To refine that a bit, Zadig runs on any x86, 32, or 64 bit.
Linux SDR scanning advice
- Thread starter ssilicon
- Start date
I hear you. There is life above 1 GHz, but I could probably live without it given the diminishing return on efforts made to get there. No matter what, I can always just directly manually tune one thing at a time and explore. Still though, for below 1 GHz, I would like a way to make my computer, paired up with one cheap SDR, perform at least the same old scan here, then there, then the other spot, all without concern of the over all simultaneous bandwidth of the receiver. Just like my old RS Pro106 or newer Uniden SDS-100 can. I've been told in here that RTL-SDR Airband software supports just that, though I haven't as yet had a chance to try it. If it turns out it can't, I'm going to start wondering about what the deal is exactly. Anyway, I might consider a multi-coupler. If I should decide to go with one, I will certainly strongly consider the Stridsberg. Thanks for pointing those out.
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Zadig... appears to be software to aid in installing radio related drivers and or libraries in Windows? I'm a Linux user, so drivers almost always are already included in the kernel, and libraries are usually just an easy install from the built in software repo. There are exceptions of course. But anyway, that caused me to formulate a question.... how does the need to satisfy software libraries etc. for Windows software running under WINE get met? Is it enough if the underlying Linux environment already has the needed driver or library, and the translation function of WINE handles it? Or does the Windows app running under WINE need it's own specific Windows types somehow also made available to it through WINE?
boatbod
Member
Like any virtual machine environment, the host os will be responsible for proxying the virtual environment access to hardware resources.
You can never have enough dongles. I would seriously consider getting a HydraSDR, it's similar to the airspy (which is not available in the US anymore) and it gives you 10 MHz of bandwidth. Basically, you can monitor a P25 system (CC & voice following) with just one dongle. However, you can also do a lot with the RTL dongles.
If you haven't already, I seriously look into OP25, there are a couple variants out there. The audio is phenominal, especially with simulcast systems. And, a lot of people use it to host scanner feeds. Also when it comes to getting new dongles (i.e. Hack RF), make sure they are compatible with the specific software you want to use.
There are also several fabulous windows based programs, that have no direct linux equivalents. Specifically if you want to have detailed logs of a P25 system, Unitrunker is likely your best option. For example, it will let you see what RID's have been associated with a particular talkgroup, along with timestamps, going back years. And with a wideband dongle, you can run multiple VCO's and have separate windows within the program displaying activity on multiple sites (i.e. joins, affiliations, voice grants) at the the same time. This is particularly useful for monitoring a system you aren't terribly familar with.
Also if you want to monitor & log DMR & NXDN trunking systems, IMO DSD+ Fastlane is the best option, it's also a windows program (somewhat uniquely, it's command line based, and it takes very little system resources). DSD FME (Linux program) will also support DMR/NXDN/P25, however DSD+ Fastlane has a more sophisticated GUI for displaying & summarizing Talkgroups, RID's, affiliations etc. (Although you should definitely try out FME, it's also a fabulous program).
I personally use a dual boot laptop, with Ubuntu & windows 10. Until recently I was running windows under virtual box but I had a lot of problems with recognition of ports/devies. At least for me, dual boot works a lot better (you could also consider getting a dedicated machine for the Windows Virus).
If you haven't already, I seriously look into OP25, there are a couple variants out there. The audio is phenominal, especially with simulcast systems. And, a lot of people use it to host scanner feeds. Also when it comes to getting new dongles (i.e. Hack RF), make sure they are compatible with the specific software you want to use.
There are also several fabulous windows based programs, that have no direct linux equivalents. Specifically if you want to have detailed logs of a P25 system, Unitrunker is likely your best option. For example, it will let you see what RID's have been associated with a particular talkgroup, along with timestamps, going back years. And with a wideband dongle, you can run multiple VCO's and have separate windows within the program displaying activity on multiple sites (i.e. joins, affiliations, voice grants) at the the same time. This is particularly useful for monitoring a system you aren't terribly familar with.
Also if you want to monitor & log DMR & NXDN trunking systems, IMO DSD+ Fastlane is the best option, it's also a windows program (somewhat uniquely, it's command line based, and it takes very little system resources). DSD FME (Linux program) will also support DMR/NXDN/P25, however DSD+ Fastlane has a more sophisticated GUI for displaying & summarizing Talkgroups, RID's, affiliations etc. (Although you should definitely try out FME, it's also a fabulous program).
I personally use a dual boot laptop, with Ubuntu & windows 10. Until recently I was running windows under virtual box but I had a lot of problems with recognition of ports/devies. At least for me, dual boot works a lot better (you could also consider getting a dedicated machine for the Windows Virus).
ssilicon, how good is your PC? It might be worth looking at something like these: RX-888 Mk II - Ham Imports . They're more expensive and you need a beefier PC to process the signal but you can get the whole HF range at once and a 10 MHz window in the VHF range
@natedawg1604, thanks for the info. More to explorer. I'm not super interested in micro parsing a trunked system's administrative functions, but I am a glutton for technical capability just the same so it's something I could get into possibly. I've been slowing down in the forums a bit as I've been working on a software project related to Anytone type family DMR radios. It's keeping me busy.
I think it's pretty good. I built it a bit back... hmm when was that I forget. I tend to build them fairly robust and then run them maybe 10 years. Anyway, I have an AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (12 core, 24 thread) I have pretty much standard clocked at 4 GHz. Yes, I run either bone stock clocking or maybe allow very mild auto tuning. Troubleshooting misbehaving systems is something I decided a long time ago wasn't worth the gain of over-clocking. Just buy the performance you want and run it. I love that this class of CPU lets me run ECC memory, which is a plus in the reliability dept.
Anyway, wow! Those devices look pretty interesting as well. Sooo much out there. I appreciate the tip.
If you happen to know, how good is the software support for these devices? Things like the RTLs usually have massive support, while some specialty stuff might have little to none.
No, unfortunately, I don't know. Sorry! I'm only familiar with them through NY4Q's web-accessible receiver: UberSDR - Web SDR Receiver (which, wow, it's changed a lot since I last looked, he must have switched up the interface).
boatbod
Member
That is so true! Sometimes having one wideband sdr requires more host cpu than running multiple narrower dongles. It's all a matter of figuring out what works best for your scenario.
The current version of op25 boatbod is capable of tracking RIDs and tgid affiliations, as well a bunch of other stuff when running the "new" UI. You can filter the affiliations on the fly and see exactly how many subs are tuned to the tgid or tag which interests you.
VMs are definitely a good way of running multiple os'es if you have the horsepower. I run Linux Mint natively, but can VM to Ubuntu, Win11 or anything else, with just a few clicks.
