Help getting started

[TJM314]

Hello, I am trying to get started in SDR. I haven't bought any hardware yet because I want to make this separate from my work/school laptop, and I've been trying to figure out what to purchase towards that end. If anyone could offer advice it would be greatly appreciated.

My goal is to have something that will be portable (it will go on hikes and fishing trips a lot) and somewhat sturdy, so I was thinking about a tablet or toughpad. As long as it can handle the power/processing requirements I have no issue with it being older or refurbished, especially since I'm on a budget anyway.

I'm not sure if I'm providing enough information, so let me know if I need to fill in any blanks.

Thank you

TJ

 

[kreinard]

I am only a few months into my journey with SDR. I went with the AirSpy Discovery HF+ unit and I run SDRSharp (SDR+) on a Windows platform. I took this route because SDR+ also runs on a Raspberry Pi. I also use an MLA30+ loop antenna. I have not tested the power consumption on either the AirSPY SDR or the MLA30+ antenna (which is also powered by USB) but it is at least a start on your journey.

I hope this helps....

...Ken...

 

[TJM314]

Thank you, that is helpful in fact. Which windows platform are you using? I'm leaning towards a tablet for portability but haven't landed on anything yet

 

[kreinard]

I use SDR+ on both a desktop and a laptop. I have run it on both Windows 7 and Windows 10. Getting the correct device driver in place is really the only technical challenge. The device driver install is covered very well in the "Big Book" documentation, there are also several good YouTube videos that step you thru the entire process. Let Us know how your project goes. There should be someone on this forum who has tried it on a Raspberry Pi and can address the power issue you asked about.

 

[LimaZulu]

The SDR itself is a matter of personal preferences - do you want HF, do you want AirBand, VHF, UHF GHz band...all of them. Yeah I know the answer - all of them But still, take some time to answer yourself those questions.
Keep in mind that most tempting is "all of them" and something like 10 MHz coverage at once. Yeah, cool but covering so much bandwidth is a CPU hungry task which is:
a) you have to buy expensive tablet
b) the more intensive the load the less battery time.

About software - I would go with SDR++. SDR# is tempting with so much plugins but believe me, there is always a separate piece of software to do the job and "one software to rule them all" is not always the best thing to do. Other than that SDR# is also power hungry. Especially if you enable all of those fancy visual "things". SDR++ is fast, lightweight and multiplatform application. Currently there is an andorid version in development. It is still in a pre-release state so it can't be found in the market but can be downloaded from here: SDR++ Android Public Pre-release · Discussion #703 · AlexandreRouma/SDRPlusPlus
For example you can run headless SDR++ server on a raspberry pi (or whatever) and still control and listen from anywhere in the world just by getting you phone out of your pocket Or maybe even go further and setup Raspberry PI with Dragon OS (linux distribution that is preloaded with a ton of software for sdr), display, battery and sdr. That would be one of the most mobile and capable setup to play with Yeah, maybe linux part of that is the one that scares you but there is a lot of instructions out there to keep the learning curve quite low

 

[TJM314]

Well of course "all of them" is my default answer lol. But I'm trying to figure out which ones would be indispensable and which ones are more "nice to have" for the current application. That's an issue I have to solve internally, for sure, but VHF/UHF for starters, although satellite imagery is something I'd like to add in at some point, for live weather and mapping/navigation. Maybe Jetvision too.

As far as tablets go, I've been looking for used/refurbished ones but the power/processing requirements are a bit of a mystery to me still, so that's an additional point of research for me. But you caught me, I was indeed eyeing SDR Sharp. I will compare them and see what will work.

I like the idea of a raspberry pi with dragon os, but it's probably a secondary project to try out increased mobility.

 

[Dirk_SDR]

Just 2 cent for this:
Laptop: As mentioned a good battery with long time mains-free using, USB 2.x plus 3.x (for so called nextgen SDRs), processor and RAM as good as possible, metal case for low external noise.
SDR: depends on your favorite frequencies. For VHF, UHF a normal RTL-SDR is quite fine. For HF and below: Airspy HF+ Discovery or SDRplay RSP1A.
Antennas: many (!), suitable for the receiving frequency.

 

[SurgePGH]

Hello, I am trying to get started in SDR. I haven't bought any hardware yet because I want to make this separate from my work/school laptop, and I've been trying to figure out what to purchase towards that end. If anyone could offer advice it would be greatly appreciated.

My goal is to have something that will be portable (it will go on hikes and fishing trips a lot) and somewhat sturdy, so I was thinking about a tablet or toughpad. As long as it can handle the power/processing requirements I have no issue with it being older or refurbished, especially since I'm on a budget anyway.

I'm not sure if I'm providing enough information, so let me know if I need to fill in any blanks.

Thank you

TJ

Home - Scanner School

Scanner School has been a great help to get me started. They have a great beginners course in SDR. Check it out. I'm sure you will learn a lot from it.

Dave

 

[TJM314]

Thanks, Dirk, I'm taking notes here. I have a RTL-SDR dongle and antenna ordered, I'm sure I will end up with a few more antennas as i expand but I'm fine with that. AIrspy is probably my next stop after I'm up and running.

Surge I will check that out today. I had no idea it was there, thanks!

 

[TJM314]

So I got the RTL-SDR dongle and antenna and I'm currently just using it on an android phone. Not much to see so far. I'd like to get it on a laptop at some point, although I do have a Pi 3 kit sitting around. So far I've only been able to tune into local commercial radio stations. There's still a bit of a learning curve. Hoping to test for my license in the next week, and will amaze the world at my prowess with a UV-5R (yeah, I think I can turn it on, that's about it).

 

[ronenp]

considering CPU Power : any 4 generation I CPU (like i3 4xxx) will be enough
As for the radio if you want large Span (what bandwith you want to see at once) I would take the airspy or hack rf
if you want to use dsdplus (software that decode most common commercial digital systems ) then it support only airspy or rtl-sdr

 

[TJM314]

Well I took the test Saturday, hopefully will be popping up on the FCC registry soon!

 

[Chris0516]

considering CPU Power : any 4 generation I CPU (like i3 4xxx) will be enough
As for the radio if you want large Span (what bandwith you want to see at once) I would take the airspy or hack rf
if you want to use dsdplus (software that decode most common commercial digital systems ) then it support only airspy or rtl-sdr

My CPU is an i3-8100. I have an rtl-sdr. I tried DSD+. But I couldn't get it to work. I like SDR+. But I haven't been able to get that to work for this purpose.