Tablet for portable SDR?

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Markb

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I have heard good things about the WinBook TW series tablets that can be found at www.microcenter.com.
They run Win8 and have a USB port.
I have heard reports of it working very well with UT, DSDPlus and other SDR software coupled with an RTL.
They are very affordable and may be worth checking out. Perhaps someone here can chime in with firsthand real world experience.

Mark

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mm

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I use the little brother Dell Venue 8 and I haven't had any problems running a sdr dongle or a Ensemble Softrock HF xcvr.

My only issue was I needed to assemble a aftermarket USB/CHARGER/EXPANDER cable assortment because the venue 8 only has 1 USB PORT but even this was no big deal.
 

thegriff

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Here is one example:

Decoding P25 on a Windows Tablet - The RadioReference.com Forums

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FWIW I'm still using the same tablet for my SDR setup and it's working just fine. I used to run Unitrunker with SDR# and DSD+ but with the recent changes to UT I run just it and DSD+.

I also purchased a Pro-668 a while back from eBay (RS clearance) and have found my SDR setup works about as well as a dedicated scanner in my location. Most (all?) of my problems seem to stem from monitoring simulcast form a location mid-way between two towers.

Now that SDR# is gone the setup uses less CPU cycles, not that higher CPU utilization was an issue prior.

I've not taken the tablet out of the house but I have no reason to think it wouldn't work well aside from the need for a powered USB hub. With two dongles you need a hub and I would think a passive hub not powerful enough to run the dongles.
 

stmills

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I am using a Winbook TW802 with to RTL SDR USB dongles . I use a powered USB hub and for the dongles and to run my wireless mouse. These all are stored in an external box where I use an antenna splitter to feed RF from a single antenna to the 2 dongles. I also use a Blue tooth Keyboard if I am doing a large amount of Database editing.
I am running Unitrunker with DSD+. I use VB cable to patch the audio along with there sound mixer app Banana to control audio output routing- I use an amplified Bluetooth speaker in my car and just the onboard speakers at home.
I use this to monitor the Minnesota ARMER 800mHz P25 trunked system. My reception has been as good or better than my Unidentifiable 396T. I enjoy the ability to truly use priority levels so I don't miss the important traffic. I have not had much of a chance to play with the Newest Unitrunker yet but am excited to try the new multiple VCO options.
 

slicerwizard

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I am using a Winbook TW802 with to RTL SDR USB dongles . I use a powered USB hub and for the dongles and to run my wireless mouse. These all are stored in an external box where I use an antenna splitter to feed RF from a single antenna to the 2 dongles. I also use a Blue tooth Keyboard if I am doing a large amount of Database editing.
Should've just picked up a $150 netbook...
 

shores

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can you run the full sdr# or even better unitrunker on raspberry pi 2 yet?
i have one running a media centre, i want to get the second pi2 running raspbian and get unitrunker running natively or in wine if it's windows only.
really i only want to use it with a touchscreen as a trunking scanner with 2 or 3 dongles for nxdn/dmr/p25
 

Markb

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I am going to say no on that one. In place of Raspbian, you can install a stripped version of Windows 10 on the new Pi, but I doubt it has the horsepower to run Unitrunker or SDR#.
Then on top of that, you would have to run DSD or DSDPLUS and to this point the Pi just doesn't appear to have the computing power to run DSD.

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