Tagged: sdr# plugins

New SDR# Plugin Adds Support for Contour Shuttle USB Controllers

Contour ShuttlePro V2
Contour ShuttlePro V2

The Contour Shuttle Express and Pro V2 are USB controller accessories for PCs. They consist of a knob-like wheel with multiple buttons and they are designed as a keyboard replacement for improving the productivity of video/photo editors. However, several people have found them useful for controlling software defined radio receiver programs like SDR#.

Recently SDR# plugin developer Eddie Mac has released a new SDR# plugin that provides native support for the Shuttle devices from within SDR# itself. The plugin allows you to dynamically map the Shuttle's buttons and wheels to functions within SDR#.

Eddie also writes:

There was no wrapper available for Contours Windows SDK so I created a managed .NET wrapper around contours dll. If anyone wants to develop their own software for these devices I will happily provide them with my .NET wrapper for free as well as a demo app to instruct on its usage.

Contour Shuttle Plugin for SDR#
Contour Shuttle Plugin for SDR#

New SDR# Plugin Manager and Colorizer Available

SDR# plugin developer Eddie Mac has again released a new plugin for SDR# called "SDR# Plugin Manager". This plugin is designed to make it easy to install, remove and re-order other SDR# plugins. Also included is a repository browser. This is a repository of many known SDR# plugin links which can be used to download and install a plugin with a simple click of a button.

Eddie has also recently released another plugin called "Spectrum Colorizer". This simply changes the background color of the spectrum analyzer window.

SDRSharp Plugin Manager
SDRSharp Plugin Manager
SDR# Plugin Repository
SDR# Plugin Repository

If you are interested in programming your own plugins, Eddie also offers the following advice which he posted in our forum:

A good place to get started programming plugins is to download the express version of .NET (free for personal use) and install at least the C# pack. Then go to the Airspy website and download Youssef's zipped examples on coding plugins. 
While they are not documented you can use them as an example of the steps involved.

If you know a bit of c++ that is great it should be a good spring board to learn C#. In fact, you can even program simple plugins (like my tuner knob) in Visual Basic. Both C# and VB.NET compile to Common Language Run time anyway so to SDR# it's not much difference. The only caveat is that if you want to create any plugins to do processing on signals of any sort you MUST use C# as it supports the data types SDR# uses and VB does not. As well, VB does not allow unsafe code which C# can be instructed to allow. 

Another great resource for learning to program plugins for SDR# is GitHUb and another great place is Andrej Mohar's website where he actually has a tutorial and an good explanation of the plugin coding process. You can find it here http://www.andrej-mohar.com/plugin-basics-for-sdr 

If you would like an example of a "stencil" as you call it - a template, I would be happy to share a template in both VB and C# for you to use to start to learn. However, I would suggest begginning with C# from the start.

The basics of it is that the "plugin" is actually in interface that is called while SDR# loads. The "Plugins.xml" file tells SDR# what your dll is called and what the name of the plugin is. Once it has initialized your plugin, SDR# sharp asks the plugin for a "panel" control which contains the controls for your plugin. In also returns to you a "control" object interface that allows you to receive notifications of program value changes or to set program values. There are more complex things you can do but the basics are simple.

SDR# TETRA Plugin Updated: No longer requires MSYS2

Last week we posted about the release of a new TETRA decoder plugin for SDR#. The plugin made setting up a TETRA decoder significantly easier compared to previous methods, but it still required the installation and use of the MSYS2 environment on Windows. 

Thanks to reader Zlati for letting us know that the TETRA plugin has recently been updated once again and now no longer requires MSYS2 to be installed first. Now it is as easy to install as any other plugin, just drop the .dlls into the SDR# folder and add the magicline to the plugins.xml file. We tested it out and decoding worked fine. At the moment the "Net info" button is not working however.

x64 plugin: https://yadi.sk/d/StPod0Op3SkpKh
x86 plugin: https://yadi.sk/d/f0SS97Rb3SoyNr

New Link: http://rtl-sdr.ru/page/obnovlen-meteor-i-tetra-plagin

In the future news and download lines for newer versions will probably be available on the programmers radioscanner.ru forum thread which is available here (use Google Translate to read): http://www.radioscanner.ru/forum/topic50051-9.html

Updated TETRA Decoder Plugin
Updated TETRA Decoder Plugin

TETRA Decoder Plugin for SDR# Now Available

Back in 2016 cURLy bOi released a Windows port of the Linux based "Telive" TETRA decoder. Now the latest development in TETRA decoders is that a TETRA decoder plugin for the SDR# software has been released. This makes setting up a TETRA decoder significantly simpler than before.

The plugin doesn't seem to be officially released anywhere, but we did find it thanks to @aborgnino's tweets on Twitter, and he found it on a Russian language radio scanner forum. The plugin is available as a direct download zip from here, but we suggest browsing to the last few posts in the forum thread to find the latest version.

Installing the plugin is a little more difficult that usual, as you first need to install MSYS2 which is a compatibility layer for Linux programs. The full installation instructions are included in the README.TXT in the zip file. One clarification from us: you need to copy the files in the msys_root/usr/bin folder from the zip file into the /usr/bin folder that is in your MSYS2 installation directory. 

We tested the plugin and found it to work well without any problems. With the plugin turned on you just need to simply tune to a TETRA signal in WFM mode, and you will instantly be decoding the audio.

TETRA is a type of digital voice and trunked radio communications system that stands for “Terrestrial Trunked Radio”. It is used heavily in many parts of the world, except for the USA. If you have unencrypted TETRA signals available in your area then you  can listen in on them with an appropriate SDR like an RTL-SDR and decoder software like the aforementioned plugin.

SDR# TETRA Plugin Running
SDR# TETRA Plugin Running

New Audio Streaming TCP Server Plugin for SDR#

Over on his site rtl-sdr.ru, Vasilli has been back at work creating new plugins for SDR#. The latest plugin is a TCP server that takes the demodulated mono audio stream from SDR# and sends it over TCP (note that the site is in Russian but the Google translate button on the right can be used). This can be used to easily stream audio over the internet or a network, or even locally on the same PC to another program. If enough programs support TCP audio streams, then the plugin could potentially replace the need for software like Virtual Audio Cable or VBCable by allowing another method for piping the audio from SDR# into a decoding program.

Installing the plugin is the same as usual. Just extract the SDRSharp.TcpServer.dll file to the SDRSharp folder, open plugins.xml with a text editor and paste in the 'magic line' specified in MagicLine.txt.

To test the server you can connect to it with VLC media player. Some special commands need to be specified to VLC in order for it to understand the audio format. To enter them go to Media->Open Network Stream and make sure 'Show more options' is checked. Enter the network URL as 'TCP://127.0.0.1:20022' (without quotes), and enter the Edit Options field as ':demux=rawaud :rawaud-channels=1 :rawaud-samplerate=48000 :rawaud-fourcc=s16l' (without quotes). Ensure the first colon in the line is copied over properly. Then enable the TCP server in the SDR# plugin, and click Play in VLC. Ensure the SDR# is muted, and the volume in VLC turned up. Audio should now begin streaming through TCP.

Hopefully in the future we can see some audio compression algorithms and more decoding software supporting TCP audio connections.

Vasilli has also updated many of his other plugins too, including creating a DSD_TCP plugin which allows you to transmit the digital audio directly to DSD+ via a TCP connection.

The plugin streaming via TCP to VLC
The plugin streaming via TCP to VLC

SDR# Frequency Scanner Plugin Updated

The popular frequency scanner plugin for SDR# has recently been updated (in Russian, use Google Translate). The frequency scanner plugin allows you to quickly scan through a definable slice of spectrum, stopping to listen on active signals. The new features are outlined below

1. Added the selection of multiple ranges to scan. Ranges can be different modulation and bandwidth scanning step. To select multiple ranges, use Ctrl .

2. The scanner operates completely independently of native squelch SDR #. To determine the end of the activity, a new parameter Hysteresis – is the level below which the signal is considered inactive. When using the option Use Mute , you can disable the squelch SDR #.

3. In setting the added options – choose the scanning signal with the maximum level and the width of the spectrum used.

4. Parameter Detect moved from the window in the panorama scanner settings.

Updated fast scanner plugin.
Updated fast scanner plugin.

List of SDRSharp Plugins

There are a number of SDRSharp plugins that extend its functionality. Here is a collection of all the plugins and download links that I could find.

With modern SDR# installing a plugin is usually a simple matter of copying the plugin files to a subfolder within the SDR# Plugins folder. SDR# should automatically recognize the plugins.

Some plugins might require editing the Plugins.xml file with a text editor such as notepad. These plugins will contain a readme.txt or magicline.txt file that shows what line to add to the Plugins.xml file. Just copy and paste the plugin .dll into the SDR# folder and add the magicline line to the plugins.xml file to install the driver.

We note that SDRSharp can now be downloaded with a community plugin package, which includes many of the plugins listed below. However, sometimes some plugins get broken with newer SDR# versions, so if you have issues with the SDR# community edition, it may be wise to download the vanilla edition and install plugins manually.

Frequency Manager + Scanner and Scanner Metrics and Frequency Entry Package

This is a plugin package which comes with three plugins. It comes with a more advanced frequency manager than the one shipped with SDRSharp.

It also has a scanner option which can quickly scan through a group of your saved frequencies, looking for an active signal.

It also has a scanner metrics plugin, which records frequency activity to a database. Later this database can be analyzed to find out which frequencies are the most active, saving you time searching manually for active frequencies.

Finally, this package also has a frequency entry plugin, which works like the old SDRSharp frequency entry used to work. Basically, it just allows you to choose a center frequency and IF frequency easily by typing it in instead of adjusting it with the mouse.

Download the installation packager here

Frequency Manager + Scanner Plugin

Fast Scanner

Similar to the Frequency Manager and scanner plugin in that it automatically tunes to active signals above a certain power.

Download Link (Original website now dead)

Download Link (via archive.org)

Download Link (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

Fast Scanner SDR# PluginFast Scanner SDR# Plugin

DDE Plugin

Allows programs like WXTrack to work with SDRSharp through a DDE interface.

Instructions and Download Link Here

QPSK Demodulator

Used to demodulate QPSK signals from the Meteor M2 weather satellites. Used in conjunction with LRPT decoder. See tutorial here.

Download Here (Original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

DDE Tracking and Scheduler Plugin

Another plugin that allows satellite tracking software like WxTrack and Orbitron to interface with SDR#. This one is meant to be used with the QPSK decoder plugin for automatic scheduled decoding of satellite passes. See tutorial here.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

DDE Orbitron Interface SDR# Plugin.

Gpredict Connector

Allows the GPredict satellite tracking software to interface with SDR# and automatically control the frequency.

Download Here

SDRSharp Net Remote

Allows you to remotely control SDR# through a network connection.

Download Here

CTCSS Detector and Squelch

Adds a Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) decoder.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

CTCSS SDR# Plugin

DCS Detector and Squelch Plugin

Adds a Digital Coded Squelch (DCS) decoder. Similar to the CTCSS detector.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

dcsplugin

TimeShift SDR

Allows signal reception to be timeshifted to allow for time to click on a signal.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

tssdr

Digital Audio Processor

Adds digital audio processing features such as an improved squelcher, an audio inverter and a bandpass and deemphasis filter.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

digital_audio_processor_sdrsharp_plugin

Audio Processor

Similar to the digital audio processor shown above, but adds the ability to graphically adjust the bandpass filter in the audio spectrum of SDR#.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

audio_proc

audio_proc_2

IF Notch Plugin

Adds the ability to create an asymmetric and notched IF filter.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

if_notch

Simple APCO 25

Enables decoding of a single APCO 25 channel through SDR.

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

RDS Logger

Logs Radio Data System (RDS) data to a CSV file.

Download Here

RDS Data Logger SDR# Plugin

DSD+ GUI Interface

Adds a GUI interface for the popular DSD+ digital speech decoder program.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

DSD+ SDR# Plugin GUI

TETRA Decoder

Adds a TETRA decoder.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

AUX VFO

Enables multiple VFO's in SDR#. (In other words, you can tune to several stations simultaneously within the same swatch of live bandwidth)

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

avfoplugin

Audio Waterfall Plugin

Adds an audio spectrum waterfall to SDR#.

Download Here (Original plugin seems to be dead but the link is left up just in case it comes back)

Download Alternative Plugin Here

audiowaterfall

PAL/SECAM TV Plugin

Allows you to watch analogue PAL TV channels in black and white through SDR#.

Download Here (original webiste now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

PAL / SECAM TV SDR# Plugin

 

Modified Baseband Recording Plugin

An enhanced version of the recording plugin that comes standard with all SDR# installations. Adds a scheduler, a feature to record only when there is a signal, select samplerate, and choose file output location.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

baseband_rec

Modified Audio Recording Plugin

A modified version of the default audio recording plugin. Adds a scheduler.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

audio_plugin

IF Recorder Plugin

Allows you to record an IQ file of just the current IF bandwidth. An IQ recording of just the IF bandwidth will be much smaller than one of the entire bandwidth.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

IF (Intermediate Frequency) Recorder SDR# Plugin

Level Meter Plugin

Adds a power meter for the currently tuned frequency and bandwidth.

Download Here

Level Meter SDR# Plugin

CSVUserlistBrowser SDR# Plugin

Allows users to interface with the CSVUserlistBrowser plugin intended for use with Winradio products. The CSVUserlistBrowser is a program that provides a database of radio stations.

Download Here

csvuserlistbrowser_sdrsharpplugin

MPX Output Plugin

Allows programs like RDS Spy to work with the audio output from SDR#.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

MPX_Output

Radio Sky Spectrograph Plugin

This allows SDR# to interface with Radio-Spy Spectrograph which is radio astronomy software that allows fine control over a waterfall display.

Download Here

The Radio-Sky Spectrograph SDR# Plugin

Aviation band 8.33 Calculator Plugin

Automatically converts the current frequency input to an aviation one according to the standard 8.33 kHz channel spacing.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

aviationcalc

Frequency Lock Plugin

Simply locks the frequency settings in SDR# to prevent accidental changes.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

freqlock

Unitrunker Serial Based Trunking Plugin

Allows Unitrunker to interface with SDR#. For example it can be used to allow unitrunker to control the frequency setting in SDR# to following trunked conversations over various frequencies. NOTE: This plugin is no longer required as Unitrunker no longer needs to interface with SDR# for anything. But we leave it here in case there are legacy use cases.

Download Here

serial

Passive Radar Plugin

Allows you to use the RTL-SDR as a passive radar detector.

Download Here
(Website appears to be down, but here is a DIRECT LINK) (Note: Requires XNA4.0)

The Passive Radar plugin by Dr. Kaminski in SDR#.

IF Average

Averages the current bandwidth. Is useful for applications such as radio astronomy.

Download Here
(Website appears to be down, but here is a DIRECT LINK) (Note: Requires XNA4.0)

The IF Average plugin by Dr. Kaminski.

Contour Shuttle Support

Adds support for mapping buttons on Contour shuttle USB controllers to SDR# functions.

Contour Shuttle Plugin for SDR#

Download Here

Visual Tuner Knob

Adds a simple visual tuner knob that is especially useful for those running SDR# on touchscreens.

Download Here

Audio Streaming TCP Server

Allows you to stream demodulated audio over a TCP server.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

The plugin streaming via TCP to VLC

CalicoCAT Serial CAT Control Plugin

Allows you to control SDR# from WSJT, HDSDR and other software. Requires a virtual serial port like com0com.

Download Here

Heatmap Generator Plugin

Allows you to generate a heatmap image from an rtl_power scan in SDR#. You can then click on the heatmap to instantly tune to found 'hot' areas.

Download Here

SDRSharp RTL-SDR Heatmap Plugin

Magic-Eye Plugin

Adds a "magic-eye" or cats eye graph to SDR#, which allows you to view the eye pattern of the tuned signal.

Download Here

Multimon-ng Launcher Plugin

A launcher for the multimon-ng decoder.

Download Here

RDS Groups to RSDSpy .spy Format File Plugin

Interface SDR# RDS detection with RDSSpy

Download Here

Tetra demodulator utils plug-in

Works with the TETRA decoder plugin above. Saves Tetra demodulator plug-in network info window textbox contents (calls info, ms registrations) to file. 

Download Here

Signal diagnostics logger plugin

Logs data from the built in Signal Diagnostics plugin to file.

Download Here

SDRSharp FFT peek hold plug-in

Simple peak hold plugin.

Download Here

TETRA demod plug-in network info grid data logger

Works with the TETRA decoder plugin above. TETRA demod plug-in network info grid data logger.

Download Here

TETRA plug-in UDP raw data logger with Python

Works with the TETRA decoder plugin above. Can log raw binary data to user-defined UDP port

Download Here

Front End Plugins

Modified R820T FrontEnd with Manual Control and Decimation

Not really a plugin, but a modified front end interface and driver for the RTL-SDR that allows manual control over the LNA, Mixer and VGA gain stages. Also enables decimation which allows for better narrowband warefall views, and a easy control for activating a SpyVerter upconverter.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

rtl_sdr_frontend

File Player

This plugin give a playback interface when playing back recorded IQ files. Allows you to view the entire waterfall of the recorded file and quickly skip to any time.

Download Here (original website now dead)

Download Here (archive.org Mirror)

Download Here (RTL-SDR Blog Mirror)

file_player

E4000 Gain Mod Enabler

A plugin which allows the E4000 Linrad gain profiles to be used in SDRSharp, via use of a modified rtl_tcp server.

Download Here

Plugins that no longer work

These plugins no longer work, but may still work with older versions of SDR#. Usually they stop working because of an SDR# upgrade that requires some minor modification to the plugin, but the plugin is no longer maintained. Some provide code so there may be hope in getting these running again if someone is willing to make the changes and recompile the code.

Orbitron Plugin (Not working with 1400+)

Superseeded by the DDE Tracking and Scheduler Plugin (shown in the above list)

Allows the Orbitron satellite tracking software to control the frequency in SDRSharp. This is useful as Orbitron can automatically correct for the Doppler shift when listening to satellites.

Download Here

Mirror At the bottom of this page

Satellite Tracker Plugin

Easy Scanner Plugin (Not working with 1400+)

Another scanner plugin similar to the scanners already shown above. Add frequencies to the database, then use the scanner to automatically find an active signal.

Download link and users guide here.

Easy Scanner SDR# Plugin

Audio FFT Plugin (Not Working with 1400+)

Adds a audio FFT display in the plugin window.

Download Here

Audio FFT SDR# Plugin

ScopeView Plugin (Not working with 1400+)

Adds a simple audio scope to the plugin window.

Download Here

Scope Viewer SDR# Plugin

Simple Audio EQ Balance Plugin (Not working with 1400+)

Adds a simple audio EQ balance setting option box in the plugin window.

Download Here

Audio EQ Balance SDR# Plugin

Signal Strength Logger (Not working with 1400+)

Logs signal strengths over time of specified stations.

Download Here

SignalStrengthLogger

SDR# short-wave.info Plugin (Not working with 1400+)

Enables SW station names to be displayed within SDR#.

Download Here

short-wave.info SDR# Plugin

GlobalTuners SDR# Plugin (Not working with 1400+)

Allows SDR# to associate with a GlobalTuners.com account.

Download Here

Unitrunker Trunking Plugin (Not working with 1400+)

Allows the trunking control software Unitrunker to control the frequencies in SDRSharp. This allows digital and analogue trunking systems to be followed. Note that Unitrunker can now directly interface with the RTL-SDR, so using SDR# together with Unitrunker is no longer recommended.

Download Here

SDRSharp Trunker Plugin

AutoTuner Plugin (Out of date)

Automatically tunes to signals that appear in the spectrum which are above a certain adjustable signal strength. Can also create null areas to prevent automatically tuning to unwanted signals. There seems to be only an outdated version, which is built in to an old version of SDRSharp available.

Download Here

Auto Tuner SDR# Plugin

ADSB# Plugin (Missing)

Runs the ADSB# ADS-B decoding program as a plugin in SDRSharp. The main advantage to using this plugin is that you get to visually see the waterfall whilst decoding. It also adds a 1-bit CRC error check.

Download from the files section of this Yahoo group. (You will need to register first) (Note: File is gone now, still looking for updates to this plugin)

ADSB# SDR# Plugin

Modified ScopeView Plugin (Missing)

A modified version of the scope view plugin with Decimation, HoldOff and Hold options resides in the SDRSharp Yahoo group files section under the name TXmonitorScopeView.zip (you will need to join the group first to download).

Download Here

ScopeViewPlugin

SDR# Dark Mode Plugin

Adds simple UI options to SDR#, including the ability to make the interface black in color, remove excess padding to save screen space and to move the top frequency toolbar to the bottom of the screen.

Download Here

FFT Grabber Plugin

Allows you to take easy screenshots of the FFT and waterfall spectrums.

Download here

Accessibility Plugin

Adds accessibility options such as keyboard shortcuts and larger OSD fonts.

Download Here

ExtendedFFT Plugin

Highly featured IF FFT extension. Includes bandpass filter, markers, analyzer and more.

Download Here

Toolbar Plugin

Puts some useful SDR# controls right on the SDR# toolbar, making them easier to access.

Download Here

Other Plugin Lists

http://www.sdrsharp.com/#plugins

http://sdrts.amoti.ru/perechen_plaginov_i_modifikaciy_sdr___

http://rtl-sdr.ru/category/plugin

http://sdrsharp.pbworks.com/w/page/62589136/FrontPage

http://www.rtl-sdr.ru/page/komplekt-plaginov-dlja-priema-sputnikov