- the playbar, and
- the toolbar (located below the playbar).
On the playbar, you will be prompted either to open a WAV file which is not however any regular audio file but a recording made by Perseus.exe (or JAGUAR LITE). If you are new to the Perseus SDR or new to JAGUAR LITE, you may not have any files to open. So, in that case, click the L key to start listening to your Perseus SDR.
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| When you open JAGUAR LITE for the first time, you will have two options: either open a PERSEUS or JAGUAR file recording (O) for listening or start listening to your Perseus SDR receiver live (L). Click the image to enlarge. |
The concise help screen appears always on top of everything when you press the H key. Hide by pressing H once more.
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| The HELP overlay screen. Press the H key to toggle HELP on and off. |
JAGUAR LITE’s user interface may look simple (there is only a playbar and a toolbar at the bottom of the screen when you launch the program for the first time) but they are extremely powerful tools when you learn them. Using JAGUAR LITE is a rewarding learning experience: you will discover new things as you become more acquainted with the software.
Quick guide
The color of the playbar indicates which mode JAGUAR LITE is operating in. There are three operating modes: Green Mode, Red Mode and Blue Mode. We will discuss them a little bit later.
Generally, most of the JAGUAR LITE functionality is accessed via the keyboard and mouse. If you want to use the keyboard, the minimum set of keys is:
- Z (toggle frequency and time modes)
- ARROW KEYS (up/down; left/right)
- BACKSPACE (pause listening)
- ESC (exit the program).
JAGUAR LITE’s design philosophy is based on constant 'virtual recording' into disk of the entire MW spectrum which can then be accessed either in the FREQUENCY mode or TIME mode. The FREQUENCY mode offers tools for tuning frequencies, whereas the TIME mode offers tool for moving back and forth in time within the current 8-minute buffer or recordings.
Changing the frequency (FREQUENCY mode)
Tuning is the most important function of any receiver. JAGUAR LITE offers various ways of tuning into a specific frequency, as well as of stepping through or scanning frequencies. The following applies to all three operating modes: Green, Red and Blue.
Before you can tune into a frequency, you will need to enter the Frequency Mode. Press the Z key and make sure the frequency in the playbar has two brackets around it, e.g. (( 1593 )). If the brackets are missing, you are in the Time Mode (to be explained later) – so press the Z key. By pressing the Z key you will toggle between the Time and Frequency Mode.
You can change JAGUAR LITE’s frequency in the following ways:
- direct entry
- mouse wheel
- left and right arrows
- stepping through user-defined VFO frequencies
Direct entry
The easiest way to tune into a frequency is just to start typing the frequency in the playbar, and press ENTER. In the Frequency Mode, all numeric keys pressed will be shown on the playbar automatically. The frequency can be entered with 4-decimal accuracy, e.g. “1629.0078”.
Mouse wheel
When you turn the mouse wheel, the frequency will typically change in the tuning steps of 9 or 10 kHz. The frequency step can be chosen from the toolbar by clicking the “9” or “10” icon. If you manually enter a frequency which is not a standard 9 or 10 kHz frequency, say “1021”, the frequency step will automatically be 1 kHz. If you enter the frequency with exact decimals, say “1021.1”, the frequency step will be 0.1 kHz. The more decimals the frequency entered has, the finer the frequency stepping will be. The smallest step is 1 Hz.
As you step through the frequencies with your mouse (or by using the left/right arrow keys, or by any other means), you will probably soon notice that there is an automatic, intelligent choice of the most suitable SSB mode for each frequency. Each frequency has been pre-assigned either the LSB or USB mode to eliminate possible interference from the adjacent standard 9 or 10 kHz frequency. If the choice of the SSB mode does not feel good enough, you can always manually toggle between the LSB and USB modes by pressing the DOWN arrow.
Left and right arrows
The left arrow key moves towards lower frequencies, and the right arrow towards higher frequencies. The logic behind frequency stepping is the same as in the case of the mouse wheel.
Stepping through user-defined VFO frequencies
The VFO in its basic configuration is a simple user-defined set of frequencies in memory. You will enter into the VFO memory bank by pressing the V key, and scroll the VFO with the left and right arrow keys. You will return to JAGUAR LITE's base frequency and exit the VFO by pressing the V key once again.
You can store frequencies in the VFO as you go by using the ALT-V key combination. These frequencies will not be saved from session to session and will be deleted from the VFO when you exit JAGUAR LITE.
The built-in VFO frequency list contains a selection of US graveyard frequencies but you can override them by defining a VFO frequency list of your own in the [MESTOR] section of JAGUAR.INI, e.g.
SET VFO 540,954,1080,1341
Travelling in time (TIME mode)
Travelling in time smoothly while listening to recordings is essential. But as JAGUAR LITE constantly keeps an 8-minute temporary recording buffer in memory of the entire MW band, moving in this buffer space has also been made as smooth as possible. Furthermore, JAGUAR LITE offers various possibilities of moving from one recording to another, from one point of time to another.
The following are the most common ways of travelling in time:
- Changing from the FREQUENCY mode to the TIME mode
- Clicking on the playbar
- Using the LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys
- Looping a time span
Changing from the FREQUENCY mode to the TIME mode – and back
As you remember, there are two major modes above everything else in JAGUAR LITE: the FREQUENCY mode and the TIME mode. To enter the TIME mode, press the Z key until the brackets – e.g. “(( 1215 ))” – around the tuned frequency disappear.
Mouse Over Frequency. You can make quick frequency changes while in the TIME mode. When scrolling in the TIME mode, you can move the mouse over the frequency display in the playbar: the TIME mode is temporarily switched to the FREQUENCY mode ("(( ))" brackets will appear around the frequency) and you can change the frequency with the mouse wheel until you move the mouse away from the top of the frequency. The control is returned back to the TIME mode ( the "(( ))" brackets disappear).
Clicking on the playbar
The easiest way to explore time-travelling is first enter the Live mode by pressing the L (LIVE) key. If your Perseus SDR is not available, then open one of your recordings by pressing the O (OPEN) key, and choose a recording.
Now just click anywhere on the playbar with the mouse. You will go from one point of time to another just like that. By activating MOUSETIME in the Settings menu on the toolbar, you will see the exact time stamp when you hover the mouse over the playbar.
If you are listening in the Live mode, of course you obviously cannot time-travel to the future but travelling back in time is easy within the current buffer. Besides clicking on the playbar, rolling the mouse wheel back and forth will also move back and forth in time.
Using the LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys
If you rather use the LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys than the mouse, pressing the LEFT arrow will move you back 3 seconds in time, and pressing the RIGHT arrow will move you forward 3 seconds in time. Keeping the arrow keys pressed for a longer period of time will scroll you quickly through the time.
Looping a time span
Suppose you have come across an interesting announcement which you need to hear again and again to make some sense of it. To create a loop for listening to a short audio excerpt repeatedly, press the UP arrow key once to mark the beginning, press the UP arrow the second time to mark the end (after which the loop begins playing), and for the third time, press the UP arrow to exit the loop and resume regular listening. You can also use the Loop tool on the toolbar to do the same.
The easiest way to create a loop is to just press the SPACEBAR once: an audio loop is automatically created for the last four seconds played in order to give a quick answer to the question of "What Was It" (the so-called "WWI-loop"). You can exit the loop by pressing the SPACEBAR once again (or by pressing the ESC key).
The info display
Toggle the I (INFO) key to show (and hide) the basic details of JAGUAR LITE and your workstation and, specifically, the sunrise and sunset times for your QTH. The FILE NAME is the temporary 8-minute buffer file that runs continuously (changing names every 8 minutes) while you use the program.
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| The INFO screen. Press the I key to toggle INFO on and off. |
