Ham Operator Forums
General Forums => Software Defined radio (SDR) Forum => : K5TLF June 15, 2013, 02:36:49 PM
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Just picked one of these up a couple of weeks ago from ebay.
They are a blast! Frequency accuracy can be off but will get you in the ball park. Its great for looking around the bands and for basic monitoring. I have been playing with mine using it to decode digital comms. Works pretty well!
I highly reccomend them! Great toy! I have discovered a ton of stuff out on the bands that I did not know was there!
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Got a link?
Is this a dongle type? USB? Whats the coverage?
C
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Its a dongle. Ranges from around 30-50mhz on the low side and 1.7ghz on the high side.
Just google "Reltek SDR" There is a ton of info out there.
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Its what it is... a $20 receiver. It works and works pretty well tho. Its a ton of fun tho!
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I see why I cant find it.. You called it a "reatech" then later a "realtek".
C
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yeah... oops! :D
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Try this link: http://amzn.to/1bbccDx. Best $20 in Ham Radio, although receive only.
Then download free software from (for example) www.sdrsharp.com.
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I just ordered the Nooelec version. To hard to pass up for $20 with antenna and remote. Should be fun!
C
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I did a blog post on this a while back if anyone is interested. It's focused mainly for Ubuntu.
http://unit-hq.blogspot.com/2013/02/rtl-sdr-vhf-uhf-software-defined-radio.html
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If you're interested in using it for HF, you can build an upconverter (see January 2013 QST article on SDR) or buy one from Nooelec. Their converters are around $40. I bought one and it works great. It will just add to the hours of fun :)
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I'll have to check that out. It would be nice to view 10mhz of HF spectrum at a time.... especially when I'm looking for milcom stuff. I may just spend a bit more for a Softrock receiver. I really want a Perseus but that's a lot more than I can spend right now.
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I got my Nooelec R820T today. The install instructions are garbage. After about a half hour, I got the driver to install and the SDRsharp program working. FM radio works great. I have not heard much else so far. I guess I will try listening to 2meter Ham next. Are there any other frequencies or ranges I might want to try out?
BTW.. Nooelec has horrible customer service. It took 14 days to get my package after I paid for the 2 day shipping. When questioned, the woman raised her voice at me and started on the defense.