I'm new in this hobby and is hard for my to make a choice for my next SDR after using the rtl2832 and fcd sticks. I'm thinking that my next should by ELAD S1 or S2. Is there a difference in sensibility between these two ELAD releases? Meanwhile what's about RadioJet 1102 from Bonito?
The Elad S1 is an older design than the Elad S2, and uses slightly older technology. The ADC of the S1 is half the speed of that in the S2. This means that the performance of the receivers will be slightly different, with the S2 having better dynamic range and maybe better sensitivity (although raw sensitivity is seldom a big issue on HF).
The frequency coverage of the S2 is greater, going up to 6 meters (52 MHz), but if your target freq set is only up to 30 MHz that will not matter to you. Both receivers can go up into the VHF range in undersampling mode.
I don’t think the S1 has the dual DDC mode that the S2 has, and that is very useful. This mode essentially turns the S2 into two independent SDRs (with reduced IBW) in one box.
I have the S2, but have never used the S1. The S2 is a very nice lower cost HF oriented SDR. It performs well and punches above its weight at its price point. I am not a big fan of the software that is used with the radio. Don’t get me wrong, it is very capable software, but something about the layout and how things are done just feel klunky to me. I know other users who love it.
The Radiojet 1102s is a good receiver, with impressive, but not top tier, specifications. It is not a bad receiver, indeed it is a rather nice receiver, but it does not bring to the table what many people expect and want in an SDR. The 1102 is not, in my mind, a “real” SDR. Now, right off the top, that statement is technically wrong, but let me explain what I mean.
The 1102s is a hybrid radio. It combines a traditional superhetrodyne design with a DSP. This means the signal is downconverted to an IF, with filtering and other signal conditioning operations before and during downconversion, and then the IF is digitally sampled. There is nothing wrong with this approach, many SDRs on the market do something similar. However the issue I have is the 1102s then only samples 24 kHz of IF width.
So with the 1102 you have no wideband display of signals around whatever you are tuned to. If you tune to a frequency you see that frequency, plus and minus 12 kHz.
Radiojet calls this approach “innovative”, and would have people think this is unique. However WinRadio (in their G3XX series) was doing this for years before the 1102s was introduced, and many ham radios have done this (the same processing technique but without the display) for over 10 years.
The take away here might be that although the 1102s is a good single signal receiver, it does not do what many users want from an SDR. The following is a list of things that most SDRs can do that the Radiojet cannot. If you want a visual indicator in the form of a waterfall of what is happening across a band this radio just will not do it for you, although it will show you the signal you are tuned to and possibly things immediately (close in frequency) on either side of that signal. If you want to make an I/Q recording of a bandwidth wider than a single channel (plus a small guard band on either side) this radio will not do it for you. If you want to receive/record/listen two different signals at one time this radio will not do it for you (unless both are inside the 24 kHz window). If you want to look at / receive a transmission with a bandwidth wider than 24 kHz this radio will not do it for you.
There are many choices out there for SDRs. Someone already mentioned RFSpace. I have several of their SDRs and they are all good stuff. The Cloud-IQ is a good performer at a reasonable price, the NetSDR is an excellent tool. The AFEDRI SDR Net is low cost and decent performance, while not the best it is probably the biggest bang-for-buck in HF oriented SDRs. The WinRadio G3XDDC series is excellent, although the radios are not well supported in third party software.
Keep in mind I am an HF listener primarily, and only do a little VHF/UHF listening, so my thoughts on radios are skewed that way. I have over a dozen SDRs here that I use regularly, and I have used well over a dozen other models for various periods of time. If I had to reduce to only two that are currently on the market it would be the WinRadio G33DDC and the RFSpace NetSDR (with VHF/UHF converter). The G33 is slightly the nicer receiver to listen too, but the NetSDR is the better tool to take a signal apart with.
T!
Topic: Top Five SDRs / Waterfall Displays for Table Top Receivers (Read 17156 times)
