Tagged: rtl2832u

Improved Digital Voice P25 Decoding with DSD+

Update: This post is now very old. The latest version of DSD+ can now to found at www.dsdplus.com.

Over on Reddit we've seen mention of an upgraded Digital Speech Decoder (DSD) program, named DSD+. The original DSD is a program that can be used in conjuction with a SDR receiving program such as SDR#, and an audio piping program like VBCable to decode digital speech, such as P25 and DMR/MOTOTRBO.

DSD+ claims to have improved decoding and audio quality capabilities. An audio sample from a weak P25 sample can be found here for DSD+, and for comparison here for the old DSD.

DSD+ can be downloaded from this megaupload link.

To run DSD+. you will need to place an MP3 encoder file lame_enc.dll into the same folder as the dsd.exe executable. This file is not included with DSD+ due to licencing. For Windows, lame_enc.dll can be downloaded from http://lame1.buanzo.com.ar/#lamewindl (Mega Mirror). Download the ZIP option, and then copy the dll file into the same folder as DSD+.

If you don't know how to use DSD, see our tutorial on using DSD here, and if desired simply use DSD+ instead of the original DSD. (Note cygwin is not required for DSD+)

DSD+ Output
DSD+ Output

Using an RTL-SDR and RTL_433 to Decode Various Devices

Over on his blog, Gough Lui has posted about his experiences with decoding various ASK/OOK devices on the unlicenced 433 MHz ISM band using an RTL-SDR and the command line program rtl_433.

Gough shows how he was able to receive and decode the data from an Aldi weather station device and a wireless doorbell transmitter. He also was able to modify the rtl_433 code slightly to produce a CSV log file of the temperatures that were received and decoded from the weather station.

rtl_433 output of the weather station
rtl_433 output of the weather station

Elster R2S Smart Meter GNU Radio Decoder

Smart meters are meters that monitor electricity usage and wirelessly transmit their data to the electricity company. They are a part of the “smart grid”, and allow for better electricity control and usage reporting.

Clayton Smith was able to reverse engineer the data signal from the Elster R2S meters which are used in the Ottawa area on the 902-928 MHz band. The Elster meters use frequency hopping channels, and Clayton was able to receive 6 out of the 25 channels in his area, which should be sufficient, as most of the data packets are repeated on different channels.

He has released his GNU Radio program which will work the the RTL-SDR. Currently, it is capable of displaying meter readings and hourly electricity usage to a terminal.

TCXO RTL-SDR Soon Available Internationally

Andy, programmer of the RTL1090 ADSB decoder software, and owner of the 1090Mhz webstore has notified us that he will soon be selling to international buyers the TCXO RTL-SDR dongle modified by Nobu Saitou. We recently featured a story about the TCXO RTL-SDR and also gave it a review on this blog. From the review we concluded that the TCXO RTL-SDR is a good product and will be useful for applications that need good frequency accuracy and stability.

Interested buyers can look for the contact us link on the 1090MHz shop TCXO page description to contact Andy for a reservation and notification on when the TCXO RTL-SDR becomes available for sale. Andy expects the first batch of TCXO RTL-SDRs to arrive in January.

Receiving a 10 GHz Reflected Moon Beacon with the RTL-SDR

There is an amateur radio group in Germany known as DL0SHF which transmits a 10 GHz (QRG = 10.368.025 MHz) beacon at the moon whenever it is visible at their site. The goal of this transmission is to detect the very weak beacon reflection.

Amateur radio hobbyist Rein (W6SZ) has written in to let us know about his, DK7IJ’s and the DL0SHF groups success with receiving the beacon using the RTL-SDR. He writes

DL0SHF transmit a signal to the moon when the moon is visible at the site. The run 2 modes 50 and 500 W output, 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off.

Last night, I managed to detect the beacon with a very simple receiving package. Amazing enough, using WSJT moon tracking data, the signal appeared right away when the moon appeared here above the trees.

The signal lasts only 20 seconds but then 40 seconds later, it returned! By the books.

I use a simple 10 GHz receiver here that I use for scouting signals on 10 GHz terrestrial as member of the San Bernardino Microwave Society.

It consists of a RTL Dongle IF block tuned to 618 MHz as IF.
Front-end is a PLL LNB, not modified, running with 9.750 GHz LO

The LNB is powered with 12 Volts by means of a Bias Tee.

Both items can be acquired for about USD 25.- on eBay and other places.

The antenna is a standard 18 inch satellite off-set dish.

The antenna has some elevation control and the feed ( LNB ) can be rotated for polarity control.

Every variable is manually operated.

At times I measured the beacon as high as 15 dB above the noise using HDSDR as DSP processor software.

The beacon was running in the 500 W output mode during these observations.

Moon bounce Visisble on the waterfall
Moon bounce visible on the waterfall
Moonbounce Equipment Setup
Moonbounce Equipment Setup

Review of the TCXO Modified RTL-SDR Dongle

A few days ago we had a post about a modified RTL-SDR dongle for sale which has the low quality 28.8 MHz oscillator replaced with a high quality 28.8 MHz temperature controlled oscillator.

Nobu Saitou, the creator of these dongles has sent us a sample to review. On the inside of the dongle the 28.8 MHz crystal has been removed, and replaced with a 28.8 MHz temperature controlled oscillator. The desoldering of the old oscillator and soldering of the new TCXO appears to be neatly and professionally done.

TCXO Photo
TCXO RTL-SDR Dongle Photo

After plugging in the dongle and firing up SDR#, we tuned to a known trunking control channel at 152.850 MHz and measured the frequency offset. It turns out that with the TCXO no frequency correction was required at all. I believe that from Nobu’s blog post, this oscillator can have a max deviation of +-2 PPM, which is incredibly small.

TCXO Dongle with Zero PPM correction required
TCXO Dongle with Zero PPM correction required

We compared this result to a standard dongle with the original oscillator and found the frequency offset required to be 44 PPM.

Standard Dongle Frequency Offset
Standard Dongle Frequency Offset

As the dongle heats up from use, the oscillator will experience thermal drift, causing the frequency offset to change. The TCXO should be immune to this problem due to it’s temperature compensation circuitry. To test the temperature compensation, we cooled both a TCXO dongle and a standard dongle down in a refrigerator first to simulate cool climate conditions. We then measured the change in PPM offset after 30 minutes of dongle operation. As expected, the TCXO had almost zero drift after 30 minutes (<<1 PPM), whereas the standard dongle had a drift of about 6-7 PPM (approx. 1 KHz drift).

TCXO Oscillator: Frequency drift after 30 minutes
TCXO Oscillator: Frequency drift after 30 minutes
Standard Oscillator: Frequency drift after 30 minutes
Standard Oscillator: Frequency drift after 30 minutes

The results of this simple test show that the TCXO used in these modified dongles is an accurate and stable frequency source as was expected. If you want one of these dongles they are for sale at the creators Amazon Store (direct link to TCXO product here). Currently it seems that Saitou’s products cannot be sent abroad outside of Japan, but he recommends this agent service for ordering internationally.

Edit: The TCXO can now be bought internationally from 1090mhz.com

New RTL-SDR Book for Beginners

Recently this year, Akos from the SDR for Mariners blog has put out a bunch of RTL-SDR tutorials aimed at complete beginners – that is people without any radio knowledge at all.

Akos has now gone ahead and created an ebook titled “Radio On A Tight Budget: RTL-SDR For Everyone”, which is purchasable from Amazon. Akos has mentioned that his book is not just his blog in book form, but something new. The blurb is as follows

Hands-on guide to hear to world using the 10-dollar RTL stick. Easy-to understand text covers software installation, antennas, noise reduction, guides from shortwave to airplane information reception – and many more. Diagrams and photos help the beginner, common tools and materials used: no soldering or expensive gear used. Useless tales, anecdotes, complicated theoretical explanations left out: only relevant information included.
If you ever had problems setting up the RTL stick, wish to significantly improve your reception or simply want to hear airplanes talk to tower, receive AIS information on a yacht or track airplanes, this book is for you.
Radio On A Tight Budget: RTL-SDR For Everyone
Radio On A Tight Budget: RTL-SDR For Everyone

Cooling the RTL-SDR

Over at the SDR for Mariners blog, Akos has put together a write up on his methods for cooling the RTL-SDR dongle. Cooling can help reduce temperature related frequency drift, which occurs as the dongles crystal oscillator heats up over time.

One of his recommendations is to try oil cooling the dongle. This involves completely immersing the dongle in sunflower or vegetable oil. Since oil is not electrically conductive, it will not short the circuits, and the oil will help to dissipate the heat buildup generated by the dongle. Some of his other recommendations involve drilling extra holes in the dongle casing, and adding fan cooling.

Oil Cooling the RTL-SDR Dongle
Oil Cooling the RTL-SDR Dongle