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The USB interface has been unavailable for several months due to the poor availability of the FTDI chip responsible for serial communication. Delivery lead times for FTDI chips have been pushed back further and further over the past months. Whereas May or June 2026 was still quoted as the delivery date at the beginning of this year, the manufacturer's current estimates now range between November 2026 and February 2027. These structural delays have led to a revision of the USB interface design.

To reduce dependence on FTDI chips, the interface design has been adapted to use the MCP2221A from Microchip. This alternative chip provides the same functionality for serial communication and is readily available in ample supply. The new design retains the reliability of the original while eliminating dependence on FTDI's problematic delivery times.

The revised USB interface has now been fully developed and tested and is immediately available.

Perhaps someone in a local amateur radio club could lend a helping hand?

The slicer driver is only used in Windows 98, Vista, XP and Windows 7 32 bits.

In PDW Interface Setup, select either Soundcard or RS232. The latter setting is for use with the  USB interface.

[I use an SDR stick, but I don't get any or garbled text]

From the FAQ:

'I use an SDR stick, but I don't get any or garbled text

Double check the SDR settings (frequency, gain). The recording settings of your soundcard are critical. There is no guarantee for success. For a 100% no-fuss result you should consider using a cheap second hand scanner in combination with one of the interfaces on this site.'

Normally, you shouldn't have to worry about the COM port settings, but the speed to the PC is 19200 8N1 as well.

You can use a serial port monitoring program to see the data sent to the PC.

I have added PDW Support (other languages) for those users who are fluent in e.g. German, French or Swedish but not in English.

-Rene

I would try to connect a 10 uF capacitor to the 'hot' side of the volume potmeter.

-Rene

Hey most  i have discriminator tap when i use usb interface😀

That's answered in the Frequently Asked Questions -

For error free monitoring of paging signals, you need a discriminator output in combination with an interface. Using an interface in combination with an earphone output is a waste of the investment. In that case, you're probably better off using the earphone output in combination with your PC's soundcard. A 4 level interface almost certainly won't work with an earphone output.

117.0.0.1 is not the IP address for mail.btinternet.com.

Are you sure it's not 127.0.0.1 (localhost)?

If you start PDW, the signal indicator always starts at 95%. It then stabilizes to the actual signal quality. So, it's not PDW but  the quality of your signal.

Please also check https://www.discriminator.nl/faq/index-en.html - 'Discriminator Outputs', Question 10 and https://www.discriminator.nl/paging/index-en.html - 'If you use a DVB-T stick, things get even more complicated, as you also have to finetune the frequency correction and gain. In many cases, using a DVB-T stick does not lead to a stable solution.'

It's a Windows 10 security mechanism that doesn't allow applications to write to the Program Files folder. A solution is to put PDW in a different folder. I use C:\Apps\PDW

Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Account_Control - File and Registry Virtualization

From the FAQ -

Can I connect the interface to my scanner's earphone output?

For error free monitoring of paging signals, you need a discriminator output in combination with an interface. Using an interface in combination with an earphone output is a waste of the investment. In that case, you're probably better off using the earphone output in combination with your PC's soundcard.

The solution: improve the input signal.

For a detailed answer, you have to provide more information.

- What type of scanner do you use?
- Does it have a discriminator output?
- What type of signal are you monitoring?

[What's the function of the resistor?]

The main reason for using a resistor is to protect the receiver IC in the scanner. From the FAQ -

'What's the function of the resistor?

Connecting or disconnecting an interface to the discriminator output might cause a short-circuit. The limiting resistor prevents the discriminator IC from being loaded or damaged. Further to that, it prevents your PC's microphone or line input from being overloaded.'

Try tweaking the sound input level. PDW is very sensitive to the right setting. Keep the scanner volume low, as ingress may occur from the earphone output to the discriminator output on the 3.5 mm socket.

Or consider buying a USB interface, which will save you a lot trial-and-error.

-Rene