HackRF is an upcoming open source DARPA funded ~$300 software defined radio that has both transmit and receive capabilities. It has a 100 MHz to 6 GHz range, 20 Msps sample rate, 8-bit resolution, and 500 beta units are about to be given away for free by greatscottgadgets. A good introduction to the HackRF can be found here, and on this wiki here.
Register here for a chance at receiving a free beta unit.
The SDRSharp Frequency Manager + Scanner plugin has just been updated to version 1.31. Scanning is now extremely fast.
Scanner
- All scanning now uses automatic tuning based on peak signal strength. Mode and squelch do not matter; only the signal strength is used for tuning.
- A completely re-written scanning engine now provides higher performance than in previous versions.
- On my equipment frequency range scans average a speed of 782 MHz scanned per second. When the wind is blowing right I have reached 918 MHz per second!
- On my equipment group scans average a speed of 161 “channels” per second!
- The new watchdog timer will force the scanner to resume scanning after a defined period of time.
- A new Hold/Release button lets you pause the scanner to stay on an interesting frequency.
- You can now mute the audio while scanning.
- There is a new window for editing scanner configuration and for tuning its performance to suit your equipment.
- The last selected scan group, defined scan frequency ranges, and all other scanner configuration settings are now stored as your defaults for use the next time you start SDR#.
- A built-in benchmark utility tells you how fast the scanner is running on your equipment.
Frequency Manager
- Tuning Helper is now disabled by default.
Browse Window
- “Clear” buttons on the Filter by Group and Filter by Flagged/Locked dropdowns.
See the Reddit release thread here, and the Yahoo Groups release thread here.
Download from http://www.sdrsharpplugins.com.
On the thisisnt.com blog, the author has posted about his project where he placed the rtl-sdr dongle, and a ham-it-up upconverter together into a metal box. This helps with shielding out interference, and also in helping to tidy up the cabling.
See more about his project here.
A new digital noise reduction plugin for SDRSharp has been released. It is packaged as part of the SDRSharp binaries. Head to the SDRSharp downloads page, and download and use the automated installer for rtl-sdr under the heading “Important note for RTL-SDR users”.
Then in SDRSharp, simply click “Enabled” in the Digital Noise Reduction plugin window and adjust the slider until you get good results. In testing I found significant improvements in noise reduction.
Blogger and Amateur Radio enthusiast N4JTC has posted a guide on setting up a satellite receiving station with the rtl-sdr. Originally the guide was intended for receiving the PhoneSat test satellites, but they have now gone offline after a week as planned. But, the guide is still useful for any current and future satellites.
The recent launch of the PhoneSats got my SDR and satellite juices flowing again. This time I decided to automate things because work seems to get in the way of my satellite listening fun. I found a combination that works great and incorporates FREE software and inexpensive hardware.
Reddit user soooooil has posted a series of images showing his home made Discone antenna made out of wire coat hangers and designed for a minimum frequency of 130MHz. His thread discussing the Discone is here.
A Discone is a good general antenna for the rtl-sdr as they are extremely wideband, and can be expected to be useful over almost the entire frequency range that is tuneable by the the rtl-sdr.
Another page on a home made Discone also designed for a minimum of 130MHz is here with some brief instructions links to design calculators.
Reddit user rtlsdr_is_fun has updated the SDRSharp Unitrunker trunking plugin so that it works with the latest versions of SDRSharp. See the thread here for more information and a download link. Use this plugin to allow Unitrunker to control SDRSharp, so you can listen to trunked radio conversations. A new tutorial on doing this can be found here.
