Category: Featured

Amateur Radio Projects and Software Defined Radio

RTL2832u – R820T VS RTL2832u – R820T2

November 26, 2014

In the world of Software Defined Radio there have not been many new products introduced over the past year. The products that have been introduced have been a little pricey for what they do. With that being said, there is not much if anything that can beat the venerable RTL2832U dongle as a great low cost introduction to the world of SDR. The R820T variant of the RT2832u dongle has turned out to be a solid performer for entry level applications over the past couple of years. Just recently a new and improved version of the RTL2832u – R820T has become available very cleverly named the R820T2. These new dongles are being made available in the US by NooElec on Amazon for around $24.95.
NooElec NESDR Mini 2 USB RTL-SDR & ADS-B Receiver Set, RTL2832U & R820T2 Tuner, MCX Input. Low-Cost Software Defined Radio Compatible with Many SDR Software Packages. R820T2 Tuner & ESD-Safe Antenna Input, Guaranteed
The first thing you may notice about the R820T2 is that the case is now bright blue and the blue power led is much brighter. Outside of that, the cases of the R820T and the R820T2 seem to be identical in size and …

The Three Best Low Cost SDR Radios You Can Buy Today

June 7, 2014

If you are thinking about getting involved with SDR radio or just want to add a new one to you shack, here are what we consider the three best values in SDR radio equipment available today. The operative word here is “low cost”. These SDRs are not necessarily the best you can buy, but offer a lot of value for your money and make a good entry point into the world of Software Defined Radio.…

NooElec Aluminum Extruded Case for the Ham It Up HF Converter

April 21, 2014

Overview

Looking for a place to put your Ham It Up Converter? NewElec is now selling a very nice aluminum extruded case to fit the Ham It Up HF converter. As was discussed in an earlier article on HRS, a RTL2832U Dongle and the Ham It Up converter make a killer combo for a VHF,UHF, and HF SDR receiver with a very respectable bandwidth for less than $100. The new enclosures from NooElec will give you a good looking home for your Ham It Up converter and are available in blue or silver. The blue case uses laser etched labeling while the silver case uses silk screen labeling. The blue case looks very nice, but the silver case’s labeling stands out a little better. However, you can’t go wrong with either color. The cases also provide additional RF shielding for your Ham It Up converter. The case kit comes with the aluminum case with a cut out for the USB port, two pre-cut aluminum end pieces with cut outs for the by-pass switch and rf jacks, and a pack of small screws with two standoffs. The enclosures looks terrific and provides additional protection for your Ham It HF Converter.…

Alinco DX-SR9 Hybrid SDR Transceiver Review

April 9, 2014

Introduction
If Alinco’s DX-R8  receiver and the DX-SR8 had a child, it would be the DX-SR9. The DX-SR9 inherits the brains of the DX-R8 and the brawn of the DX-SR8 to create the DX-SR9 hybrid amateur radio transceiver. Hybrid SDRs are generally a standard radio receiver with buttons and knobs that feature an IQ output to allow its use with SDR software programs. This gives you the best of best worlds. You get a radio with standard buttons and knobs that you can quickly use when you don’t feel like firing up the shack computer for SDR. The Hybrid SDR also allows you to use it in situations where you would like to not have to fool with the computer like in the field or mobile. Unlike the black box SDR radios, you are not always tied to a computer for operation. The Hybrids also offer a more friendly introduction to SDR for new users. They can plug the rig in and use it immediately and come to grips with the SDR part later. When SDR software is added, then the radio gains some of the features of far more expensive radios such as panoramic displays and additional filtering. What’s …

Afedri SDR-Net 2.3a Review

February 14, 2013

Introduction
Ham Radio Science occasionally get emails from our readers on suggestions for a good reasonably priced HF SDR radio that won’t break the bank. So, we spent a little time investigating what was available in the under $300 price range. Frankly, there is not much to be found with the exception of a few kits. The kits are great learning tools, but some of our readers may not prefer trying to build a kit that includes tiny sma parts. Also the kits and some of the less expensive SDR radios are still sound card based and we were really looking for a direct sampling receiver. The $249 Afedri SDR-Net HF SDR met our requirements and more. The Afedri Net-SDR allows for connection to your pc via an USB interface and what truly puts the Afedri SDR-Net in a class of its own is the ability to connect via TCP (Lan connection). After looking into the very positive comments on the internet regarding the Afedri SDR-Net, we thought it would be well worth investigating this amazing little budget HF SDR receiver. The Afedri SDR-Net is made by Alexander Trushkin 4Z5LV and is available in a case for $249 or as …

Android Meets the RTL2832U

January 29, 2013

Editors Note – Apparently SDR Touch is temporarily off the Google Play Store. Martin hopes to have it back soon. You can still get SDR Touch directly from Martin, until the issue has been resolved. (See Martins comment below). In the meantime, you can download SDR Touch from Martin’s Website.

Ok, this was bound to happen sooner later. With the introduction of some very powerful Android tablets last year in the $199 price range like the Nexus7, Kindle Fire, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, combined with the availability of the inexpensive RTL2832U SDR dongles, it was inevitable that some would do a “mashup” of the two sooner or later. The result is an application called SDR Touch by Martin Marinov. At this time the application is still in the development phase, but is now available  from the Martin’s Website. For that reason, any thing we say here may change in the next 5 minutes.  We contacted Martin and he kindly sent us out the current fully functional version of SDR Touch to take a look at. We were impressed with Martins’ work.…

Per Vices Noctar SDR Card First Look

January 25, 2013

Recently, the good folks at Per Vices sent us out a Noctar SDR radio card to take a look at. The Noctar card began shipping earlier this month. Normally we discuss cheap SDR radio gear at HRS, but we felt that the Noctar is a break through SDR product that would be worth investigating further. In some respects the Noctar does qualify as cheap SDR when compared to its competition in the wide coverage SDR radio category. The Noctar card has a receiver range of  100KHz through 4GHz, with the a bandwidth up 250MHz. The Noctar card alone is sold for $749 or as a kit for $849 which includes two circuit board type log periodic antennas that cover 650MHz to 6500MHz and SMA cables. The other very interesting fact about the Noctar is that it can also transmit from 100KHz to 4GHz up to a bandwidth of 250MHz. The nearest competition in this category of SDR radios can cost easily two to three times more than the Noctar. …

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