Submit a Story/Contact
If you would like to submit something that relates to cheap SDR (a project, blog post, something interesting you have found), please email us at [email protected].
We will look at your submission and if we think it is a good fit for our blog make a summary post about it, making sure to link and credit your original source. If you don't have your own website or blog, don't worry, just write about your project in an email and we will host any images or documents related to your project for you. Usually we will get to your submission within a few days.
Please note that we will not accept payments or incentives in return for any type of post except for product samples for an honest review. If you are interested in writing a non-commercial guest post for us, please also contact us on the above email address.
Product/Shipping Support
If you have a general question about RTL-SDRs or SDRs or third party software we ask you to please ask in our forums. If you email us we may not respond to questions about third party software as this should be asked in the forum.
If you need troubleshooting support please first ensure that you have been through our Quickstart guide and the troubleshooting section on it, as well as our V3 users guide. Common questions like how to use the HF mode and how to activate the bias tee are explained on the V3 users guide.
If you have a question about shipping of an item please first read the shipping policy on our store and see if it answers your question. The shipping information is just under our product listings. If it is a request for tracking details please first check your old/deleted/spam mails for the order confirmation email which contains the tracking details. There will have been two emails from our email at [email protected] that contain tracking details, and you may also receive a third mail from our logistics company with the same tracking details.
If you suspect a lost postal item please contact your local postal agency first and inquire there. They have more information than we have. If they confirm it as lost or not received after a long time then please let us know and we can open an investigation on this side as well. Usually we must wait at least 6 weeks from the date posted before we can open a lost parcel investigation.
For everything else such as confirmed lost postal items, warranty claims and support inquiries that aren't covered by the quickstart or troubleshooting guide then please contact us at [email protected]. We aim to always reply within 1-2 business days. If we don't respond within 3 business days then the mail may have gone to our spam folder. Please try to email again using different keywords. We do check our spam filter once a week just in case, but some messages could still be missed. Remember, if you have questions about third party software, please ask in the forums only.
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I have a Yaesu FT 950
Want to Plug a Cable into the RS232 CAT Port & with the USB Connector on the other End be able to have a Spectrum Monitor Display.
I do not want anything complicated or that is high maintenance.
I ordered and promptly received a V3 dongle, but had a bit of a minor hardware issue. Two emails later, my problem was resolved and I am extremely happy with the product and support. Performance-wise, it’s better than any other dongle I’ve tested, on HF it works very well, and on all frequencies, it is devoid of the ‘funnies’ other dongles exhibit.
Thanks for the great product, and product support. I happily recommend the product and company based on my overall experience.
I ordered thru your online store last nov 7.
the destination is philippines and the item is coming from china.
tracking the parcel/item. currently the item is london as of Nov 20.
it that the usual route?
Hello, thanks for the order. With the international post service sometimes the routing can be a bit weird especially since the pandemic took away many direct flights. We can’t control the routing – these decisions are entirely up to the intl. post co-op. But packages do often transit through London, so that is normal.
Ben, did you eventually get your order? My package has been sitting in London for a month now with no updates… 🙁
I have ordered this product through amazon….the rtl-sdr bundle and twice it has been shipped missing parts. Dont waste your time with this seller….they dont inspect orders at all.
Hello, apologies as in the previous Amazon batch there was a small percentage of bundles that had missing antenna parts due to inexperienced packing staff. However, new shipments coming in already have these issues resolved.
There is a lot of pieces inside our sets – many more components compared to what is given by others sellers who price sets at a similar cost. So the chance of one set missing a piece is increased with each additional piece that we include in the set. Even though we do QC every set human error happens. However, i’m confident that the overall packing error rate is low, and of course if there is a defect or missing piece we will definitely replace it ASAP if we’re contacted.
I believe that you have already contacted us on Amazon, and we are just awaiting your address details in order to send a replacement.
I can tell you that I have ordered many times from rtldsr and only once did I receive a missing piece last month. After contacting rtlsdr on amazon, two days later I had a second entire dipole antenna SET for free. Not even just the missing piece they sent the whole damn SET. Shit happens but they made it better. Now if only I could say the same about trying to get warranty from another sdr store that will remain unnamed for now….
Piece of useless crap. Don’t buy this unless you are software nerd and even then you’ll find it daunting.
I tend to agree, until someone convinces me otherwise. I kept wondering if the SW was infecting my PC. And the guide was just trying to get me to use someone else’s SW.
Okay… Let’s be fair. I got mine to work last night; I was tired and frustrated, but kept at it. A confusing thing to me, I think, was the apparent extraneous information in the Start-up User’s Guide and all of the SW files that are extracted; but it works if one calms down and reads the configuration instructions. Looking forward to playing with the SW and learning more how to use it and what the capability is. It seems like a radio tinkerer’s dream; the technology is fascinating and definitely cheaper than a Flex Radio. The Forum looks helpful.
Hello, thanks for the review. Over the years we have continually refined the guide clarifying the most common issues. Could we please know which information was seen to be extraneous in the quickstart guide?
following the instructions on rtl-sdr.com gets me two unzipped files that norton swears there are two heurestic viruses. I cannot even run them again to get the spelling of the virus names.Windows 7
Sooo, I tried it on my android phone. I get good reception. RTL-sdr runs, but gets very hot.
I get the same, virus reports in the zip file. Checked on other versions of anti-virus and all report the same
same, MS tags spyserver.exe as a virus
I just checked and the current version (1764) gets a clean bill of health:
(ref: https://bit.ly/34yCMs6 )
Looks like the AI and Neural networks used by the Virus/Malware detection programs has adapted.
Odd someone edited my post and changed the HASH from
56ba670278 14c3c523754aa 266b9d2752a 2dd8880c64 b3689aa5bb 11b820fcf2 ( sdrsharp-x86-v1764.zip ) to
de6bbbe162 854272668b4c3 e31cefdc636 3cf7eef688 2cabe0c650 6e18630852 ( raxp_RTL-SDR Panoramic Spectrum Analyzer.7z )
Sorry admin mistake, we need to sometimes edit long URLS into bitly ones, as it messes up the sidebar. I fixed it now.
I used to believe in using URL shorteners, but since I found out that they are used to collect metadata to sell, I mostly use full URL’s so that at least people who care (which is a very small number) know what site they are clicking on with a link. Next time I’ll use a “a href” html tag to reduce the amount of text, which I should have used.
New plugin Simple APCO for SDR# from Vasiliy Belyakov. N oneed dsd. http://rtl-sdr.ru/page/novyj-plagin-simple-apco
Good Evening,
I just purchased 2 of your (yes yours) units via AMAZON, and would like to know what the current consumption is.
Thanks,
LG
I put “site:rtl-sdr.com datasheet” into a search engine and got this document
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/RTL-SDR-Blog-V3-Datasheet.pdf
which says: Typical Current Draw:270 –280 mA
Hi, I have just sent you an email re: DSD interface with SDR# as its not working. Followed your videos exactly. The email has a picture attached.
Thanx
Shane
@Admin, I just placed a PO need to update the shipping address. I have emailed at [email protected] as well
Email answered.
Hi. Just ordered yesterday as new customer. I should have ordered via Amazon since they have items in stock and I’m in US. Can you please refund my purchase via PayPal, then will order via Amazon? Unless the China shipment is within a week or so. Thanks
Hi Mike, already replied to your email.
Hello,
I would like to know how to make kukuruku work with the current Linux system version 20.04 of lunbutu, unbuntu … if you have a solution on the installation and the configuration I am taker thank you for your help
I have five of your wonderful little RTL-SDR dongle radios which we use for Amateur Radio Meteor Scatter Research. I would buy more of them if I could find a way to use it as a frequency selective signal strength indicator. I need the data that produces the signal strength in db from the s-meter function. I am using HDSDR for the 5 i have now but i would use any software i could get to stream the signal strength data and time stamp into a file or out a port of some kind so it could be recovered. I am typically running in USB or CW mode with 2.7 khz or 200 hz filter so all the info i need from the stream is just the continuous output of the signal strength, preferably in db.
Thanks for a great little product that has never let us down.
Larry, K4WLO
Linux or Windows acceptable
Geez, the body font on your site is nearly UNREADABLE. Just remove the font-weight: 300 from the CSS, and all will be well . . .
Hello admin when you gonna ship my order #44141 , please send it ASAP
Hello, thanks for the order. Current pandemic processing time is about 2-4 working days. But your country is currently very difficult to ship to due to the pandemic, so we are searching for a shipping method that still works. If none exists, we’ll issue a refund.
thanks sir for your reply actually i just order some stuff from aliexpress and they all get shipped ,
Regarding your order number: ******002386 , we have shipped your item(s) via Cainiao Super Economy for Special Goods and the tracking number is LP001734738 ,
try this service sir or any you find work .
Thank you
If we can’t ship it via this store, you might need to order it from our Aliexpress store. https://www.aliexpress.com/store/4523039.
We can only use those Aliexpress shipping methods for items ordered on the Aliexpress platform. Their shipping seems to work better for many countries with logistics difficulties during the pandemic.
Sir thanks for shipping my order but i still cant track it even u ship it on 14/5 ; any help !
Contact us at [email protected] with your order details, and we’ll issue a refund. It’s currently impossible to ship to your country due to the pandemic other than through Aliexpress shipping.
Amazon does not have your RTL-SDR (RTL2832U) dongles. They seem to feature only NooELEC components. Did I miss something? Thanks. Rob
Due to COVID-19 our shipment of new stock is significantly delayed. We are currently waiting for US customs to clear the goods (they are delayed too), then once it arrives at the warehouse we will begin selling on Amazon again.
There seems to be typo error in your GitHub repository instructions guide… https://github.com/rtlsdrblog/rtl-sdr-blog
Typo error … git clone git clone git://github.com/rtlsdrblog/rtl-sdr-blog.git
Typo fixed … git clone git://github.com/rtlsdrblog/rtl-sdr.git
I need to set your company up as a vendor for Shawnee State University. Is there someone I can email our vendor form to so they can complete and email back to me?
We are a system integrator for Public Administration use.
I’m looking for to buy 2 devices : 2g, 3g and 4g lte imsi and imei capture
Any suggestion or offer ?
Hi, also noticed the 1.4 GHz problem when hot. I’ve blobbed both chips with low temperature solder, but not sure what else to try.
Is there a way to make a fan which doesn’t interfere with the radio? My cunning idea is to sync the clock with fan rotation so that the interference can be “tuned” so as not to appear in the band of interest.
The V3 shouldn’t have a problem at 1.4GHz, unless it’s really really hot in your environment. If you’re talking about a generic model, best to sink it to a piece of metal using a thermal pad. But a small PC or desk fan really shouldn’t cause noticeable interference.
Can I use two rtl-dongles on the same computer running simultaneously?
Yes that is no problem, assuming your PC is powerful enough & has sufficient USB ports & power between them.
Can I run two rtl-sdr dongles on one computer simultaneously each using different software? (Window 7 system)
yes you can as long as each dongle has a different serial number. Serial numbers can be changed via rtl_eeprom. I am running 3 dongles on a win 7 machine without issue. good luck.
Please help. Cannot receive HF. Using HDRSharp with a 50ft long wire. Connected to a 9 to 1 balun. Can tune across the band, but not receiving any short wave of WWV signals at all, just background static. When I go to the FM band, the sensitivity is very low, only very strong signals come through.
Thanks for any help that can be given. I am new to SDR, more familiar with the old “boat anchor” type communications receivers.
Again, thanks
Steve
What SDR do you have? Did you enable direct sampling mode for HF reception? And for FM, have you been adjusting the RF gain? By default the RF gain is set to zero.
rtl-sdr v3 using gqrx, current version, on rpi3 using raspian. Able to tune HF frequencies with no problem, but cannot receive stations. Funny thing is, at first I was able to get a few stations out of the tropics, but no longer able to. It was at this point, I noticed only the strong FM stations came in. I don’t know what I could have done wrong. I thought it would be a case of installing software, doing updates, plug in, and go. Like I said, I’m old school, very old. First SW radio was a transoceanic portable then a Collins 5iJ. Very old school. Any help in getting this to work would be very much appreciated.
Steve
For HF reception did you enable the direct sampling mode? Instructions at https://www.rtl-sdr.com/V3.
EDIT: Just saw you wrote GQRX. There is also a RF gain slider in GQRX that will need increasing for VHF/UHF FM.
Did the direct sample instructions, which enabled me to tune HF. Did make use of the RF slider to see if that helped. Didn’t really help. Not even able to receive any Ham operators, very odd. Did notice that the unit was running very hot as opposed to running warm. Ordered another unit, should be here tomorrow. Any thoughts on what I may have done wrong? Oh, and the voltage going to the dongle varies between 4.72 volts and 4.86 volts.
Thanks
Steve
That is Kent Britain, call sign WA5VJB giving the antenna talk.
Alex was a vendor at DEF CON, he did not give a talk.
Has any NOAA satellite ‘listening’ software been ‘upgraded’ to be accepted by a machine running the latest Apple OS “Catalina – V10.15. It needs to be 64 bit compatible. I am using CubicSDR at the moment to to listen to terrestrial FM.
Is there any APT software that will work on this type of MAC set-up?
Thanks in advance for your attention and cooperation.
I have already ordered your book.
I am interested in buying the Pluto SDR and not finding the link to make the purchase, can you help me?
Sicerelly
Marci
You can purchase ADALM-PLUTO at Digikey, Arrow or Mouser.
Hi admin,
Sdr-console added bias-t option for RTL-sdr v3 dongle in there new updates. It’s good features now I can enable/disable bias-t while using dongle.
HF Mode, Tuning also added in SDR-console.
HF mode is also known as Direct Sampling, The dongle supports HF reception at frequencies below 28.8 MHz by disabling the tuner chip and connecting an antenna to the In-phase ADC input of the RTL2832.
Hf mode not working on RTL-SDR v3 on SDR-console ☹️
Now working ?
I hope you get your product instead. I’ve owned a lot of radios and paid a lot more for them, and this has been the most fun by far. Sucks you had some trouble but I bet you will love it when you get it.