SDRSharp (SDR#) Help

[DaveNF2G]

(Mods, if this thread becomes generally useful, then please feel free to Sticky it.)

I will start off with some questions of my own:

1) Why does my USB SDR receiver seem more sensitive with SDR# than with other software? It seemed to me that it should make no difference because the hardware is the same, but evidently this is not correct.

2) How can I correct the error between the actual frequency tuned and the frequency displayed? For example, the box says 462.669.000 when I am tuned to 462.675.000 MHz.

3) What filter is meant under Radio at Filter Bandwidth? 12500 Hz seems awfully wide for NFM. I'm guessing it is a RF filter and not an AF filter.

4) Is there a way to make the frequency grid on the upper frequency display lock to actual allocated frequencies at the spacing indicated in the Step Size window?

These are all I have for now, but there might be more...

[kilokat7]

I'll add one more:

5) I know you can play back .wav format files with SDR#, but can you generate RF spectrum recordings with it as well? I didn't see any recording feature within the program unless I missed the obvious. I just assumed this was a given with any SDR software today, but maybe not.

[jpryor]

SDR# is really turning out to be a great piece of software. Youssef the author and team have done some real good work.

1-SDR is all about getting the software code as close to the antenna as possible. This software implementation is providing great Automatic RF Gain and AGC controls along with superb Automatic IQ Correction for great image rejection. These software features alone are making the relatively cheap DVB-T style RTL receivers shine, and much better than on other software packages.

2-To correct the displayed frequency, click on the Front end button on the Radio settings panel. Adjust the Frequency correction (ppm) option +/- the appropriate direction and amount to make the correction. For example I have needed to set my value to -25 to correct the displayed frequencies. This will vary depending each user's hardware and setup.

3-That is the RF filter bandwidth. You will see it varies by mode. You can also adjust the filter bandwidth from the spectrum display by clicking and holding on either side of the shaded filter rectangle, than dragging the size of the filter in or out further to better fit a received signal.

4-Yes, click on the Snap to grid checkbox in the bottom section of the Radio settings panel. Once that is enabled, all adjustments, scrolling and clicking will snap to the nearest frequency based on the current Mode and Step size settings. Indeed very handy, plus with the mouse over frequency being spot on as well. Make sure you have the latest version as this feature was a more recent addition.

5-Not there yet, but some folks have asked. Check the SDR# blog and or join their Yahoo group for updates.

[DaveNF2G]

Many thanks to Jeffrey for those excellent answers!

[datainmotion]

Wirelessly posted (Clacking rocks together: Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.4; en-us; DROID X2 Build/4.5.1A-DTN-150-30) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Yet another gem discovered! Can hardly wait to try this on my IQ and FCD - thanks guys!

[jpryor]

Also an addition from a recent nightly development build now offers Front end control for independently enabling and disabling both the RTL AGC and Tuner AGC. Gives you some extra flexibility and experimentation for finding the right combination of Automatic Gain Control settings that work best for various needs.

Some exciting looking functionality in the development pipeline including Auto Tuner for automatic peak signal tuning and UniTrunker for trunking support (https://www.assembla.com/code/sdrsha...ion/changesets). Up to this point folks have also been pushing the received signal via VAC (Virtual Audio Cable) to various trunking and audio/digital decoding programs.

For an Auto Tuning example, see this video (SDRSharp Peak Detection 'enhancements' - YouTube) for SDRSharp Peak Detection 'enhancements' in action.

Here are some additional links for SDR# that may be handy for folks who are looking for more details:

SDR# | A Software Defined Radio in C# SDR# | A Software Defined Radio in C#
Windows Software [rtlsdr.org wiki] Windows Software - Installing SDR#
SDRSharp : SDRSharp SDRSharp : SDRSharp - Groups - Yahoo

And if you are completely new to Software Defined Radio and want more information for using the $20-$30 DVB-T style RTL tuners in general, check the main "OsmoSDR - turn a USB TV tuner into an SDR" thread.

[kitradref1]

You guys are way over my head but I bought the unit and loaded sdrsharp. Is there a user manual yet that actually describes the gui? I know it's real new, but for us semi nubes, I'd like to know what the lsb, usb etc really means. ... in english.
If I'm in 450.7550 should the radio setting be nfm, lsb...stuff like that.
I know step size and basics, but like to know more about filter settings, what shift means.
This is a great program and will only be better when I mount an attenna.

If anyone can point me to some more basic instructions and such.
And please don't waste your time correcting my spelling or some other crap like that.
This forum has much more class than that.

Thank you for any input.

kitt

[n9mxq]

450.755 should be NFM (narrow FM) WFM is Wide FM (broadcast) AM is just that, LSB and USB are Lower and Upper Sidebands (Not used a lot with this dongle)

You may want to join the SDR# group on Yahoo.

And I see nothing wrong with your spelling..So no worries there ;-)

[SDobbie]

I have installed the drivers for RTL SDR using Zadig latest version. I make sure that the hardware id's match and install them for bulk in interface 0 and once installed, it does not show up in sdr sharp. I have tried reinstalling and restarting. I am using 32 bit Windows 7 and the Bulk interface 0 comes up under universal serial bus devices as installed.

[SDLovell]

Originally Posted by SDobbie

I have installed the drivers for RTL SDR using Zadig latest version. I make sure that the hardware id's match and install them for bulk in interface 0 and once installed, it does not show up in sdr sharp. I have tried reinstalling and restarting. I am using 32 bit Windows 7 and the Bulk interface 0 comes up under universal serial bus devices as installed.

I know this post is aging, but since SDobbie's "hijacking" question was never answered, and the same thing just happened to me:
A: You were missing the SDRSharp.RTLSDR.dll... To correct, grab the nightly build at http://sdrsharp.com/downloads/sdr-nightly-rtlsdr.zip and put the contents in your SDRSharp directory. The dll you needed is included.

73
KC9YQJ

[majoco]

There are various versions of Zadig for different OS - I had problem like you when trying to get it to work on an old laptop running WinXP. - downloaded the correct Zadig and all's well.