software recievers?

[bezking]

^
That was your 10,000th post, Mike!

Anyways, how do these things stand up to interference from PCs, etc - I'm surprised these things don't get completely blown away by cheap chinese cablemodems, routers, etc...

 

[ka3jjz]

Oh boy, can I buy a cup of coffee now? LOL!

Anyway, I don't have any experience with SDR radios, so I will pull from my experience with my RX320, and some fooling around with a PCR1000 (which you can say are software driven radios) and say that I would think they would be just as prone to picking up garbage like this as any other rx would be. The standard rules would, I would think, apply - shielded lead in, keep it away from the PC, perhaps use a 9:1 transformer, and so on.

Throwing a bunch of wire out the window would work, but likely would pick up a ton of garbage from everything else in the shack...73 Mike

 

[Brandenburg]

Hey guys, maybe this is a stupid question, but with these recievers your talking about, do they allow you to listen to SSB, LSB and USB??

I've been looking into HF listening a bit, and some have said I would need something that would allow me to listen to those 3 modes..

I wound up with the QS1R ( www.srl-llc.com/ ) and love it so far. I had no experience with any kind of radio (other than my car radio lol) and found that I quickly learned how to operate this one. I wanted an SDR because it was so visual and I felt I could learn it quickly -- it was a good decision.
Most (all??) of the SDR systems will have all the regular capabilities of normal radios and will also contain a number of extra bells and whistles. Other than the higher costs associated with SDRs, I think you'll definately like them.
If you're thinking about an SDR, look around a bit. I think most are pretty good. I chose this particular system because I felt like I liked the software.

 

[scan-o-matic13]

I wound up with the QS1R ( www.srl-llc.com/ ) and love it so far. I had no experience with any kind of radio (other than my car radio lol) and found that I quickly learned how to operate this one. I wanted an SDR because it was so visual and I felt I could learn it quickly -- it was a good decision.
Most (all??) of the SDR systems will have all the regular capabilities of normal radios and will also contain a number of extra bells and whistles. Other than the higher costs associated with SDRs, I think you'll definately like them.
If you're thinking about an SDR, look around a bit. I think most are pretty good. I chose this particular system because I felt like I liked the software.

Thanks for your input, I've been looking at few different ones, kinda hard to know where to start, I'll do some reading..

Anyone have any input about an ICOM PCR 1000, or 2500? I like the idea of something capable like 2500 cause it can cover a lot, includeing P25 if needed, but the price seems a bit steep...Are they really worth the price, at least when looking at their HF capabilitys?

 

[ka3jjz]

The PCR radios are not SDR - they are software driven, not software defined. There's a big difference between the 2. Read the wikipedia link in the wiki article I gave earlier.

I wouldn't get any of the PCR radios; from everything I've read, they tend to overload easily in areas where there's a lot of strong signals, and selectivity isn't the greatest. Getting separate rxs - one for HF, and a dedicated scanner for VHF/UHF - is the way to go.

There are also links to reviews in the wiki article I gave; it would include reviews of the Icom PCR radios. 73 Mike

 

[scan-o-matic13]

The PCR radios are not SDR - they are software driven, not software defined. There's a big difference between the 2. Read the wikipedia link in the wiki article I gave earlier.

I wouldn't get any of the PCR radios; from everything I've read, they tend to overload easily in areas where there's a lot of strong signals, and selectivity isn't the greatest. Getting separate rxs - one for HF, and a dedicated scanner for VHF/UHF - is the way to go.

There are also links to reviews in the wiki article I gave; it would include reviews of the Icom PCR radios. 73 Mike

Yea, I was reading thru the links posted, seemed to be the same thing your saying. Thx.

 

[ka3jjz]

For those that are interested in the Perseus - here's a blog with a lot of very interesting information about using it for MW and tropical band DXing. Of course, as we get closer to the summer months here in the Northern Hemisphere, things will get more difficult with greater absorption and noise from TStorms. Still, much here is a fascinating read...

Five Below - MW & Tropical Bands DXing with the Perseus SDR - Five Below: a Perseus SDR Blog

73 Mike

 

[updatelee]

I have a pcr 1500 and 2500 they are both excellent for VHF. They are ok for the lower freq but I'm lookoing into a qs1r for the 0-30mhz band. The qs1r will actually do higher then that.

The qs1r software is open source, not sure about spectravue and winrad. It's not important to some but it is for me. I like to tinker

 

[ka3jjz]

There are several mailing lists that devote themselves to SDR radios such as the QS1R; they are linked from our wiki article

Software Defined Radios - The RadioReference Wiki

73 Mike

 

[datainmotion]

^
That was your 10,000th post, Mike!

Anyways, how do these things stand up to interference from PCs, etc - I'm surprised these things don't get completely blown away by cheap chinese cablemodems, routers, etc...

I have had an SDR-IQ for over 6 months now and the only real interference I get is external, when any of the TVs are on (comes in from the sloper, not through the receiver housing).

Within 4 feet I have a Netgear router and Motorola cable modem, within 2 feet I have Dell and HP desktops as well as a Brother printer. Within 1 foot I have a 19" flatscreen monitor and 3 handheld scanners running. Full metal enclosures (as the SDR-IQ has) are still the best shield IMHO.