RTL only receives FM radio stations

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Circa

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I have 2 RTL usb sticks and both of them will only pick up FM music radio stations.
One is a NooElec and the other is a newer version of that RTL stick. Both should be RTL2382U and R820T.

Tried to tune it to my NOAA frequency and it's not picking anything up on ANY NOAA freqs while my other radio will pick it up from right next to the RTL's antenna.

My gain is maxed out and I've tried everything I could find.

Why wouldn't my RTL sticks pick anything, other than FM radio stations, up?
 

rbm

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Assuming you're using SDRSharp ...........

You can zoom into the high resolution version of this image to see some settings that should get you in the ball park.

Rich

Typical NOAA weather reception:

 

dougjgray

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if you are using SDR# there are options you can choose, for fm stations you should select Wide FM for Weather and other fm you would want to select Narrow FM
 

Circa

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Assuming you're using SDRSharp ...........

You can zoom into the high resolution version of this image to see some settings that should get you in the ball park.

Rich

Typical NOAA weather reception:

if you are using SDR# there are options you can choose, for fm stations you should select Wide FM for Weather and other fm you would want to select Narrow FM

Yes, I am using SDR#.
Here is a screenshot of my NOAA freq (162.550).
The entire range of NOAA's freqs are visible and not one of them are showing anything.

I tried all the red lines and they are just static or a high pitched beep. Increasing or Decreasing Bandwidth doesn't help.
 
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tylerwatt12

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use tuner AGC instead, setting your manual gain all the way up also raises the noise floor, something you don't want.
I think I can faintly see the outline of a NOAA signal there
increase your FFT resolution to 16384 and lower your contrast(middle slider on right)
lastly, If you still don't see it adjust your antenna, or you may need a better one, the stock ones are crap

If you do catch a signal and it's off by a few khz, use ppm correction to compensate for the frequency drift
 

Circa

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use tuner AGC instead, setting your manual gain all the way up also raises the noise floor, something you don't want.
I think I can faintly see the outline of a NOAA signal there
increase your FFT resolution to 16384 and lower your contrast(middle slider on right)
lastly, If you still don't see it adjust your antenna, or you may need a better one, the stock ones are crap

If you do catch a signal and it's off by a few khz, use ppm correction to compensate for the frequency drift

SDR2_zps9ba863e3.png~original


I found a signal that sounds like very faint talking through the static and adjusted my ppm to to line the frequency up correctly.
The word "cloudy" keeps coming through pretty clear, so i assume it's the NOAA or a cloud obsessed person.

I think it's the junk antenna.
I was going to get a better antenna but I don't know how to buy one.

I'd like to be able to get a 25MHz-900MHz (or 1300MHz) antenna, do they make those?

Thank you for helping me find out what the problem is. :D
 
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w1htz

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FM broadcast stations are kilowatts in power output compared to NOAA which are usually 500 watts or less. It's all in the antenna.
 

n2pqq

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Yes there are many antennas that cover that range.

Look here to get some ideas of what might interest you.

Scanner Antennas




SDR2_zps9ba863e3.png~original


I found a signal that sounds like very faint talking through the static and adjusted my ppm to to line the frequency up correctly.
The word "cloudy" keeps coming through pretty clear, so i assume it's the NOAA or a cloud obsessed person.

I think it's the junk antenna.
I was going to get a better antenna but I don't know how to buy one.

I'd like to be able to get a 25MHz-900MHz (or 1300MHz) antenna, do they make those?

Thank you for helping me find out what the problem is. :D
 

Circa

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Thank you everyone.

Are there any recommendations for for an antenna?

I'd like to be able to receive CB(27mhz) up to the 800mhz/900mhz P25.
And possibly TV signals.

I haven't been able to find an antenna that says anything about the 800mhz frequency.
Most just say VHF(136-175)and UHF(400-500) frequency ranges.

Going to buy one that works before attempting to build my own.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0045EQUBK/
Would that one work for my needs?
(kind of worried because it looks nearly identical to the junk antenna that cane with the rtl stick)

Or maybe another decent one for under $20?

Sent using Tapatalk.
 
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tylerwatt12

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If you're looking for a good antenna try a Scantenna

Amazon.com: SCANNER ANT-BASE 30-1300MHZ 50'RG6 15ELM: Electronics

For less than $20 there really isn't much. I know radioshack sells a good BNC RS800 antenna for picking up 800/900MHz
Radio Shack 800 MHz Scanner Antenna Product Reviews

Wideband antennas are okay at everything. You'll get much better results using an antenna designed for a specific band. Unfortunately wideband antennas are $50+

The antenna you linked would not yield very good results.

As for TV signals, you can't watch digital ATSC television because there is no program to do so, and the bandwidth of the SDR 2.4MHz, is less than the minimum required to get an ATSC or even an analog NTSC signal.
You can watch old fashioned NTSC signals using TVSharp, but since you'll only be getting 2.4/6MHz of the signal, it will be audioless, black and white and have sync issues
 

Circa

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If you're looking for a good antenna try a Scantenna

Amazon.com: SCANNER ANT-BASE 30-1300MHZ 50'RG6 15ELM: Electronics

For less than $20 there really isn't much. I know radioshack sells a good BNC RS800 antenna for picking up 800/900MHz
Radio Shack 800 MHz Scanner Antenna Product Reviews

Wideband antennas are okay at everything. You'll get much better results using an antenna designed for a specific band. Unfortunately wideband antennas are $50+

The antenna you linked would not yield very good results.

As for TV signals, you can't watch digital ATSC television because there is no program to do so, and the bandwidth of the SDR 2.4MHz, is less than the minimum required to get an ATSC or even an analog NTSC signal.
You can watch old fashioned NTSC signals using TVSharp, but since you'll only be getting 2.4/6MHz of the signal, it will be audioless, black and white and have sync issues

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001DN1L6K/
Found that one that says it covers 25-1300mhz. Cheap and fits my range.

For TV, I have one of those boxes that are used to connect the antenna to a TV. I wouldn't even try to use the Rtl dongle.

What should I look for, and avoid, in an antenna?

Should I Make a new thread for this since I've gone way off topic?

Sent using Tapatalk.
 
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