Users say that the RTL-SDR stock antenna is useless. Not so. But close. Read more
Category: Software Defined Radio
Virtual Radar Server with RTL1090 DIY
Virtual Radar Server is a free and easy way to plot aircraft tracking data onto Google Maps. Yes, I know all this is available online. But it is fun to set it up yourself. Read more
RTL-SDR Tracks Aircraft Over your City
A $20 RTL-SDR tracks aircraft over your city. Just add some free software and have some fun. You can see commercial flights land, take off or just pass by. Read more
Exploring SDRPlay Receiver – Good Value
Listen to radio with WEBSDR
Coding SDR – A new, fun way to build a radio
Have you ever wanted to build your own radio receiver? Looking for a challenging but fun software project? Coding SDR meets both objectives. It is a project within reach of radio hobbyists with a bit of skill in writing software. Here are some ideas.
Introduction to SDR (Software Defined Radio)
Anyone with a computer and $25 can play with SDR. You can listen to and watch radio signals: AM, FM, shortwave, public safety, airplanes, satellites, even phones. An example of cheap SDR is the USB dongle described in a recent article.
What is SDR radio? SDR stands for software defined radio. This means a radio whose functions and capabilities are defined by software rather than hardware. Here’s how that happened.
RTL-SDR: Does it really work?
When I put the RTL-SDR at the top of my Christmas wish list last year, a few eyebrows were raised. Why would a guy who has played with some of the best radios available want a little trinket that looked like a USB flash drive and cost about the same? Surely that was a mistake. It wasn’t.
According to Wikipedia, a dongle is “a small piece of hardware that attaches to a computer, TV, or other electronic device in order to enable additional functions…” The RTL-SDR is a dongle that plugs into the USB port and enables your computer to be a software defined radio. You just need to add software (which can be free) and an antenna and voila – a complete reasonably high performance radio for under $20.
