Transmission1

are these any good?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191620270122? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Internally same as a RTL dongle and an up converter.

If you haven't already, search the forum for RTL SDR... there have been a good few threads and there is a ton of info about these thing!

Good: Cheap, fun, actually work.

Bad: Frontend like a barn door.

Overall, a cheap way to get into SDR and find out if that is for you before you invest some serious Bucks on a 'proper' one.

There's a newer design now available. Look for RTL dongles based on the newer 820T2 chipset.

Performance supposedly better.
These and similar devices should be viewed as an introduction to sdr.
If you get the bug, you can upgrade to something more substantial.

many thanks for your comments
all taken in

cheers pete

This appears to be getting good reviews at the moment.

http://sdrplay.com

I don't have one though.

owza wrote:This appears to be getting good reviews at the moment.

http://sdrplay.com

I don't have one though.

yes ive looked at these maybe when paydaey gets here maybe something to look at

oh boy iv just come back to ham radio after a ten year lapse (personal reasons)
and everythings changed
dmr sdr allstar
huge change in radio

I think it is better to decide yourself because if we suggest also may be some reasons will make don't to buy it may be it's your budget or it may be it doesn't fulfill your requirements always decide your self.

It is good for getting good reviews.

I can't comment on the HF side as I bought the kit and knackered it trying to solder the USB port on, these things have tiny tiny little SMD parts (smallest SMD form factor) so I am waiting on a ready built one I bought instead.

VHF/UHF is very good and my dongle I got with mine goes from 22.800 MHz up to 1.400 GHz out of the box with good results on a good antenna.

As thedeerhunter270 says above this is just a SDR dongle embedded into another board although not a true up converter board, the board is actualy a Direct Sampling Board with added filters so not a true Up Converter, to use it in HF you have to change the sampling method in your SDR software when using the HF side.

If you are going to buy one take it from me and GO for a pre assembled/built one, only go for the kit one if you have a nice 3 in 1 Rework Station.
I had to learn the hard way that the extra £5 or so for the Ready Built one is more than worth the extra cash over the kit version.

From the link you provided it is difficult to say if it is a KIT or if it is Ready Built (a lot of sellers are selling kits with the Ready Built units pictured) the seller has not made this clear in the listing or listing title, so I would drop them an email to confirm this.

Hope this helps.

OK I got my PRE BUILT one yesterday so have had chance to play around and test the HF side of it, below are my results.

HF is OK and I say that lightly.

It seems to have a lot of ghost signals from other stations right over the HF bands, BBC Radio 5 is one of them, I get that from 500KHz right through to 23MHz I have tried 40M, 80M, and all the HF other HF Ham bands and I am not receiving any hams, even when I check it against the Hack Green site and all the HF Ham bands are busy as hell on the Hack Green site, CHECK Hack Green HERE I am still getting nothing on any of the HF HAM Bands (Hack Green do however have a rather large tower and good antennas for HF).

My HF antenna though, is only a longwire of about 20' that runs around my living room and goes into my RTL-SDR via a SWL OMNI-MATCH Shortwave antenna tuner that is specifically made for SW Listeners it was made by a company called LAR, and it is labeled as a LAR SWL OMNI-MATCH that I used to use in my bedroom before making myself a proper Magnetic tunable loop antenna for HF in the bedroom.

Anyway even the RTL-SDR with that 20' that is on it now that then went out of the window and spaned another 200M, (a total of 676 Feet of antenna) still made no difference to reception of the RTL-SDR on HF than the cut down 20 Feet (I tested it untill signal dropped on XX bands and then added back to get the perfect length) Outdoor or Indoor NO DIFFERENCE.

SO NO, HF on these to me at the moment is CRAP.

I only purchased this because I like listening to the nightly NET they have on 3.696 MHz and in the bedroom I have not been able to here them for the last year or so, However I know they are still there on Weekends as I can here them on the Hack Green online SDR.
Not sure what has happened to my National Panasonic DR 28 LBE in my bedroom on my homebrew Magnetic Loop that used to pull in stations from even Australia or even my SDR or if it is just that the Propagation has been **** for the last year or so, but my receive on HF has shot it here.

I'm not such a fan of the upconverters. I'm still playing, but the RTL-SDR one I bought is set up for direct sampling and seems to pull in pretty well on HF.

I do all my hf listening with WEBSDR the Netherlands one is full HD spectrum.Richard