RTL-SDR Blog V4 End Of Line

The RTL-SDR Blog V4 has been a very popular product that we released back in August 2023. Back then, it was released as a 'limited edition' product because the Blog V4 relied on the Rafael R828D chip, which Rafael Micro no longer produces. We did have access to a large stockpile that we calculated could give us about a year of sales. As 2024 approached, we were very lucky that our contract manufacturing partner was able to secure a new large stockpile, which has brought us to where we are now.

Unfortunately, this stockpile has now been exhausted, and as far as we are aware, no other usable stockpiles exist, so no more Blog V4 productions will be possible. Initially, we had hoped to produce another two large batches, which would have brought us closer to the end of 2026; however, we have just confirmed that the last R828D chips that we could possibly obtain were all faulty in some way.

Going forward, the Blog V3 will remain in stable production.

We are also working on releasing a new Blog V4L 'lite' product, which will use the R828S chip. The difference is that the R828S has only two inputs, rather than the three found on the R828D, so the additional filtering used on the Blog V4 will not be possible. However, the same Blog V4 architecture with the HF upconverter will still be used. The lack of additional filtering also comes with a small upside trade-off, which is better sensitivity.

We expect to have a small initial batch of Blog V4L dongles available for sale in the next one to two months. Please be aware that the Blog V4L will require a driver update since as far as we are aware, the R828S has not been used in an RTL-SDR type product before. The Blog V4L will also be a limited edition product, as with the R828D, the R828S is not in production anymore, and so we will be relying on a stockpile.

We are also in the very early stages of scoping out a Blog V5 product, but note that this is unlikely to be ready this year. 

Resellers may still have limited stock of the Blog V4. Please use our resellers' list on our store page, as there are many fake listings of the Blog V4 product on marketplace sites. Most of the fake Blog V4 listings use a copied Blog V4 enclosure but a Blog V3-clone circuit inside, or sometimes not even that.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the RTL-SDR Blog V4 product while it has been out! Thank you to all customers who have supported the blog.