SDRPlay and urban environment

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KA2ZEY

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In the rtl-sdr.com comparison of Airspy, SDRPlay and HackRF, they caution against using the SDRPlay in a busy RF environment. I live in Brooklyn and it doesn't get more RF dense than this. I also live on the 15th floor. I had my eye on the SDRPlay because of price and all-in-one 0.1 to 2000 MHZ. Has anything changed with this since this review? Would I still be ok if I keep the gains down or will it be overload hell? I'm able to use my R280T fine at lower gain levels. If you crank it up then yeah, you're going to get overload from pagers, strong transmitters.
 

ka3jjz

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I suspect you're going to have overloading issues. With your height and where you are, even using a small antenna is likely to get hit with all that trash, particularly if you're putting it outdoors

You might actually benefit from the attenuation you get with putting the antenna indoors, but your height is going to play a big factor, especially on VHF and above...Mike
 

EricCottrell

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Hello,

I remember trying to use a scanner when visiting Manhattan and getting swamped with overload. I have the SDRPlay, but not the intense RF environment. I find it works good, but so do RTL-SDR dongles.

The 8 Bit ADC in RTL-SDR dongles and HackRF hampers the dynamic range, so strong nearby signals will limit hearing weak signals. The Airspy and SDRPlay have an advantage with a 12 Bit ADC. The wide preselection filters in the HackRF means that any strong RF in the area will affect receiving in the whole RF range.

Lack of a metal case for the SDRPlay maybe a problem, but there are other factors. The lack of preselection filters in the Airspy means strong RF signals can still cause problems as they enter via the antenna.

The eight preselection filters in the SDRPlay may help, but in-band strong RF will still be a problem. It is also possible to change the LO in the SDRPlay to move images.

So how good any of these units will work depends on the closeness and frequencies of nearby transmitters.

73 Eric
 

KA2ZEY

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I'm also going to be getting a Lenovo Yoga 13 with cpu benchmark of 3066. I don't doubt the SDRPlay will work at full bandwidth but wondering about Airspy.

Also, my r280t is a mess if I have gain turned way up but totally usable when set mid level from my apartment.
 

Spleen

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Only in rare cases does a high or automatic gain setting help reception. Here in Baltimore, I have the same problem, and I'm not even downtown. I had to install a filter for pagers and one for FM broadcast just to make it usable in certain bands. Since I'm all over the place, I don't have any bandpass filters installed, but that would be the next step if I had a "real" use for the dongle.


I'm also going to be getting a Lenovo Yoga 13 with cpu benchmark of 3066. I don't doubt the SDRPlay will work at full bandwidth but wondering about Airspy.

Also, my r280t is a mess if I have gain turned way up but totally usable when set mid level from my apartment.
 

Voyager

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I'm also going to be getting a Lenovo Yoga 13 with cpu benchmark of 3066. I don't doubt the SDRPlay will work at full bandwidth but wondering about Airspy.

Also, my r280t is a mess if I have gain turned way up but totally usable when set mid level from my apartment.

The Airspy website cites a third generation i3 or better for full performance. You didn't say which processor you have.

That said, I've used an Airspy on many "underpowered" PCs when using only the 2.5 MSPS mode. Some of those PCs were WAAAAY underpowered.

I've used RTLs in harsh RF environments. They were "usable", but were full of images and other trash (many false signals). I tried the Airspy in the same RF environment, and I was actually surprised at how well it performed. I'm talking about using it on commercial antennas several hundred feet up on a commercial tower on a very high hilltop. Very little trash. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. I haven't used the SDRPlay in that environment yet, but I'm expecting performance somewhere between the RTL and the Airspy based on the reviews and other factors (such as the plastic case).
 
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