Hello everyone!
TLDR: My NooElec SMARTee XTR performs much worse than SMART. I'm wondering if this is by design and if not can you help me troubleshoot it?
I've recently purchased two receivers from NooElec:
- SMART (the standard model, R820T)
- SMARTee XTR (supposedly the more-premium model with lower noise and extended range, E4000)
I've decided to compare both receivers like-for-like in 400MHz range. I've used SDR# on a Atom x5-Z8350 Windows 10 tablet. Both receivers were using a NooElec telescopic antenna from RaTLSnake M5 pack. Once one device was tested, SDR# was stopped, receiver unplugged from USB port, antenna re-screwed to new device and plugged into the same USB port. Both receivers were tested at sample rate of 1.024 MSPS and similar gain of 42 dB.
Results were disappointing. The more expensive and premium SMARTee XTR struggled to pick up the signals that SMART was able to find. Please see attached screenshots for comparison. I've chosen a constant signal at 442.325 MHz for testing. You can see that SNR or SMARTee XTR is at a level of ~36 dB, whereas SMART achieves close to ~64 dB. You can also see that the rest of the spectrum lights up like a Christmas tree when using SMART, whereas it's mostly quiet on the SMARTee XTR.
What gives?
- Is my SMARTee XTR faulty and I should get a replacement?
- Is this behaviour by design?
- Have I somehow damaged my receiver by swapping it with another to the same USB port?
- Should I be using a different antenna with each of the receivers?
- Is it possible that the USB driver is confused as to which device is plugged in and therefore making SMARTee XTR underperform? (R820T vs E4000 conflict?)
Appreciate your insight lads. New to the forum (hi!) and radio-related subject in general so go easy on me
TLDR: My NooElec SMARTee XTR performs much worse than SMART. I'm wondering if this is by design and if not can you help me troubleshoot it?
I've recently purchased two receivers from NooElec:
- SMART (the standard model, R820T)
- SMARTee XTR (supposedly the more-premium model with lower noise and extended range, E4000)
I've decided to compare both receivers like-for-like in 400MHz range. I've used SDR# on a Atom x5-Z8350 Windows 10 tablet. Both receivers were using a NooElec telescopic antenna from RaTLSnake M5 pack. Once one device was tested, SDR# was stopped, receiver unplugged from USB port, antenna re-screwed to new device and plugged into the same USB port. Both receivers were tested at sample rate of 1.024 MSPS and similar gain of 42 dB.
Results were disappointing. The more expensive and premium SMARTee XTR struggled to pick up the signals that SMART was able to find. Please see attached screenshots for comparison. I've chosen a constant signal at 442.325 MHz for testing. You can see that SNR or SMARTee XTR is at a level of ~36 dB, whereas SMART achieves close to ~64 dB. You can also see that the rest of the spectrum lights up like a Christmas tree when using SMART, whereas it's mostly quiet on the SMARTee XTR.
What gives?
- Is my SMARTee XTR faulty and I should get a replacement?
- Is this behaviour by design?
- Have I somehow damaged my receiver by swapping it with another to the same USB port?
- Should I be using a different antenna with each of the receivers?
- Is it possible that the USB driver is confused as to which device is plugged in and therefore making SMARTee XTR underperform? (R820T vs E4000 conflict?)
Appreciate your insight lads. New to the forum (hi!) and radio-related subject in general so go easy on me
