Getting started

Connections

Input

Connect an audio input to your WOLFWAVE (left hand side) using the supplied cable. Typically, this will be the headphone output of your radio.
In some circumstances, such as powering your WOLFWAVE and radio from the same DC supply, a line-isolator may be required in series with the audio input lead.

Output

Connect a loudspeaker or headphones to the connectors on the right hand side. You can connect one or both.

The Wolfwave loudspeaker output is a stereo socket with the following connections:

SocketWolfwave output
TipPositive
RingNegative
SleeveFloating, not connected

A mono plug can be used for the loudspeaker.

If a stereo plug is used with a mono loudspeaker, the loudspeaker connections should be to the tip and ring of the plug.

NOTE: the loudspeaker connections must not be grounded as WOLFWAVE uses a high-efficiency Class D audio amplifier, the output of which is not centred on ground.

The headphone output is a standard stereo output.

Power

Your WOLFWAVE can be powered in two ways; via USB or via a DC supply. We supply a USB lead which can be used to get you going. Any clean USB supply will work.

For best quality audio output, we recommend using a DC supply of at least 7V via the 2.1mm DC connector on the right hand side of your WOLFWAVE.
This will allow a larger maximum speaker output power than if your WOLFWAVE is powered by USB.

DC supply voltage range: 5.5 – 18V.
Use at least 7V for maximum speaker output power.

The headphones output should work equally well with USB, or with any DC voltage in the range 5.5 - 18V.

Controls

Click here for a picture summarising the WOLFWAVE controls.

Volume control

Standard volume control, turn clockwise to increase the volume.

Multi use control

When in the menu, pressing it activates or deactivates the currently selected menu item.
When in the main spectrum display, pressing it switches between passband parameters.
Turning it is used to either scroll, or to adjust the currently selected value.

Menu button

Enter or leave the menu.

Mode button

When in the menu, activates or deactivates the currently selected menu item (same as pressing the multi use knob).
When in the main spectrum display or morse decoder display, switches between the main spectrum display and the morse decoder display.
Press and hold to enter standby mode.

Help button

Short tap: shows or exits context-sensitive help.
Long press: toggles the bypass function.

LED

The LED will light up green if a signal is detected near the centre of the passband.
The LED will light up red if clipping is detected at the input or output (turn the WOLFWAVE and/or audio input volume down).

Basic usage

Menu

The WOLFWAVE has a number of options and advanced features accessible through the menu system.

To show or hide the menu, press the menu button. Turn the multi-use control to scroll through menu options. A short press of the multi-use control or of the mode button selects the option.

Most settings are edited directly in the menu. After selecting a menu item, turn the multi-use control to adjust it, then press multi-use or mode again to deselect it.

All changes to settings will only last until your WOLFWAVE is next turned off and on again, unless you specifically save the current settings as the new power on defaults using "Other settings > Save defaults".

Settings can be reset to factory default values by using "Other settings > Factory reset all" to reset all settings. Or use the "Factory reset" item available in some of the submenus, such as noise reduction and CW regeneration, to only reset the values in that submenu.
As with other changes made to settings, the reset values will only last until your WOLFWAVE is next turned off and on again, unless you specifically save them.

Firmware

Once your WOLFWAVE boots up, the first thing that you will want to do is to check that you have the latest firmware running. WOLFWAVE firmware is occasionally updated to add new features and to fix bugs. These instructions will always relate to the latest firmware version.

To check the firmware version on your WOLFWAVE, navigate in the menu to "Utilities > Firmware version".

Then go to www.wolfwave.co.uk/firmware to find the latest version and for instructions on how to load and install it.

Spectrum display (bandpass mode)

When you power on your WOLFWAVE, the first screen will show the audio spectrum.

The text below the spectrum indicates the horizontal range of the spectrum. This will automatically change to fit the upper edge of the passband.
The horizontal line above the spectrum indicates the current passband of the bandpass filter.
The vertical dashed line indicates the centre of the passband, which is also the frequency used by signal detection for CW regeneration, and for the LED. The LED will light up green when a signal is detected near this frequency.

The text in the top right corner shows the current passband parameter being adjusted by the multi-use knob. Turn the knob to adjust the value.
A long press on the multi-use knob switches between centre+width and upper+lower edge adjustment modes. A short tap switches between the parameters in the current adjustment mode – so between centre and width, or between lower and upper edge.

The vertical range of the spectrum can be adjusted to fit the input signal more closely by going to "Other settings > Spectrum range" in the menu.

Bypass

To help you hear the effects of the filtering, the WOLFWAVE has a bypass function. This can be toggled either in the menu, or with the help button.
A long press on the help button bypasses the WOLFWAVE, and another long press re-engages the WOLFWAVE.

When bypassed, no digital filtering is performed, the only change made to the audio data is to amplify or attenuate it based on the volume control.

When the Bypass function is engaged it is indicated by a flashing “Byp” indicator in the lower left corner of the screen.

Other modes

From the bandpass screen, press the mode button repeatedly to cycle through display modes for other features, which are currently:

Most features do not have a separate display mode, they are controlled entirely through the menu.

Only features which might be frequently accessed and which do not fit well in the menu system have their own display mode - specifically, the spectrum displays for bandpass and bandstop filtering, and the decoded text for the morse decoder. Only the most important settings are shown directly in these modes, additional settings for these features are available in the menu.

Advanced usage

For more detailed instructions, and information about other features of your WOLFWAVE, please see the other pages on this website: