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

I picked up one to play with. Mainly to learn more about Software Defined Radio programs. First night spent 1/2 the night just listening to short wave, HF ham bands. I recommend that when you order this, order a number of SMA adapters so you can connect to your existing antnnas, as an antenna is vital for any application you may want to use this for. Plan accordingly. Actually there are so many applications documented on the internet you can spend hours just investigating what youd like to do first and then next. FYI - I decided to dedicate a Raspberry PI (RPI) to run it. My laptop and desktop has more computing power than needed and the RPI applications abound. Plus the RPI can be outfitted with a 7-10 inch touch screen and run off a battery making a cool DIY project. 56 years ago I built my first radio out of the Boy Scout Radio merit badge handbook. 1 tube mounted in a cigar box. The thrill is still there. Just as exciting. ATTENTION PARENTS- if you son or daughter wants one and has an interest in electronics, GO FOR IT. I made a 52 year career out of radio-electronics - computers. Still playing at 68 like a 12 year old.

I had previously bought one of the cheep RTL-SDR receivers for $20 when they came out just to try it out. For the price of this, it is a very good deal. I received it, unplugged my old and plugged in this one and it worked perfectly. I love the work they have done on the front end of this receiver, it makes a big difference on reception, also all around changes that make this RTL-SDR a very good improvement over my first one. I recommend this receiver for anyone wanting to get into, or see what RTL-SDR is all about. For the money, its the best deal I have found.

It is not worth taking a chance buying a clone. This is the real deal Works well. The site does an ok job getting you started but on YT there are plenty of resources to follow to install the correct software and NET framework. It is getting the framework and drivers that requires some effort and time. It is not plug and play but a great product if you are interested in shortwave and Ham bands.

you can never get as good as this sdr. works perfect and i run it on my 18 foot cb antenna A99 no not antron 99 its a A99 it has 5 sections for easy tear down and made for 27mhz but this sdr works wonders on it. its like only having a 400 mhz antenna but better. i can pick satellites and 1mhz ham bands even radio from 88 to 108 mhz. dam if it had the money i would buy a hell of a lot more. they are that perfect im going to run one in my car via my windows 10 pro stick i have in my blu-ray player in my car sterio plus my radio is connected to a 3000wts amp and i also have a cb and ham hand held transmitter in car but i wish i could afford more even if they send me demo units i would be happy as well. stay away from those cheap units i got one and sent it back it wouldnt work. you must get this unit as its garmented to give you ears like you have never had them before... !!!!!!!!!!! pls is there a place that i can get demo units of this stick. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you dont get this stick you will regret not buying this sdr unite. plus you will feel like a dick if you get a cheap and nasty unit that DONT have RTL-SDR.com on it.

You wont believe it ! I followed the downloaded instructions and downloaded the free AirSpy software. I had it up and running withing 15 minutes. For success, note the following: Read the instructions and follow them to the letter. Your antenna will make the difference between success or nothing. I use a better FM antenna but it initially worked with a simple wire. For the other bands you need to research what antennas to use. The SMA connector is annoying but Amazon has adapter connectors. If you are concerned about the dongle getting warm, elevate it so there is ample air flow around it. I bought a 5 pack of 6 USB extension (also from Amazon) since the dongle (and other dongles I own) will partially cover neighboring USB ports; these are relatively cheap. With patience and care this is not hard to get up and running. The waterfall display is really great. There are more costly SDR devices and I am sure they perform for the more sophisticated need but this inexpensive is worth the $21 for long hours of fun and use.

I have this on my roof in an outdoor enclosure hooked to a Raspberry Pi, SAWbird NOAA amp and QFH antenna. It works great for receiving NOAA and Meteor satellites. Its been running essentially all summer (on a schedule from the Pi), and has lasted through some pretty extreme heat waves. Ive also used this with a laptop for radio scanning and other RF / Ham experiments. I would definitely buy this again, in fact I have a second one as well, this is a great brand/model! Very cool way to learn about radio and communications, and a step up in quality, performance, and features compared to the cheaper models.

I have two SDR dongles that worked on an earlier version of my Linux Mint OS (19.1, 19.3) but did not work on version 20 with the instructions I had. However, after I purchased the RTL-SDR Blog 3, its instructions got it up and running. And now even my other dongles work on Linux Mint 20! An SDR is a software-defined radio that uses the RTL-SDR chip to tune anything from 24.5 MHz up to around 1900 MHz. It is capable of receiving AM, FM, Single Sideband, and Morse code communications signals. In addition, it supports FM stereo broadcasting along with analog TV sound broadcasting. Unfortunately, you cannot use this SDR to see or hear digital TV in North America. I have listened to FM broadcasts, ham radio FM repeaters, and the National Weather Service FM on 162.55 MHz. That is all using a handheld radios long antenna for 2m and 70cm ham bands laying horizontally in my bedroom. The radio reception can be much better, of course, with a good antenna outdoors. However, you must guard against damage to the chip and your computer by not connecting to an outdoor antenna during foul weather. If you have access to a decent antenna for frequencies below 25 MHz, this dongle can tune everything from the audio spectrum up through to 30 MHz if you activate direct sampling. However, I have not tested this feature, mainly because I have no antenna for these frequencies. The accompanying photo is a shot of Gqrx displaying an FM broadcast waterfall and panadapter. The two vertical stripes are from the digital sidebands of HD Radio.

pretty cool little bugger, never used one before so i am still learning be aware they run hot, not hot enough to burn your fingers or anything, but one might think something is wrong when that is just how hot they are in operation. i bought a ham it up unit to down convert so that i could receive sw and ham bands below 25mhz along with the AM broadcast bands, without which this unit does not have the ability to resolve. also have to download the drivers and software to make it work on your computer, i use it with windows 10 and youtube smokingape or smokinape is your friend when it comes to getting this thing running. i am using it with a 9:1 balun and a 30ft long wire antenna inside so it is not at all optimal, but it seems to work for proof of operation. my next move will be getting a better antenna and mounting it outside. my use will be in the shortwave bands. so far it is great on the FM broadcast band, and with my poor antenna ok on AM broadcast, and somewhat works on shortwave below about 11mhz or so... i think the antenna is the shortfall. i would recommend it to anyone wanting to try an sdr

It took me about 10 minutes of fiddling to get the software and driver (that was the difficult part) installed. This little device, about the size of a 9-volt battery or a cigarette lighter receives radio signals over a broad range of frequencies very, very well. I can receive signals on this as good as I can on a ham radio that costs around twenty or so times as much. You need some type of external antenna for really good reception. I hooked it to a ham radio antenna I have here and had no problem hearing stateside and foreign stations clearly. The user interface is a bit clunky, in my opinion, but not too hard to operate. What I dislike is probably because I am used to using radios with knobs and buttons, rather than clicking on arrows. Definitely a useful product for people interested in listening to radio signals, from Ham stations to police and even FM broadcast stations.

This flavor does not include any antennas, so if that is important to you make sure you order one that includes it. Works as expected. Im currently running this on a Raspberry Pi as an APRS iGate. This does get warm, hence the metal enclosure on it. I had an antenna to use with this, but still needed to purchase an adapter cable to get this to mate up to the antenna. This was my first adventure into an SDR, so I have to say overall I am happy with it. I bought this, built something with it, and it worked, so I have mark that as a successful first attempt.