Any KiwSDR owners here?

mbott · Oct 19, 2018

I ordered the KiwiSDR kit via Massdrop and it is being delivered today. I have some technical issues to work out, like getting a lan connection to the unit. More than likely, I won't be able to bring in online until sometime in November at the earliest.

I'd like to hear of any other "issues" Kiwi owners have encountered and how they were resolved.

Thanks in advance!

--
Mike

mbott · Oct 19, 2018

As received.

mbott · Oct 19, 2018

As assembled.

w2xq · Oct 19, 2018

Sure looks like an interesting unit, Mike. I will be curious to see how it works out for you. I'm thinking one could use a range extender (I use a Netgear WN2500) anywhere in the house to provide a connection.

mbott · Oct 19, 2018

Tom,

I'm told that the software is looking for a wired lan connection and can't use a wireless lan to communicate across.

--
Mike

ab5r · Oct 19, 2018

Sorry, I have never heard of this device, but I have SDRPlay and connect to the back of my router directly with CAT5 cable. It is powered that way and all else needed is an antenna for basic install. Of course, you have to have software to work with your device. Like I said, I am not familiar with this one.

If all else fails, follow instructions. Ha Ha

mbott · Oct 19, 2018

ab5r said:
Sorry, I have never heard of this device, but I have SDRPlay and connect to the back of my router directly with CAT5 cable. It is powered that way and all else needed is an antenna for basic install. Of course, you have to have software to work with your device. Like I said, I am not familiar with this one.

If all else fails, follow instructions. Ha Ha

Here is a whole world of KiwiSDRs: https://sdr.hu/?top=kiwi

--
Mike

ab5r · Oct 19, 2018

Thanks Mike, but I did a little searching too and discovered this devise operates under Linux. I am a Windows guy and don't speak Linux. Nevertheless, I would suspect that plugging the CAT5 into an empty slot on your router and from there to the devise should make the Internet contact that you asked about.

You will still need a good antenna and proper software that works on Linux. SDRPlay.com might have software???

mbott · Oct 19, 2018

ab5r said:
Thanks Mike, but I did a little searching too and discovered this devise operates under Linux. I am a Windows guy and don't speak Linux. Nevertheless, I would suspect that plugging the CAT5 into an empty slot on your router and from there to the devise should make the Internet contact that you asked about.

No good way to run a cat5 cable from the router to where the KiwiSDR will be connected to my current antenna.

ab5r said:
You will still need a good antenna and proper software that works on Linux. SDRPlay.com might have software???

The good antenna I have. This has its own software called OpenwebRX that runs on the BeagleBone Green computer that the KiwiSDR is attached to. The software that supports the various SDRplays is not an option.

--
Mike

mbott · Oct 20, 2018

ab5r said:
Sorry, I have never heard of this device, but I have SDRPlay and connect to the back of my router directly with CAT5 cable. It is powered that way and all else needed is an antenna for basic install.

Your SDRplay connected to your router with CAT5? Huh, didn't think that was possible.

--
Mike

ab5r · Oct 21, 2018

Absolutely. How else would one connect a printer or anything else directly to a router?

I have a seismograph directly (hardwired) connected to my router and monitor via software on my PC.

mbott · Oct 21, 2018

There is no place to plug a cat5 into a SDRplay.

Thunderknight · Oct 21, 2018

mbott said:
No good way to run a cat5 cable from the router to where the KiwiSDR will be connected to my current antenna.

If you have power at that far location, you could use a wireless bridge to replace an ethernet cable.
E.g. Ethernet to bridge end 1 <-wireless-> bridge end 2 to ethernet to KiwiSDR.

Or if you have good WiFi already at that location, you can use an ethernet to WiFi bridge. The bridge connects to your WiFi network and provides an ethernet jack out.

There are lots of choices for doing something like LAN cable substitution...some are more plug and play, others require a bit of configuration work.

mbott · Oct 21, 2018

Thunderknight said:
If you have power at that far location, you could use a wireless bridge to replace an ethernet cable.
E.g. Ethernet to bridge end 1 <-wireless-> bridge end 2 to ethernet to KiwiSDR.

Or if you have good WiFi already at that location, you can use an ethernet to WiFi bridge. The bridge connects to your WiFi network and provides an ethernet jack out.

I'm pretty sure the resolution here will include OpenWrt.

--
Mike

mbott · Oct 22, 2018

And then there is this.

mbott · Oct 30, 2018

w2xq said:
Sure looks like an interesting unit, Mike. I will be curious to see how it works out for you. I'm thinking one could use a range extender (I use a Netgear WN2500) anywhere in the house to provide a connection.

Hey Tom,

I want to thank you for the tip on the Netgear N600 WiF Extender. Using one with the KiwiSDR and it is great, especially considering that Micro Center had refurbished ones for $15.00. Just using one, but I bought 2.

The KiwiSDR is not quite ready for primetime, but it is up and running.

--
Mike

mbott · Nov 8, 2018

It's up and running at ohioswl.com:8073. The RFI from AEP is provided free of charge.

--
Mike

w2xq · Nov 8, 2018

Neat, Mike! Tnx.

mbott · Nov 9, 2018

Newly registered at SDR.hu ... all the way at the bottom of the page.

--
Mike

w2xq · Nov 10, 2018

I was tuning around with mbott's KiwiSDR in mid-Ohio this Sat night. Tired of Cuba, China and Saudi Arabia on HF, I poked around MW and not much interesting. But LW a different story: in addition to the local 25w NDBs in central OH... these were interesting.

[22:36:14] PN-360 500w Port Menier, QC (mouth of St. Lawrence)
[22:41:05] YKQ-351 500w Fort Rupert, QC (bottom of Hudson Bay)
[22:48:52] YYU-341 500w Kapuskasing, ON (halfway to Hudson Bay)

I don't know what receive antenna was being used. The USB filter made it easy to copy the MCW code IDs.

Thanks to Mike making the receiver available. I made use of the waterfall to spot some signals, but I resorted to my usual method if stepping 1 kc at a time and listening into the low s3 noise level to find the weak ones.

Any KiwSDR owners here?

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