4 ms·

If you can, I'd suggest spending a little more on either an RTL-SDR with a built-in upconverter (~$30 on AliExpress) or an SDRplay RSP1A ($120 from Ham Radio Ou

If you can, I'd suggest spending a little more on either an RTL-SDR with a built-in upconverter (~$30 on AliExpress) or an SDRplay RSP1A ($120 from Ham Radio Outlet). An upconverter allows the RTL-SDR to operate in the crucial bands below 30MHz; the SDRplay RSP1A has vastly better performance and will pick up all sorts of signals that an RTL-SDR won't. The RTL-SDR is a really cool and very cheap introduction to radio, but I think you might outgrow it fairly quickly if you're technically-minded and have a serious interest in radio. I'd also suggest seriously considering getting an amateur radio license. It isn't difficult or expensive in most countries, you'll learn a lot about radio in the process and you'll gain the right to transmit on a wide range of frequencies. The /r/amateurradio wiki is a useful starting point. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hot-100KHz-1-7GHz-full-band-UV-HF-RTL-SDR-USB-Tuner-Receiver-R820T-8232-Ham/32697306316.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hot-100KHz-1-7GHz-full-band-... https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015965 https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015965 https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/index#wiki_getting_started https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/wiki/index#wiki_gettin...

vvanders 8y ago
While the upconverters are nifty if you're not in a pretty rural area or going to do some serious antenna work you'll be heavily limited by conditions at <30Mhz. +1 on looking at getting a license though. It opens up a whole new world of experimentation and capabilities. Even on 2m I still get a kick covering 80-100mi with our local repeater network.
sciurus 8y ago
You don't need an upconverter to receive HF on the version shipped by rtl-sdr.com; it supports it via direct sampling mode. I've listened to plenty of shortwave broadcasters and hams using it with a random wire antenna. I did recently get an rsp1a as an upgrade once I realized how much fun I was having. It seems better at rejecting noise but otherwise isn't that different than my rtl-sdr. I need to get a windows install so I can use sdruno instead of cubicsdr, though.

vvanders 8y ago

While the upconverters are nifty if you're not in a pretty rural area or going to do some serious antenna work you'll be heavily limited by conditions at <30Mhz. +1 on looking at getting a license though. It opens up a whole new world of experimentation and capabilities. Even on 2m I still get a kick covering 80-100mi with our local repeater network.

sciurus 8y ago

You don't need an upconverter to receive HF on the version shipped by rtl-sdr.com; it supports it via direct sampling mode. I've listened to plenty of shortwave broadcasters and hams using it with a random wire antenna. I did recently get an rsp1a as an upgrade once I realized how much fun I was having. It seems better at rejecting noise but otherwise isn't that different than my rtl-sdr. I need to get a windows install so I can use sdruno instead of cubicsdr, though.