If my father was still alive and I showed him this he would be utterly amazed. He was born in 1919 and passed away in 1989. As numb as we are regarding technology today we don't realize how amazing some things are. This is a brilliant device/system.
😳 It’s absolutely true!! I’m in my late 50s and I look at the tech available for next to nothing. This hobby used to be kind of a rich man’s pastime. It’s nothing like that now!!
Who would use a so-called long wire antenna above HF? Not any ham I know. Halos, loops, beams, verticals, yes, but not a wire antenna. I once built a 3 element 2 meter beam out of copper wire for emergency use but a long wire? Nah
Hello John, great explanation, how do you make that ground plate/plane happen with that wire straight into the coax plug as you mentioned around 8:16 min In the video ? What is needed on the end of the antenna wire? Should that be a plastic isolator mount to attach the wire on?
the important thing is to connect to the outer of the coax socket either wires or a surface of say metal foil which is perpendicular to the vertical wire you see in the video (connected to the centre of the socket). The effect you are trying to get is this: www.electronics-notes.com/images/antenna-vertical-with-ground-plane-plate.svg You can improvise with crocodile (alligator) clips and wires, sheet steel, tin lids, oven grilles etc. Better still to solder an SO239 socket into some kin of metal mount or indeed buy something ready made - here's a magnetic mount example where this would sit nicely on a metal surface: cpc.farnell.com/unbranded/mnt040/3-mag-mount-3-8-pl259-2m/dp/AP00544
I have only used active magnetic loops. I was trying to find a link to a German video by someone who was having great success with some kind of coil antenna but no luck.
I think you did an excellent job of explaining the various antenna options. However, I would like to know if you can configure the SDRUNO software to associate a specific antenna with specific bands?
a 30m long wire hung on a tree or somewhere already hears ALOT. a vertical wire is better for DX. a coaxial cable to the wire is useful, better not connect the wire directly into a radio, that picks up lots of qrm from inside the house.
Great help video John, what type of antenna do I needto receive both amaterur 2 m band and airbands? I have great results with the 17 meter of wire non grounded and cover receptions from West US to Africa Ivor. coast to the far East. Really nice product exploring the airwaves with the sdrplaydx👌
I'm ignoring directional antennas (e.g. yagis) which will give additional gain in a specific direction, so then a good compromise omni-directional antenna for both VHF airband and 144MHz would be a quarter wave vertical tuned to say 135MHz (Airband VHF goes from below 120MHz up and 2m goes up to nearly 150MHz - using an online calculator like this suggests just over 50cm or 20 inches is the length: m0ukd.com/calculators/quarter-wave-ground-plane-antenna-calculator/ - the link tehre discusses all sorts of secondary considerations but for receive-only, exact impedance matching isn't a worry. Just make sure you have some kind of ground plane/radials connected to the outer coax. For those frequencies a home-made quarter wave should perform as well as a discone. More important will be getting the antenna up in the clear - "line of sight" really is important at VHF (unlike at HF) Thin non-metallic walls are not too much of a problem so high up in a roof-space is better than on a window ledge downstairs for example. You might also enjoy the HF airbands around 10MHz using your current setup.... www.listenersguide.org.uk/swl/hf-air-traffic-control-and-volmet/ Have fun! Jon
Not sure what happened to mine, just bought one and it was picking up local radio FM and later that day went back to test it and now it will not pick up anything. I have tried unplugging it and plugging it back in and getting nothing.
Look at the specs for the input filters of your device. The block diagram is really helpful. Some inputs have AM and FM notch filters so you can pick up more readily fainter signals.
If you are happy by dragging the signal or typing in frequencies for tuning then it will be fine. I recommend getting a mouse with a scroll wheel if you have a spare usb port. You could always get a USB hub if you're short of USB sockets.
sure. They work more efficiently than a simple vertical antenna which is not optimum over a wide range of frequencies. See the discone references in this article: www.sdrplay.com/antennasuggestions/
@@RogerBrenon No they dont, and there nothing but toys for people who are not serious about it, and dont come close to good performance or good radios. Lousy audio, filtering ,bandwidth, selectivity. I tried them, there glitchy junk.
Thanks John. I just ordered my RSPdx. This will be my first radio. I see special antenna wire on Amazon. Is that marketing or for transmitting? For receive does gauge or insulation type matter?
Please be more specific about what data you refer to and then I recommend asking the question on one of the popular forums such as the SDRplay Facebook group or groups.io forum: www.sdrplay.com/communitylinks/
If my father was still alive and I showed him this he would be utterly amazed. He was born in 1919 and passed away in 1989. As numb as we are regarding technology today we don't realize how amazing some things are. This is a brilliant device/system.
😳 It’s absolutely true!! I’m in my late 50s and I look at the tech available for next to nothing. This hobby used to be kind of a rich man’s pastime. It’s nothing like that now!!
Who would use a so-called long wire antenna above HF? Not any ham I know. Halos, loops, beams, verticals, yes, but not a wire antenna. I once built a 3 element 2 meter beam out of copper wire for emergency use but a long wire? Nah
Excellent presentation and very use-full in helping me setup my new RSPdx
Very good video. You must have some good antennas attached. I just don't get that many stations using my SDR.
Hello John, great explanation, how do you make that ground plate/plane happen with that wire straight into the coax plug as you mentioned around 8:16 min In the video ? What is needed on the end of the antenna wire? Should that be a plastic isolator mount to attach the wire on?
the important thing is to connect to the outer of the coax socket either wires or a surface of say metal foil which is perpendicular to the vertical wire you see in the video (connected to the centre of the socket). The effect you are trying to get is this: www.electronics-notes.com/images/antenna-vertical-with-ground-plane-plate.svg
You can improvise with crocodile (alligator) clips and wires, sheet steel, tin lids, oven grilles etc. Better still to solder an SO239 socket into some kin of metal mount or indeed buy something ready made - here's a magnetic mount example where this would sit nicely on a metal surface: cpc.farnell.com/unbranded/mnt040/3-mag-mount-3-8-pl259-2m/dp/AP00544
Thank!
Interest to find out which antennas you use for receiving VLF range or how to make a coil of Dilch of reception VLF
I have only used active magnetic loops. I was trying to find a link to a German video by someone who was having great success with some kind of coil antenna but no luck.
@@SDRplayRSP Thanks!
Thanks. You got me interested in radio again.
I think you did an excellent job of explaining the various antenna options. However, I would like to know if you can configure the SDRUNO software to associate a specific antenna with specific bands?
Have you tried using profiles? See ruclips.net/video/5mAFOVrNyWQ/видео.html
Thank you very much for this information, by the way your property is absolutely beautiful!
What antennas are use using more specific please. Just bought the RSPdx
Thank you very much for the video so enlightening, especially with regard to antennas
a 30m long wire hung on a tree or somewhere already hears ALOT. a vertical wire is better for DX. a coaxial cable to the wire is useful, better not connect the wire directly into a radio, that picks up lots of qrm from inside the house.
Great help video John, what type of antenna do I needto receive both amaterur 2 m band and airbands? I have great results with the 17 meter of wire non grounded and cover receptions from West US to Africa Ivor. coast to the far East. Really nice product exploring the airwaves with the sdrplaydx👌
I'm ignoring directional antennas (e.g. yagis) which will give additional gain in a specific direction, so then a good compromise omni-directional antenna for both VHF airband and 144MHz would be a quarter wave vertical tuned to say 135MHz (Airband VHF goes from below 120MHz up and 2m goes up to nearly 150MHz - using an online calculator like this suggests just over 50cm or 20 inches is the length: m0ukd.com/calculators/quarter-wave-ground-plane-antenna-calculator/ - the link tehre discusses all sorts of secondary considerations but for receive-only, exact impedance matching isn't a worry. Just make sure you have some kind of ground plane/radials connected to the outer coax. For those frequencies a home-made quarter wave should perform as well as a discone.
More important will be getting the antenna up in the clear - "line of sight" really is important at VHF (unlike at HF) Thin non-metallic walls are not too much of a problem so high up in a roof-space is better than on a window ledge downstairs for example. You might also enjoy the HF airbands around 10MHz using your current setup.... www.listenersguide.org.uk/swl/hf-air-traffic-control-and-volmet/ Have fun! Jon
Glad you read the comments in the old video
So very helpful , thank you so much for your time.
Great information for getting started 👍
Thank you for this.
Not sure what happened to mine, just bought one and it was picking up local radio FM and later that day went back to test it and now it will not pick up anything. I have tried unplugging it and plugging it back in and getting nothing.
Look at the specs for the input filters of your device. The block diagram is really helpful. Some inputs have AM and FM notch filters so you can pick up more readily fainter signals.
My laptop doesn’t have a mouse just regular pad. Can I still use your sdr?
If you are happy by dragging the signal or typing in frequencies for tuning then it will be fine. I recommend getting a mouse with a scroll wheel if you have a spare usb port. You could always get a USB hub if you're short of USB sockets.
Learn to use the pad. Much quicker than a mouse.
Could I use a discone antenna?
sure. They work more efficiently than a simple vertical antenna which is not optimum over a wide range of frequencies. See the discone references in this article: www.sdrplay.com/antennasuggestions/
Epic, thanks,
Greetings from Sweden 🇸🇪
Sdr radios are toys. If you want a good radio get an Icom or a drake.
We like Icom and Drake too. They all complement each other as seen in this video :-) ruclips.net/video/M4B0ffxQgHY/видео.htmlsi=BmOgdrAlBjWxsv5h
No they're not. These are for people who listen. And they have a wider frequency range than yours, and cost nothing compared to yours.
@@RogerBrenon No they dont, and there nothing but toys for people who are not serious about it, and dont come close to good performance or good radios. Lousy audio, filtering ,bandwidth, selectivity. I tried them, there glitchy junk.
the sound volume is TOO low - YES, I AM using an external, AMPLIFIED speaker - what a waste!
Thanks John. I just ordered my RSPdx. This will be my first radio. I see special antenna wire on Amazon. Is that marketing or for transmitting? For receive does gauge or insulation type matter?
For receive gauge doesn’t matter. Insulation is good against rain conductivity to whatever holds the wire above ground.
What do I do when my RSP-1A is less sensitive than my table scanner at 446 MHz?
Visit SDRplay.com/help
What can i use to pickup Air and sat data download
Please be more specific about what data you refer to and then I recommend asking the question on one of the popular forums such as the SDRplay Facebook group or groups.io forum: www.sdrplay.com/communitylinks/