Posted on 04/03/2014 1:08:47 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer
Fight back.
bflr
I'm more interested in the dongle as something to toy around with and potentially give to an elderly friend of mine to give him something to listen to. He's a stroke victim but can operate a computer and has a wire in the air. He's been unable to make much use of his police scanner since many of the local PD's have gone to digital trunking. I'll use two of these dongles for that.
Really appreciate you posting all the information you did --- if you have an Amateur Operators/Ham Radio ping list would you please add me to it?
Yes, I believe there is an SDRsharp plugin for ADS-B. Look at the “instructions” link in the article above, and click on “Aviation” in “Applications”, I think.
You’re welcome. I actually don’t have a ping list. There should be a ham radio ping list somewhere on FR; I don’t know who does it, or how to find that out.
Just an observation:
The above is only half right. I've spent considerable time and effort into making sure my radio shack is capable on all possible bands and will work no matter what the grid status is.
This dongle may be good for entertainment purposes but the average ham will not see it as anything but a weak link if it requires a laptop computer.
Clicked through as requested.
I have a list, feel free to use it, it is on my profile page.
You are probably correct. The "average ham" is probably not the target of this post, nor is he a reader of my blog, probably. This dongle requires some technical finesse to get working correctly for different kinds of modulations, something your average "appliance operator" will not take the trouble to do. Our hobby loses much because of it.
There are more and more-capable experimenters in the "Maker" and "DIY" communities than in ham radio, and that is sad. I have always been an experimenter, and I have had my ham ticket 33 years now.
That being said, this dongle is capable of serious SIGINT and monitoring of public radio activity, which is needed these days because of the thugs we have in government these days, who think nothing of violating out Constitutional rights.
No, it is not a $4000 ham radio that does everything but make you toast. At $15, it cannot possibly be anything close to that. But for those who are willing to learn, these little Chinese SDR dongles have much to teach. Too bad most American ham radio operators won't take the time to learn.
Those of us who are into the digital modes like ol' engineer is will find alot of value in this little dongle. Combine it with the Ham It Up v1.2 - NooElec RF Upconverter also available on Amazon and you have a nice, cheap amateur radio band HF receiver also with the right software loaded on your laptop.
There are ALOT of hams that use desktops/laptops while on air. Some like me use programs like Ham Radio Deluxe to control my rigs either at home, or over the Internet (I do that from our cabin up north) and some of us also use third-party DSP filters and noise cancelling software with our older rigs to "clean up" the receive and pull out weak signals.
Computer use while on air is much more prevalent than you may think. I know some older hams (late 70's, early 80's) who use their computers on-air for many of the same things I do. These are the guys that were running packet radio on Commie 64's "back in the day" and they've kept up with computer technology.
One other tidbit: Many of the advancements in WiFi technology have their roots in ... amateur radio! There's a TON of wireless based network experimentation going on.
I think you'd be surprised. I've been in this "hobby" for 6 years now (Yes, I'm a "no-coder") and have found so much that piques my interest that I have trouble settling on one or two things to do a deep-dive into. I've been intrigued by these little dongles for awhile now and have read up a bit on them -- your description (and your blog) is one of the more well written, easy to understand sources of information that I've found to date.
What turns alot of us "new guys" off are the old-timers who sit out there on the air and do nothing but bitch about us not having to learn morse code. If that's the mark of a "good ham" knowing morse code then I guess I'm just a lid.
Funny thing though, some of these guys who may do 35-40wpm CW don't know spit about modeling and building antenna's -- one of the area's that I'm particularly interested in. (I happen to be modeling a delta-loop quad array for Field Day. Think of it like a two element parasitic delta loop array "on steroids.") So I guess turn-about's fair play and anyone who doesn't know spit about modeling and building antenna's isn't a good ham. Oh the hoot's and howls I hear when I throw that out there.
BTW: Not saying you're one of "those hams" ... based on your writing I think you're one of those guys who takes complex subjects and makes them simpler to understand. That's the kinda thing that'll attract more folks to the hobby. YOU'RE the kinda guy we need more of in amateur radio.
bttt
As best you know, will these work together? I'm looking to construct a low-cost HF rig for an elderly friend.
BTTT
Very good!
I bookmarked it. It looks like a great blog.
I’ve got this!
It works amazingly well. I also have the upconverter (eBay for abt $39) to allow me to receive Ham and SW broadcast bands.
This little combination rivals some of the most expensive receivers out there, and all for under $100.
Very impressive.
Thanks. Glad you’re one of the experimenters. It’s up to us to advance the state of the art in our hobby, not those who sit around and gripe that the new hams don’t have to learn Morse Code.
Thanks!
Yes, the Ham-it-Up 1.2 is the latest upconverter for the NooElec and other RTL-SDR dongles. Be aware: it doesn’t transmit, though; receive only.
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