I need a better antenna for a SDR doongle 820T2 tuner

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thepatriot9_9

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Hi

I am new to SDR. The stock antenna is crap. I was on Amazon and couldn't decide on the antenna type I needed.

Should I get a mag mount antenna, a glass mount antenna, shortwave antenna or some other type?

Thanks
 

bharvey2

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An SDR dongle covers a lot of RF territory so it really isn't practical to suggest one antenna without more information. I use one to listen to my county's public service activity on 700mhz and for that I I use a 700 mhz yagi antenna. While it works well for my application, that antenna would be a terrible choice to monitor air traffic.

You should first determine what you'd like to monitor and where the source of that traffic is in relation to you. (Does it come form one source or is it omni-directional) With that information, other members can offer up a suggestion. It's possible that you may even need more that one antenna depending upon your desired use of the dongle.
 

thepatriot9_9

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The SDR dongle is designed for 25mhz and up to 1.7gbz. So a shortwave antenna not practical, I guess I need a scanner antenna for VHF/UHF. So I will opt for a mag mount antenna and see if it does wonder.
 

bob550

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One possible solution is to use two dongles. One can be dedicated to VHF, UHF frequencies, and the other used exclusively for HF. With this solution, you can connect, let's say, a discone for scanner frequencies, and a long wire for the HF. This is what I do, and it works out very well, getting me maximum reception on both dongles.
 

bob550

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Another solution to two, or more, antennas would be to connect an A/B switch to a single dongle. There are plenty of available options on various Ham-related retail websites.
 

KMG54

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And you guys did not pay attention. What good is a long wire HF antenna going to do with a dongle that covers 25 meg and up? Put a Larsen tri-bander on a mobile to base mount and listen away.
 

SpugEddy

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Someone mentioned, in another thread, to use two
14" pizza tins and make an antenna. This would be
to cover most of the SDR frequencies. Don't know
how true of efficient it would be. Just an FYI
 

Hooligan

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Hi

I am new to SDR. The stock antenna is crap. I was on Amazon and couldn't decide on the antenna type I needed.

Should I get a mag mount antenna, a glass mount antenna, shortwave antenna or some other type?

Thanks

It's great that you're having fun with it & researching better antennas because you've decided what comes with that SDR is "crap" (however, if you learn what that SDR was originally designed & marketed for, you'll understand that the stock antenna was good for the intended application).

If/when you start spending $$$ on antennas, good coax feedlines, connectors/adapters, etc. & get more experience with SDR, you'll probably also conclude that the SDR dongle is also "crap" & buy a much better one, so be sure to keep some $$ in-reserve to do so.
 

thepatriot9_9

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It's great that you're having fun with it & researching better antennas because you've decided what comes with that SDR is "crap" (however, if you learn what that SDR was originally designed & marketed for, you'll understand that the stock antenna was good for the intended application).

If/when you start spending $$$ on antennas, good coax feedlines, connectors/adapters, etc. & get more experience with SDR, you'll probably also conclude that the SDR dongle is also "crap" & buy a much better one, so be sure to keep some $$ in-reserve to do so.

My SDR cost about $12 plus shipping. SO I shouldn't expect too much.

I will invest in something better like a baofeng radio. I can't transmit on it since I have no licence, but I can listen.
 

bharvey2

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My SDR cost about $12 plus shipping. SO I shouldn't expect too much.

I will invest in something better like a baofeng radio. I can't transmit on it since I have no licence, but I can listen.

Don't give up on the dongle. Sure, it's no cadillac of receivers but there is a lot you can do with it considering its cost.
 

thepatriot9_9

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I was looking in amazon and I saw sdr with shortwave capabilities. I don't know if these are good or not.
 

bob550

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I have the V1 version of this model (does not natively support receiving below 27 MHz) and it works surprisingly well. Best $20 I ever spent.
Quick Start Guide

I've been using the model V3, as shown in the Amazon link, for the past five weeks. It's connected to a 70' end-fed long wire with a 9:1 balun. Overall, it performs very well for the money. It will suffer from overload from both strong local MW AM broadcast, as well as stronger HF broadcast stations. To address that, I bought the RTL-SDR Blog AM reject high pass filter, which blocks out any local AM signals from overloading the HF bands. I also use an inline 6db attenuator to round out my setup. So far, the V3 hears everything my Icom R71A can, although it doesn't have the dynamic range the R71 has, of course. But again, what do you expect for $21?
 

thepatriot9_9

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I have the V1 version of this model (does not natively support receiving below 27 MHz) and it works surprisingly well. Best $20 I ever spent.
Quick Start Guide

I've been using the model V3, as shown in the Amazon link, for the past five weeks. It's connected to a 70' end-fed long wire with a 9:1 balun. Overall, it performs very well for the money. It will suffer from overload from both strong local MW AM broadcast, as well as stronger HF broadcast stations. To address that, I bought the RTL-SDR Blog AM reject high pass filter, which blocks out any local AM signals from overloading the HF bands. I also use an inline 6db attenuator to round out my setup. So far, the V3 hears everything my Icom R71A can, although it doesn't have the dynamic range the R71 has, of course. But again, what do you expect for $21?

Hello, sorry for the delay in getting back.

The sdr with shortwave I saw is this model https://www.amazon.com/Radioddity-1...99152283&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=sdr+shoertwave

I was a bit shock of the price, Is that too high for a sdr with shortwave? It must be good if it's that high in pricee.

@ bob550 I have no idea what those devices are that you mentioned. The AM Reject filter and the 6db attenuator. I'm a noob at all this radio stuff :)
 

SteveSimpkin

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Hello, sorry for the delay in getting back.

The sdr with shortwave I saw is this model https://www.amazon.com/Radioddity-1...99152283&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=sdr+shoertwave

I was a bit shock of the price, Is that too high for a sdr with shortwave? It must be good if it's that high in pricee.

@ bob550 I have no idea what those devices are that you mentioned. The AM Reject filter and the 6db attenuator. I'm a noob at all this radio stuff :)

That appears to be the same $20 SDR (or very close to it) with a USB extension cable, antenna adapters (which you may not need) and a case for a lot more money. Not a good value.

The AM Reject Filter and attenuator helps improve overall reception if you have strong AM stations near by. These SDRs tend to be overloaded by nearby strong stations.
 
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slicerwizard

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I was a bit shock of the price, Is that too high for a sdr with shortwave? It must be good if it's that high in pricee.
It's marginally better than what you have and doesn't even include an antenna. At that price, it's garbage. That seller is looking for suckers.

Meanwhile, you could get two good ones with antennas and have change left over.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011HVUEME/
 
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