SDRSharp Frequency Manager Plugin updated to Version 1.4

The commonly used frequency manager and scanner plugin for SDRSharp has been updated to version 1.4. The new features include:

Frequency Manager

  • Frequency Presets – there are now 10 frequency presets you may use to store and recall favorite frequencies.

Scanner

  • A new Signal Strength Indicator displays a real-time measure of a frequency’s signal strength compared to the Minimum Signal Strength that you set. The indicator shows the signal strength as it bounces below and above your minimum, and also shows when the “Seconds wait for transmission” and “Watchdog” timers have been triggered.
  • The Scanner Configuration window now has two tabs which organize scanner behavior into Rules settings and Performance settings.
  • Snap to next Step Size: a new checkbox lets you force the scanner to tune a scanned frequency to the SDR# step size, or instead allow it to tune to the actual detected peak signal strength of a frequency.
  • Update a frequency’s Date when monitored: a new checkbox that causes the scanner to record the current date for a frequency that is already in your database, when the scanner lands on that frequency.
  • Adjacent Frequency Rejection: a new setting that lets you define the width of the area around a tuned frequency that is used to monitor signal strength after tuning to a frequency. This reduces the influence of adjacent strong frequencies that “splatter” into the tuned frequency’s step size or bandwidth size.
  • Faster scanning speed: Scanning speed has been improved yet again, and is now faster than the improvements in version 1.31. On my equipment I now average 1.6 GHz scanning speed as measured with the built-in benchmark tool on a range scan.
  • Improvements to the busy-frequency detection process.

The updated plugin can be downloaded from http://www.sdrsharpplugins.com.

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Tutorial: Creating an FM Receiver in GNURADIO using an RTL-SDR source

Over on instructables.com, user v3l0c1r4pt0r has created an instructable that shows step by step instructions on how to create an FM receiver in GNU Radio using an RTL-SDR and GNU Radio Companion. His instructable explains a bit about the theory of what is required to decode an FM signal, and shows which GNU Radio blocks are required, and how to connect them up.

GNU Radio Tutorial
GNU Radio FM Receiver
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rtl_udp: Fork of rtl_fm with UDP controls

Over on our forums, user sysrun has posted about his fork of the rtl_fm command line tool. His fork allows retuning of the rtl_fm program via UDP without the need to restart the program. In the future he hopes to support UDP PCM streaming. He writes

rtl_udp is a copy of rtl_fm with a special feature: It opens a udp control port (currently fixed to 6020) which takes commands like changing the frequency or mode. No need to restart :)

Credits, Idea & original Code by olgierd (http://qi.reddit.com/user/olgierd)

Usage:
python script udpclient.py for easy operation included.

possible commands:

  • freq (./udpclient.py freq 101900000)
  • mode (./udpclient.py mode 0 (for fm))
    0 = FM
    1 = AM
    2 = USB
    3 = LSB
  • squelch (./udpclient.py squelch 0)
    0 = OFF
    n = Value
  • gain (./udpclient.py agc auto)
    auto = Automatic
    n = Gainvalue; 195 = 19.5db
  • agc (./udpclient.py agc 1)
    0 = OFF
    1 = ON
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SDRTouch Version 1.7 Released

The Android based SDR program SDRTouch has been officially updated to version 1.7. News comes via this forum post. This looks to be a major update which significantly improves audio quality and performance. The new features are listed below.

  • FM is now in STEREO
  • New audio recording feature for PRO users
  • Improved reception and audio quality. All filters were tested for quality and all bugs discovered were removed.
  • The multi-threading logic was completely rewritten. Now it’s faster than ever before.
  • Audio is now using NDK.
  • PPM correction, audio gain setting
  • A lot of bug fixes and UI enhancements
  • Experimental x86 support
sdtouch
SDR Touch Screenshot
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SiDRadio: RTL-SDR Kit including Preselector & Upconverter

The Australian Silicon Chip magazine has written an article about a kitset for a 100KHz to 2 GHz receiver based on the RTL-SDR that they are selling. Note, you will need to pay in order to be able to read the entire article.

Completing the kit gives you a radio with two antenna inputs, a 5-band preselector, an RF amplifier and an upconverter for the HF bands.

SiDRADIO Overview
SiDRADIO Overview
SiDRADIO
SiDRADIO

 

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Elusive E4000 RTL-SDR Dongles

Over on the Gough’s Tech Zone blog, Gough has posted about his experiences in trying to obtain an E4000 RTL-SDR. He found that finding a real E4000 on ebay was tough, with most vendors claiming to have “upgraded E4000s” which were in fact R820T’s.

The E4000 tuner is becoming rare as Elonics, the manufacturer has shut down. The newer, still in production R820T tuner is in many ways better than the E4000, but the E4000 is still useful for some applications that require the higher frequencies that it can tune to.

If you want an E4000, we know for sure that Nooelec sells a Terratec version that has the E4000 chip.

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Funcube SDR Radio Telescope

A Radio Astronomer by the name of Dr David Morgan has released a tutorial/paper he wrote detailing how he uses the Funcube dongle Pro+ as a tool for radio astronomy. The Funcube dongle Pro+ is a software defined radio similar to the RTL-SDR, with higher cost, but better performance in some areas.

Dr Morgan uses his Funcube dongle with the SpectrumLab Windows software, which is a specialized audio analyzer. For the hardware, David uses a 3m focal plane dish antenna and a 1200 MHz high pass filter.

The paper goes into good detail about some of the technical side of radio astronomy, shows how to calibrate the telescope using the sun and also shows several measurements made. We note that the same procedures could also likely be done with the RTL-SDR.

Signal Intensity during Drift Scan through Cygnus Spiral Arm
Signal Intensity during Drift Scan through Cygnus Spiral Arm
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