{"id":2663,"date":"2014-02-07T14:11:21","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T14:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/warc.org.uk\/?page_id=2663"},"modified":"2014-02-07T14:55:52","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T14:55:52","slug":"cheap-sdr-receivers-rtl-dvb-dongle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/warc.org.uk\/?page_id=2663","title":{"rendered":"Cheap SDR Receivers – RTL DVB Dongle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"91GO+rVhsZL._SL1500_\"<\/a>What is an RTL DVB SDR? It is a DVB-T USB receiver that can be turned into a fully functional SDR receiver.<\/p>\n

The DVB-T receiver your looking for is based on the Realtek RTL2832U chipset plus a tuner IC like the Elonics E4000.<\/p>\n

The RTL2832U has some undocumented commands\/registers, by which it can be placed into a mode where it simply forwards the unprocessed raw baseband samples (up to 2.8 MS\/s 8-bit I+Q) via high-speed USB into the PC, where they are routed into most SDR software.<\/p>\n

At a price of about \u00a36 – \u00a315, they are undoubtedly the most capable low-cost SDR hardware that you can buy. It’s all that\u2019s needed for receiving signals like GSM, GMR, DECT, TETRA, APCO25 and many other formats.<\/p>\n

Check out this link for compatible hardware:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/sdr.osmocom.org\/trac\/wiki\/rtl-sdr<\/a><\/p>\n

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Software<\/h4>\n

I use SDR#\u00a0 http:\/\/www.sdrsharp.com\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

‘ SDR# (read SDR Sharp) is a high performance<\/em> Software Defined Radio<\/a> application. It is written in C# with both object design correctness and performance in mind. The project started as a simple proof of concept program to get hands into DSP techniques and has evolved to what it is today: A fully featured SDR capable of handling samplerates from kHz level soundcards up to multi hundred MHz dedicated samplers, thanks to its multi-core architecture’.<\/p>\n

I found the software easy to set up and get going. If you follow the instructions at http:\/\/rtlsdr.org\/softwarewindows<\/a><\/p>\n

\"sdrsharp3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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This is a link to another SDR front end:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/sdr-radio.com\/Home\/tabid\/384\/language\/en-US\/Default.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n

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So what can you do with the dongle?<\/h4>\n

How about AIS Ship tracking.<\/p>\n

This video explains how to set you RTL SDR Dongle up for AIS Ship tracking.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eZVLedfT6ao<\/a><\/p>\n

Ships not to your fancy, how about Aircraft Radar ADS-B.\u00a0 No need for expensive RadarBoxes all you need is your dongle and a couple of programmes.<\/p>\n

ADS-B, an acronym for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast is a technology that allows tracking aircraft using high speed radio transmissions.<\/p>\n

The ADBs software can be downloaded here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Funcube on a budget!<\/h4>\n

– Using your dongle to receive Funcube satellite data.<\/p>\n

N4JTC Has put together a tutorial for setting up the RTL SDR to receive Funcube telemetry data.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/n4jtc.wordpress.com\/2013\/11\/23\/rtl-sdr-sdr-radio-funcube-sat-fun\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Most amateurs will have most if not all of the equipment needed to get up and running.<\/p>\n

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What are some RTL-SDR Radio Scanner Applications?<\/h4>\n

The RTL-SDR can be used as a wide band radio scanner. Applications include<\/p>\n