my new receiver

[IanH]

Spotted this thread on the "other" forum and was intrigued.
http://www.radarspotters.eu/forum/index.php/topic,6974.0.html

So about £20 later and after two hours of following the instructions about compiling the software on Linux (ubuntu worked best so far), it works.

The output on screen looks like this:


And connected to Planeplotter (different contacts!):


Ok so this was just a small subset of what my SBS-1 was showing but this is in my study downstairs with the supplied aerial next to a window. As I recall similar to a Radarbox in same restricted location.

Need to try more experiments and also to see what ATC reception is like using the SDR software. Hours of fun ahead.

Ian

[IanH]

I didn't get much ADSB better reception when I moved the setup to the conservatory so that has been put to one side for now.

I realised that there was an FM aerial up in the loft connected to a tuner in the lounge. So time to see how that worked with the DVB-T stick.

Installed SDRSharp on Windows 7 (eventually - I need to write down the correct incantation) and found I could receive the local music stations!

So time to try an ATC frequency - success. Encouraged by all this, it was time to stream the radio into my study. That took the best part of a day because of the weirdness of the remote PC's audio but eventually VLC was streaming audio over the network.

Slowly figuring out the frequencies for ATC around here - it's great being able to find the aircraft on screen to match frequency against location.

SDRSharp obviously allows the selected frequencies to be stored and named. There is also a scanning add on which I haven't tried yet. Very pleased that I didn't spend a lot of money recently on a scanner. This set up is not portable but I don't get out much  .

This morning I've tuned to the ACARS frequency (131.725), downloaded and run acarsd, and I'm getting ACARS messages from contacts within at least a 50 mile radius. Not sure how useful this is going to be but just exploring the possibilities.

For £20 plus an existing FM radio aerial, this is all good fun. You guys with the good kit may have a laugh, but this is about as far as I am ever likely to go with radio and it's opened my eyes.

Ian

[shakysen]

Hi Ian Thanks for the up date .You've got alot to answer for Introducing me to it . I got HD/FM dongle last week for a Tenner Been fiddling with that all week. why pay out for DAB radios


                                                                     Billko

[Anmer]

.....why pay out for DAB radios                                                     

Because they're cheaper than a PC plus dongle. 

[shakysen]

Watch this space Boss

[IanH]

Bilko

To install SDRSharp, I followed the instructions from here: http://rtlsdr.org/softwarewindows

Didn't work quite as described at the time, but just repeated those steps today with the current versions of the software and all ok.

Don't forget to run the Zadig software first. If nothing relevant shows up select "List all devices" like it says. You might need to ignore the instructions about "bulk interface". My dongle showed up as RTL2832 so selected that and then clicked on replace driver button. it replaces the standard Windows driver for a special one.

If you successfully installed the Zadig driver but SDRSharp still doesn't work, try unzipping this file into a new folder. It is a copy of my working version.  [outdated link removed]

Let me know how you get on.

Ian

[shakysen]

Hello Ian .Hope you enjoyed the hols. Will follow you post to the letter. Maybe it's this version I've loaded v1.0,0,0782-1 no front end showing on screen


                                                                 Billko

[IanH]

Playing around with the sound from the dongle and I lost the sound and streaming capability. After best part of a day trying out every (?) streaming programme out there, I was not having any luck. Even if the network stream worked there was no sound.

Back to first principles and eventually cracked it.

In Windows 7, From Control Panel, Hardware & Sound, select Sound. In Recording tab, you are looking for "Stereo Mix". If it is not there, right click on a device and select Show Disabled Devices. If Stereo Mix is now showing, right click and select Enable.

On the Playback tab, note what the output is - mine is Speakers (Realtek High definition audio).  This is what you select as the Windows Direct Sound audio output in SDRSharp.

Might be worth selecting a music radio station in SDRSharp at this point and check in Control Panel that you can see green bars for the Speakers in the Playback tab, and also for Stereo Mix in the Recording tab. If yes, then the output from SDRSharp is being sent to the Stereo Mix which is used to stream the audio.

In VLC, select Stereo Mix as the Capture Device, stream as HTTP and that should be it.

Ian

[junglejet]

I have an application under development that is specifically designed for air band activity scanning and logging with E4000 dongles. The typical simultaneous reception capability of the dongles is 2 MHz (comparable to the 8 MHz of SBS-3). I want the application to automatically find activity in the band, log and record it.

The dongles are on ebay, but need to specifically be equipped with RTL2832U and E4000 chips. Other dongles do not work or work lousy only. e.g. http://www.ebay.de/itm/DVB-T-USB-Stick-RTL2832U-Elonics-E4000-Receiver-RTL2832-RTL-SDR-Digital-TV-/150809381607?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item231cf08ae7



In the picture you will notice activity on 125.85 and 126.85 MHz, which are local airband freqs. The peaks at 125.75, 126.01 and 126.3 are computer induced spikes.

There is no audio output available at this time, though. 

[shakysen]

Hi Junglejet I got 3  them from the states.an 3 newsky from Uk. Keep us updated


                                                                               Billko

[Brian]

Let us know when the software is released.
Many of us in the United States using the RTL2832U & Elonics E4000 USB stick receiver

[IanH]

I have used the following suppliers for my RTL2832/E4000 dongles:

UK supplier is https://www.cosycave.co.uk/category.php?id_category=56 (but prices have gone up since I ordered ny Newsky TV28T

And I bought a TV301U from the US: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TV301U-DVB-T-USB-Stick-DAB-DAB-FM-RTL2832U-Elonics-E4000-Receiver-RTLSDR-SDR-/150858463554

Same supplier as posted by junglejet. Took just over a week to arrive with no customs charges.

Ian

[junglejet]

As usual and as I am new to SDR this will take some time....


Anyone who wants to try can download the current experimental version

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8740826/runtime/jvsdr.zip

Please go to the readme.txt file for installation instructions and acknowledge the disclaimer.

If you have a working SDR# or similar installation you do not need to reinstall the drivers (with zadig.exe).

Most of the user interface is working at this time.
The FFT and the scope (partially) are working.
Memory can be stored (when valid Demod Freq) and restored.
Memory can be overwritten or edited by right mouse click.
Tune VFO (center freq) with SHIFT+MouseWheel (100 kHz steps) or Mousewheel in VFO display
Tune Demod Freq (red line) with MouseWheel (slow) or CTRL+Mousewheel (fast) or click.
No audio output yet.

Devices from U.S. and Hongkong on ebay:
http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=dvb-t+rtl2832&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[IanH]

First what screen resolution is this intended for? I can't see the whole screen at various resolutions I tried. At 1024x768 I have to scroll, at 1280x1024 I can't see all the options and there are no scroll bars.

Have to copy msvcr100.dll to jvsdr directory before it works.

There is a Start button but no Stop button.

Where is the audio output going? I am wanting to stream the audio over the internet using VLC. Is it the "default" sound that the output is being sent to?

For SDRSharp, the squelch option was important for airband to reduce noise. Is the output here already squelched? I can't here anything so I don't know - the receiver PC doesn't have any speakers attached and is in another room - hence the need to stream the audio to my desk.

I will try again tomorrow when there is more traffic - all is quiet now.

Ian

Edit just realised that you state that there is no audio output - is that coming in a later release?

[junglejet]

I suppose msvcr100 was required for zadig?

The jvsdr application is written with another package and does not use msvcr100.

The main window is 1180x810, as it comes from the development desktop at this time. This is totally experimental and please take this into account.

Audio and squelch will be added later, see above. It needs a mixer and a few digital filters before.

Andy