SDR via a TV tuner dongel

[VK3BQ]

http://radio.linux.org.au/?sectpat=SDR

from a quick google search,

[VK2KPK]

Thank you but the issue is that to install anything, on Linux, that will act as a SDR you seem to have to go through the infuriating number of steps - this depends on that which in turn requires something else which requires something to compile it but these dependencies are required ...

See my point?

[VK3BQ]

Thank you but the issue is that to install anything, on Linux, that will act as a SDR you seem to have to go through the infuriating number of steps - this depends on that which in turn requires something else which requires something to compile it but these dependencies are required ...

See my point?

That's Linux. If you don't want to build drivers or tinker. Other options. )

[VK2CSW]

Thank you but the issue is that to install anything, on Linux, that will act as a SDR you seem to have to go through the infuriating number of steps - this depends on that which in turn requires something else which requires something to compile it but these dependencies are required ...

See my point?

Don't use Linux if it is a problem.

The whole point of being a more open system is that experimenters get stuff working for their own benefit - then make it available for others to build upon. Packaging it up in a nice simple installer is not one of their priorities. The experimentation is the point.

SDR is an experimental area of software. If you don't want to deal with dependencies and daily builds and git and make etc etc etc simply don't use experimental software.

Go and buy a commercial package.

It is what it is. The zero dollar cost of open source does come with other associated costs, maybe not monetary but they are there non-the-less.

[VK5ZLR]

Pretty good for eleven bucks (delivered).

Hacked into it and poked the HF signal straight into it's guts. Had to get the microscope out to see where to insert the Birko though.

You can see an ionosonde sweeping through. And the rotten radar at about 8500.

Cheers Richard

[VK2KPK]

.. SDR is an experimental area of software. If you don't want to deal with dependencies and daily builds and git and make etc etc etc simply don't use experimental software.

I was just hoping that I may have missed a simpler method - do not get me wrong I will be persisting with this.

[ZL1RS]

SRD-sharp and R820T dongle driver installed and running in an hour ... of which 50 minutes was spent finding out how to install an unsigned driver on Windows8 !

A 0.1uV EMF signal from my sig gen straight into the dongle is plainly audible, and I have nice CW and QSBing traces on the waterfall from the two 2m beacons normally within range (200km and 300km distance) with a temporary 7 element Yagi.

I also splashed out a few extra bux for an HF up-converter ... the "Ham It Up".

More fun on a Sunday afternoon than a barrel of monkeys ........

73,

[VK4FP]

How about modifying your rig with a SDR dongle to have a 2mhz wide panadapter...Taping into the first IF before the filter.
http://www.hamradio.selfip.com/i6ibe/pa ... dapter.htm
http://code-of-silence-fanzine.us/yaesu ... apter.html
Out there for other radios too..Icom IC7600, FT450d etc etc...
Have fun, Lloyd VK4FP.

[ZL1RS]

Yesterday I connected a 2m GaAsFET in front of the dongle to see how it performed on that band when provided with a low noise front end. I also installed the HDSDR software to compare with SDR# (SDR sharp). It took some time to realise that the "S-meter calibration" function in HDSDR is actually the receiver gain control (same as the "RF Gain" slider in SDR#), but once I had that sorted and the receiver gain set correctly in HDSDR the weak signal performance was quite good.

On 2m the receiver with GaAsFET preamp is now very sensitive ... a 0.1uV signal from my signal generator is showing 35dB out of the noise in the HDSDR audio spectrum scope and as a solid line in the main waterfall display. The CW filtering (especially the peak filter) in HDSDR really pulls out the weak signals.

Connecting the 2m antenna shows some tendency for the RX to overload whenever a strong local VHF signal occasionally comes on air, but otherwise dongle is still "surviving" with the extra front end gain (rural location with no major broadcast transmitter sites within 50km).

From observations here with my RTL2383U+R820T dongle:
SDR# is a better WBFM receiver for the FM broadcast band than HDSDR.
HDSDR has an interesting mode "ECSS" which locks on to an AM carrier (e.g. for AM SWLing with an up-converter ... but I'm in two minds if it makes any real difference to AM reception).
The HDSDR CW filter functions are great ... approaching the effectiveness of the DSP CW filter functions in my main rig.

Quite impressive receiver performance in general terms for very little money (assuming you already have a computer to run it).

73,

[ZL3PX]

Go to you tube and watch the setup there dont use the TV disc supplied
Mine works fine on XP
Geoff ZL3PX