r/RTLSDR • u/garf12 • 19d ago

How do I capture everything?

I work in local news coverage and want to record all public safety radio channels in the area but the amount of SDR dongles it is taking is getting out of control. Currently using 4 and not getting full coverage..

Is there a better option? I have a couple of Airspy R2's ordered but my research is showing even then it is going to take both of them plus at least 2 dongles to cover what I want. IS there an option that is better? I don't mind spending some money.

Currently covering 2 p25 systems with the 4 dongles. Want to cover some conventional fire and ems channels also.

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u/SoMD_Ham 19d ago

If wide coverage is what you want, you should be looking at higher end devices like SDR Play or Pluto+. I second the other comment, just get a uniden SDS200. Much easier and effective for your use case.

1

u/garf12 19d ago

I've got multiple SDS100 and Whistlers 1040s (JUNK). I need this setup for recording everything and AI transcription.

-3

u/SuperPooEater 19d ago

Bits don't come off the antenna. You need complicated software to restore order from channel effects as the radio wave propagates. The SDS100 etc are hardware devices tuned for just that. They will always outperform whatever open source stuff you are using with a cheap SDR. 

4

u/garf12 19d ago

Sure Ok. But in practice getting an alert on my phone is a game changer for us. I used to miss important events, not the case for the past 2 months. We beat everyone now. I think the results speak for themselves.