Tagged: shortwave

The SDRSharp ListenInfo Plugin

SDR# is a popular software defined radio program that is compatible with RTL-SDR, Airspy and several other SDR devices. One feature is the ability for third parties to develop plugins for the software.

One recently released plugin that is gaining popularity is the "ListenInfo" plugin. The ListenInfo plugin uses a publicly available database of shortwave stations to display frequency station info for the LW, MW, SW bands within the SDR# spectrum display.

If you've ever been browsing the shortwave bands and wondered where a station is broadcasting from, and what it's transit power, beam direction and transmit schedule are like, then this will be a very useful plugin for you.

SDR# ListenInfo Plugin
SDR# ListenInfo Plugin

Video on Receiving HF Signals with the RTL-SDR Blog V3

Over on YouTube TheSmokinApe has uploaded a video showing how to use the direct sampling mode on RTL-SDR Blog V3 devices to receive HF transmissions, such as the ham bands, short wave and AM broadcast. In the video he shows how to activate direct sampling mode in SDR#, and then goes on to show reception of a few HF signals.

We note that an appropriate HF capable antenna is required to receive HF signals. The multipurpose dipole kits we sell are for VHF/UHF reception only. A simple and low cost HF antenna could just be a long wire running through your house.

HF Ham Radio with RTL-SDR Made EASY!

TechMinds: Testing the GA-450 Portable HF Active Loop Antenna

Over on the Techminds YouTube channel, Matt has uploaded his latest video which is a review of the GA-450 portable HF active loop antenna. The antenna costs between US$60-$80 + shipping and is available on Chinese market sites like Aliexpress and Banggood. It's advertised as covering 2.3 - 30 MHz, and uses a very portable and sturdy 20cm stainless steel loop. The active base amplifier is powered via a USB-C connector, and it even has a built in lithium battery for portable field use.

In his review Matt shows the antenna in action, noting that it's performance is quite a lot better than expected for it's small size, but it can't compare to his large half-wave end fed antenna. He notes that it appears to work best from 7 - 21 MHz, but not so well below 7 MHz. Overall he recommends it if you're looking for a small sized loop antenna.

GA-450 Portable Active Small Loop HF Antenna

SDRUno 1.41 Released: Scheduler and ADS-B Plugins Added

Last week SDRplay released version 1.41 of their SDRUno software platform. SDRuno is the official software for the SDRplay line of low cost software defined radio devices. The main new feature is the addition of the scheduler facility which allows users to easily schedule recordings. This is great if for example you wish to automatically record a shortwave programs playing overnight.

SDRuno V1.41 was fully released today. It includes the much requested full scheduler facility which allows you to set up numerous recording events for your RSP. As well as providing all the expected calendar options (time of day, date, start and stop times, repeating options and so on), you can also set the ‘profile’ for each recording – this allows you to pre-set frequencies, bandwidths, demodulator options (AM/FM/USB/LSB etc.), choice of filters and antenna port selection. Additionally you can choose the settings for connectivity to other third party software or the running of a specific plugin.

Introduction to SDRuno 1 41 - Scheduler & Profiles (VID597)

The new version also includes a finalized version of their ADS-B aircraft tracking plugin. Last month TechMinds tested the ADS-B plugin beta, noting that it worked well, but there were bugs with the built in mapping feature. In the official tutorial video the ADS-B plugin is demonstrated and shows that the mapping problem is fixed.

SDRuno ADSB Plugin (VID599)

A Hi-Z to 50 Ohm Impedance Matching Transformer for Improving HF/SW Reception

Thank you to Mitsunobu for writing in and sharing news about the release of his new product which is a Hi-Z (high impedance) to 50 Ohm matching transformer. This transformer allows you to use small antennas such as short telescopic whips for HF/SW reception on software defined radios.

Generally for HF reception you would want to use a full sized antenna, which can be many meters long and certainly not portable. However, by using an high impedance transformer it becomes possible to use smaller portable antennas. Reception with a small antenna and transformer will still be suboptimal compared to a full sized HF antenna, however, if the signals are strong enough the transformer will allow you to receive them decently.

In the tests shown on his blog (in Japanese, use Google Translate) he shows how the transformer adapter can be connected to a small telescopic whip and Malachite DSP SDR for portable use. Later he also shows how the adapter can make our Dipole Kit antenna work well for HF on a RTL-SDR Blog V3 with direct sampling.  

The product is only available via Amazon in Japan. However, Mitsunobu notes that Amazon.jp offers international shipping. He offers the transformer by itself, and a version including a short telescopic whip antenna.

Hi-Z to 50 Ohm Antenna Transformer for HF/SWL

An Introduction to SDR and SDR Applications for Shortwave Listeners

Over on the SWLing Post blog, author Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL has uploaded a new article titled "Software Defined Radio Primer Part 1: Introduction to SDRs and SDR applications". The article originally appeared in the June 2018 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine, which can be purchased online for $3 per issue.

The idea behind the article is to introduce people to SDR from a shortwave listening point of view, so high performance HF SDRs like the Airspy HF+, Elad FDM-S2 and WinRadio Excalibur are discussed. Thomas notes that these SDRs can perform as well as traditional DX-grade receivers that can cost two to three times more. He also explains what advantages SDR's bring to the shortwave radio listening hobby. This may be a good article to show those still using older hardware radios that haven't yet converted to the SDR world. 

The article is currently part one of a three part series, with parts two and three to be released in October and November.

DXing with SDR in a Car
DXing with SDR in a Car (Photo: Guy Atkins)

Archiving Shortwave History with Software Defined Radio

Broadcast shortwave radio is not always archived for long at the station, so finding sound bites from interesting historical events can be difficult. We know that songs are of course recorded, but talk back radio, discussions in between music, news readings, weather updates, ads and pirate radio are all lost over time. Although these things may seem mundane now, future historians may be interested in listening in on this little slice of life.

At this years HOPE XIII conference, Thomas Witherspoon, owner of the popular SWLing Blog gave a talk titled "Creating a Radio Time Machine: Software-Defined Radios and Time-Shifted Recordings". Currently the talk is available as a full recording of all talks at the conference over on Livestream. Thomas' talk begins at about 9h03m45s (thanks to Aaron Kuhn from the comments for finding the talk. Hackaday also recently ran an article on the content of his talk.

Thomas' idea is to create a database of shortwave radio IQ recordings so that they can be archived for historical purposes. The project is called "The Radio Spectrum Archive" and has a website set up at spectrumarchive.org. To do this modern software defined radios like the RTL-SDR can be used to record a large bandwidth, however the problem is with data storage as IQ recordings can take up extremely large amounts of disk space. 

Interestingly, it turns out that people have actually been making IQ recordings since the 1980's by connecting their shortwave radios to VCR tape recorders. In the modern day these VCR recordings can be digitized into an IQ file, and played back in software like HDSDR. In the video below Thomas demonstrates the playback of a digitized VCR radio recording from May 1 1986. You can hear some interesting news tidbits on the soviet cover-up of Chernobyl, the Challenger disaster and the launch of a new hurricane tracking satellite. If recording was more popular it would have been interesting to hear soviet radio during this time too.

In addition to archiving IQ files, Thomas has been releasing a podcast of curated historical audio recordings from VCR tapes, as well as modern recordings that may be of interest over at shortwavearchive.com.

We envision a future where one day these recordings could be automatically turned into text logs via advanced speech to text software, so they could easily be searched through.

[Also seen on Hackaday]

Radio Spectrum Recordings: A short demonstration

Antennas for Receiving Shortwave Indoors with an SDR

Over on the swling.com blog admin Thomas has been exploring various indoor antenna options for pairing with an HF capable software defined radio. He notes that unless you happen to live in isolation, you're highly likely to experience RFI problems with standard wire antennas. Instead he recommends looking into magnetic loop antennas which are significantly more resistant to urban electric field based RFI noise, and they can also be rotated to null out any other local noise sources. Thomas then goes on to highlight some of the best commercial magnetic loop options for sale. There is also some good advice in the comments section.

We note that magnetic loop antenna seem to work fairly well with the RTL-SDR in V3 in direct sampling mode, but you may need to filter out the broadcast AM band to avoid overload if the loop doesn't do this already.

An example small PK-Loop antenna for receiving shortwave with an SDR.
An example small PK-Loop antenna for receiving shortwave with an SDR.