Airspy R2 Research Validation

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Waja23

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Jul 29, 2021
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I have spent many days researching between an Airspy R2 vs SDRplay, my conclusion is the Airspy R2 and I'm looking for validation.

I initially plan to start with public safety scanning and expanding from there. I have no interest in HAM scanning. OS platform will be Linux, Windows, and possibly Raspberry PI. Scanning software SDRSharp, Unitrunker, and Trunk Recorder. I need to cover 7 MHz of spectrum.


My choice reasoning is, SDRplay isn't as cross platform (OS) or software flexible as the Airspy.

Please chime in with your agreement, disagreement, or alternatives
 

BTJustice

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Feb 27, 2012
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Airspy is great. If you can live with 6 MHz of spectrum, check out the Airspy Mini. If you need 7 MHz for trunk tracking, it might be best to use 2 RTL-SDR.com V3 units with sdrtrunk which is what I use for police.
 

morfis

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Both of those hardware choices are cross platform and multi software supported with a minor exception......

If it's "scanning" you want then that rules out the sdrplay device. The only software that supports it for 'scanning' is sdruno and the scanner funtionality in that is basic at best.

sdrsharp with the frequency scanner plugin modified by thewraith2008 (search this bulletin board for lots of info) will give the best 'scanning' experience. This author of sdrsharp will not directly support sdrplay hardware. This software solution will work with several other hardware choices but the Airspys or cheaper nooelec smart type ones are most commonly used.

The sdrplay still has the advantage of HF coverage if you do happen to want/need that at some future date.

If what you are talking about is not really 'scanning' then the choice isn't as clear cut
 

Sparky_ND

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Jun 26, 2021
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I would start with the airspy or airspy mini, and if you need the additional bandwidth for trunking you can always add a cheaper rtl device later.
 

Unitrunker2

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Oct 28, 2017
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The Airspy Mini with the latest firmware can run at 10 msps. There are some spurs but for many uses this is fine. The device only advertises 3 and 6 msps but if you tell it to run at 10, it just works. Oddly, SDRSharp only allows 3 or 6 msps on the Mini.

If you absolutely need 8+ MHz of usable bandwidth with fewer spurs, pick the R2.
 
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