SDR# & RTL-SDR USB Sensitivity?

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KG5RF

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I have the RTL-SDR USB dongle and am using the current version of SDR#. I have tested the combination with local FM radio stations at very low RF gain levels.
In trying to locate interference in the 588 MHZ - 608 MHz band for wireless mics, I am picking up noise floor only - even at full RF gain. However, our wireless mic receivers are picking up all kinds of noise.
I'm new to SDR# and have most of the defaults still set.

Suggestions?
 

hamradionl

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@KG5RF,
Noelec NESDR SMArt XTR SDR go to 2200 MHz, its more sens on the higher bands, there are 2 versions with or without Bias-t.
And FM stop filter or Bandpass filter helps.
 

spongella

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OM, what antenna are you using for your SDR dongle? That would make a difference in what you would be hearing.

What exact frequency is your wireless mic transmitting on? Can you hear the wireless mic audio on your SDR-dongle? That would at least be a good test to see how your SDR is working.

The only interference in that portion of the band you are speaking of (588-608 MHz) could be from a local TV station but I doubt that is the problem.
 

spongella

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I've used a number of SDRs over several years from cheap imported dongles to the HackRF but recently have been using the FlightAware Prostick. It was purchased mainly for ADS-B but I found it much more sensitive in the 470 MHz portion of the UHF band than all others. It does have an internal LNA which perhaps gives it an edge. Have not yet tried it with an up-converter though to see how it fares on HF.
 

Ubbe

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As you are a licensed radio amateur you probably already know about intermodulation.

If you have a cellular transmitter across the street at 700Mhz and you have a trunked system on the next building at 750MHz and your standard mic system usually are designed to handle weak signals from 10mW mic transmitters and focus on high sensitivity and not strong signal capability, it's difficult to get both, the two signals, together with all other signals in the air, reach a level in the mic receiver where it starts to create intermodulation products, IM.

The 700Mhz mix with the the 750MHz and creates a third signal inside the receiver that are a mathematical product of the two signals. It will create a signal at 650Mhz and a weaker one at 600Mhz and so on, not calculation with all other signals in the air.

Those IM signals exists only in the receiver and cannot be searched or scanned for using another receiver.

The only solution are to reduce the level of the signals coming from the antennas on the mic receivers diversity system to lower the level where IM issues doesn't exists.

Covering the antennas with aluminium foil are one solution. If the microphones then have some dead spots then uncover parts of the antennas until mic coverage are satisfactory but will still reduce enough of the total signal level to not create any problem in the receiver.

If you have, or can borrow, a good receiver like a scanner, you can set that to the exact frequency of the interfered mic and listen around in the room and also turn off that mic and listen in the scanner with the squelch fully open for any signals that could interfere on the exact frequency. The interfering signal would have to be strong to overpower the microphones transmitter.

If this is your first attempt of using SDR dongle receivers then it's a steep learning curve until you have it set up in a way that the result can be trusted. It's much easier using a standard dedicated scanner and listen to the signal by ear, if there in fact are a signal in the air to be found.

/Ubbe
 

hamradionl

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No, those E4000-based tuners are not as sensitive as the FlightAware sticks.

Flightaware Pro ADSB 1090 + filter, the 600 MHz within the passband?

 
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hamradionl

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The info on website is telling:
Due to the high amount of RF amplification, it is necessary to install a 1090MHz filter and/or reduce gain on your receiver.
 

slicerwizard

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Give it a rest already. The filter is for working ADSB only. For UHF/700/800/900, medium gain is fine because the Pro Stick is a highly sensitive device.
 

Ubbe

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But the reviewer in the article that hamradionl linked to mentioned that the overload seems to happen already in the pre-amp.

"Here we found that the Prostick Plus produced dismal results. The out of band signals were too strong for the LNA to handle, thus causing overload and significant desensitization of the ADS-B signals.

The noise floor is much higher due to desensitization and overload from broadcast FM and DVB-T signals. Reducing the gain on the RTL-SDR does not help a lot, since most of the overload occurs in the first stage SKY7150 LNA. This can also be seen in the amount of signal overload that is present when tuned to the broadcast FM and other bands in SDR#."


/Ubbe
 

slicerwizard

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I'm not referring to the blue Plus model. I use the orange Pro Sticks in and near a big city and they work well for 400 MHz to 1 GHz signals. I have RF filters available, but I don't need to use them.
 
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