RTL-SDR Blog Dongle Life Span (and others)

[HarryWilly]

So I have been running RTL-SDR v3 dongles for a Broadcastify calls feed pretty much since the platform began testing. A couple of months ago, I started to notice that the dongles were drifting well beyond the "less than 1PPM" rating of the TXCO, then finally one died, and now the other is drifting significantly (requiring reboots of the service).

While these are made out of cheap parts, I was curious what sort of life span folks were getting out of their dongles. I am also considering the NooElec versions, I just don't know if that's any better - or if there are other options. Also willing to consider other options, such as an SDRPlay since that would be a little bit more than two, but cover the needed frequencies with a single device.

Maybe if it's something I am doing to the dongles that cause them to shorten their life span? Just looking to start a conversation here about them, and gain some insight.

 

[vagrant]

Heat kills. Have you considered applying small heat sinks on both sides of the dongle? None of my v3 dongles have failed, but there is an end of life somewhere down the line. How many years did you get using them 24/7?

 

[HarryWilly]

I think it was a year-ish for the two where one is dead and the other is like 1600Hz off in the 7/8-- range.

Will consider heat sinks for the next go-around. The ones I have are the older beveled edge ones. Part of the reason I am looking at switching to NooElec is so that I have a flat surface for heat sinks. It will probably also help stability. I am also working on relocating them since they are on the backside of a server rack albeit several feet away.

 

[nick0909]

I have the nooelec v4s running my Calls systems since pretty early on as well (I think I am nodes <20). They run pretty hot but so far OK. I think the metal case helps, I also have a powered USB3 hub they plug in to and I put that away from the back of the computer like you were thinking. Also getting any airflow with a fan of some sort over those would probably help a lot, but I haven't yet done it.

I have my older RTL-SDR v3 and even older SDRs doing ADS-B and other random tasks, they don't keep as good of tuning as the nooelecs but also I don't care to fine tune them as much either.

 

[GTR8000]

I've been running various RTL-SDR and NooElec NESDR SMArt dongles 24/7/365 for years. At least 3 or 4 of the RTL-SDR have been running for at least 7-8 years, so those are probably V1 or V2, I'm not quite sure. I've been purchasing the NooElec exclusively for the past couple of years instead of the RTL-SDR, so I don't believe I've got any V3.

The NooElec TCXO has always had less initial correction required vs the RTL-SDR (0.5 vs ~2.5), and unlike the RTL-SDR, have not started to drift further away over time.

I've only ever had one dongle fail, a NooElec, and it was only a few months old. Probably just a rare dud, which they promptly replaced at no cost to me, and didn't even make me hassle with returning the dead one.

 

[boatbod]

The only failures I've had with my multitude of Noelec dongles has been the physical USB connector becoming flaky. It's happened twice, and both times pretty quickly, so covered by their warranty. Can't say I've noticed any loss of stability over the 4+ years that I've been running them.

 

[dave3825]

I've only ever had one dongle fail, a NooElec, and it was only a few months old. Probably just a rare dud, which they promptly replaced at no cost to me, and didn't even make me hassle with returning the dead one.

Same here. Nooelec customer service team is by far one of the best. They told me to do as I wish with the dead one and no hassle. Love Nooelec.

 

[sjacket99]

Same here. Nooelec customer service team is by far one of the best. They told me to do as I wish with the dead one and no hassle. Love Nooelec.

NooElec is a pretty good place to deal with. I also like the dongles that they sell. I have several different ones and I like them a lot. I use the Nano three for my op25 setup with no issues.

 

[HarryWilly]

I really appreciate what the RTL-SDR blog has for a product, but it's starting to sounds like I should strongly consider moving to NooElec.

The Nanos certainly are tempting, but that may just be what I replace my ancient pre-TXCO RTL dongles with for travel, also not a huge fan of MCX, but I wish they made a non-bias-T version of the larger dongle with SMA for closer to the nano price.

Thanks all for the input thus far.

 

[sjacket99]

I really appreciate what the RTL-SDR blog has for a product, but it's starting to sounds like I should strongly consider moving to NooElec.

The Nanos certainly are tempting, but that may just be what I replace my ancient pre-TXCO RTL dongles with for travel, also not a huge fan of MCX, but I wish they made a non-bias-T version of the larger dongle with SMA for closer to the nano price.

Thanks all for the input thus far.

I have pictures and videos of NooElec dongles on my website if you want more info on them. Website "fuzzthepiguy" under the rtl-sdr tab

 

[boatbod]

Nanos get really hot. IMO to much crammed in too small a space

 

[GTR8000]

If you don't mind the larger sized dongles, the FlightAware Pro Stick (the orange one) is a good option. TCXO, SMA connector, and has a built-in 20 dB LNA. Best part is that they can be had for just $18.75 on Amazon. I have a couple of them that I use with SDRTrunk, and they work just fine. I'm not a fan of the bright orange housing, and they are a little bigger than even the RTL-SDR dongles, but the bottom line is that they work and they are cheap. There is no way to disable the built-in LNA, so you'll almost certainly need to turn the gain down to probably half of what you're used to with the other dongles.

Amazon.com: FlightAware Pro Stick USB ADS-B Receiver: Electronics

Amazon.com: FlightAware Pro Stick USB ADS-B Receiver: Electronics

www.amazon.com

 

[CanesFan95]

Why are they called "blog" dongles?

 

[GTR8000]

Why are they called "blog" dongles?

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The best place to purchase RTL-SDR Blog V3 dongles is directly from our store on this page, or the local resellers listed above.

 

[spongella]

If you don't mind the larger sized dongles, the FlightAware Pro Stick (the orange one) is a good option. TCXO, SMA connector, and has a built-in 20 dB LNA. Best part is that they can be had for just $18.75 on Amazon. I have a couple of them that I use with SDRTrunk, and they work just fine. I'm not a fan of the bright orange housing, and they are a little bigger than even the RTL-SDR dongles, but the bottom line is that they work and they are cheap. There is no way to disable the built-in LNA, so you'll almost certainly need to turn the gain down to probably half of what you're used to with the other dongles.

Amazon.com: FlightAware Pro Stick USB ADS-B Receiver: Electronics

Amazon.com: FlightAware Pro Stick USB ADS-B Receiver: Electronics

www.amazon.com

I agree and have been using one of those for about a year now but not 24/7. The bright orange color keeps me from misplacing it, what with all the mess on my radio bench . Bought it for ADS-B initially but I found it works well on VHF, UHF and on HF using Nooelec's HamItUp upconverter. I also have the RTL-SDR version 3 for a few years with no problems but again never used it 24/7. The FlightAware ProStick's built-in LNA, for me, helps to bring in weaker signals on UHF so I consider that a plus.

For what it's worth I've seen a seller on EBay selling a SDR dongle with a mini-fan.

 

[HarryWilly]

If you don't mind the larger sized dongles, the FlightAware Pro Stick (the orange one) is a good option. TCXO, SMA connector, and has a built-in 20 dB LNA. Best part is that they can be had for just $18.75 on Amazon. I have a couple of them that I use with SDRTrunk, and they work just fine. I'm not a fan of the bright orange housing, and they are a little bigger than even the RTL-SDR dongles, but the bottom line is that they work and they are cheap. There is no way to disable the built-in LNA, so you'll almost certainly need to turn the gain down to probably half of what you're used to with the other dongles.

Amazon.com: FlightAware Pro Stick USB ADS-B Receiver: Electronics

Amazon.com: FlightAware Pro Stick USB ADS-B Receiver: Electronics

www.amazon.com

This feels like a life hack. So it's just a typical RTL dongle with an LNA?

Whereabouts are your gain settings for a 7/800 system that you are in what's considered "normal coverage" area?

 

[toolman60]

I took some old CPU heatsinks with fans and milled a concave in them and then heat sink epoxied the rtl-sdr v3 into them. I have not run mine 24/7 365 just use them on the daughters GOES setup. They stay cool. They may run a week at a time when she wants to track a hurricane.

 

[ScannerDude244]

The thing I hate about RTL dongle you just touch it and it disconnects. I use this 80mm fan to keep it cool https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G05A2MU/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A2AW0W4FKP16S5&psc=13

 

[rabbit108]

The thing I hate about RTL dongle you just touch it and it disconnects.

That sounds like an intermittent poor USB connection. I use a USB extension cable to take the strain off the USB port on my laptop.

 

[HarryWilly]

So I had two of the NooElec's show up and converted my TrunkRecorder feed to use those (as well as moving to a Pi 4 I had sitting unused). So far so good. Was really impressed that I didn't have to apply ANY error correction in the config. I think my next step will be to get some heat sinks. These things do tend to get warm quick.

Not that the "blog dongles" were bad, just really impressed with OOB performance of the NooElecs.