A few days ago, we posted news that NOAA-18 was to begin decommissioning steps effective immediately due to a recent transmitter failure. Multiple reports have now confirmed that NOAA-18 has indeed shut down as of 1740 UTC 06/06/2025.
We're happy to announce that we have released a new USB-C version of the popular RTL-SDR Blog V3 and V4 dongles on our store at www.rtl-sdr.com/store!
Many members of the RTL-SDR community have been requesting a USB-C version for some time now. The dongle circuitry is identical to your favorite V3 and V4 models, but the USB-A plug has been replaced with a USB-C female plug instead.
The new V4c RTL-SDR Blog V4 with USB-C Plug
Please note that you will need a USB-C cable to use the dongle (not included); however, we always recommend using a USB cable with the dongle anyway to avoid strain on your USB ports and to get the dongle further away from the RF-noisy PC. Also, please note that the dongle is still USB 2.0, as simply changing to a USB-C plug does not change the USB spec.
So far, we have only produced a small batch of these USB-C dongles as a trial to test the market. If they prove popular, we will increase the number of dongles manufactured.
For now, we are only shipping these new units worldwide from our warehouse in China. They can be purchased at www.rtl-sdr.com/store. Amazon USA will be stocked with a few hundred of these dongles within about a month.
Over on LinkedIn Khalil A. has uploaded a short post highlighting how critical monitoring radio communications was during the mass power outage in Spain. This week Spain and Portugal experienced country wide blackouts, leaving more than 55 million people without power for more than half a day.
During the blackout, news was difficult to obtain as mobile services and internet connections failed. Khalil used a charged laptop and an RTL-SDR to monitor FM, AM, amateur, and emergency services, providing up-to-date information to his neighbourhood.
RTL-SDR provides news during Spain and Portugal blackouts.
Over on the USradioguy.com blog, we've seen news from Carl Reinmann noting that NOAA 15, 18, and 19 will be classed as end-of-life on June 16, 2025. These NOAA satellites are ones commonly used by RTL-SDR hobbyists to download weather satellite images, either via APT on 137 MHz with a V-dipole antenna, or via HRPT on 1.7 GHz with a tracking dish antenna.
Initially, it was thought that this meant that transmissions would cease. However, Carl Reinmann has now clarified with NOAA that transmissions of the APT and HRPT signals will continue as usual. Importantly, NOAA urges that these transmissions will only be "data of opportunity" and should no longer be used for operational purposes (not for anything safety-critical, for example). The transmissions will be fine for everyday hobbyist use.
However, this does mean that should the sensors on these satellites start failing, no attempt will be made to repair them from the ground, and in case of critical failures, the satellites will be decommissioned. In the past, we've seen NOAA 15's scan motor fail multiple times before coming back to life. It's not clear if the satellite received commands from the ground that helped recover it or if the motor just recovered by itself.
The NOAA satellites have lived well past their operational life.
Over on CrowdSupply, a new software-defined radio called the 'SignalSDR Pro' made by Hong Kong company Signalens has recently been announced. The SignalSDR Pro is roughly the size of a credit card or Raspberry Pi and has a 70 MHz to 6 GHz tuning range, 12-bit ADC, 61.44 MHz of bandwidth, and 2RX/2TX channels.
The SDR is based on the AD9361 chipset, used by several other SDRs, including the PlutoSDR and Ettus USRP B210. It also comes with an AMD Zynq 7020 FPGA. Of note is a feature that allows the device to emulate a PlutoSDR and USRP B210, instantly making it compatible with software written specifically for those devices.
In the video below, creator KaiJern Lau introduces the SignalSDR Pro and explains the motivation behind creating it.
The project is currently in the pre-crowdfunding stage, and you can sign up for updates on its Crowd Supply page.
SDRplay has recently announced the upcoming release of their "nRSP-ST" networked receiver. The product appears to essentially be an RSP2 with built-in computing and networking. The idea is that this networked receiver will be used remotely, and connected to over a local network connection or the internet.
The device will work with SDRplays SDRConnect software and will be able to transfer RF data in three modes, Full IQ, IQ Lite, and Compact. In IQ lite mode, only the active channels' IQ data are transferred, saving on significant network bandwidth when compared to full IQ mode. In compact mode demodulation is carried out on the nRSP-ST itself, and compressed demodulated audio is sent over the network, saving on network bandwidth even more.
There are no details yet about the build, but we assume the internal computer is something like a Raspberry Pi 4 compute module or similar.
The new SDRplay nRSP-ST
SDRplay write:
SDRplay is demonstrating a new product at the UK Hamfest today in newark, UK. It’s an all-in-one, plug-and-play networked receiver which will launch later in the year.
SDRplay Limited is announcing the imminent launch of the “nRSP-ST”, an All-in-one, Plug-and-play Networked SDR Receiver. The “nRSP-ST” is being demonstrated publicly for the first time at the UK National Hamfest in Newark today.
This exciting new product addresses the needs of radio enthusiasts who want a ‘plug-and-play’ solution for remote reception. As well as achieving this, we have addressed typical internet bandwidth limitations with the creation of a novel “IQ Lite” mode, which efficiently delivers channels of IQ data. We have also introduced the ability to control and store IQ recordings at the remote location. We think the nRSP-ST will be ideal for anyone wanting a wideband remote receiver without needing computer skills and hours of set-up time and ongoing maintenance at the remote location. We are very much looking forward to making the product available as soon as possible. We are aiming to launch the nRSP-ST in time for the holiday shopping season and aiming at a price of just under $500 USD before tax.
The nRSP-ST key features:
A truly “plug and play” integrated, networked general coverage receiver:
Combines a receiver, a host computer and a whole lot more – all in one box!
Apply power and connect to the internet (Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and the nRSP-ST is automatically accessible from anywhere
The 14-bit ADC full featured wideband SDR receiver covers all frequencies from 1kHz through VLF, LF, MW, HF, VHF, UHF and L-band to 2GHz, with no gaps
Remotely monitor up to 10MHz of spectrum at a time from a choice of 3 antennas
Multi-platform SDRconnectTM software supports local operation or remote access on Windows, MacOS or Linux platforms
The nRSP-ST & SDRconnectTM are configurable for available network bandwidth:
In “Full IQ” mode, the nRSP-ST provides IQ data transfer of the visible spectrum bandwidth (e.g.for high-speed LAN or superfast internet connectivity)
In “IQ Lite” mode, the nRSP-ST provides IQ data of channels up to 192kHz wide (e.g. for digital decoding by the client)
In “Compact” mode the nRSP-ST provides compressed audio (ideal for slower internet connections)
Supports multiple client connections with a simultaneous mixture of connection modes
All modes support visualization of up to 10MHz spectrum bandwidth
Two remote connection options:
Use a remote SDRconnect client or
Use the built-in web-server for remote access from any web browsing capable device, including Android/iOS tablets and phones
The nRSP-ST offers the ability to record IQ and audio files to a NAS (network attached storage) device if available on the LAN.
Back in May, we posted about the upcoming DeepRad, which is advertised as a modular RTL-SDR system, providing RTL-SDR PCB boards without USB and SMA connectors that are seated into a custom motherboard. A few days ago they released their crowdfunding campaign on Crowd Supply.
The individual DeepRad RTL-SDR units are priced at US$80 each, whereas the 'DeepRad Quad' which includes four units and a motherboard is priced at US$340 with free US shipping and $12 intl. shipping for both products. It appears that the idea behind the modular boards is to allow people designing a custom PCB to easily seat an RTL-SDR on their design.
The DeepRad Quad advertises 'Synchronize TCXO', which implies that the four units can run from the same clock. However, we don't see any noise source, distribution, or switching hardware, and no heat management, so we don't expect it to be useful for coherent projects like the KrakenSDR is.
Airspy is currently holding their annual summer sale which gives 15% off their line of products until June 30 2024. The sale brings the price of the popular Airspy receiver products down to the following in US dollars (note that actual pricing may vary across local resellers):
Airspy R2: $169.00 $143.65
Airspy Mini: $99.00 $84.15
Airspy HF+ Discovery: $169.00 $143.65
Airspy SpyVerter R2: $49.00 $41.65
YouLoop Antenna: $39.95 $33.95
The sale is active at all participating resellers, which includes our own store where we have the YouLoop on sale for US$33.95 including free shipping to most countries in the world.
