RadioReference.com Forums

Is there anyone locally that can help me get started with SDR? I haven't had any luck elsewhere. I basically need to be pointed in the right direction as to which DONGLE would work best. I am only interested at this point to monitor regular scanner stuff, like the RISCON system and conventional. Maybe get into HF later. I have a good computer to use, I have the "Airspy" software but I need dongle and connecting cable. I have attempted to make sense out of all the videos and instructions online but they veer off topic and not really helpful for what I want to do. I prefer step-by-step instructions. But the dongle is the main piece of gear I am missing. I dont want a cheap import. Just something popular that other people use with no big problems. Then once I have the dongle and connect it, and I assume I will need some kind of coax adapter to use one of my current antennas. I see the connections on dongles are not bnc, they are something else. Then I need help getting the software configured. I dont fully understand sdr. And the software is intimidating. So I need to get the dongle first then go from there.