Airband Monitoring with SDR -- What Software?

[AggieCon]

I am interested in software suggestions for listening to the airband using software defined radio. Currently, SDR# with Frequency Manager + Scanner is my most advanced solution. It does not scan as fast as my hardware scanner, though.

Other than Plane Plotter and this: http://forums.radioreference.com/software-defined-radio/292791-rtl-sdr-airband.html, I am not aware of any programs oriented for this niche.

Has anyone used Plane Plotter's VHF function (drawing the polygons, etc.)? Is there a way to make it work with the RTL dongle?

Covering a wide spectrum with my 2mHz of bandwidth RTL is a bit tricky. And I haven't even played with including the UHF military band.

Ideally, it would be nice to correlate what is on the radio with plane position data, perhaps by listing all tail numbers currently in the sector as metadata. Plane Plotter does this backwards (select your plane of interest and it scans the the relevant sector frequencies).

Recording is a must. Awhile back, a commercial plane out of IAH had a flameout (hit I bird? I don't remember) and dumped fuel nearby. Was out of town at the time, so I missed it. It would be nice to log such traffic (the news media might even pay for something like that).

I'm not interested in streaming at the moment, just listening and logging for my own understanding (and for any notable incident nearby).

I appreciate any advice you are willing to share.

 

[dave3825]

It does not scan that fast? Check this page and check your settings. I can (using that same combo) scan 118.000 to 137.000 in extremely fast. Faster than any of my scanners

http://forums.radioreference.com/mi...ds-best-milair-setup-ive-encountered-yet.html

 

[AggieCon]

Dave,

Thank you for that link. I don't follow that forum, but now I will in the future.

I was not aware of the program discussed in that thread. I've installed it, and it is awesome! Lots better than what I was using before.

Ideas for the best recording/logging software?

Thanks,

Justin

 

[mancow]

Install the recorder plugin from the same site, set it to record only upon activity, point it to a folder to save the files and enjoy.

 

[AggieCon]

Mancow,

Thank you VERY much for sharing the links for the software and the tips for using it. I guess my Google searches don't pickup Russian sites very well. I am using a number of the plugins from that website now, and they are awesome. Все доступные на этом сайте плагины с кратким описанием

I'm receiving all sorts of traffic now. What audio and filter settings do you use in SDR# to get the best quality? Also, how do you fine tune the gain? I only know of the slider in the receiver options window. You mentioned several settings, or was that unique to the Airspy?

Thanks!

 

[mancow]

I generally only use the Airspys but when I do use a regular RTL I make sure not to use any of the AGC options. I look at the spectrum and try to find a fairly constant signal. I then move the gain up until the signal peaks and the noise floor just starts to rise. You want to get the maximum signal to noise ratio so don't over drive it. I keep the Airspy sitting at around -70 usually. For AM aircraft I keep the bandwidth at 10,000.

 

[Your_account]

Has anyone used Plane Plotter's VHF function

How should the work?!