Category: RTL-SDR

RTL-SDR vs Funcube PRO+ Dongle

YouTube user aunumero73 has posted a video showing a broadcast FM selectivity comparison between the rtl-sdr and the Funcube Dongle PRO+ (FCD+). The FCD+ is a software defined radio similar to the rtl-sdr, but with better overall performance. The video shows that the Funcube Dongle PRO+ has significantly less interference when tuning to a weaker radio station right next to a strong local station. Of course the near $190 USD cost of the FCD+ vs the $20 USD cost of the rtl-sdr needs to be noted.

Another comparison between the rtl-sdr and Funcube Dongle is made on this website for signal to noise ratios for multiple tested frequencies .

FunCube PRO+ vs RTL-SDR dongle (R820T) : selectivity on FM

EAS Decoder for RTL-SDR

The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a system used in the USA and is described by http://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/services/eas/ as follows.

The EAS is a national public warning system that requires broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems, satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) providers, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers to provide the communications capability to the President to address the American public during a national emergency. The system also may be used by state and local authorities to deliver important emergency information, such as AMBER alerts and weather information targeted to specific areas.

Reddit user rtlsdr_is_fun is working on software to automatically detect an EAS broadcast from a NOAA Weather Radio stream using an rtl-sdr (or any SDR, or even an internet stream) and then immediately play it and record it. This will allow the EAS alert to be heard up to 2 minutes faster than email/sms alerts, without the need to constantly listen to the NOAA WX Radio.

He stresses that his software is still in the very early alpha stages, but you can read about his project on his Reddit post here, which also contains a download link.

RTL1090 Series 2 Beta Released

A new beta version of the RTL1090 ADS-B decoding software for the rtl-sdr has been released. Currently, it seems only the GUI has been improved, but the author plans on soon adding the following improvements

  • Start with Windows and Resume from hibernate/standby
  • DO260 A/B and signal strength processing for HTTP server
  • Improve Mode-S and Mode A/C decoder
  • Complete autoupdate
  • Log file selection from config dialog
  • MLAT counter accuracy
  • Renovate SISEX design

See the Yahoo Groups release post here for the full build change notes, and download the beta from their website here.

New RTL1090 Series 2 Beta

News Source – Radio Antics

ISS Packet Repeater Received with RTL-SDR

YouTube user ronpaulatemybaby has posted a video showing his reception of the International Space Station (ISS) amateur packet repeater on 145.825 MHz, using the rtl-sdr. He used a R820T dongle, two meter dipole, SDRSharp and decoding software MixW.

RTL SDR International Space Station Packet Repeater 145.825 Mhz

E4000 Gain Mod now Available on Windows

One of the advantages of using Linrad on Linux used to be the ability to use a modified rtlsdr.dll file with improved sensitivity gain settings for the E4000 tuner. This mod added the following settings.

  1. AGC mode.
  2. Compromise. This is the gain settings available in the rtl-sdr library as of October 2012.
  3. Linearity mode. For use without filters in environments with strong signals. Low front end gain and high gain after filters.
  4. Sensitivity mode. For use in rural locations or when filters and preamplifiers are placed between the antenna and the dongle. High front end gain and low gain after the filters.

Here is a Reddit thread discussing the improvements, and showing how to apply them to Linrad.

Now Reddit user rtlsdr_is_fun has ported this mod to Windows, and has written an SDRSharp plugin that enables the modified E4000 gain modes via rtl_tcp. This means you will need to run rtl_tcp first, and then connect to it using the RTLSDR / TCP option in SDRSharp. This mod also enables direct sampling for rtl_tcp.

There is a thread discussing the mod here, and you can download the mod from rtlsdr_is_fun’s webpage.

E4000 Linrad Gain Mod for SDRSharp

Satellite Receive Station with RTL-SDR and Raspberry Pi

Unfortunately the blog referenced in this post is now gone. We have changed all links to ones archived by archive.org.

Over on the carpcomm blog, the author has posted a how to guide on building a remote satellite receive station using the Raspberry Pi and a $20 rtl-sdr dongle or funcube. He uses his own opensource CarpSD software which allows the station to be accessed directly via the web.

Space and satellites are something that only few people are fortunate enough to interact with. However, this is starting to change due to the rapid growth in capability of consumer electronics. In fact, you can receive and decode transmissions from satellites using only a Raspberry Pi, a USB software-defined radio receiver, and a few other cheap parts.

For the software, we'll use the CarpSD ground station control software. It's an open-source program with the source hosted on GitHub. It runs as a background process and connects to the Carpcomm server, so that you can control your station from the Carpcomm website. Thus, there is no need to connect a display to your Raspberry Pi and you can leave your station running continuously in the background. The instructions below can be executed entirely over SSH.

Check out the rest of his post here.

Satellite Receive Station with Rapberry Pi and RTL-SDR