RTL-SDR Blog V3 R860 RTL2832U 1PPM TCXO SMA Software Defined Radio (Dongle Only) (Black)

Ive paid a lot more for much less in RTL-SDR adapters. Why spend similar amounts of money on cheap plastic dongles when you can get a frequency stable unit that is better heatsinked to provide lower noise and better operating stability for just over a $20 bill. I use mine for a Raspberry Pi based ADS-B receiver and it gives excellent performance with great sensitivity and low noise. Im receiving high altitude traffic out to more than 200 nautical miles on a quarter wave groundplane antenna at 25 ft above ground. I can hardly complain. Unit is calibrated well enough I didnt even have to tweak the frequency offset to start using it. Ill definitely get more of these. It can even phantom power a low noise preamp over the coax cable (software controllable).

Really, the cheapest and easiest way to get into Software Defined Radio. With this dongle, SDRSharp (SDR#) and a decent antenna, youve opened up a massive portion of the RF spectrum to listen to. From broadcast band and aircraft monitoring, to public safety agencies (if theyre analog). One of these dongles, SDR# and Uni-Trunker is a great way to map out unknown trunking radio systems as well. I believe you can also get a converter for these dongles that will allow you to listen down into shortwave territory. The dongle seems to be of quality construction, no worrys about having to baby it. One thing Ive noted as others have, it gets pretty hot after running for a couple hours. Heat is the enemy of all solid state electronics, so well what all that heat means for long term durability. But Ive had this running for 9 hours a day since I got it about 2-3 weeks ago and no hiccups so far.

Interesting technology. Downloading SDR software was easy but the sequence of activating three different files to get the SDR receiver on line was daunting. Once active then it is a single file (SDR#) boot. A fast computer is needed to get the best performance of the display. At first I was unable to get HF reception until I stopped the play by hitting the square icon then going to the settings gear and selecting DIRECT SAMPLING Q Branch. Then HF came alive. Yay. Maybe not as sensitive as I would like but it works. Noise floor at 100 MHz seems higher than normal but that could just be my setup. Now it is neat to tune all around the spectrum and see what gives. Looks like the Hartley Super hetrodyne technology of the 1920s is about to give way to A/D conversion!

This hardware works. But its all about the software. After determining SDRsharp crashes immediately even on a new Win7 32 or 64 bit image, I managed to install Cubic on both. I wanted to install it on an old netbook running XP or Win7-32, but it seems theres no decent driver file for 32 bit, and I can only pick up the very strongest FM radio signals. But Cubic on Win7-64 works great -- once you learn your way around it. Its not really a Windows program, its more like a DOS program running in Windows. It controls the volume output -- theres a slider on the far upper right. And you get no volume at all until you click on a picture of an audio stream -- typing in the direct frequency by hitting the spacebar will not start the audio going, you have to do that AFTER you start the audio going. You may have to experiment with different audio sampling rates -- mine works best on 9600. Overall, the program works. But it might drive you crazy getting that to happen. For recording, I recommend Total Recorder, a great Windows program for scheduled recording. I only give it 3 stars because the Nooelec Nesdr Smart gets better reception and I only gave the Noolec Nesdr Smart 4 stars, due to its reception not being as good as a Sangean tabletop radio.

I ordered one of these and spent hours and hours over several days trying to get it to work. I figured that, with all the positive feedback, it must be something that I was doing wrong, in spite of following the Quick Start Guide to the letter. I finally threw in the towel and sent it back for a refund. But I kept thinking about it, so I ordered another one, determined that I was going to figure this thing out. Im glad I did, because I was up and running in 15 minutes with the second one, and Ive been having fun with it ever since. The first one I received was obviously defective. If you follow the instructions, and it doesnt work properly, dont waste a lot of time trying to troubleshoot it. Send it back for a replacement. I took off one star for the lack of quality control. Had the first one worked, I would have rated it 5 stars.

These dongles have a VERY sensitive front end, and do not react well to being hooked up to an internal IF Tap. There is a design flaw in these units that allows the USB shielding to be used as an antenna, causing the front end to be overloaded with RF, even at extremely low power (1/4 watt). If you plan on using one of these with an IF tap, be prepared to do some modifications to remove the USB shielding, and basically make a faraday cage for the dongle. Ferrite beads can help.

This opens up doors to the world. Instead of purchasing an expensive transceiver/receiver this allows you access to all the different types of radio bands out there (propagation and interference permitting). It works well with trunked scanner frequencies and analog transmission. I can hook up all different types of antennas to it that have a SMA connector or adapter. It is fun seeing how far I can hear radio from on the shortwave bands and listen to ham radio transmission on both HF and 2m bands. It is a great tool to use to get acquainted with radio before getting ones ham radio license or just have fun DXing on the listeners end of things. Very glad this tech is out there.

Product as described.

do it obs

I have 2 of these units. I was surprised at how hot they run. I always thought the heat would kill them and here I am a year after buying them and I have 2 dead units. They do not hold up well over the long term. Other than their short life theyve worked well as they feed a private audio stream of P25 communications.