August 15, 2017

Modded SUP-2400 Downconverters now Available at RXTXDX.com for $25

Last week we posted about KD0CQ’s interest check on his ready to go modded SUP-2400 downconverter. Interest was strong so the unit is now available for sale on a store he’s just set up at RXTXDX.com. The ready to go unit costs $25 USD including a 9V battery plug and F->SMA or MCX adapter.

Last year KD0CQ discovered that the SUP-2400 is a cheap $5 – $10 DirecTV (US satellite TV) module which can be hand modded into a downconverter for the RTL-SDR. A downconverter allows you to listen to frequencies above the maximum frequency range of the RTL-SDR by converting frequencies down into a range receivable by the RTL-SDR (or of course any other SDR). The modified SUP-2400 allows to you listen up to just over 4 GHz.

The SUP-2400 modification is moderately involved and requires soldering and desoldering SMD pieces, so this product is great for anyone who just wants a cheap and low cost downconverter which is ready to go. And at $25 USD it’s still very good value. Shipping within the USA is $7.75, and internationally it is about $13.50.

August 7, 2017

Interest Check: KD0CQ Pre-Modified SUP-2400 Downconverters

Over on his blog KD0CQ has posted an interest check. He’d like to know if anyone would be interested in purchasing pre-modified SUP-2400 downconverters from him. We’ve posted about the SUP-2400 a few times in the past. Basically the SUP-2400 is a cheap (about $5 – $10 USD) DirecTV device which can be modified and turned into a downconverter for your RTL-SDR. A downconverter allows you to listen to higher frequencies, up to 4.5 GHz in the case of the SUP-2400 and an RTL-SDR.

The modification involves some decent soldering skills as it involves removing some small SMD components and using wires to bridge some points. KD0CQ writes that he’s thinking of selling premodified SUP-2400 units for $20 – $25 to interested customers. If you think that you’d be interested in this please comment on his post.