SDR

[redlght]

I have been messing with a RTL-SDR USB R820T+2832U, seems I get AM broadcast radio in the 27Mhz band like they are over top each other. I think MD has one, let me know what and how yours works for you.

[MDYoungblood]

I bought one in kit form and put it together. I am using HDSDR as the operating program. There are a couple of sites that help figure things out which I'm still doing, google RTL-SDR. I've been able to get some commercial broadcast stations and some 2m locals but the HF portions I haven't got much on yet. I'm going to try Airspy next, see if it works better.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

I am using HDSDR i get hf bands my unit does not have the switch for UV to HF the prob i have is BC AM in with the HF band i can tune to ch36 LSB CB or BC AM KQV lol

I didn't see Airspy for WIN XP


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[MDYoungblood]

I have the same one. There should be a download for XP, I'm installing on a win 7 computer hoping it will upgrade to the win 10.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

To get hf band i have to change the direct sampling to disabled and use the UV antenna socket and set rf+10

I thought a read the uv band on the device starts at 26MHz

[MDYoungblood]

Yes my cuts off at 24mhz. I've been reading to see what I need to add to get lower. I'm also thinking of using an old XP laptop, wipe the HD, install Ubuntu and run that, seems like it would do better without all the Windows junk. Airspy and Livesdr run on it well from what I've read so far. I have mine hooked up to a Diamond Super Discone (D130) antenna I use for 2m/70cm.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

The ones with the switch seem to have better ears than without. I yanked the cover and it is a dongle laid over an add on board with a dolphin on it. I checked mine 24 is the cut off for HF/UV

[MDYoungblood]

The kit had no instructions with it, go figure, I searched around and found this,
[Please login or register to view this link]
On this one the HF side isn't tied in. That is what I'm looking for is how to get it connected.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

I honestly think mine is deaf on some bands

[MDYoungblood]

If you check that link there is a part about a jumper, I put mine on "P" , now I'm thinking I should move it to "A". I got blurry eyed messing with that old laptop getting drivers working to look at it. I got to cut that covering off, was t thinking I would have to keep opening up the case.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

Mine was put together all ready i see yours has a cut out for the dongle mine has it laid over top the board the length of the unit on the left side. So far i tried every thing with no luck it is still deaf on HF band AM BC and FM work good. What extio dll are you using for yours?

[MDYoungblood]

I used zadig 2.2 (works for all Win ops but XP), and there is a zadig_xp 2.2 (for XP only), and followed their instructions. The extio is off HDSDR site, hardware page, ExtlO_RTL2832.ddl . I went to a known frequency (weather band is strong here) and played with it until I got good reception. I seem to be only picking up strong signals like it needs a preamp to boost the input. So far it is working, I can see stations key up on the 27mhz range on the waterfall, FM is working on 2m, haven't had a strong enough signal to see if SSB is working. I still playing with the laptop getting Ubuntu running.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

i tried both ExtlO_RTL2832.ddl and ExtlO_RTL.ddl. I think it needed more R&D time before they put them out there on the market didnt quite get it right.

[MDYoungblood]

Look it over for any identifying marks and see if you can't match it up on the list of .dll's on HDSDR hardware page. I got it running on the laptop now, since there is nothing else on there is running it's working fine.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

Has a dolphin on the main bord

[MDYoungblood]

Yes my board has a dolphin on it too but unlike yours that has just a dongle soldered to it, the components are the same except yours are SMT. I tried the jumper to the "A" position which did nothing so back to reading but it looks like we need to get a better model with an up converter to receive the HF bands. Before I go to that expense I'm adding "Panadapter" to my HF radio.

3's

Greg

[redlght]

Mine has the upconverter Full Band RTL-SDR USB Tuner Receiver R820T+2832U, I have a program for spectrum that works ok not quite spot on freq it tells me that mine is a Generic RTL2832U Tuner Rafael Micro R820T

[DeltaMike15]

I started out with a regular SDR USB Dongle then got the Airspy and now have the HackRF Blue which can also transmit on everything it receives... I haven't played around with it much but since this topic exists, I'll keep in touch!

[redlght]

Never got mine to work right and gave it away

[Deleted User 14541]

I had decent luck with the dongle and upconverter once I got it to run. The last year or so it's been locking up after running a few minutes. Originally I thought it was caused by RF.

I replaced it with an sdr play and it works much better. It does cost more and isn't top of the line but it's better. I have it tied into the 455khz filter on one of my radios with less than desirable receive. I set the sdr for 455khz and use the radio normally. If the TX and RX goes through the 455 filter on your rig you may have to use a relay to disconnect it on transmit to prevent mic squeal.

[MDYoungblood]

Never got mine to work right and gave it away

For the longest time I couldn't get a signal below 24mhz, looking at some internet sites didn't help. Mine didn't have anything connected on the HF side of the board. I saw one similar to mine but it had a switch and some kind of receive amplifier on/off switchable on the HF side so I tried cheap RX amp and got a signal but it's still not right. I agree, don't go cheap if you are getting into SDR, learn from others mistakes.
I am interested in going with a "Panadapter" for my Icom IC-746, it can be hooked up to the IF stage of the receiver directly but doing that the receive suffers some loss. There is an amplifier I found on the internet that taps the IF but the company is no longer in business, shows the age of the equipment.
A lot of the newer ham radios coming out have band scopes that when using a program like HRD or HDSDR you can get a broader view of the frequencies in use compared to spinning the dial.

3's

Greg

[MDYoungblood]

I was talking to another local hammie and a member of the forum, he purchased a SDRPlay RSP1 and said he had very good recommendations for it, I bit the bullet and pushed the button on a used one, yes off that auction site , and it is a world of difference between it and the dongle type. I'm still figuring it out watching YouTube's. I hooked it up to a long wire antenna about 45ft long and a balun to match it at 50ohms. I'll write more as I play with it.

3's

Greg