KiwiKonnect

KiwiKonnect connects to online KiwiSDR receivers without the need for a web browser. Receiver audio can be piped to virtual sound cards, so it can be easily fed into decoding programs for SSTV, Fax, and other modes.

For Windows and macOS. Please click on images to view them full sized.

Download a copy for Windows: https://www.blackcatsystems.com/download/KiwiKonnect.zip Version 1.2.0b3 (September 8, 2021)

Download a copy for macOS: https://www.blackcatsystems.com/download/KiwiConnectMac.zip Version 1.2.0b3 (September 8, 2021)

Hot off the press! Basic instructions.... more to follow:

After launching the app:

Enter your nickname/call etc. into the name field, followed by your location.

Select your audio playback device from the popup menu. You can use the slider to the right of it to adjust the volume.

There is also a popup menu to select de-emphasis, as well as a (currently non functional) mute checkbox.

On the second line of fields, enter in the URL and port number of the desired KiwiSDR, you can also select one from the popup menu.

Click the Connect button. After a few seconds you should be connected and hearing audio. If not, check the status text just above the waterfall at the bottom of the window, perhaps the KiwiSDR is full?

Use the popup menu to select the mode, text fields to select the frequency and IF filter range.

There is a bar graph display of the received signal strength with the estimated dBm value to the right.

AGC (automatic gain control) can be enabled and adjusted via the two checkboxes and four sliders.

Squelch can be set along with the waterfall offset and gain, adjust as needed for the best display.

See some strange numbers appearing? Some fields currently display diagnostic data for my testing purposes. It will eventually disappear.

It's best to click the Disconnect button before connecting to another KiwiSDR, or quitting.

When the Reconnect checkbox is checked, the app will try to automatically reconnect to a KiwiSDR if it gets disconnected, or cannot connect, every minute. While I think I've avoided any logic or race conditions, there could be some edge cases. If so, try unchecking the box, waiting for them to clear, then re-check.

Check the Network box, and the Black Cat Systems UDP radio control / audio streaming service is enabled. This works with:

Black Cat HF Weather Fax
Black Cat SSTV
DX ToolBox - currently one way, from DXTB to KiwiKonnect.

You'll need to enable networking in each of those apps as well, by enabling use of the SDRuno Plugin in each app. See the instructions for each app to learn how to do this.

Click the Start Recording button to record received audio to a WAVE file. Click it again to stop recording. Recorded files are stored to the Documents directory for your user account, with a filename that contains a timestamp, frequency and mode, as well as the KiwiSDR URL and port number. For example:

KiwiRecording-2021-04-29T17_27_11Z1620.000amn_sdr.hfunderground.com_8073.WAV

If the recording file length exceeds 2GB, the file is closed, and a new recording file is started.

Automated recording:

Select New Schedule Window from the File menu.

Right click and select Add entry. A new line will be added, pre-populated with the current KiwiSDR URL, frequency, mode, and IF filter values. Edit this as necessary, and also add a time range, and optionally a date:

The time should be entered in UTC, with colons between hours, minutes, and seconds, and a dash between the start and stop time. For example:

07:40:00-07:50:00

will record from 0740-0750 UTC.

If you leave the date field blank, it will record on any day. If you wish to record on a specific date, enter it in YYYY-MM-DD format:

2000-05-01

You can have multiple entries in a schedule window. They do not need to be in any specific (chronological) order. Make sure to NOT overlap times, however, or things will break. Also consider that it can take several seconds to connect/disconnect from a KiwiSDR, so factor that into your start/end times.

You can directly paste an entry from the Shortwave Broadcast Schedule window in DX ToolBox and it will be parsed and correctly formatted. Just select the line in the window in DX ToolBox, copy the text (Copy from Edit Menu), go to the schedule window in KiwiKonnect, right click, and select Add entry from clipboard.

Running multiple instances of KiwiKonnect:

It's possible to run more than one copy of KiwiKonnect. When doing this, it is important that each copy uses its own setting file, which should be placed in the same directory as the application itself. Note that some OS disallow applications from writing/reading files in certain directories, so you may need to experiment as to which directory you place your copies.

Run KiwiKonnect normally and quit. Find its settings file, named "KiwiKonnect Prefs".

Under Windows, this file is usually located in \Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\

On macOS, it is stored in Library/Preferences referenced from the home directory for your user account.

Make a copy (or copies) of this file and place a copy in the same directory as any copies of the application you have made.

When you run KiwiKonnect, it will first check to see if there is a local settings file. If so, it will use it instead of the original.

There's probably still lots of bugs and features that need to be tweaked or added. It's a work in progress :)

Buy Your Copy of KiwiKonnect Today

$19.99 Registration code sent by email, software download

KiwiKonnect is only $19.99, which entitles you to all updates and new versions released over the next full year, free of charge, which of course you can continue to use forever.

Free To Try!

Not sure you're ready to buy KiwiKonnect? You can (and should!) download a fully featured copy to try out, before you buy it.

Email your comments and questions to info@blackcatsystems.com

Last modified September 8, 2021