HFU HF Underground
Technical Topics => SDR - Software Defined Radio => Topic started by: Maxalt on May 03, 2023, 2317 UTC
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I'm looking for a semi-decent receiver for my station, I have an Anan G2 on order but that'll be my main TX radio.
I also have a HackRF but compatibility isn't the best, Ideally looking for as large a slice of HF as possible with good performance and good compatibility.
Looking to keep the spend at $300USD or less.
Thanks all.
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I personally have been operating an SDRplay RSPduo now for several years and I am very pleased with both the product and the software. My RSP is up and running for an average of approx 14+ hours per day / 7 days a week since 2018. An interesting feature of the RSP is that you can add multiple hardware units to your computer and each one will show up as an additional receiver in the same user interface. One can build a fairly sophisticated "listening post".
Another excellent alternative is an Airspy HF+ Discovery. I just checked their web site and some of their products are currently on sale, 15% off the list price and the dual port Airspy HF+ has been discontinued / no stock.
~SIGINT~
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In addition to the AirSpy Discovery and SDRPlay units, give the AFEDRI SDR consideration. It's a great performer.
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I have both the SDRplay RSPdx and the Discovery HF+. In spite of claims that the Discovery is more sensitive, in the real world they perform about equally. The RSPdx has the advantage in terms of multiple antenna ports including one with a bias T, which I use to power my amplified MLA-30 loop when I use that in my high noise environment, as well as full range from VLF to 2 GHz, built-in filters, and online community for support when learning (if you need that). The HF+ is very compact and I think is a bit better when it comes to handling front end overload, however I still use inline bandblocking filters because I'm in a major city with tons of AM and FM broadcast signals, and I sit in the middle of a triangle of AM broadcast towers. Something to consider depending on the exact nature and location of your QTH.
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Thanks for the suggestions!
I was leaning toward the Airspy+ I live way out in the boonies (NRQZ) with no neighbors for miles and no strong stations.
I like the diversity of the duo but it's getting on for double the cost of a single tuner.
Mainly looking for software compatibility and plugins, I'm guessing both of them are catered for equally?
Chris, the AFEDRI looks like a good choice but I'm kinda over having to get software to work with this HackRF and it looks like this would be an uphill struggle.
What I'd love to do is monitor and report all digi (FT4/8/JT/etc) from 0-30 in one go, the closest I've seen is the 20meg bandwidth of the HackRF with SparkSDR2 software.
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30 MHz of simultaneous bandwidth is a big ask unless you get into some more expensive hardware like RFSpace or WinRadio. SDRuno (the SDRplay software) does have an extensive memory mechanism where you could enter the frequencies in and scan them. SDRuno can also be externally controlled by other applications using common amateur radio protocols therefor your "digi" software could take control of the receiver.
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I managed to get the HackRF to play nicely with SDRsharp but the lack of plugins for anything amateur radio is a downer.
On the plus side, I get ~20MHz easily.
If I could get SDRuno to work with it I'd be happy.
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Nevermind plug-ins, get VB-CABLE from VB-Audio and just route the audio over to the application(s).
https://vb-audio.com/ (https://vb-audio.com/)
SDRuno is proprietary to the hardware which is why it is offered at no charge to their customers.
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I'd try a new rx888mkii or something from rfspace used in that price range. If you have a strong enough pc, the 888 and sdr console is very hard to beat.
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I ordered an SDRplay DX from HRO when they were on sale, a Red Pitaya and a Hermes 2 lite.
Now I need more antennas.
Still waiting on apache-labs to ship the G2.
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How did you get on with your SDRPlay RSPdx?
I use it with SDR Console - take a little getting used to but OK.
However I still prefer my JRC's ;D