Enclosing two RTL-SDRs in a metal box to reduce noise

Over on his blog, Twitch has uploaded a post showing how he mounted two RTL-SDR dongles into a single metal case in order to reduce noise. Twitch used a $2 aluminium metal case that he obtained from a local surplus shop and cut it down to size and added holes for switches and BNC plugs. He then mounted two RTL-SDR dongles in the case and used two MCX -> BNC pigtails to get a case mounted coax connector.

He also removed the USB plugs on the RTL-SDR’s and wired them into a USB B plug mounted to the case, making sure to wind the USB power cables through several turns of ferrite core in order to reduce USB noise. Finally he also added a power switch to the USB connections, to be able to easily power off the units when not in use.

rtl_sdr_case
The two RTL-SDR’s placed into a aluminium case.
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Twitch

Hey they featured my post. 🙂 Dave, the cheap-o-USB hub I have puts out too much noise for me to mount it inside. If anyone knows a hub that is quiet enough or a way to isolate the 2 inside the enclosure let me know.

Dave H

I wonder if mounting a small USB hub inside the box would cause too much noise and defeat the purpose of the box.