For those confused, the cable that I mentioned is not fully shielded therefore if you pair it with the two diapole antennas and you stretch out the extension cable it will actually pick up shortwave better than the diapole antennas by themselves. (And yes I do know about the resistance of the cable which is why you shouldn't use this cable with VHF bands and above)
Thanks for the video! You should make a dipole with the antenna ;) Move it up on the window, look inside the antenna (behind the little plastic piece that pops out in the middle) and you can see which side is the active element and which side is the ground - move it up on the window, extend the active vertically up, and extend the ground down, and you will have a "true" (as true as you can get with cheap antennas) dipole and you will pick up a tremendous amount more - especially radio stations. What you have, albeit cheap, is a 2 meter antenna - 3ft. on each side. It actually can work pretty well, but you need to position it most favorably. I'm sure you probably already know this stuff, but for the viewers that are unfamiliar with antennas and are following along - I leave this here :)
I thought it was shielded too, but that SMA extension cable alone has gotten me shortwave radio when I stretched it out. That's why I mentioned it in the video
@@carlgriebno5691 the bigger antenna you need to receive the frequency stronger, that's why AM antennas are wound up a lot inside of radios. (And do remember this cable acts like an antenna because it's not properly shielded) But I will admit you're not 100% wrong (The benefits of this cable are minor in most cases)
That's correct It depends on what you're trying to receive there's different types of antennas and different types of polarization depending on what you're trying to receive.
I did every step but I’m having a problem with selecting the device on airspy. When I try to switch it over to rtl sdr usb, it just shows “none”. There’s nothing to even choose from.
@@polarbear5464 hello so I just tried it on one of my computers and it seems like it's an issue with detection so if it's on a USB 3 port, try a 2.0 port or vice versa
Thanks for this video. I was following instructions for this with TheApeMan, but I think they are out of date. I had 2 'Bulk-In Interface' in my Device Manager, and after I ran zadig.exe I selected #0 and it installed fine. But I still have 'Bulk-In Interface (1) in the Device Manager, and in zadig. I ran the install-sdrrdl twice, could that be the problem? And how do I fix it?? Also, my audio goes mute in my speakers when I open Sharp!
You only have to install the driver for Bulk-In Interface 0. As for your speakers being muted I'm not quite sure I've never experienced that problem before
@@elpilonvideo yeah... this happens sometimes. You got to make sure it's plugged into a USB 2.0 port and then try reinstalling the driver through ZDiag
![Beginners guide to SDR #3 [ upconverter and custom antenna ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yyN8HvEQbes/mqdefault.jpg)
![Beginners guide to SDR #3 [ upconverter and custom antenna ]](/img/tr.png)
For those confused, the cable that I mentioned is not fully shielded therefore if you pair it with the two diapole antennas and you stretch out the extension cable it will actually pick up shortwave better than the diapole antennas by themselves. (And yes I do know about the resistance of the cable which is why you shouldn't use this cable with VHF bands and above)
Thanks for the video! You should make a dipole with the antenna ;) Move it up on the window, look inside the antenna (behind the little plastic piece that pops out in the middle) and you can see which side is the active element and which side is the ground - move it up on the window, extend the active vertically up, and extend the ground down, and you will have a "true" (as true as you can get with cheap antennas) dipole and you will pick up a tremendous amount more - especially radio stations. What you have, albeit cheap, is a 2 meter antenna - 3ft. on each side. It actually can work pretty well, but you need to position it most favorably.
I'm sure you probably already know this stuff, but for the viewers that are unfamiliar with antennas and are following along - I leave this here :)
@@NJFPV Thanks for the info! I've only recently discovered that dipole antenna trick only just recently. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for breaking this down for someone who is brand new to SDR and radio in general. You've kept me interested instead of giving up.
That's the reason I made it. I'm still pretty new myself But once you get the hang of it it's not too bad.
Some great tips there to help you get started in navigating how complex SDR# is for people new to the app. Thanks for releasing this video!
Nice job on the RTL-SDR setup! I just want to mention that the SMA extension cable is a shielded cable so it really doesn't act as an antenna.
I thought it was shielded too, but that SMA extension cable alone has gotten me shortwave radio when I stretched it out. That's why I mentioned it in the video
Non-terminated cables can respond in unexpected ways! Interesting!
@@danedewaard8215 yeah if you have the kit it's worth trying actually.
Dans correct …. Cable length means nothing. In fact, the longer it is, the less signal will get to the receiver.
@@carlgriebno5691 the bigger antenna you need to receive the frequency stronger, that's why AM antennas are wound up a lot inside of radios. (And do remember this cable acts like an antenna because it's not properly shielded)
But I will admit you're not 100% wrong
(The benefits of this cable are minor in most cases)
For the antenna I thought that they are supposed to be rotated and run vertically -- one on top, one on the bottom. Was this wrong?
That's correct It depends on what you're trying to receive there's different types of antennas and different types of polarization depending on what you're trying to receive.
Good info , thanks
I did every step but I’m having a problem with selecting the device on airspy. When I try to switch it over to rtl sdr usb, it just shows “none”. There’s nothing to even choose from.
Thank you for this great video, how high do I set bandwidth? And I also can't choose device, I got the waterfall though.
The bandwidth can be set to whatever you choose depending on what you're trying to listen too
Macbook compatible??
It should be yes
Hi! Bulk-In interface does not show up in the options of the list (there are others ).Need Help, thank you.
@@polarbear5464 hello so I just tried it on one of my computers and it seems like it's an issue with detection so if it's on a USB 3 port, try a 2.0 port or vice versa
@@Alexwarestudios Fantastic! Ill try it. Thanks!
I need to buy an outside antenna.
Thanks for this video. I was following instructions for this with TheApeMan, but I think they are out of date. I had 2 'Bulk-In Interface' in my Device Manager, and after I ran zadig.exe I selected #0 and it installed fine. But I still have 'Bulk-In Interface (1) in the Device Manager, and in zadig. I ran the install-sdrrdl twice, could that be the problem? And how do I fix it?? Also, my audio goes mute in my speakers when I open Sharp!
You only have to install the driver for Bulk-In Interface 0. As for your speakers being muted I'm not quite sure I've never experienced that problem before
@@Alexwarestudios Thanks for the reply. I restored from my daily backup and tried again with no problems.
Keep getting error “sdr# studio has stopped working “
What I’m doing wrong 😑
Ok now I’m getting no device selected
@@elpilonvideo yeah... this happens sometimes. You got to make sure it's plugged into a USB 2.0 port and then try reinstalling the driver through ZDiag
On my computer have no Bulk-In Interface 0 for selected, Can you help?
Is there a bulk-in interface 1 option?
@@Alexwarestudios Now I got it.
@@ScientistBiography I'm glad you got it figured out
@@Alexwarestudios How? im stuck mine wont say bulk in
You should not use both AGC at all. Separately too. Just manual.
That's usually what I've been doing lately.
Step #2. Buy a discone antenna!