Its been 4 years what have you learned from it and what other items are you using. I am looking to buy one this year and start playing around. I am trying to get my tech license as well. 2/5/23 1:01 pm EST
@@SevenFortyOne Oh okay, the thing Is I'm from EU, to be more exact, from Slovenia, and I'm not really willing to pay 50$ for shipping... but thanks for advice
Thanks Tom - I'm glad you enjoyed this video. Feel free to use it if you'd like. I'm going to try and do a live stream or two over the weekend if I can find some time and get some technical stuff sorted out.
Hi there ! Thanks for the informative video, nice job ! A SDRplay distributor mentions on his website that the RSPduo "is equipped with a software-adjustable LNA" ; How can one enable and adjust this built-in LNA ? I can't find it ! Keep on the good work ;-)
I'm not near my software at the moment but I think its just the RF gain control on the main panel that controls the LNA. There may be additional controls buried in the settings under the main panel.
Good informative video SevenFortyOne, especially for an old radio hobbyist looking to jump in to the world of SDR. Quick question, say I decide to just go with the RSP1A for now and later on decide that I should have bought the RSPDuo, can I just buy another RSP1A and do everything the duo does? Seems like it would be the same, just using an extra USB port. I'm not sure if you can select another receiver on the second instance(slave) of SDRuno.
Yes, you can run two rsp1a units side by side on the same computer...the duo has a few features the 1a lacks like a hiZ port and some extra filtering . You can also run multiple virtual receivers on one rsp1a, but the tuned frequencies must be within 10MHz of each other. Check out my latest video for a demo of side by side Operation.
Thanks for the very descriptive video about the very low cost SDR radio. What was missing from the video is how the low cost SDR radio compares to your other HF radios you own, and other more expensive SDR radios on the market, if you’ve compared the performance. It’s hard to imagine a low cost SDR receiver could perform as well as another HF radio costing 10 or 20 times the price. So, generally, how does this low cost SDR receiver compare to your other HF radios? A quick look at the SDRplay web site did not say what type of computer hardware is needed. It only mentioned PC, nothing else. Are there some recommend minimums for the computer specifications? Is there a Mac version of the software, or does it require a Windows computer? If it requires a Windows computer, what’s the minimum OS level required? It’s shocking that a company that is selling SDR radios that require a computer, has almost no information on their web site about the computer that’s required for their SDR receivers!
Others have asked for the comparison you mention above. I've been planning to make a comparison video but this is my hobby, not my job, so I haven't gotten to it yet. Hopefully I'll do this soon so stay tuned....but I can't make any promises. I think there is a general understanding out there that these SDRs are still for enthusiasts and not the average consumer so to speak. In other words, SDRplay's resources are limited so there are going to be so aspects of the product, software, marketing, and documentation that is limited. I think that for the price (at least of the entry level RSP1A) you are getting a tremendous value so you have to take that into consideration when evaluating this product. I believe there is software for Apple and Linux that will run SDRplay's radios but it may require a bit of tinkering to get it working. I'm not an Apple guy and haven't had time to try out any Linux packages yet so search their website and google for more detailed info. Again, I'm not an SDRplay employee so I don't have hard specs for you but these radios will run on older, low spec hardware. If you search my channel you'll find that I ran the RSP1 on an old Celeron "XP" laptop with no issue whatsoever.
Thanks the response. I wasn’t expecting a comparison video, but now that up brought it up, that would be an excellent follow up video. Meanwhile, can you just state in a few sentences, roughly how the low priced SDR receiver compares to your other HF radios? For example, I started with a HealthKit HR-10B and HW-16 that I bought and built. Later, I bought and built a HealthKit SB-102. The SB-102 was a tremendous improvement. Later, I bought a Kenwood TS-940, which was a tremendous improvement over the SB-102. Those two improvements were huge! Are your more expensive radios much better, a little better, or similar when comparing the raw ability to receive signals along with the quality levels of the different radios?
@@daveborchard2019 That's a tough question to answer in a few sentences. I also suspect this is something that could be a little bit subjective depending on what you expect out of a radio. I've never really tried comparing them side by side to see which was better at pulling out a weak station or something on the fringe. Having said that, head-to-head, in a casual listening environment, the SDRplay is pretty close in sensitivity to both my Icom and my Elecraft. The Two physical radios are much better at image rejection and not getting overloaded by strong signals. In my opinion, the "real" radios are also more pleasurable to operate...there is just somehtign satisfying about turning knobs and pushing buttons as opposed to clicking a mouse to tune a radio. However, the SDRplay frequency coverage blows both physical radios out of the water. In other words, for $100 or so you are getting essentially a DC to daylight receiver whereas you are getting only up to 144mhz (with gaps) on the icom and only 54MHz on the Elecraft for 10 to 15 imes the cost of the SDRplay. You also get much more control over the receiver with the SDR through the software's extended functionality. On top of that, the software can be upgraded and re-written to extract new features from the hardware over time. In summary, I don't think the SDR is better or worse....I think its a different way of looking at receiving radio signals.
@@daveborchard2019 Oh - and the SDR makes it very easy and seamless to receive the newer digital modes or even older ones like CW without external hardware or additional wires and cables. Simply pipe the received audio of the SDR via software to a decoding software and you're done. Receiving digital modes on analog radios is much clunkier. Again - SDR is a different solution to the problem of receiving radio. Whether or not it is better or worse that a traditional radio is up to you. But I will assert that right now (Dec 2018) the offerings from SDRplay offer the best value, by far, for getting into SDR receiving.
@@SevenFortyOne Thanks for your response! That's good to know that the SDR receive is close to the sensitivity of your physical radios. When I compared the HR-10B and HW-16 to my SB-102 which I bought and built years later, the old HR-10B and HW-16 seemed to be very crude "crystal sets". Stations that were in the mud with the HR-10B and HW-16 were easy to copy with the SB-102. A huge difference. Same thing when I upgrade to the Kenwood TS-940. Stations that were in the mud with the SB-102 were easy to copy with TS-940. Again, a huge difference. Maybe the Flex radios might compare better to your physical radios, since the Flex radio probably has a much better front end that the very low cost SDR radios. Of course, the Flex radios cost about $2,000 to $4,000, so you're going to get much better hardware for that money! I do understand what you mean about having and using a physical radio. I might need to setup a remotely controllable HF radio in the future if I buy a home in an area where I can't install HF antennas. In that situation, having a radio that is controllable with a computer would out weigh the physical radio benefits. Although there is a Flex radio front end, that looks and feels like a physical radio, that can control the actual physical radio, over the Internet, that is remotely located. Even though the lower cost SDR radios may have some shortcomings, they seem like incredible value, what you get for only $100, and the software is included for free!
I have an sdrplay, and have launched the appropriate software to see the radar, but oddly cannot seem to hear the transmissions of the aircraft that are showing on the tracking display. I can actively hear the air bands for our international airport, and can actively see aircraft moving, but the displayed aircraft do not match with the audio. Any idea why?
Hopefully you figured out you need to tune to arrival and departure frequencies. SDRuno cannot figure out the frequencies of the tracked aircraft automatically.
Can this be used with my DSD plus,digital audio decoding software. If it can I think I will have to set up a virtual audio cable instead of my hard wired cable that now connects to my Icom IC-R7000 receiver.Thanks for this video, Greetings from NH.
Thanks for excellent video. The one thing I really want to know is can the 2 receivers be phase locked together, being on the same frequency, and track each other. Thanks.
They're specifically touting phase coherence of the two receivers as a feature, and as far as I can see it should work just as well with them on the same frequency as it does any other way.
(that's sampling coherency though, I don't think you can expect the two VFOs to be identical, so there's a possible source of error there, to the tune of whatever the VFO phase noise is.)
They warn of not having it near a transmitter I have 2 endfed antennas and the coax runs parallel for several feet. Do I stand to fry my SDR if I use my radio? Or do I get the MFJ 1708 which allegedly isolates the transmitter?
SevenFortyOne Of course there isn’t. But they sell the Leo Bodnar GPSDO units for a stable reference signal . This is useful in a Lab setting. But it is also useful for some digital modes where timing becomes critical to the reception as well. That was my point. See the vendors website.
This is a screen capture ... can't really come closer. BTW, check the youtube playback settings and make sure you are watching this in HD...the gear icon at the lower right of the youtube player window. If you aren't in 1080p mode, switch it to that and see if it looks better for you.
My Head Just exploded! Awesome! overview.
A fantastic video !!! A+ Thank you !
Nice and very clearly narrated video. I hit the Subscribe button :)
Just bought mine at Dayton and I am looking forward into monotoring alot on new and interesting frequencies.
Enjoy!
Its been 4 years what have you learned from it and what other items are you using. I am looking to buy one this year and start playing around. I am trying to get my tech license as well. 2/5/23 1:01 pm EST
Great video, helpful. My Duo will be here next month.
Very good video! I have always thought about buying one of these.
Thanks! Very well explained.
Great! I enjoy watching your progress ..... Thanks 😂😂 .... joined
Great video, very helpful. My Duo will be here in 2 days...
It's a great radio I think you will enjoy it.
It's a great radio I think you will enjoy it.
Where did you buy It from!
You can get them from HRO
@@SevenFortyOne Oh okay, the thing Is I'm from EU, to be more exact, from Slovenia, and I'm not really willing to pay 50$ for shipping... but thanks for advice
Very informative video. I wonder how much a conventional radio would weight if you managed to include the same features?😎
good explanation!!!
OMG! Awesome overview. Thumbs up. Do you mind if I use part of your show?
Thanks Tom - I'm glad you enjoyed this video. Feel free to use it if you'd like. I'm going to try and do a live stream or two over the weekend if I can find some time and get some technical stuff sorted out.
Hi there ! Thanks for the informative video, nice job ! A SDRplay distributor mentions on his website that the RSPduo "is equipped with a software-adjustable LNA" ; How can one enable and adjust this built-in LNA ? I can't find it ! Keep on the good work ;-)
I'm not near my software at the moment but I think its just the RF gain control on the main panel that controls the LNA. There may be additional controls buried in the settings under the main panel.
Good informative video SevenFortyOne, especially for an old radio hobbyist looking to jump in to the world of SDR. Quick question, say I decide to just go with the RSP1A for now and later on decide that I should have bought the RSPDuo, can I just buy another RSP1A and do everything the duo does? Seems like it would be the same, just using an extra USB port. I'm not sure if you can select another receiver on the second instance(slave) of SDRuno.
Yes, you can run two rsp1a units side by side on the same computer...the duo has a few features the 1a lacks like a hiZ port and some extra filtering . You can also run multiple virtual receivers on one rsp1a, but the tuned frequencies must be within 10MHz of each other. Check out my latest video for a demo of side by side Operation.
Thanks for the very descriptive video about the very low cost SDR radio. What was missing from the video is how the low cost SDR radio compares to your other HF radios you own, and other more expensive SDR radios on the market, if you’ve compared the performance. It’s hard to imagine a low cost SDR receiver could perform as well as another HF radio costing 10 or 20 times the price.
So, generally, how does this low cost SDR receiver compare to your other HF radios?
A quick look at the SDRplay web site did not say what type of computer hardware is needed. It only mentioned PC, nothing else. Are there some recommend minimums for the computer specifications? Is there a Mac version of the software, or does it require a Windows computer? If it requires a Windows computer, what’s the minimum OS level required?
It’s shocking that a company that is selling SDR radios that require a computer, has almost no information on their web site about the computer that’s required for their SDR receivers!
Others have asked for the comparison you mention above. I've been planning to make a comparison video but this is my hobby, not my job, so I haven't gotten to it yet. Hopefully I'll do this soon so stay tuned....but I can't make any promises. I think there is a general understanding out there that these SDRs are still for enthusiasts and not the average consumer so to speak. In other words, SDRplay's resources are limited so there are going to be so aspects of the product, software, marketing, and documentation that is limited. I think that for the price (at least of the entry level RSP1A) you are getting a tremendous value so you have to take that into consideration when evaluating this product. I believe there is software for Apple and Linux that will run SDRplay's radios but it may require a bit of tinkering to get it working. I'm not an Apple guy and haven't had time to try out any Linux packages yet so search their website and google for more detailed info. Again, I'm not an SDRplay employee so I don't have hard specs for you but these radios will run on older, low spec hardware. If you search my channel you'll find that I ran the RSP1 on an old Celeron "XP" laptop with no issue whatsoever.
Thanks the response. I wasn’t expecting a comparison video, but now that up brought it up, that would be an excellent follow up video.
Meanwhile, can you just state in a few sentences, roughly how the low priced SDR receiver compares to your other HF radios?
For example, I started with a HealthKit HR-10B and HW-16 that I bought and built. Later, I bought and built a HealthKit SB-102. The SB-102 was a tremendous improvement. Later, I bought a Kenwood TS-940, which was a tremendous improvement over the SB-102. Those two improvements were huge!
Are your more expensive radios much better, a little better, or similar when comparing the raw ability to receive signals along with the quality levels of the different radios?
@@daveborchard2019 That's a tough question to answer in a few sentences. I also suspect this is something that could be a little bit subjective depending on what you expect out of a radio. I've never really tried comparing them side by side to see which was better at pulling out a weak station or something on the fringe. Having said that, head-to-head, in a casual listening environment, the SDRplay is pretty close in sensitivity to both my Icom and my Elecraft. The Two physical radios are much better at image rejection and not getting overloaded by strong signals. In my opinion, the "real" radios are also more pleasurable to operate...there is just somehtign satisfying about turning knobs and pushing buttons as opposed to clicking a mouse to tune a radio. However, the SDRplay frequency coverage blows both physical radios out of the water. In other words, for $100 or so you are getting essentially a DC to daylight receiver whereas you are getting only up to 144mhz (with gaps) on the icom and only 54MHz on the Elecraft for 10 to 15 imes the cost of the SDRplay. You also get much more control over the receiver with the SDR through the software's extended functionality. On top of that, the software can be upgraded and re-written to extract new features from the hardware over time. In summary, I don't think the SDR is better or worse....I think its a different way of looking at receiving radio signals.
@@daveborchard2019 Oh - and the SDR makes it very easy and seamless to receive the newer digital modes or even older ones like CW without external hardware or additional wires and cables. Simply pipe the received audio of the SDR via software to a decoding software and you're done. Receiving digital modes on analog radios is much clunkier.
Again - SDR is a different solution to the problem of receiving radio. Whether or not it is better or worse that a traditional radio is up to you. But I will assert that right now (Dec 2018) the offerings from SDRplay offer the best value, by far, for getting into SDR receiving.
@@SevenFortyOne Thanks for your response! That's good to know that the SDR receive is close to the sensitivity of your physical radios. When I compared the HR-10B and HW-16 to my SB-102 which I bought and built years later, the old HR-10B and HW-16 seemed to be very crude "crystal sets". Stations that were in the mud with the HR-10B and HW-16 were easy to copy with the SB-102. A huge difference. Same thing when I upgrade to the Kenwood TS-940. Stations that were in the mud with the SB-102 were easy to copy with TS-940. Again, a huge difference.
Maybe the Flex radios might compare better to your physical radios, since the Flex radio probably has a much better front end that the very low cost SDR radios. Of course, the Flex radios cost about $2,000 to $4,000, so you're going to get much better hardware for that money! I do understand what you mean about having and using a physical radio. I might need to setup a remotely controllable HF radio in the future if I buy a home in an area where I can't install HF antennas. In that situation, having a radio that is controllable with a computer would out weigh the physical radio benefits. Although there is a Flex radio front end, that looks and feels like a physical radio, that can control the actual physical radio, over the Internet, that is remotely located.
Even though the lower cost SDR radios may have some shortcomings, they seem like incredible value, what you get for only $100, and the software is included for free!
I have an sdrplay, and have launched the appropriate software to see the radar, but oddly cannot seem to hear the transmissions of the aircraft that are showing on the tracking display. I can actively hear the air bands for our international airport, and can actively see aircraft moving, but the displayed aircraft do not match with the audio. Any idea why?
Hopefully you figured out you need to tune to arrival and departure frequencies. SDRuno cannot figure out the frequencies of the tracked aircraft automatically.
Can this be used with my DSD plus,digital audio decoding software. If it can I think I will have to set up a virtual audio cable instead of my hard wired cable that now connects to my Icom IC-R7000 receiver.Thanks for this video, Greetings from NH.
I'm not sure....I haven't used DSDplus yet but will have to give it a try soon. Thanks for stopping in from NH!
Thanks for excellent video.
The one thing I really want to know is can the 2 receivers be phase locked together, being on the same frequency, and track each other.
Thanks.
I don't think that is an option right now but may be in the works for an upcomming software release.
They're specifically touting phase coherence of the two receivers as a feature, and as far as I can see it should work just as well with them on the same frequency as it does any other way.
(that's sampling coherency though, I don't think you can expect the two VFOs to be identical, so there's a possible source of error there, to the tune of whatever the VFO phase noise is.)
23:26 Why does virtual radar show the source as an RSP1A and not the duo that Uno is connected to?
It may have been an old definition - I also have a 1A that I've used with this
They warn of not having it near a transmitter I have 2 endfed antennas and the coax runs parallel for several feet. Do I stand to fry my SDR if I use my radio? Or do I get the MFJ 1708 which allegedly isolates the transmitter?
I wouldn't take a chance...get the mfj if you intend on leaving the sdrplay connected all the time or as a panadapter.
Would be nice if that they would publish a limitation so we can either use Web SDR or get on with our lives.
are you sure that the gps is only for use in "test equipment" applications?
There is no gps in this unit. If you are referring to the ref out port I'm sure there are other uses for it.
SevenFortyOne Of course there isn’t. But they sell the Leo Bodnar GPSDO units for a stable reference signal . This is useful in a Lab setting. But it is also useful for some digital modes where timing becomes critical to the reception as well. That was my point. See the vendors website.
does the softwear work with WINDOWS 10 ?
Yes. I have it running under windows 10 and windows 7 with no issues
Only reason I paused the video was to tell you that nobody can read that fucking 2 point type! :) - but thanks for the info !! I love this thing! :)
The text on my raw video file looks good. RUclips compression has caused things to look blurry...nothing I can do about that.
ok - that makes sense - but i hope you come closer, on the next video! :)
This is a screen capture ... can't really come closer. BTW, check the youtube playback settings and make sure you are watching this in HD...the gear icon at the lower right of the youtube player window. If you aren't in 1080p mode, switch it to that and see if it looks better for you.
ok - thanks for responding to me, and yes, when i use full quality HD i can see everything, so sorry for being such a snit! :)
No worries!