What do you really use your RTL-SDR for?

[maus92]

One of the little tabs that raises the back of my keyboard broke... So I used my Nooelec SDR to hold the keyboard at the right angle It's been like this for about a year

View attachment 113189

Good use for an old non-tcxo sdr.

 

[maus92]

Is OP25 a hassle to set up? I read a little about it but not much. I use SDR Trunk on Linux and Windows and DSDPlus on Windows.

Compared to SDRTrunk? Yea, OP25 is a little more complex to set up. Audio output quality is about the same (both very good.). SDRTrunk provides a lot more system info, but OP25 (boatbod) is a lot more efficient for those running older hardware.

 

[krokus]

I have two RTL in my backpack, that I rarely use. I generally don't have my laptop, and the Android SDR app is fun, but limited to analog modes, so I don't use them much.

 

[sdrfmradio]

Strictly for FM broadcast radio. I have a number of RTL-SDR's on desktops but this is really simple to set up on my laptops and tablets.



www.rtl-sdr.com/chrome-rtl-sdr-radio-receiver-updated/

 

[merlin]

Mine doesn't get used much and half of its use is like a poor mans spectrum analyzer.
IE: just the other day I was trying to see why my low channel TV reception was so poor.
Using my Agilent analyzer I found a signal at 72 Mhz, so fired up the SDR to check it out.
Found a clock time signal from the local medical center.
It does get used with DSD+ gleaning site info or just plain monitoring the local state system site.
I have real radios for that though.
I have an RX888 I sometimes use during ham contests on HF.
73s

 

[DS506]

Monitoring 2 large P25 systems I would not be listening to without spending $$$. With multiple dongles, I can either monitor trunked systems or multiple individual frequencies. Exploring a much greater bandwidth. New tools for an old hobby.
And yep.

a poor mans spectrum analyzer.

 

[webstar22]

Running 24/7 watching the Ontario Fleetnet System and all feeding into this https://scan.policescanner.ca/ for my subscribers to use.

1 SDR per fleetnet site, so its a nice setup for remote towers as well. Just use thinclient machines.

 

[n5pwp]

As others have said re: using the RTL-SDR dongle to monitor Trunk Tracking Radio systems. I monitor one of our TXWARN APCO P25 systems. I also use other dongles for receiving air traffic data transmissions (ACARS, ADSB, VDL2) and I just added a V3 RTL-SDR Blog dongle and it allows me to monitor multiple air traffic data transmissions. I currently have it configured for 8 data streams at once. Depending on the horse-power of your PC it can do many more. There are lots of things they can be used for. Bottom line: If your not interested in any of those things, they're not for you. To each his own and Different Strokes For Different Folks. Its what makes the world go 'round. ;-)
Mike

 

[Jphila20]

Primarily I use mine to find new frequencies using the scanner plugin. I can leave it unattended for a few hours searching a chunk of spectrum and then check the log to see what channels were occupied and for how long. There are probably other ways to accomplish that but thats how my rtl-sdr gets used.
[/QUOTEW

What software's do you use? Especially for logging.

 

[Jphila20]

I have 2 computers with 2 SDR's each running two different trunks systems using Unitrunker. I have just started with OP25.

 

[ve2vfd]

Occasionally listening in to work (P25-II system). Sometimes I also listen to a bit of shortwave radio with a down-converter, but the hay days of SWL to far places national radio systems are long gone.

 

[buddrousa]

Collect DUST

 

[AB5ID]

OP25 phase 1 and phase 2 p25 streaming 24/7

 

[i700plus]

one for listening to ham radio on 70cm/440mhz and highway patrol and the other for listening to shortwave and DX.

both mounted outside remotely in a weatherproof case connected to a odroid xu4

 

[HikerGuy]

3 of my Nooelec dongles are dedicated to monitoring a local P25 simulcast 800MHz system with SDRTrunk (nearly 6 MHz spread between all channels; 3 are preferred). Another one is used for miscellaneous digital mode data collection with DSD+, and yet another is for mobile recon.

I recently ordered an Airspy Mini which will be used for mobile use instead, so I'll be repurposing that Nooelec dongle for some other task. They're handy devices that free up my scanners for other things.

 

[motorolavkg]

use to use mine for pager decoding, but can no longer get sdr# to work with pdw and vb-audio, so now just either monitoring the l-band
or with DSDPlus or trunkview as they work fine with vb-audio

 

[hamradionl]

Have 12x RTLSDR and many more SDR units and last 6 -8 months never use them. I just buy those to see how they work and what is possible to do monitor. Also did lots of BETA or ALPHA testing. Also some L and X band testing. This moment active BETA test some new decoders. In Europe where i live the old large Trunking networks are moved to Tetra and some local area DMR PMR only receive when in range. After BETA test whas done, i lost interest.

 

[Jay911]

I have two or three that get regular use - would do more if my signal reception was better at home. Two are Airspy minis, one of which is used at home with DSDPlus FL to track a local trunking system, the other is doing the same thing when I'm mobile in my truck (driving out and checking out various trunked systems on occasion). One of the older sky blue Nooelec SDRs is with my Raspberry Pi doing a piaware setup, flight tracking aircraft in my area.

 

[spongella]

I used RTL-SDR dongles heavily for many years for medium, shortwave, VHF. UHF, listening plus as an ersatz spectrum analyzer. Hardly use it anymore though. If you go to the RTL-SDR.com website you see that it is used for many other applications.

 

[ILjim]

90% of the time I use mine for Unitrunker. The other 10% is for messing around with SDR# and DSD+...