Recently, we've seen news about the release of a new Windows program by "Majic Mushroom" called SDR-Sharp Converter. This simple software converts SDR# XML Frequency Lists to SDR++ format and vice versa. It is helpful if you use both programs and want to maintain identical frequency lists.
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.
The usaradioguy.com blog has further updates for those who are interested. The official notice from NOAA can also be found here. Interestingly, it appears that NOAA-18 will not be de-orbiting as it lacks the required propulsion system to do so. So it will remain in orbit as space debris.
A user using a hobbyist station in Sweden also captured the shutdown remotely during APT image reception, as shown in the image below.
Farewell and thanks for your long service NOAA-18!
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.
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.
Talks from the Hackaday Supercon 2024 conference have recently been uploaded to YouTube, and one interesting talk by Justin McAllister and Nick Foster is about tracking down radio transmissions.
The talk focuses on using SDR hardware such as the RX888, RTL-SDR, and Airspy devices combined with directional antennas for radio direction finding. Interestingly, they also discuss using ultrasonic microphones to find power line noise from bad transformers or insulators. The talk also focuses on ensuring that your SDRs receive real signals and what noise might look like on the spectrum.
This talk provides a comprehensive guide to identifying and locating radio transmitters. Learn about practical techniques, common tools, and methodologies from decades of combined experience finding, squashing, and mitigating against radio frequency interference.
Recently VE3NEA has released a new Windows program called "SkyRoof". SkyRoof is both a satellite tracking and SDR receiver program. It supports the RTL-SDR as well as Airspy and SDRplay devices.
The software is designed for tracking and receiving ham radio satellites, and it can provide detailed information about all ham satellites, tracking them in real time, and provide pass prediction. It also shows a skymap and SDR waterfall display. The receiver software supports demodulation of SSB/CW/FM, and it automatically compensates for doppler. It can also interface with antenna rotators that support hamlib.
Over on YouTube Johnson's Techworld has also recently uploaded a video showing him testing out Skyroof, which may be of interest to some.
Thank you to RTL-SDR.COM reader MAKA for writing in and sharing his project with us, an open-source 0.1 - 3 GHz network analyzer using an ADALM PlutoSDR and a $15 RF bridge. The system allows you to measure S21 (insertion loss/gain) and S11 (return loss) with real-time visual feedback. MAKA writes:
Key features include:
- FFT-based FIR filter for precise measurements
- Simple S21 and S11 calibration workflows (LOAD & OPEN)
- Real-time plots with smoothing and raw-data toggles
- Interactive markers for easy dB/frequency annotations
- Automatic export of calibration data to .xlsx for offline analysis
- Fully open-source
The complete open-source code for the project is available on GitHub at https://github.com/fromconcepttocircuit/pluto-network-analyzer
Over on his YouTube channel, MAKA has also uploaded a video demo and walkthrough.
Recently, we've seen posts on X about a new service called "AEDA" (Advanced Electromagnetic Detection Application). This crowd-sourced web service utilizes RTL-SDR dongles as the RF reception hardware. The software can use multiple RTL-SDRs distributed around a city area for spectrum analysis and TDoA (Time Difference of Arrival) radio direction finding.
The service uses RTL-SDR dongles connected to Raspberry Pis as RF monitoring hardware. In the web UI, a user can initiate a spectrum scan using any of the distributed RTL-SDR nodes available to them. It can also automatically detect popular modulation types such as WBFM, NBFM, DMR, and P25.
A user can also initiate a TDoA scan to localize the source of a particular signal. This requires at least three RTL-SDR nodes to be distributed with good geometry around the signal source. The service synchronizes time via external wideband noise-like signals such as TV signals, cell towers, and DAB, so one of these signals must be available to be received by all RTL-SDRs used in the TDoA calculation.
For now, the service and features appear to be free. However, it looks like they will monetize the platform in the future by renting the crowdsourced RTL-SDR nodes to companies and persons that need to do band studies, radiolocation, and interference detection. They also hope to pay node owners for any time the nodes are rented.
More information about the AEDA service is available on their documentation page.
In April, we posted news that the NOAA satellites would be classed as 'end-of-life' on June 16, 2025. According to the statements, the satellites were expected to remain in orbit and continue transmitting data that radio hobbyists could use, but no attempts would be made to rectify failures.
However, recent news from Carl Reinmann's usaradioguy.com blog has indicated that NOAA 18 will begin decommissioning steps immediately on June 3, 2025. The steps involve disabling batteries and transmitters, depleting remaining propellants, transitioning data and operations, and finally deorbiting, or moving the satellite to a safer orbit.
NOAA-18 may have been chosen to be decommissioned earlier than NOAA-15 and NOAA-19 as the S-band downlink transmitter failed last month, resulting in severe image degradation. The satellite has also been running on backup gyros since 2017, and has suffered various transmitter and sensor failures over the years.
