09-08-2018, 06:58 PM
Hi.
After an hour or so I can really see how the SdrPlay outperforms the RTL. I did some listening on 20 meters with the SdrPlay and the RTL connected to the laptop. I was using my modified Wellbrook loop which I could switch between the two receivers.
The RTL actually did well but it had heterodyne whistles from images that originated in the medium wave band. This was the biggest bugbear using the RTL dongle. The other issue was drift, not a big problem but nevertheless noticeable. the SdrPlay RSP1A didn't have a problem with either. Remember the RTL is getting coaxed to receive 20m as it is direct sampling so sensitivity is well down on these frequencies.
I next tried PMR446, there is still a little activity around here, mainly security from the town centre. I have a dedicated 446Mhz aerial and it is high and pulls in well, I've received 446 over 100 miles away from here so I thought it would be a good test. I heard some activity from the town centre just before 17:00 on the RTL and on switching to the RSP1A I was pleasantly surprised on the improvement in signal strength and readability.
So far all is positive other than the faffing around with drivers on Linux but being fair it is partially my fault.
I cannot really fault the RSP1A with the exception of just one aerial input, adding some low loss switching really isn't a big issue. OK it is 4 to 5 time the cost of an RTL dongle but the performance really outweighs the cost if you enjoy this area of the hobby.
After an hour or so I can really see how the SdrPlay outperforms the RTL. I did some listening on 20 meters with the SdrPlay and the RTL connected to the laptop. I was using my modified Wellbrook loop which I could switch between the two receivers.
The RTL actually did well but it had heterodyne whistles from images that originated in the medium wave band. This was the biggest bugbear using the RTL dongle. The other issue was drift, not a big problem but nevertheless noticeable. the SdrPlay RSP1A didn't have a problem with either. Remember the RTL is getting coaxed to receive 20m as it is direct sampling so sensitivity is well down on these frequencies.
I next tried PMR446, there is still a little activity around here, mainly security from the town centre. I have a dedicated 446Mhz aerial and it is high and pulls in well, I've received 446 over 100 miles away from here so I thought it would be a good test. I heard some activity from the town centre just before 17:00 on the RTL and on switching to the RSP1A I was pleasantly surprised on the improvement in signal strength and readability.
So far all is positive other than the faffing around with drivers on Linux but being fair it is partially my fault.
I cannot really fault the RSP1A with the exception of just one aerial input, adding some low loss switching really isn't a big issue. OK it is 4 to 5 time the cost of an RTL dongle but the performance really outweighs the cost if you enjoy this area of the hobby.
