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Expert Electronics ColibriDDC, User Manual

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16

ColibriDDC User Manual

© 2022 Expert Electronics

HARDWARE DESCRIPTION

3

ExpertSDR2 SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION

Software settings which won't be mentioned or addressed in this manual, are set by  default  or

provided to the user's self-study  and  experiments.  All  the  unmentioned  settings  cannot  cause

the fatal damage of the ColibriDDC receiver hardware, so you can safely experiment with them.

You're dealing with the software-defined radio – SDR, the main settings and signal processing is

held in the software.

3.1

Global controls panel

This panel consists of the following buttons:

 - the St art  button switches on/off the ExpertSDR2 software.

 - enable/disable button of the second software receiver (RX2).

 - In the RX2 drop-down menu, you can select receiver's window configuration.

RX2 window has the same interface as the RX1.

Note:

·

 Two independent software receivers can operate simultaneously only in one Nyquist zone 0-
62 MHz or 62-124 MHz or 124-186 MHz and so on up to 800 MHz.

Summary of Contents for ColibriDDC

Page 1: ...Expert Electronics 2022 Expert Electronics ColibriDDC USER MANUAL 1 2 0 Perfect for remote operation Direct Sampling SDR receiver ...

Page 2: ......

Page 3: ...14 2 3 1 EXT CTRL 14 3 ExpertSDR2 SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION 16 3 1 Global controls panel 16 3 2 Software receiver settings 19 3 2 1 Receiver control panel 19 3 2 2 Frequency and S meter indicators 22 3 2 3 DSP control panel 24 3 2 4 Panorama description 27 3 2 4 1 Spectrum Scope 27 3 2 4 1 1 Spectrum Scope scaling 27 3 2 4 2 Waterfall 29 3 2 5 Status bar 29 3 3 Options 30 3 3 1 Device menu 30 3 3 1 1 V...

Page 4: ...xpertSync menu 55 3 3 8 CW Skimmer menu 56 3 3 9 Shortcuts menu 57 3 3 10 IQ Recorder menu 58 3 3 11 TCI menu 59 3 3 12 Spot settings menu 59 4 TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS 61 4 1 Receiver 61 4 2 Other 62 5 RECEIVER OPERATIONS 63 5 1 Local operation 63 5 2 Remote operation 64 5 3 Frequency Tuning 65 5 4 RIT 66 5 5 Digital modes operation 67 6 RESET DEFAULT SETTINGS 68 7 REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS 69 ...

Page 5: ...aspberryPi3 with installed ExpertRS software and use it from any place on the Planet you just have to have a reliable internet connection Note The basic version of the receiver doesn t include the BPF module Main features and capabilities of the receiver RX path based on DDC Direct Down Conversion architecture ExpertRemote system provides full remote control of the receiver 2 software receivers ea...

Page 6: ... Coder panel or E Coder mini kit for convenient remote operation 1 4 Precautions To prevent any damage to the transceiver please read these operating rules carefully before attempting to operate on the air Carefully read this manual first otherwise connecting and operating the ColibriDDC could lead to fatal errors Visually inspect the ColibriDDC receiver for the absence of mechanic damages before ...

Page 7: ...y Don t open the receiver it has radio elements which have high sensitivity to the static electricity This document contains all necessary information about the internal design to satisfy the Users curiosity To repair the receiver ask the manufacturer Ensure the receiver and any connecting cables are free from the effects of electromagnetic interference and uncontrolled currents and voltages Keep ...

Page 8: ...R2 functionality The manufacturer assumes no responsibility for the material moral or any other kind of damage whether expressed or implied caused by using of a third party software The manufacturer assumes no responsibility for the material moral or any other kind of damage whether expressed or implied caused by using of external devices along with the ColibriDDC receiver 1 6 Copyrights Expert El...

Page 9: ...turing process is fully automatic and is carried out by the high quality Taiwan manufacturers All functional units of the receiver are placed on the PCB under the shields Assembled PCBs are installed in the light anodized aluminum case Solid case protects the receiver from the mechanical damages and shields the PCB from the electromagnetic emissions Structural schematics Receive path consists of t...

Page 10: ... logic MCU Microprocessor Control Unit It is responsible for the data exchange between the receiver and a PC and controls all ColibriDDC systems LAN LAN interface The data exchange between the ColibriDDC and a PC is carried out via LAN cable with 100 Mbit sec speed PLL Phased Locked Loop provides the reference clock frequency 125 MHz to clock ADC There might be two sources of the reference signal ...

Page 11: ...s an internal protection from polarity reversal and supply overload 3 Headphones jack Here you may connect headphones with 16 30 Ohm impedance or speakers 4 Power on off button Press the button to power on off the device 5 LED indicator colors green and yellow LED is indicating the Network mode 1 Green LED is blinking setting up the connection between the receiver and PC 2 Green LED is constant th...

Page 12: ...scillator Input 10 MHz 10 MHz CMOS level input Appropriate Voltage amplitude for this input 1 3 V Pk to Pk and 10 MHz frequency Input impedance 2 kOhm Warning Improper use or higher voltage may damage the receiver 2 2 1 Antenna Before connecting the antenna check the integrity of the antenna feeder path For best results the antenna should have an impedance of 50 Ohm to match the 50 Ohm impedance o...

Page 13: ...age of 75 V and current up to 200 mA If your inductive load gives a higher reverse current it is necessary to use an external diode in parallel to the connected load Warning i Never use a VGA cable from your monitor to connect external devices i Never connect monitors with the VGA interface to the ExtCTRL connector i Incorrect connection of external devices and or uncontrolled galvanic connections...

Page 14: ...f the external reference oscillator 2 3 CONNECTORS PIN OUT 2 3 1 EXT CTRL Out Output name Description Note 1 X1 Programmable key with open collector Output 2 X4 Programmable key with open collector Output 3 X7 Programmable key with open collector Output 4 NC In reserve Input Outp ut 5 I2 Connection of buttoned detector Connect to ground In reserve Input 6 CP Contact of the protective diode 7 X3 Pr...

Page 15: ...atally damage the receiver Attention Never connect external power supplies to this connector it will seriously damage receiver Output 15 GND Ground Note When an electronic key with open collector triggers it leads to key s ground connection Voltage drop equals 0 7V Logic inputs of the buttoned detectors are reserved Warning iWhile connecting an inductive load relay solenoids fans etc to the X1 X8 ...

Page 16: ... them You re dealing with the software defined radio SDR the main settings and signal processing is held in the software 3 1 Global controls panel This panel consists of the following buttons the Start button switches on off the ExpertSDR2 software enable disable button of the second software receiver RX2 In the RX2 drop down menu you can select receiver s window configuration RX2 window has the s...

Page 17: ...l every time when the 20 dB attenuator is used like in most classic transceivers Attenuator influences only receiving dynamic range S meter and audio level stay the same If you disconnect antenna you can see how receiver s noises are changing when you switch the ATT Receiver s noise level is lower when you select ATT 0 dB it means that RX sensitivity is higher but RX noise level is higher when you...

Page 18: ...e by entering the name of the profile in the Profile name field and pressing Add button set the settings of the whole program to the default state by the Default button Update the settings of the certain profile from the list to the current settings Remove the certain profile from the list Note All new profiles will be stacked up to the drop down menu as a new line Options menu described options A...

Page 19: ...indow on the whole screen 3 2 Software receiver settings These settings are divided into four logical parts described below 3 2 1 Receiver control panel volume and balance control menu for the first and second receivers separately Mixer When you use only RX1 the Mixer settings are off but when you enable the RX2 it activates Mixers for both RXs ...

Page 20: ... you ll hear the sound of the receiving station on the receiver s LF output If the signal level is lower than the trigger threshold you ll hear nothing button mutes LF signal Mute show the HF stations markers on the panorama from the EiBi database EiBi Hover with the mouse pointer on the station frequency and you ll see its name IQ files recording is required for storing the RX bandwidth panorama ...

Page 21: ... s required to activate the squelch with the help of the CTCSS tones You set the CTCSS level relatively to your voice signal 1 Set the NFM mode 2 Set the receiver s tone frequency in the RX Tone input box 3 Press the CTCSS button to activate the CTCSS mode 4 Receive signals with CTCSS tone When you enable the WFM mode one additional button appears when enabled this function allows the software to ...

Page 22: ...pplied to the transceiver software for operating in digital modes Digital Upper Side Band Connect a third party software is not supplied to the transceiver software for operating in digital modes Digital Radio Mondiale 10 kHz filter with 5 kHz IF to work with the external decoder of the DRM signals Connect third party software is not supplied to the transceiver software for decoding of the DRM sig...

Page 23: ...ange the band the SubRX is disabled B A assign the VFO B frequency to VFO A A B assign the VFO A frequency to VFO B B A swap frequencies between the VFO A and VFO B VFO A frequency indicator main receiver Main receiver control unit LOCK lock the VFO A frequency tuning SAVE save the current VFO A frequency and mode type in the memory panel SET manual frequency input for VFO A or VFO B Navigation bu...

Page 24: ...layed in dBm to mW yellow figure in the top left corner of the S Meter Note S Meter in the ExpertSDR2 has two different calibrations for HF 0 30 MHz and VHF 30 300 MHz HF and VHF signals with the same dBm level have different S scale values For example HF S9 73 dBm 50 uV 50 Ohm VHF S9 93 dBm 5 uV 50 Ohm S Meter in the ExpertSDR2 corresponds to the IARU recommendations each device is calibrated at ...

Page 25: ...t or tuning your own preset Step list allows to change the step of the mouse wheel in the range from 0 1 Hz to 100 kHz DSP functions enable the RX equalizer enabled on the picture enable the TX equalizer binaural audio mode the phasing of the audio signal within the RX filter gives a stereo like effect enable the adaptive Noise Reduction to clean the signal from noise interferences enable the Firs...

Page 26: ...f the CW signals in the filter bandwidth depending on their position in the filter if the received CW signal is in the receive filter bandwidth and lower the tuned frequency it will be louder in the left phone if the received CW signal is in the receive filter bandwidth and higher the tuned frequency it will be louder in the right phone if the received CW signal is in the receive filter bandwidth ...

Page 27: ...ted by the vertical red line To the right of the line indicated its precise tuning frequency can be switched off in Options Below the frequency you can see the signal level on the S Meter scale can be switched off in Options RX filter bandwidth displayed as the translucent gray area around the tuning frequency You can listen to everything within this band Spectrum is displayed as a line on the spe...

Page 28: ...ill appear Press and hold the right mouse button then move it left right to zoom in out the panorama or press and hold the left mouse button then move it up down to change the ratio of the spectrum to waterfall Zoom in out of the panorama is carried out relative to the Zoom position marker There are two ways to change the Zoom position 1 Press and hold the left mouse button on the Zoom marker and ...

Page 29: ...ude brightness frequency horizontal time vertical The comfortable settings are set by default but you can change them if necessary more details in Waterfall tab 3 2 5 Status bar The status bar displays the following information from left to right ExpertSDR2 window size in pixels CPU load in percent Coordinated Universal Time UTC Current date and Local Time 44 ...

Page 30: ...ges without leaving the Options window just click the Apply button If you are satisfied with the changes and don t want to change anything else click the OK button to close the Options window Warning i We recommend you study this section of the manual very carefully because many settings are hidden in the sub menus 3 3 1 Device menu In the Device menu you can find software functions of the signal ...

Page 31: ...ction is successfully set up you ll see the receiver s info if not nothing will show up Use LPF Set the Use LPF checkbox to enable the wide filter for the whole HF 0 65 MHz band Front end BPF Front end ATT Front end Preamp optional functions active only if the additional BPF filters are installed BPF enable BPF for the HF band ATT enable additional attenuator 20dB Preamp enable low noise preamplif...

Page 32: ...nnels select the amount of the sound card s or virtual audio cable used channels Latency signal delay time RX gain additional signal amplifying in the virtual audio cable s RX path in dB Note Before enabling the VAC make sure all settings for audio devices are correct 3 3 1 2 DSP On the DSP tab you can see the AGC s and Digital Signals Processing settings There are two types of settings in the dro...

Page 33: ...etermines how quickly the AGC will increase gain Hang time signal recovery time Threshold AGC trigger threshold Default reset AGC setting to the default level Press the Default button if you set wrong AGC values and don t like the result Each AGC tab has a Default button Digital processing filter s settings There you can find fine the settings of the receiver s digital processing filters DSP funct...

Page 34: ...Analog peak filter for CW and SSB mode Provides a more comfortable listening of the CW signals by amplifying the CW signal in the center of the receive filter triangle filter s AFC amplitude frequency characteristic in the filter bandpass Gain Analog peak filter amplifying factor Quality Analog peak filter quality slope sharpness Frequency central frequency of the voice signal Filter taps receiver...

Page 35: ...Surround Effect for CW signals Provides a space orientation in stereo phones stations from lower frequencies are louder in the left channel stations from higher frequencies are louder in the right channel The signal in the filter s center is equally heard in both channels of stereo phones Quality DSE filter quality The higher the quality value the stronger the function s effect Swap channels swap ...

Page 36: ...nding band Note On the picture above you can see the example of using the keys in the 160M 80M and 60M bands for both RX and TX modes While working on the 160M band in the RX mode 1 key is enabled if turn to TX mode 1 key is still active While turning on 80M band 2 key will be enabled 1 key will be disabled it is active in both RX and TX modes While turning on 60M band 3 key will be enabled 2 key ...

Page 37: ...with every software launch Set static IP Address an input box to enter new IP Address New Port an input box to enter the New Port Set IP Address a button to activate the new values of the IP address and Port Network mode network mode of the receiver Static IP you set a Static IP address for the receiver it always be available via this address DHCP server receiver works in the DHCP server mode and ...

Page 38: ...n accuracy Calibration should be performed with the maximum panorama zoom and maximum FFT size of the panorama more detail about FFT size in Spectrum After you set the frequency correction coefficient press the Write button The devices are calibrated at the manufacturing by default additional calibration is not required Firmware Update Button for manual firmware update in the receiver Press the Fi...

Page 39: ...d card s physical output Channels Select the amount of active sound card s channels Sample rate Sampling frequency Buffer size Buffer size Latency signal delay time Note Before you ll enable the Sound card by the Enable checkbox make sure that all sound devices settings are set correctly 3 3 2 2 Line output In the Line output category you can see the settings of the sound card or virtual audio cab...

Page 40: ...amount of active sound device channels Sample rate Sampling frequency Buffer size Buffer size Latency signal delay time Note Before you ll enable the Line output by the Enable checkbox make sure that all sound devices settings are set correctly 3 3 3 Display menu In the Display menu you can see the settings of the transceiver s software display Display settings are placed according to their functi...

Page 41: ...ckbox setting on ExpertSDR2 stays on top On top checkbox Set the ExpertSDR2 stays on top checkbox to see ExpertSDR2 window constantly on top of other windows Recommended checkbox setting off Autostart device Receiver s autostart checkbox Set the Autostart device checkbox to automatically start the receiver after the launch of the software Recommended checkbox setting on Show current profile in win...

Page 42: ...re 3 3 3 2 Spectrum On the Spectrum tab you can see the receiver s spectrum settings FFT size Fast Fourier Transform FFT size of the spectrum scope Select the required FFT size The higher FFT size the higher spectrum scope resolution by frequency along with the higher processor load Averaging type Spectrum scope averaging type menu Select the averaging type from the list Linear root mean square Rm...

Page 43: ...h band checkbox to enable the software to save set spectrum scope limits for each band Save zoom for each band Save spectrum scope zoom settings for each band Set the Save zoom for each band checkbox to enable the software to save spectrum scope zoom settings for each band Zoom center follows VFOA Zoom center marker locked on the VFOA position on the spectrum scope Set the Zoom center follows VFOA...

Page 44: ...Scope Show S Meter on Band Scope Show the S Meter on the Band Scope Set the Show S Meter on Band Scope checkbox to show the S Meter on the Band Scope for each VFO 3 3 3 3 Waterfall On the Waterfall tab you can see the receiver s waterfall settings Level mode Waterfall bright menu Select the bright mode from the list Automatic Synchronous Automatic mode depends on air signals and set offset in the ...

Page 45: ...utton on the empty space adds the color marker Remove flicker Checkbox to remove the waterfall flickers Set the Remove flicker checkbox to get rid of the texture flickers in the waterfall also it slightly clears the waterfall from air noises Rate Waterfall movement speed slider Set the Rate slider according to the required waterfall movement speed 3 3 3 4 Grid On the Grid tab you can see the spect...

Page 46: ...er near the receiver s filter In the RX Filter А RX Filter В categories displayed filters color and transparency settings Filter color Filter s frequency color menu Choose the required filter s tuned frequency color from the palette Band filter color Filter s bandwidth color menu Choose the required filter s bandwidth color from the palette Transparency Filter s transparency slider Set the require...

Page 47: ...ype In the Solid mode available settings are Color Background color menu Choose the required background color from the palette In the Gradient menu available settings are Color top Top gradient color of the background Choose the required top gradient color from the palette Color bottom Bottom gradient color of the background Choose the required bottom gradient color from the palette In the Image m...

Page 48: ... choose the image file Supported files types png jpg jpeg bmp 3 3 4 CAT menu In the CAT menu you can see the CAT system settings CAT system is the transceiver s exchange interface with external devices and software CAT interface is used for control the receiver from a third party software This could be contest logs digital modes decoder software SAT tracker etc RX1 and RX2 have independent setting...

Page 49: ...switch via the CAT system Set the Antenna switch control checkbox to enable the control of the antenna switch via the CAT system Useful for the Ham Radio Deluxe software Global volume control When this checkbox is enabled you control the global volume with the Volume slider on the top of the software window from the CAT system Recommended when you use one RX or VFO A only SubRX is disabled View lo...

Page 50: ...ngs button to open the OmniRig software settings Note If the ExpertSDR2 software uses OmniRig protocol to exchange data with an external contest log software which also uses OmniRig then COM port and other settings in the OmniRig software are not required Select in the OmniRig settings any idle COM port in the system to avoid conflict OmniRig RX1 Status RX1 receiver and OmniRig connection status O...

Page 51: ...schematic picture of the E Coder panel with buttons and knobs Press any button you ll see the list of the available functions Note The list of the available functions is constantly growing Keep track of the software updates You can make a request to add a new function on the control button The following functions may be assigned to the E Coder panel buttons Unused button is unused Main AGC Up Down...

Page 52: ...y by moving the filter over the panorama in other words changing the digital IF or when filter stands still and spectrum moves this is the central frequency tuning Switch Receiver switching between software RX1 and RX2 The main knob will tune the frequency of one of the receivers While you operate both RX1 and RX2 usually you need to listen to either only one of them or both of them but in differe...

Page 53: ...able auto notch filter APF enable disable analog pick filter BIN enable disable binaural mode NR enable disable noise reduction NB1 enable disable noise blanker 1 NB2 enable disable noise blanker 2 SQL enable disable squelch The following functions may be assigned on the E Coder panel knobs Unused encoder is unused Volume volume adjustment SQL squelch threshold adjustment Filter Low High tuning th...

Page 54: ...er s high limit change step per knob s clack Filter Low set the filter s low limit change step per knob s clack Filter Width set the filter s width change step per knob s clack Filter Shift set the filter s shift change step per knob s clack RF Gain set the RF gain step per knob s clack There are three LEDs on the E Coder panel from left to right 1 Lights green when the VFO B is active 2 Lights re...

Page 55: ...an see the network synchronization settings between the ColibriDDC and other Expert Electronics devices This interface allows you to synchronize the tuning frequency and mode type between several Expert Electronics devices via the ExpertSync software you may download it from here Server address ExpertSync server IP address Enter the ExpertSync server IP address If the the ExpertSync server is laun...

Page 56: ...eceiver software and CW Skimmer software or Internet server spotter Settings in the CW Skimmer menu has two identical tabs RX1 and RX2 with connection settings for each software receiver let s take a look at one of them Connect Button to launch the connection with the CW Skimmer software or Internet server spotter Press the Connect button after adjusting all settings to make a connection with the ...

Page 57: ...uency Buffer size Buffer size Latency Signal delay time Note If CW Skimmer is installed on the receiver s PC then for the signal output you need to use Virtual Audio Cable Sync frequency set the Sync frequency to synchronize the CW Skimmer frequency with ExpertSDR2 frequency Tune frequency from CW Skimmer CW Skimmer set the ExpertSDR2 frequency Set the Tune frequency from CW Skimmer to tune the Ex...

Page 58: ...n receiver s functions Shortcut RX1 RX1 receiver shortcuts column In the RX1 shortcut column you can set RX1 receiver functions Shortcut RX2 RX2 receiver shortcuts column In the RX2 shortcut column you can set RX2 receiver functions Shortcut button Press the Shortcut button then press the key combination on the keyboard To delete a shortcut press the Del button on the keyboard 3 3 10 IQ Recorder m...

Page 59: ...em but even more it can transfer IQ streams from the ExpertSDR2 to clients third party software such as signal Skimmers etc via local network and the Internet CW macroses and Audio In Out streams for digital modes will be added soon TCI is the universal multi client interface you can connect it to Loggers Skimmers PAs Antenna switches etc at the same time https github com maksimus1210 TCI link to ...

Page 60: ... of the menu you can add connections to telnet clusters to receive spots To add a cluster enter a server address you may find examples on this website http www dxcluster info telnet index php enter your callsign and select a certain color press the Add button it s done To delete a server connection select it and press the Delete button on your keyboard Note Don t forget to enable the Show spots ch...

Page 61: ...r kHz 39 78 156 312 24 bit Sensitivity in CW mode bandwidth 500 Hz 1 62 5 MHz 0 41 uV Noise floor dBm 130 Blocking Dynamic Range BDR on HF dB 110 Blocking Dynamic Range BDR on VHF dB 106 Local oscillator TCXO ppm 16 2 5 20 0 5 in older version Local attenuator dB 20 dB 0 dB ColibriDDC has an LPF for HF bands 0 60 MHz Chebyshev I 7 Order Optional HF octave BPF parameters 1 73 2 6 MHz Chebyshev I 7 ...

Page 62: ...ARACTERISTICS 4 2 Other Characteristic Value Dimensions L x W x H cm inches 12 5 x 6 5 x 2 6 4 41 x 2 52 x 0 94 Weight kg lbs 0 16 0 66 lbs DC voltage range V 4 5 5 5 Current consumption A 0 64 Maximum power consumption W 3 2 Operating temperature C F 0 50 32 122 ...

Page 63: ... install the receiver software you need to properly setup the LAN connection There are several ways to connect the receiver to PC A Connect the receiver to PC via the Ethernet connection without setting up the static IP address on PC In this case after you launch the receiver it searches for the available IP address in the set sub net for 30 seconds If no address was found the receiver switches to...

Page 64: ... the ExpertSDR2 software and press the Options button Set up your Device settings and press Search button you ll see the window with an available ColibriDDC receiver press the Use button in front of it save the settings Press the Start button in the ExpertSDR2 B2 If you have a local net with different IP address than 192 168 16 ххх and you need to change the IP address of the receiver Connect the ...

Page 65: ...e click and Fine tuning modes Click on the station and perform a fine tuning with the wheel if you slightly missed Dragging the RX filter over the spectrum scope Press and hold the left mouse button on the filter then drag it left right to the required position Moving the spectrum the RX filter stands still Press and hold the right mouse button anywhere on the spectrum then move the spectrum the f...

Page 66: ...he frequency offset L and H low and high filter s edges frequencies O mouse cursor frequency inside the filter To change the filter bandwidth move the mouse cursor over the filter edge it will be highlighted then drag the edge with the left mouse button When the RIT is enabled frequency tuning changes a bit Press and hold the left mouse button inside the RX filter to move it over the panorama Pres...

Page 67: ...odes operation The ColibriDDC receiver allows you to operate in digital modes with the help of the certain programs which are not provided by the manufacturer Note More information about the ColibriDDC operation in digital modes will be explained in the new version of the User Manual ...

Page 68: ...have the default IP address 192 168 16 200 and port 50001 In case there is something wrong with the device but you cannot connect with it to figure it out you may try to do a deep reset 1 Switch off the receiver with the PWR button 2 Press and hold BT and RST buttons simultaneously 3 Switch on the receiver with the PWR button The LED will blink different colors green and yellow 4 Release RST and B...

Page 69: ...uipment Class B RoHS Directive Expert Electronics LLC confirms that we place on the market products sourced from suppliers who have confirmed that their products are RoHS compliant Expert Electronics LLC declares that this equipment complies with the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment Waste Disposal The device may not be disposed of with h...

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