steve-kc7byp
Member
Is there any SDR USB dongles available for the 500hz to 30mhz range that are like the Terratec RTL SDR USB dongles that I already have. That won't cost me an arm and a leg?
Steve
Steve
question about hf sdr dongles
- Thread starter steve-kc7byp
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An SDRplay is only £118. Hardly an arm or a leg, though you are unlikely to find anything to go down to 500 Hz. You can use a sound card to fill in the low end.
WyoDuner
Member
Agreed - SDRplay is the best bet. Or, you could add an up converter to your existing Dongle and save a few bucks.
steve-kc7byp
Member
I did find a SDR receiver that will do 500hz to 30mhz at RFspace SDR-IP Software Defined Receiver SDRIP . But I can't afford the $3,000.00 for the bare bones receiver. The unit with all the bells and whistles is $3,949.00 before tax and shipping. I did at 1 time have that kind of money to drop that much loot without batting an eye. But I wasted a good chunk of that lump sum back pay (30 years worth) that I got from Social Security on dumb things. I am more interested in receiving the ultrasonics range. There is a lot of interesting things to hear down there. Like during a thunder storm. I did have a receiver that could go that low. It got damaged during a move and I couldn't fix it.
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ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
There's a pretty good listing of HF capable SDRs (including dongles), reviews and more here...
SDRs with HF Coverage - The RadioReference Wiki
You certainly don't need to shell out USD3k to get decent performance- however, it's worth noting that with the dongles (and some of the other direct conversion SDRs) the front end performance tends to take a hit from any nearby MW or FM stations. Be sure to put a few bucks aside for filters in case you need them
Mike
SDRs with HF Coverage - The RadioReference Wiki
You certainly don't need to shell out USD3k to get decent performance- however, it's worth noting that with the dongles (and some of the other direct conversion SDRs) the front end performance tends to take a hit from any nearby MW or FM stations. Be sure to put a few bucks aside for filters in case you need them
Mike
steve-kc7byp
Member
Thanks for the tip Mike about the filters. I will keep that in mind. I don't have any AM or FM broadcast transmitters near my home QTH. But there is a few ham operators that live near by. The ham operators haven't bothered my setup here. But I am just getting into the field of this SDR radio dongles.
WyoDuner
Member
Steve, you keep saying 500 Hz. Do you really mean 500 Hz?
i have 2 HF upconverters that i use with dongles
1. RanVerter Hayseed Hamfest | RANVerter Pi Software-Defined Radio
2. Hamitup NooElec - Ham It Up v1.3 - RF Upconverter For Software Defined Radio
both have strong points
both work well
but i have a preference for the Hamitup
i listen to airport beacons at 240khz
i listen to everything on HF (wow this weekend the CQWW DX contest was wild for having dead bands)
not a single arm or leg spent on the whole affair
1. RanVerter Hayseed Hamfest | RANVerter Pi Software-Defined Radio
2. Hamitup NooElec - Ham It Up v1.3 - RF Upconverter For Software Defined Radio
both have strong points
both work well
but i have a preference for the Hamitup
i listen to airport beacons at 240khz
i listen to everything on HF (wow this weekend the CQWW DX contest was wild for having dead bands)
not a single arm or leg spent on the whole affair
steve-kc7byp
Member
Yes 500hz. According to the specifications of this receiver. You can read the spec's at this link RFspace SDR-IP Software Defined Receiver SDRIP it will receive 500hz to 30mhz. But I can't afford the $3,949.00. I get just a little under half of the total price each month on SSDI.
well at 500hz or lower
i use a direct input to the computer sound card
years back i had a VERY long wire setup
and could see the submarine bell ringer signal from the Russians
at 82hz
along with all kinds of crazy stuff
my fave software for that is baudline signal analyzer - FFT spectrogram
its a weird world down that low
WyoDuner
Member
Ok. I looked at that before I asked and the specs say 10 KHz - not 500 Hz. Maybe I'm missing something???
From the RFspace web page also:
SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Range: 0.01 - 34 MHz *
Either way, you said you are on a limited budget so it's a moot point.
I go back to my original recommendation of an SDRplay which people have reported to using down to 20+ KHz but lower than that I don't know what to tell you. Good luck.
K5MPH
Member
What are you wanting to hear Subs under water LoL.........
The SDR-IP starts at 10 kHz, not 500 Hz.
For ELF to VLF you don't need a radio at all. My PC's built in sound card receives DC-96 kHz. Whatever the ADC speed, half that to get the RF. i.e 192 kHz sampling - 96 kHz RF. The dynamic range is much higher than most radios also.
Interesting... exactly how do you do that?
had 2100ft of wire out for that
i made sure i had discharged any buildup on the line befroe i plugged it in
im guessing a fella could build a discharge turn in the line
your going to see crazy things down there
steve-kc7byp
Member
The prog at baudline download is only for Linux. I am running Win7 Home 32 bit. Were do I find a Windows version?
steve-kc7byp
Member
I know of the prog SDR-CONSOLE. I am a newbee when it comes to SDR'S so you will have to elaborate on the terms "radio definition" and "softrock". I can extrapolate "softrock" based on the context that it is been used in. That "softrock" is some kind of a virtual crystal.
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