Airspy HF+ Ranger: A New Airspy Product Teased
Over on Twitter/X @lamdbaprog, creator of Airspy products and the SDRSharp software has teased his next upcoming software-defined radio hardware called the "Airspy HF+ Ranger". The Airspy HF+ Ranger prototype was also seen at the Dayton Hamvention through their local Airspy.us reseller.
The specifications appear to be very impressive, with a wide frequency range of 0.5 kHz to 1750 MHz and excellent sensitivity, linearity, and dynamic range figures. The Ranger is based on the same main RF chips used in the HF+ Discovery, so it will retain the relatively small maximum bandwidth capability of 710 kHz. However, for many use-cases this small bandwidth is more than sufficient.
Currently, there is no word on a release date or pricing but given the prototype status, it must be close. We expect this to be priced higher than the Airspy HF+ Discovery which sells for US$169.
Update: A page for the Airspy Ranger is now on the Airspy website. It shows a block diagram and further details. RTL-SDR.COM reader Ladislav has also sent us a PDF with the specs and a Dynamic Performance graph.
Over on Twitter/X, patrons of the Dayton Hamvention event have posted a few pictures of the display.
#FMDX our man @hamvention Tod Sudmeier, K6SUD sent some specs on the new AirSpy Ranger. @AirspyUS @lambdaprog #SDR pic.twitter.com/1pNiBdXwJz
— N1LF-Les Rayburn (@LesN1LF) May 17, 2024
And not a toy pic.twitter.com/HqTTCPUu2y
— Paul PD0SWL (@PD0SWL) May 17, 2024
@lamdbaprog also demonstrates the incredible dynamic range of the Ranger when up against strong pager signals in Paris.
Pretty decent behavior of the AGC in presence of strong (and noisy) pagers in Paris. Plenty of dynamic range left. #AirspyRanger pic.twitter.com/uAAG8uti1x
— prog (@lambdaprog) May 19, 2024
Will not buy anything from that socipath.
What are the allegations? I googled but nothing came up.
Why is the input impedance for VLF/LF/HF 1000 Ohm?
I’m trying to go through the list of signals on the SIGNAL ID WIKI (see link at top of this page) to work out which signals should work with the AirspyRanger, if I were to assume 710 kHz or less (instead of 912kHz), and which can never be demodulated.
Like ADS-B(1090MHz) can not be demodulated because it has a 1 Mbps data rate, which requires 2MHz of bandwidth (0.5 μsec). Even at 912 ksps (1.0965 μsec), you would be unable to detect any bits of the Pulse Position Modulated data. But to be fair the AirspyRanger even if it could, which it can not, would be overkill because under ideal condition of perfectly level terrain ADS-B has a maximum propagation of 450 km (280 miles; 250 nautical miles), there are lots of cheaper hardware to use already.
Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA)(380 MHz — 430 MHz) which uses 25kHz of bandwidth it should be able to demodulate that.
POCSAG/FLEX (72 MHz — 928 MHz) which uses 9kHz of bandwidth it should be able to demodulate that.
It is a shame that there is not a search by bandwidth on the SIGNAL ID WIKI
A preliminary info sheet has just been published:
https://airspy.com/airspy-ranger/
Do a search, in your search engine of choice, for “AirspyRangerSpecs filetype:pdf” to find a document with some Two-tone Interference Free Signal Strength graphs for HF and VHF/UHF.
For anyone reading this comment that has heard of it before, you can find some basic info about “Two-tone testing” on wikipedia.
> that has heard
that has NOT heard
only small bandwith and usb 2.0…its a hf+ discovery with extended frequency range
It most certainly is not. It’s a new and far superior receiver.
its a clear, factual, and most importantly correct response. i’d rather buy an actual radio worth my whole paycheck instead of just the next iteration with a bottom of the barrel tuner slapped in (and made in china but sold at a western pricepoint)