New to scanning

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jcostab

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jcostab (John), I followed along with interest from the beginning with great interest. I might have to invest in one of those RTL-SDR v3 dongles one day. I would like to learn how to learn to use them as well. Thanks to you and a417, my interest has been kicked up a notch from where I was. This was quite an interesting thread, even if I don't quite understand all that is going on. But thanks for allowing me to tag along with you guys from the beginning.

Cheers mate! Dave

There is so much I still don’t know about the rtl-sdr devices, or radio scanning in general, but I can’t believe how relatively cheap and easy it is to do something that only a few years ago would have cost thousands of dollars!!

I’m very much looking forward to learning more - hopefully my silly questions, and the intelligent answers from the likes of a417 help you out as well. So far I’ve been very impressed with this forum.
 

maus92

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Hope you have things working well. I noticed that your command line does not contain any corrections for frequency errors ( the -q and -d parameters.) Things will improve another notch when those are properly adjusted, and most RTL-SDR require tweaking. Good luck.
 

a417

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Hope you have things working well. I noticed that your command line does not contain any corrections for frequency errors ( the -q and -d parameters.) Things will improve another notch when those are properly adjusted, and most RTL-SDR require tweaking. Good luck.
His decoding is showing no need for an offset, and he's not reporting a log full of frequency errors suggesting he needs one. He may be good as is, thus not requiring ppm/deviation adjustment. The newer dongles are more accurate, and I've only had to resort to -d/-q when i'm trying to decode on a thoroughly abused v1 rtl_sdr dongle from...8 years ago.
 

maus92

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It's just something to be aware of. He can check his mixer window (key 5, I believe.) . The value should be close to zero. If not, the dongle can be adjusted. All of my TCXO SDRs - Airspy R2, RTL-SDR v.3, and Nooelec - require - or maybe I should say benefit from - some adjustment. Decode / audio quality can improve with a properly adjusted SDR.
 

jcostab

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Hi maus92 and a417. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - we went away for a few days.

Everything has been working really well. I'm able to listen to the traffic I'm interested in, from either of the two nearby towers, and it sounds clear and strong using only the cheap telescopic dipole that came with my rtl-sdr, stuck to the inside of my office window.

Out of curiosity, I just opened up my mixer window (pressing 5 on the keyboard) and it shows a value between 0 and 9. Does that mean I don't need to mess with the -q and -d parameters?

I still have a lot to learn, and have started studying for my amateur license. I would like to tinker with some better antennas and see if I can receive any HF traffic. I have ordered myself a nanoVNA and intend to follow this rabbit right down the hole :D

Thanks,
John
 

maus92

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Hi maus92 and a417. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - we went away for a few days.

Everything has been working really well. I'm able to listen to the traffic I'm interested in, from either of the two nearby towers, and it sounds clear and strong using only the cheap telescopic dipole that came with my rtl-sdr, stuck to the inside of my office window.

Out of curiosity, I just opened up my mixer window (pressing 5 on the keyboard) and it shows a value between 0 and 9. Does that mean I don't need to mess with the -q and -d parameters?

I still have a lot to learn, and have started studying for my amateur license. I would like to tinker with some better antennas and see if I can receive any HF traffic. I have ordered myself a nanoVNA and intend to follow this rabbit right down the hole :D

Thanks,
John
That's very good. Don't bother adjusting.
 
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