[fix](trx-backend-soapysdr): measure WFM signal strength in IQ domain, not power domain

The previous carrier power IIR filtered |IQ|² (power), which only smoothed
temporal fluctuations but still integrated noise across the full 180 kHz WFM
channel bandwidth. This caused background noise to read ~-78 dBFS instead of
the expected ~-110 dBFS (~32 dB too high ≈ 10·log₁₀(180kHz/500Hz)).

Move the single-pole IIR lowpass to the IQ domain (filter I and Q separately
at ~500 Hz cutoff), then compute power from the filtered output. This rejects
out-of-band noise before the power measurement, so the meter reads true
carrier level rather than total wideband noise.

https://claude.ai/code/session_01W4WPMB2Lg3hgaY6opsk25f
Signed-off-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
Claude
2026-03-27 17:07:54 +00:00
committed by Stan Grams
parent 0ad3440a2d
commit 3ca3836702
@@ -297,15 +297,18 @@ pub struct ChannelDsp {
squelch: VirtualSquelch, squelch: VirtualSquelch,
noise_blanker: NoiseBlanker, noise_blanker: NoiseBlanker,
last_signal_db: f32, last_signal_db: f32,
/// Per-sample IIR state for narrow carrier power measurement (WFM). /// Single-pole IIR states for narrow IQ lowpass (WFM carrier measurement).
carrier_pwr_iir: f32, /// Filtering the IQ signal (not the power) rejects out-of-band noise so the
/// IIR coefficient for the narrow carrier filter, precomputed from sample rate. /// meter reads carrier level, not total wideband noise power.
carrier_pwr_alpha: f32, carrier_iq_i: f32,
carrier_iq_q: f32,
/// IIR coefficient for the narrow IQ carrier filter, precomputed from sample rate.
carrier_iq_alpha: f32,
} }
impl ChannelDsp { impl ChannelDsp {
/// Compute the single-pole IIR alpha for narrow carrier power measurement. /// Compute the single-pole IIR alpha for narrow IQ carrier measurement.
/// Uses ~500 Hz cutoff so the meter reads carrier envelope, not wideband noise. /// Uses ~500 Hz cutoff so the meter reads carrier level, not wideband noise.
fn narrow_carrier_alpha(channel_sample_rate: u32) -> f32 { fn narrow_carrier_alpha(channel_sample_rate: u32) -> f32 {
const CARRIER_BW_HZ: f32 = 500.0; const CARRIER_BW_HZ: f32 = 500.0;
if channel_sample_rate == 0 { if channel_sample_rate == 0 {
@@ -422,8 +425,9 @@ impl ChannelDsp {
self.iq_agc = iq_agc_for_mode(&self.mode, channel_sample_rate); self.iq_agc = iq_agc_for_mode(&self.mode, channel_sample_rate);
self.audio_agc = agc_for_mode(&self.mode, self.audio_sample_rate); self.audio_agc = agc_for_mode(&self.mode, self.audio_sample_rate);
self.audio_dc = dc_for_mode(&self.mode); self.audio_dc = dc_for_mode(&self.mode);
self.carrier_pwr_alpha = Self::narrow_carrier_alpha(channel_sample_rate); self.carrier_iq_alpha = Self::narrow_carrier_alpha(channel_sample_rate);
self.carrier_pwr_iir = 0.0; self.carrier_iq_i = 0.0;
self.carrier_iq_q = 0.0;
self.frame_buf.clear(); self.frame_buf.clear();
self.frame_buf_offset = 0; self.frame_buf_offset = 0;
} }
@@ -539,8 +543,9 @@ impl ChannelDsp {
squelch: VirtualSquelch::new(squelch_cfg), squelch: VirtualSquelch::new(squelch_cfg),
noise_blanker: NoiseBlanker::new(nb_cfg.enabled, nb_cfg.threshold), noise_blanker: NoiseBlanker::new(nb_cfg.enabled, nb_cfg.threshold),
last_signal_db: -120.0, last_signal_db: -120.0,
carrier_pwr_iir: 0.0, carrier_iq_i: 0.0,
carrier_pwr_alpha: Self::narrow_carrier_alpha(channel_sample_rate), carrier_iq_q: 0.0,
carrier_iq_alpha: Self::narrow_carrier_alpha(channel_sample_rate),
} }
} }
@@ -755,16 +760,18 @@ impl ChannelDsp {
// Signal strength measurement (before AGC). // Signal strength measurement (before AGC).
{ {
if self.mode == RigMode::WFM { if self.mode == RigMode::WFM {
// WFM: narrow carrier measurement via per-sample IIR on |IQ|². // WFM: narrow-band carrier measurement via IQ-domain lowpass.
// FM has constant envelope so IIR converges to carrier power A², // A single-pole IIR on each of I and Q (≈500 Hz cutoff) rejects
// rejecting wideband noise that inflates a peak reading. // wideband noise *before* computing power, so the meter reads
let alpha = self.carrier_pwr_alpha; // carrier level rather than total noise across the 180 kHz channel.
let alpha = self.carrier_iq_alpha;
for s in decimated.iter() { for s in decimated.iter() {
let pwr = s.re * s.re + s.im * s.im; self.carrier_iq_i += alpha * (s.re - self.carrier_iq_i);
self.carrier_pwr_iir += alpha * (pwr - self.carrier_pwr_iir); self.carrier_iq_q += alpha * (s.im - self.carrier_iq_q);
} }
self.last_signal_db = let carrier_pwr =
10.0 * self.carrier_pwr_iir.max(1e-12).log10(); self.carrier_iq_i * self.carrier_iq_i + self.carrier_iq_q * self.carrier_iq_q;
self.last_signal_db = 10.0 * carrier_pwr.max(1e-12).log10();
} else { } else {
// Other modes: peak IQ magnitude with EMA smoothing. // Other modes: peak IQ magnitude with EMA smoothing.
const SIGNAL_EMA_ALPHA: f32 = 0.4; const SIGNAL_EMA_ALPHA: f32 = 0.4;