be downloaded from Petr’s Github release page.
AbracaDABra is great with a RTLsdr stick. You can also use Airspy, Soapy SDR or RTL_tcp.