Tagged: sdr#

Two New SDR# Plugins Released: ShortWave Info and DCS Decoder

Recently two new SDR# plugins have just been released.

The first is a plugin which shows the name and language of the shortwave station that is currently tuned in using data from short-wave.info. It can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.net/projects/sdrsharpshortwaveinfoplugin/.

short-wave.info SDR# Plugin
short-wave.info SDR# Plugin

The second plugin is a Digital Code Squelch (DCS) decoder plugin. The plugin will display the DCS codes that are transmitted with the signal and will display all possible compatible codes. DCS is a squelching system similar to CTCSS which allows for radio user sharing by ensuring that radio users are not bothered by communications not intended for them. The DCS Decoder plugin can be downloaded from http://www.rtl-sdr.ru/page/novyj-plagin-dcs-decoder (note page in Russian).

Digital Code Squelch (DCS) Decoder Plugin for SDR#
Digital Code Squelch (DCS) Decoder Plugin for SDR#

Roundup of Software Defined Radios

New software defined radio (SDRs) products are popping up every few months these days so we thought we'd compile a big list of available SDRs as there are a few people who were bitten by the RTL-SDR bug and are now looking to upgrade.

For each SDR we compare the cost, frequency range, ADC resolution, maximum instantaneous bandwidth, whether or not it can TX and if it has any pre selectors built in. Here is a quick guide to what some of these metrics mean.

Frequency Range: The range of frequencies the SDR can tune to.
ADC Resolution: Higher is better. More resolution means more dynamic range, less signal imaging, a lower noise floor, more sensitivity when strong signals are present and better ability to discern weak signals. Some SDR's give their resolution in ENOB which stands for effective number of bits.
Instantaneous Bandwidth: The size of the real time RF chunk available.
RX/TX: Can the radio receive and/or transmit.
Preselectors: Analogue filters on the front end to help reduce out of band interference and imaging.

* - Denotes top choice for high value

General Use Software Defined Radios

We define general use SDRs as ones with a wide frequency range and with no focus on any specific frequency band.

R820T RTL2832U a.k.a RTL-SDR*

RTLSDR_PCB

Cost: $10 - 22 USD
Frequency Range: approx. 24 MHz - 1766 MHz (below 24 MHz available on RTL-SDR.com V3 dongles)
ADC Resolution: 8 Bits
Max Bandwidth: 3.2 MHz / 2.4 or 2.8 MHz max stable.
TX/RX: RX Only
Preselectors: Uses tracking RF filters on the R820T2 chip.
Release Date: August 2016

The RTL-SDR is still the best 'bang for your buck' software defined radio out there. While it was never designed to be used as a general purpose SDR in the first place, its performance is still surprisingly good. If you're on a budget or are just starting out with SDR or radio this is the one to get. (Link)

Continue reading →

XiOne – A RTL2832U based Portable Software Defined Radio: Indigogo Funding Campaign

A new funding campaign for an RTL2832U based software defined radio has gone up on Indiegogo. The new SDR is called the XiOne and is intended to be the first SDR that is easy to use with smartphones and open to the maker community.

With its 100 kHz to 1.7 GHz receiving range, the XiOne has a similar tuning range to the standard RTL-SDR dongles when an upconverter or the direct sampling mod is used. What makes the XiOne different is that it will have a built in MIPS processor, an internal rechargeable battery for portability and it will connect directly through WiFi to a smart device. They are also developing SDR GUI software for mobile devices including decoders for things like ADS-B, AIS and NOAA Satellites.

The IndieGoGo backer price for a XiOne is $179 USD, but if you act fast there are 100 units available at the promotional price of $139 USD. At the moment they have a working prototype with completed firmware, portable Java based SDR GUI, iPhone demodulation software, a MacOS ADS-B receiver, an iPad AIS receiver and an iPad spectrum analyzer. The fundraiser is to help them begin serial production.

There is a Reddit thread discussing the project here.

XiOne Prototype Internals
XiOne Prototype Internals
XiOne Casing
XiOne Casing

Hak5: Autonomous Boats, Hacker Printers And RTL-SDR Plugins

This week on the popular YouTube show Hak5, SDRSharp plugins are discussed once more amongst other topics. This time at around the 17 minute mark, Shannon discusses how to install plugins that do not have automated installers. For an example she shows how to install the Level Meter plugin.

Autonomous Boats, Hacker Printers And RTL-SDR Plugins, Hak5 1623

SDR# Frequency Manager + Scanner Plugin Updated to Version 1.6

The widely used Frequency Manager + Scanner Plugin for SDR# has recently been updated to version 1.6. It can be downloaded from sdrsharpplugins.com. Note that this version requires SDR# version 1248 or newer, so run install.bat if you haven’t done so in a while. The new features are as follows:

Frequency Manager

  • The Frequency Description is now displayed in the upper-right corner of the spectrum analyzer, along with the indicator for multiple database entries for that frequency.
  • As a result of moving the above information to the spectrum analyzer, the Frequency Manager panel is now 35% smaller.
  • The Clipboard Monitor now optionally watches the clipboard for frequencies you might have copied from the internet; and if that can be converted to a MHz value it tunes the radio to that frequency.
  • Function Keys F1-F10 can now be used to tune to a preset frequency.

Scanner

  • A new Minimum Signal Strength Line is displayed on the spectrum display. This, along with real-time display of the current signal’s strength when the scanner is running, let you see at a glance how that signal compares to your scanner settings. In addition you can use customize the line with one of 6 line patterns.
  • Current Signal Strength in dB is displayed in the upper right corner of the spectrum analyzer, just after the Frequency Description.
  • Timeout and Watchdog timers’ indicators are now displayed in the upper right corner of the spectrum analyzer.

SoftRock Lite II Build and Test Tutorial Video

The SoftRock Lite II is a (now fairly old) soundcard based software defined radio kitset that is capable of receiving on the HF bands. Over on YouTube user w2aew has uploaded a video showing the entire kitset build process for the SoftRock Lite II SDR radio. He also goes over the circuit blocks explaining their function and how they work.

This is an excellent video if you are interested in learning more about the components and circuits used in some SDRs.

#148: Software Defined Radio kit | Tutorial | Build | Test | Softrock Lite II

SeeDeR: New SDR GUI Software Supporting RTL-SDR

SeeDeR is a new software defined radio GUI program that supports the RTL-SDR. It also supports the Funcube Dongle and BladeRF. Currently it is in an early beta release.

SeeDeR contains features specifically developed for decoding radio data transmissions from satellites – in particular the crowdfunded SkyCube satellite – such as a built-in AX.25 decoder, and a satellite pass predictor.

SeeDeR requires a PC with Windows 7+, 1+ GB RAM, 2+ GHz dual-core CPU, 20 MB HD space. The executable is 32-bit.

We need to note that SeeDeR has been a cause of some friction with the author (Youssef) of SDR# and may be part of the reason why SDR# was temporarily removed. Youssef is claiming that SeeDer has illegally used licenced code from SDR#, however the author of SeeDer refutes that claim.

SeeDeR Software Defined Radio GUI
SeeDeR Software Defined Radio GUI

SDR# Website and Downloads Removed

Update: The author has updated the website with an explanation of why he took it down. He has also restored download functionality so now sdr-install.bat will work again.

The SDR# website, download links and repositories have been taken down and probably won’t be back for a number of days or weeks. This means the sdr-install.bat file will not work as well. If you already have SDR# installed it will continue to work as normal.

We aren’t exactly sure why this has happened, but it seems the author of SDR# did not like the many forks of the software that have been recently popping up. The forks may have been violating the licence that SDR# is under.

If you are new to RTL-SDR, our Quickstart guide has guides to using HDSDR and SDR-CONSOLE to try while SDR# is unavailable. HDSDR and SDR-CONSOLE are two good alternatives to SDR# but are slightly more difficult to set up and use.

See the Reddit discussion on this here.