Building a new PC for SDR & Streaming

[w2lie]

It is time to retire my old Windows 7 machine that I built in 2013. It is in serious need of an upgrade.

My goal is to build a machine that can run the following:

Run at least 5 instances of ProScan with virtual display, logging, recording, and live streaming. These are going to be off of hardware radios (Uniden Scanners).

Pull in and monitor at least control channels for the various systems in my area and log them with UniTrunker (obviously) as well as DSDPlus, SDRTrunk, and who knows what other software to support the SDR platform.

So that you have a better understanding, here is what I would like to monitor with the new PC via an SDR

Nassau County, NY:
EDACS System with a freq range of 851.7375 - 853.9875
P25 System with the following sites:
500 Simulcast 501.375 - 502.825
500 Simulcast 500.450 - 502.4
800 Simulcast 851.1 - 853.725
700 Simulcast 770.26875 - 771.90625
700 Simulcast 771.13125 - 771.91875

700 MRSS Zone 1 770.20625 - 774.21125

Suffolk County, NY
Type II SmartZone 851.0625 - 853.825
P25 System with the following Sites:
700 Simulcast 700.30625 - 774.15625
800 Simulcast 851.0875 - 853.525

New York City, NY
Type II SmartZone DoITT UHF 482.28125 - 483.51875
Type II SmartZone DoITT 800 854.0875 - 860.9875
P25 System with the following sites:
Site 30 - 482.08125 - 483.49375
Site 31 - 482.95625 - 483.48125
700/800 769.68125 - 860.9875

As you can see, I have a lot of overlap in frequencies. For example, the two 500 Mhz sites in Nassau County NY could run off a single SDR if they keep the control channel from the opposite ends of the licensed frequencies.


And this is the bare minimum. I have several other sites that I want to bring in with DSD Plus and are P25, DMR, and NXDN so I'll need cards for those as well, both to keep on the control channel and possibly act on a voice call.

I may be asking a lot of this computer, but I'd love to know if this can be done.
I have 2 Airspy SDRs and I can keep buying some SDR Dongles.

I think my biggest issue may be USB Bandwidth, so how do I make sure I design a PC that can handle the data flow?


Besides the request to monitor a bunch of trunk systems via SDR, my only other hardware requirement is that I have 1 PCI slot on the motherboard so that I can plug in my old M-Audio Delta 1010LT audio board so I can have 8 inputs for ProScan on a single hardware card.

So is it possible to build a monster like this? How would you put it together and what components would you buy?

I will not be using this PC for anything other radio fun. It will be my dedicated audio feed, SDR, and radio programming PC.

Looking forward to your input. I'm hoping to document this build and maybe create a guide out of it.

73
Phil / w2lie

 

[prcguy]

Why would anyone build a computer these days? Just figure out what speed and options you need and call up Dell or some other vendor and buy one. For many years I had a very sharp friend build all my computers and there was always some quirk or thing it did or didn't do quite right. Always, and I hated the fans and fan noise. I wondered why my home computers had these little hidden problems and my work computers, which were purchased and administered by experts never failed and ran silently.

So I purchased a used model of the same computer I had on my desk at work and what a relief. It never crashed, never broke, everything worked perfect and it ran silently. It was an HP something. My company switched to Dell and for the last 8yrs or so I just buy a new Dell and they work and run and never hiccup or complain and run anything and everything I can throw at them. I'll never build another computer again except for maybe some Raspberry Pi projects.

 

[w2lie]

To be honest, this is exactly why I switched to the Apple platform years ago but as we all know, we need a windows machine for our radio fun.

My issue is I need a motherboard with a standard PCI slot and it is getting harder and harder to find a computer that has that. And I just like the hands on with building my own PC. I know the parts in there and if something starts to fail then I know it is a simple swap to fix it. No odd plastic retainers or parts.

The last thing I like about building my own PC is that there isn't any bloatware.

 

[K7MFC]

Why would anyone build a computer these days? Just figure out what speed and options you need and call up Dell or some other vendor and buy one.

For the same reason you build a hot rod - for the love of the hobby! You can order up a new Mustang from ford with all the options you want and buy it ready to drive. You can also buy a new chassis, a crate motor, and everything else you need to build a car from the ground up. Heck of a lot more work than buying one off the lot, but for the people who do it, it is a labor of love.

 

[slicerwizard]

Bingo. Meanwhile, prcguy puts up an antenna farm when he could just use a cellphone or the Internet to communicate with anyone on Earth...

 

[Stupidfatkid]

What's your budget? That's the most important specification when building a PC.