$20 USB Dongle SDR Receiver

[ta3as]

DVB-T dongles based on the Realtek RTL2832U can be used as a cheap SDR, since the chip allows transferring the raw I/Q samples to the host.
Dongles that use the Elonics E4000 offer the widest possible range (64 - 1700 MHz with a gap from approx. 1100 - 1250 MHz). When used out-of-spec, a tuning range of approx. 50 MHz - 2.2 GHz is possible (with gap).

It is now possible to listen to:

• FM: both narrow band and wideband. (stereo FM too!!!)
• AM:
• Upper/Lower Sideband (USB/LSB).
• CW: Continuous wave for morse code enthusiasts.
• GPS reception:
• Satellite reception including receiving ham transmissions from the International Space Station are possible to.

With GNURadio you can receive and demodulate digital modes such as pagers (POCSAG), ADS-B (aircraft positions), AIS (ship positions), AP25 and TETRA (digital trunk radio) and many others.
A USD 20 device is all that’s needed for receiving signals.

Regards,

[bobcat1]

HI

Sound interesting

Where to buy this type of device?

Bobi

[metal]

TBO, I am wondering about the quality?

[LabVIEWguru]

http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/Hardware
http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr

http://sdrspace.com/
This is an access point of people that have their SDR connected to the internet. (If you were referring to reception quality) the ability to receive is incredible.

It is very cool to be able to "see" and hear your signal from different parts of the world. I was working with DDS to ultimately build my own SDR because of the cost of the commercial units (about $500 USD) but I have heard people are buying these up as fast as they can make them. People are using them for SAT-TV (with a down converter, I suppose)

[metal]

sorry, but what is "down converter" used for?

[LabVIEWguru]

Very high frequency signals are difficult to work with - requires precision expensive components and very expensive cable to bring the signal in to your bench and you still lose most of the signal. So, right at the antenna you amplify the signal and mix it with another signal (result is Hi frequency + mixer frequency, Hi frequency - mixer frequency) so then you use the lower frequency component because it is easier to experiment with.

A few years ago here in the US they passed a law that you couldn't make a radio that would receive some frequencies. Manufacturers programmed radios that "blocked" those frequencies. Some people got out their soldering irons and made a board (receive RF amplifier + mixer + oscillator) = blocked frequencies / 2 = a unused portion of most scanner radios.

Most people never cared to listen until the politicians said "you can't listen to that" then everyone started listening.

[CocaCola]

Where to buy this type of device?

The no brains way is to just hit up Ebay and search for 'Realtek RTL2832U' or 'Elonics E4000'

Retailers like Amazon.com have them, again search 'Realtek RTL2832U' or 'Elonics E4000'

As well as most of the larger 'Asian' based "We have everything in cheap electronics!" companies will have them as well, again search for 'Realtek RTL2832U' or 'Elonics E4000'

[ta3as]

sorry, but what is "down converter" used for?

Hi @metal,
These USB TV sticks have two chips generally. One is Elonics E4000 TV Tuner. It is capable to receive 64 mhz to 1700 mhz (with minor gaps approx. 1100-1250 mhz). So there is no need to use "downconverter" at this frequency range. This TV tuner chip uses zero IF architecture.

Regards,
 


Posted on: July 29, 2012, 01:06:52 13:06 - Automerged
Hi @metal,
I'm attaching  E4000 TV Tuner's internal diagram.

Regards,


Posted on: July 29, 2012, 01:42:11 13:42 - Automerged

HI

Sound interesting

Where to buy this type of device?

Bobi

Hi @bobcat1,
I'm using USB TV Tuners which have Elonics E4000 and Realtek RTL2832U chip.
I'm attaching a picture that I'm using.

Regards,

[LabVIEWguru]

That is very interesting. What type of antenna do you use - probably a small dish? Is there a Low Noise Amplifier and downconverter at the dish? It is just incredible they are doing this in a USB dongle. Do you know what "zero if" is? Do they mean like a "no conversion" receiver? ..... infinite bandwidth, (almost) infinite response. I haven't looked into this yet, but do you know why there is a gap in the receive frequency? Is this a design restriction or because of the US restriction on receiving cellular frequencies?

I see the pics OK also

(later) I just checked Ebay and there are possibly 20 vendors - all in the 20 - 30 US Dollar range. The antenna is a small "whip" antenna - some even had a remote.

Very cool ta3as for bringing this up! This looks like a new toy!

One more question - are the units you show potted or can you remove the case and have access to the PC board and components? The unit like yours shown on Ebay looks like it just snaps apart.

[ta3as]

That is very interesting. What type of antenna do you use - probably a small dish? Is there a Low Noise Amplifier and downconverter at the dish? It is just incredible they are doing this in a USB dongle. Do you know what "zero if" is? Do they mean like a "no conversion" receiver? ..... infinite bandwidth, (almost) infinite response. I haven't looked into this yet, but do you know why there is a gap in the receive frequency? Is this a design restriction or because of the US restriction on receiving cellular frequencies?

I see the pics OK also

Hi @LabVIEWguru,
I have two antennas. One is Diamond X50 ( http://www.diamondantenna.net/x50a.html ). It is a dual band antenna and it is working on 144 and 440 mhz. The other is ICOM AH-7000. It is a discone antenna which has wide coverage. AH-7000 discone antenna covers 25 mhz to 1300 mhz. ( http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/985 )
There is no dish, there is no downconverter. I'm connecting my discone or dual band antenna directly to USB TV receiver stick. That's it :-))
USB TV receiver stick comes with a small antenna. You can listen a lot of stations with it but it's performance is not good so I'm preffering to use an external antenna.
USB TV stick's performance is good enough while using it with an external antenna. But you can add LNA ("Low Noise Amplifier") for better reception. At this time, it is enough for me working with an external antenna.
This is a real SDR (Software Defined Radio) A software-defined radio system, or SDR, is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented in hardware (e.g. mixers, filters, amplifiers, modulators/demodulators, detectors, etc.) are instead implemented by means of software on a personal computer. So they are called "Zero IF"
What you thought is the difference between an old two stages RF architecture going from the target frequency to a base band signal through an intermediate frequency and a direct conversion / zero IF RF architecture. All recent RF chips for wireless are zero IF nowadays.
I don't know why there is a small gap exactly. But I'm sure it is a technical restriction. Because this frequency range is not a blocked range in US or not a GSM frequency.
I hope I could answer your questions.

Regards,
PS: I'm attaching some screen captures. You can see FM broadcast activity at first picture and you can see 70cm (440 mhz) amateur band activity at second picture. As you can see you can monitor 2 mhz bandwidth. It is amazing.

[metal]

This is really convincing indeed. The problem is that you will have to use a good quality antenna. I used FM radio cards in the past, you a re right, quality was poor till I used an FM antenna I bought from radio shack.

[DreamCat]

I already have a plan to buy one, just about 76 yuan. but I really want to build a low frequency SDR, employ the analog Switch/Multiplexer as Phase Detector I/Q....
once I done the work, I will start paly them.

[ta3as]

This is really convincing indeed. The problem is that you will have to use a good quality antenna. I used FM radio cards in the past, you a re right, quality was poor till I used an FM antenna I bought from radio shack.

You are right. You need good antenna and good coax transmission line for better reception.
BTW, I think this topic is a real "project" which combines RF electronics and computer. So is it possible to re- move this topic to "projects" section?  I'm planning to write some hardware mods about this usb stick.
Thanks...

[metal]

Project moved ta3as.

[ta3as]

Hi,
Elonics E4000 tuner can tune 64mhz to 1700 mhz. What about below 60 mhz?
There is a modification now. You can solder a longwire antenna for SW (shortwave) reception to pin 1 of the RTL2832U chip.
Now you can receive DC to 30 mhz.    This is direct sampling mode modification of USB TV dongle.
No downconverter plugged in. Wire is directly soldered to pin 1 of RTL2832

[solutions]

GPS L2 falls into the gap at 1227.60 MHz.  Looks like it's aviation nav (see attached chart clipping), though the stuff I'm used to for aircraft is at 1xx MHz - some of the gap is TACAN at 960-1215 MHz, though I'm not sure why the Chinese would care about blocking it.

A nice USA frequency allocation (2003, so maybe a bit dated) chart here:  www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/2003-allochrt.pdf

[oldvan]

Fascinating.  I previously owned an Icom PCR1000 that was a $1000.00 device with about the same capabilities.

I just ordered "Realtek RTL2832U & Elonics E4000-Based USB DVB-T Receiver..." via eBay $27.00, will be fun!

[ta3as]

GPS L2 falls into the gap at 1227.60 MHz.  Looks like it's aviation nav (see attached chart clipping), though the stuff I'm used to for aircraft is at 1xx MHz - some of the gap is TACAN at 960-1215 MHz, though I'm not sure why the Chinese would care about blocking it.

A nice USA frequency allocation (2003, so maybe a bit dated) chart here:  www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/2003-allochrt.pdf

Hi @solutions,
Thanks for the chart. Tuner chip (Elonics E4000) designed in UK so I don't think that the Chinese blocked it.

Regards

[borberk]

First pins on RTL2832U are 1. I+, 2. I-, 4. Q+ and 5. Q- inputs. Normally they are connected to E4000 I and Q outputs through 100nF capacitors.
Reference schematics for E4000 is here superkuh.com/gnuradio/e4000_refsch_rev4.pdf

[LabVIEWguru]

http://www.ct1ffu.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=178:coverter&catid=38:artigos

Very nice upconverter - allows receiving from DC to 1700 Mhz

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seems some people have damaged their SDR dongles because the E4000 was missing a protection diode on the input:

"They have BAV99 (labelled A7t) for ESD protection on the antenna input, so there is less need to worry about burning out your tuner than with other cut-rate devices."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr

Apparently THE site for dongle SDR
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/

very recent Discussion threads
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are in the US, I would carefully consider admission that you listen to cellular or decode POSAG transmissions. This was made a federal crime a few years ago.
--------------------------------------------


Ta3as - can you recommend any really useful sites?

[solutions]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are in the US, I would carefully consider admission that you listen to cellular or decode POSAG transmissions. This was made a federal crime a few years ago.
--------------------------------------------

I think, in the past two years or so, listening in on cellphones and snooping emails has become "legal" in the US. If the Feds can do it without a warrant, you can, IMO.

So, the discussions went from Realtek (Taiwanese) to Elonics. If Elonics has the wider range, why bother with Realtek at all?

@Borberk - thanks for the schematic and picture - I find it amazing that they are hand soldering those boards....

[borberk]

@solutions, Realtek product RTL2832U is DVB-T demodulator. It accepts I and Q signals coming from tuner E4000, EC0012 or EC0013. Receive bandwidth depends only on type of tuner and they all are Elonic products. Both parts are essential and do not mix them.

[ta3as]

Ta3as - can you recommend any really useful sites?

Hi @LabVIEWguru,
I'm running SDR#  ( http://www.sdrsharp.com/ ) for receiving and controlling the USB TV stick.
This page ( http://rtlsdr.org/softwarewindows ) explains the installation step by step.
This is the another interesting web page. ( http://www.rtlsdr.com/ ) Users are sharing their experiences. There are a lot of videos.
You can run "Release of K5DEV SDRSharp Fork" if you want to add "scanner" and " frequency manager" facility to SDR#. ( http://www.k5dev.com/ )
I'll add some site address for decoding digital transmissions such as AIS, ADS-B, RTTY,TRUNK....

Regards,
 

[Cain]

I'm running SDR#  ( http://www.sdrsharp.com/ ) for receiving and controlling the USB TV stick.

Interesting topic and I've had a ezcap on laying my desk for some months so now it's the time to get it up running!

Tried to download the program from link above but looks like the version available no longer have "RTL2832U / RTLSDR" support. What version are you using and where to find a version that support RTL2832U?

Thanks in advance!

[ta3as]

Elonics E4000 white paper Please see attached text file.

Posted on: July 30, 2012, 08:06:05 20:06 - Automerged

Interesting topic and I've had a ezcap on laying my desk for some months so now it's the time to get it up running!

Tried to download the program from link above but looks like the version available no longer have "RTL2832U / RTLSDR" support. What version are you using and where to find a version that support RTL2832U?

Thanks in advance!

Please download sdr#dev not sdr#stable. SDR#dev  (build 514) has RTL2832U support. Please let me know if you have any installation problems.

Regards,

[LabVIEWguru]

1) I have sent several emails to Realtek about the RTL2832U datasheet and they just refuse to answer. Very curious attitude from a device manufacturer. Perhaps I will call them in the coming week if I don't find a datasheet this weekend.

2) My SDR should be here today!

[ta3as]

1) I have sent several emails to Realtek about the RTL2832U datasheet and they just refuse to answer. Very curious attitude from a device manufacturer. Perhaps I will call them in the coming week if I don't find a datasheet this weekend.

2) My SDR should be here today!

Hi @LabVIEWguru,
I have sent several e-mails to Realtek too. I think there is a "black hole" there :-))
Please let me know if you have any installation problems. There is a networked version of SDR software too. I'm going to test. I'll share the results.

Regards,

TA3AS

[LabVIEWguru]

Hey TA3AS

Well, my SDRs (three of them) didn't arrive, but it gives me time to research and think.
Given the frequency range of the SDR, I wonder about connecting it to a small dish.
Also, it would be interesting to see what comes all the "birds" flying over our heads. Several years ago I tinkered with
DDS and a receiver, using LabVIEW to read the output from a 24 bit ADC to display what existed between freq "A" and "B" - it worked, but not very well.

Now, some very smart people have done all the work. I'll bet some of these smart people are seeing things on their displays they aren't talking about!

[ta3as]

Hey TA3AS

Well, my SDRs (three of them) didn't arrive, but it gives me time to research and think.
Given the frequency range of the SDR, I wonder about connecting it to a small dish.
Also, it would be interesting to see what comes all the "birds" flying over our heads. Several years ago I tinkered with
DDS and a receiver, using LabVIEW to read the output from a 24 bit ADC to display what existed between freq "A" and "B" - it worked, but not very well.

Now, some very smart people have done all the work. I'll bet some of these smart people are seeing things on their displays they aren't talking about!

Hi @LabVIEWguru,
You don't need to setup a dish if you are talking about ADS-B. You can try "log periodic" antennas for your tests if you want to work on 400 - 900 mhz range. I attached pictures of log periodic antennas which are made from PCB. There are a lot of Log Periodic Antennas if you want work over 900 mhz. They are small and easy to install. You can mount a log periodic PCB antenna to a small dish for increasing the receving capability too.

Regards,

[Magnox]

I couldn't resist having a go at this. For those in the UK, cosycave have some suitable receivers at decent prices. I bought the Newsky TV28T from this link:

https://www.cosycave.co.uk/product.php?id_product=220

It comes with a small aerial and connecter adapter for £16.65 delivered and arrived two days after I ordered. Only a touch pricier than ordering from China and a lot quicker. There are other options on their site.

The stick seems to work fine with the SDR#dev software, although I've only just started playing when it arrived this morning. The tiny aerial picks up broadcast FM OK, and just about manages a signal for its intended DBV-T without too much picture break-up. I can almost hit the nearest TV mast with a rock from here but I think they only transmit a watt or so because even on the main TV I need a high gain aerial for a stable reception!

Now I just need to get the ladders on the roof and put a big wire up there...

[ta3as]

I can almost hit the nearest TV mast with a rock from here but I think they only transmit a watt or so because even on the main TV I need a high gain aerial for a stable reception!

Now I just need to get the ladders on the roof and put a big wire up there...

Hi @foxyrick,
Nice to hear that it is working. These dongles sensitivity is not good. Using a LNA makes difference. I see that a lot of owners of these dongles are using cheap CATV amplifiers (broadband signal booster). The feedbacks about these amplifiers are positive. You can try these amplifiers too. Installing these amplifiers close to antenna with short coax cable will be fine. Definitely worth the price, as this is a rugged device meant for outdoor installation.
Please have a look:
http://www.amazon.com/Winegard-HDA-200-Distribution-Amplifier-Adjustable/dp/B00133UTRC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345576159&sr=8-1&keywords=Winegard+HDA-200

http://www.walmart.com/ip/RCA-10dB-Video-Signal-Amplifier/11600128

Regards,

TA3AS

[Magnox]

Thanks TA3AS, I'm looking at a couple of CATV amplifiers. They are cheap enough that it's hardly worth the effort making my own and then troubleshooting it. My RF skills are limited, (despite having a class A amateur license) as I've never done much in that area.

If I get really into this, I will put a PC in the loft and pop a 5m USB wire out through the wall, high up, so that I can get the receiver dongle as close to the aerial as possible and minimise RF cable length. I used to do that with a wifi antenna connected to a backtrack box, in the days when wireless networks around here still used WEP.

[Magnox]

I've just spend a while trying to get this to work over my network, so that I can monitor the receiver (which is attached to my PC upstairs) from a laptop in the living room.

The way to do this is to use rtl_tcp.exe from the Osmocom RTLSDR tools to connect to the USB stick and put the data onto the LAN, and use SDR# in TCP mode, but it does not work initially, at least on my Windows 7 x64. The stream is killed by rtl_tcp after a second or so. The fix is a different libusb-1.0.dll file...

The rtl_tcp.exe is in the RelWithDebInfo.zip file and can be downloaded here: http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr - direct download link: http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/attachment/wiki/rtl-sdr/RelWithDebInfo.zip

Extract it and look in the appropriate folder (x64 or x32). You should see the libusb-1.0.dll file with a size of 85kB. It needs to be replaced with an older version from here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/libusbx/files/releases/1.0.11/Windows/libusbx-1.0.11-win.7z/download

Extract that file and navigate to MS64 (or MS32 as appropriate) /dll folder and copy the libusb-1.0.dll file to the above location, overwriting the original dll.

Then, you can run (from a command prompt)

Code:

rtl_tcp -a 192.168.0.1

replacing the ip address with your PC's address. You should see a response that the E4000 was found and rtl_tcp is listening.

On the client PC, start SDR#, select RTL-SDR/TCP as the front end, and click the front end button to set the IP address of your server PC. Then click play!

[ta3as]

Elonics E4000 tuner datasheet.
See attached txt file. (It is not my share, found from internet)

[bobcat1]

Hi

I have plan to design a low cost discone portable antenna for 50~70 $ and a proper LNA (low noise amplifier) with about 14db of gain and upto 3db noise for about $ 30
 
The LNA will have easy connection to the SDR dongle with proper 75 ohm IEC  or MCX connector.

Any one interested?

Bobi

[borberk]

Do you need help? If not then first jump and then say hop.

[glompos21]

For antena you can see
here

[tanveerriaz]

hare is low frequency up Converter & Pre-Amplifier for sdr.
http://makearadio.com/visitors/nick-sdr.php

[ta3as]

Dear All,
I checked different brands.  Most important thing is that some SDR- sticks have no ESD protection for the E4000 tuner chip, this is already known information, simply solder a BAV99 (SOT23 housing/outline) to the appropriate place on the pcb- board of the stick.
However there are some sticks around wich use a BAV99W . These are very small, so some soldering skills are required here.
I'm attaching a picture that a dongle did not have a ESD protection diode. This diode prevents tuner chip from electrostatic discharge so it is important.

Regards,

[visn]

Hi,

I have lost some money on my Dealextreme order that never arrived. I am in contact with customer services at the moment, and have trust in DX. My other order yielded the ITE9135 chipset which is not compatible. I don't blame the seller as his ebay page made no mention of compatibility, the person who recommended it was at fault.

Now I am looking for someone else to blame, can one of you guys recommend me an ebay seller/dongle that you have used. I already lost money, so I need the cheap option that I can claim against if there is a problem.

[h0nk]

Hi,

I have lost some money on my Dealextreme order that never arrived. I am in contact with customer services at the moment, and have trust in DX. My other order yielded the ITE9135 chipset which is not compatible. I don't blame the seller as his ebay page made no mention of compatibility, the person who recommended it was at fault.

Now I am looking for someone else to blame, can one of you guys recommend me an ebay seller/dongle that you have used. I already lost money, so I need the cheap option that I can claim against if there is a problem.

Look for auctionnumber: 221082072063
Approx 2 weeks delivery time with standard shipping.
Works as expected.


Best Regards

[bobcat1]

My experience with 20$ USD SDR :

I have bought one from ebay few weeks ago - and start playing with it a few day ago.
The received sensitivity is low (-50 ~ -40 dbm) due to noise introduce by PC computer (need to be check with laptop ,maybe batter)
Also a good antenna is essential ,with the current antenna reception is better in the range of +400 MHz.
we will probebly need to isolate the dongle from PC and to add a good wide band LNA in order to have batter reception.
Any how most of the radio transmission today goes digital - it can't be decoded by the SDR (unless you have a dedicated decoder in software)
and I do hope some one will write a decode software for GSM, DECT etc...

All the best

Bobi

  
P.S. > SDR forum's to learn more :

There are 2 active forum regarding SDR :
One with google group's and one with Yahoo

All the best

Bobi  

[Magnox]

I'm really quite interested in this myself now - thanks to the OP, I wasn't really aware of it before other than knowing it existed.

I have what looks like a decent wideband LNA on the way (at a cheap price thanks to the bay of evil).

For the PC noise, a good quality and long (5m, so the dongle can be a distance from the PC and needs less lossy coax to the antenna) USB lead with ferrites will help, or add ferrite rings to a cheap one. I was thinking about isolation too, maybe an ADUM4160 or similar. Possible a screened enclosure would help too. I need more time to play...

I would love to get hold of some of the signals analysis / electronic intelligence software, but they cost an absolute fortune and I've not found one that has a trial version yet.

[borberk]

I tried 5m cable with ferrite toroid at the end but it does not help reducing PC noise much. Maybe the cheapest next step is to use separate DC supply for dongle. Question is how much noise is producing RTL2832 itself with it's own USB signal.

[ta3as]

Hi,
Sticks with this combination (RTL2832 + R820T) are relatively new on the market.
Rafael Micro R820T tuner chip is supportted by Osmocom. You can download new dll files at http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/attachment/wiki/rtl-sdr/RelWithDebInfo.zip
No details are available on the tuning gaps for the R820T, but the E 4000 is known to have some gaps.
The quoted frequency range for the R820T is 42 – 1002MHz.
The quoted frequency range for the E4000 is 64 to 1700MHz.
By the way if you are planning to order DVB-T sticks, email your prospective supplier first and ask him to guarantee that what he advertises is correct and that the devices contain the E4000 tuner.

Regards,

[Magnox]

So, the R820T gains the amateur 6m band, but loses out on 23cm. However, from reading a little more, people have had success with the PLL achieving lock above 1700MHz with the initial driver. Also the R820T is said to be a little more sensitive.

Could be interesting...

 

[ta3as]

So, the R820T gains the amateur 6m band, but loses out on 23cm. However, from reading a little more, people have had success with the PLL achieving lock above 1700MHz with the initial driver. Also the R820T is said to be a little more sensitive.

Could be interesting...

 

Hi @ foxyrick,
See tuner comparisons:
http://rof.li/pic/tuner_comparison/

73

[mare69]

Hi,

Is there any success story on using "RTL" dongle under freebsd?

I have small http server based on freeBSD and I would like to put online receiver for pings from GRAVES radar. It is transmitter in France transmitting in space (143.050 MHz). "Pings" may indicate presence of meteorites and a chance for VHF Meteor-Scatter communication.

Transmitter: https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=47.348226,5.515308&spn=0.003246,0.008256&t=h&z=18
Background: http://www.britastro.org/radio/projects/MeteorRadarSDRReceiver.pdf

[leosedf]

I've just spend a while trying to get this to work over my network, so that I can monitor the receiver (which is attached to my PC upstairs) from a laptop in the living room.

The way to do this is to use rtl_tcp.exe from the Osmocom RTLSDR tools to connect to the USB stick and put the data onto the LAN, and use SDR# in TCP mode, but it does not work initially, at least on my Windows 7 x64. The stream is killed by rtl_tcp after a second or so. The fix is a different libusb-1.0.dll file...

The rtl_tcp.exe is in the RelWithDebInfo.zip file and can be downloaded here: http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr - direct download link: http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/attachment/wiki/rtl-sdr/RelWithDebInfo.zip

Extract it and look in the appropriate folder (x64 or x32). You should see the libusb-1.0.dll file with a size of 85kB. It needs to be replaced with an older version from here:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/libusbx/files/releases/1.0.11/Windows/libusbx-1.0.11-win.7z/download

Extract that file and navigate to MS64 (or MS32 as appropriate) /dll folder and copy the libusb-1.0.dll file to the above location, overwriting the original dll.

Then, you can run (from a command prompt)

Code:

rtl_tcp -a 192.168.0.1

replacing the ip address with your PC's address. You should see a response that the E4000 was found and rtl_tcp is listening.

On the client PC, start SDR#, select RTL-SDR/TCP as the front end, and click the front end button to set the IP address of your server PC. Then click play!

I tried it and it works fine with the latest libusb 1.0.14 version.\
The problem is whatever version i use i get intermittend sound. like 0.5sec sound. Too laggy, any ideas?

[Magnox]

Try lowering the sample rate, from the 'Front End' button. It's probably too high a flow of data causing a bottle neck.

[leosedf]

Thank's for the reply. It was 2048 and i lowered it to 1024. Still the same.

[Magnox]

Then I don't know, sorry. I'm not very experienced with the software and haven't seen that issue. My only remaining guess, if it's not network-related, would be if the listening PC is powerful enough to decode the stream. I would be very surprised though if it really took much power.

[leosedf]

http://v2.sdr-radio.com/
Check this out guys.
Amazing interface, it has to be the best out there and compatible with RTL dongles, i am using it via LAN and it works perfect.
Still a preview version but fully functional, i have no idea if it will be licenced at later times.

[carpi]

sdr radio free license for rtl dongle, for commercial sdr receivers you have to pay.

[ta3as]

USB Dongles can decode ADS-B signals. (You can track airplane activity)
There are two alternatives now:
1- http://rtl1090.web99.de/
2- http://sdrsharp.com/index.php/a-simple-and-cheap-ads-b-receiver-using-rtl-sdr

[tanveerriaz]

i have a problem  install Zadig winusb driver install ok but when i run sdrsharp it say
"RTL-SDR/USB either not connected or its driver is not working properly"
i use winxpsp2
and Cinergy t-stick+ dongles.

[borberk]

Have you edited file SDRSharp.exe.config and corrected it?

original line
<!-- <add key="RTL-SDR / USB" value="SDRSharp.RTLSDR.RtlSdrIO,SDRSharp.RTLSDR" /> -->
corrected line
       <add key="RTL-SDR / USB" value="SDRSharp.RTLSDR.RtlSdrIO,SDRSharp.RTLSDR" />

[tanveerriaz]

after fewtime restart pc . dongles working with sdrsharp .

[ta3as]

after fewtime restart pc . dongles working with sdrsharp .

Hi,
You can install SDR# via small bat file without problem.
You can downlad at : http://sdrsharp.com/downloads/sdr-install.zip
You don't need the edit config file as @borberk described above if you are installing via this bat file.
Regards,

TA3AS

[dead_chess]

very interesting topic, can someone suggest me a device easy to found in europe ?

[Magnox]

Cosycave still sell them:

https://www.cosycave.co.uk/product.php?id_product=220

[millegps]

I'd like to share with you this blog http://www.rtl-sdr.com/ which is always up to date

[tanveerriaz]

analog tv with dongle
http://sdrts.amoti.ru/download/view.download/4/8

[millegps]

Thank you, here in Italy we switched to DVB-T, so I can't check, but I read bandwidth is not enough to decode audio and video colours, but B/W image is still acceptable, right?

[pickit2]

Thank you, here in Italy we switched to DVB-T, so I can't check, but I read bandwidth is not enough to decode audio and video colours, but B/W image is still acceptable, right?

No not true..
its sold as a DVB-T usb (TV dongle) so with a good signal it is as good as your TV.

[borberk]

In Italy there is no analog TV anymore so analog reception is not possible. This is valid through all Europe. Russia where this software origin is different case.

[pickit2]

In Italy there is no analog TV anymore so analog reception is not possible. This is valid through all Europe. Russia where this software origin is different case.

DTV-T = digital television terrestrial
not analog

the USB Dongle SDR Receiver is the endall for lots of radio traffic with hacks
the control software changes the range to what your interested in.

for example I want 20-30Mhz for future project.

[Magnox]

Looks like October 2014's EPE magazine has a project based around these ideas... might take a look at that.

[2N5109]

These dongles are great to play with and they come with a short antenna for UHF.   But to get the most out of them at HF you need an upconverter because they dont tune below 64 MHz.  The DSP is great for Morse and digital HF modes which are used from 2-30 MHz.  Do a search on sdr upconverter and get one on ebay, it will convert DC-100MHz up to 100-200MHz with filtering.  I also have to use an external antenna with mine. 

--2N5109

[bobcat1]

@Magnox

EPE would have done a better job if they isolate the USB interface that way they decrease the noise level produce by the PC and injected via the PSU to the dongle

Bobi

[ta3as]

These dongles are great to play with and they come with a short antenna for UHF.   But to get the most out of them at HF you need an upconverter because they dont tune below 64 MHz.  The DSP is great for Morse and digital HF modes which are used from 2-30 MHz.  Do a search on sdr upconverter and get one on ebay, it will convert DC-100MHz up to 100-200MHz with filtering.  I also have to use an external antenna with mine. 

--2N5109

Now it can tune to 13 Mhz without any hardware mod or an up converter.
There is an experimental driver for the R820T receivers which extends the tunable range down to around 13 and up to 1864 MHz (previously 24 – 1766 MHz).
Please have a look:
https://github.com/mutability/rtl-sdr/
BTW, some people are reporting that they have been able to receive signals down to around 4 MHz.

Regards,

[cncbasher]

Looks like October 2014's EPE magazine has a project based around these ideas... might take a look at that.

any links iam also interested in building one , as opposed to buying one , as i need it as an additional module to
intergrate to an existing project as i'm looking at direction finding and the possibility of using one of these in a programable
frequency range .