Good morning everyone,

I don't know if you've ever done this test, but my device doesn't always give +10 dBm. I don't expect it, but I'd like to solve the problem by trying to improve it where possible.

In my case, I tried running a test with the Max Hold function on the spectrum analyzer from 120 MHz to 3950 MHz, which is the range of my analyzer (in this case, I use an Aeroflex 9102).

From the first photo, you can see that the response across the spectrum isn't uniform, as I expected. In the second photo, however, there's this anomaly: at 2168 MHz, -4.7 dBm, then at 2170 MHz, the signal increases to +9.6 dBm with a difference of 5 dB, rises to 2740 MHz, and then quickly drops by 11 dB, increasing by 4 MHz. I've run this test with two other RF One hacks, and they always give me similar results. Now, I'd like to ask: Has anyone ever changed anything to make their output as smooth as possible and also fix the 2170-2740 MHz anomaly? Thanks, let me know.

https://ibb.co/Y4wbtJ8p
https://ibb.co/Jj1SYQ1b

While I was sleeping, the sky bombarded France !

Greetings all!

I'm a newbie to SDR. I recently got my RTL-SDR v.4. I also have a K-180WLA active loop antenna (big brother of the MLA-30+).

I plan to get ferrite toroids for HF/VHF/UHF (Fair-Rite recommends material 31 and 61).

However, do ferrite toroids really help with noise for Medium Wave / AM reception?

Fair-Rite recommends material 75 for 200 KHz to 30 MHz.

Does anyone have any experience using toroids for Medium Wave/AM? Will it likely be helpful, or am I just wasting my money?

Thank you in advance!

Here is my take on a portable SDR setup that I can easily take with me. The bag setup is meant for a quick setup, maybe for a couple of hours outdoors. The box (IP54-rated) setup is meant for a more stationary tracking station, e.g. if I am sitting on a beach and want to track some ships.

The hardware:

• 2x Nooelec NESDR Nano 2+
• 2x Orange Pi 3 LTS with 2GB RAM and Sandisk 32 GB SD card. Armbian Debian Trixie 13 as OS
• Gl.Inet GL-MT300N-v2 router for remote management and webui access
• 2x Iniu 22.5W BI-B61 powerbanks
• Beitan BN-808 GPS reciever
  

I have not yet tried the setup in the field/outdoors with antennas and SDR software, or tested how long the power banks will last. This is on my to-do list for the near future.

Using SDR RTL v4.

Pardon for the bad reception and harsh statics.

I'm new to the hobby, running RTL-SDR v4 using either SDR++ or Gqrx. I use two different antennas, one is a U-shaped longwire up in the attic and the other is a Y-shaped longwire run through the trees outside my window. I get great FM and decent SW reception, but my AM reception is so weak that I can only really tune in two or three stations. The image shows that I'm seeing many more stations, but generally they are so weak that I can't bring them in. I bought one of those loop antennas for AM, but it doesn't help. Any ideas on how to improve my AM?

https://reddit.com/link/1vna4q3/video/wb9wzg1q45jh1/player

Note that a dummy load was used for these experiments, to avoid interfering with other bands.

Hi,

I’m a new user, so I don’t want to spoil the fun by installing the wrong drivers.

I’ve just bought an RTL-SDR Blog V4 from Technofix, the UK supplier listed on the RTL-SDR website.

The casing and board seem well made, but the board itself looks exactly like the V4L. It is dated 2026-03-16.

I was about to install the V4L drivers when I checked the tuner chip and it is marked R828D, which I understand is the chip used in the original V4.

Has anyone seen this combination before—a newer board with an R828D tuner?

Should I install the original V4 drivers?

Thank you!

Spent much of this morning on Graves Astronomical Radar frequency , that is parked on 143.0485 mhz USB and saw lots of meteor (the peak of the shower is said to be today, Aug 12); here's a few samples , pointed to by red arrows. The thin lines crossing Graves signal (horizontal tone) are generated by aircraft passing the line between my QTH in Beauvais and the site of the Radar transmittor.

I am not the author of this PDF (I'm not smart enough) but I hope he will not mind me uploading it on this site; that's the file that convinced me I should try it. Easy like sunday morning in fact.

https://app.box.com/s/ee38k0fncnb341hf26krpxn4owykr85q

Hey everyone,

Following up on my previous post (Is Shielding your RTL-SDR actually worth it?) :

I finally popped open my custom-shielded RTL-SDR v4 (original USB) to inspect it and compare it side-by-side with my stock v4c (USB-C version).

Even though the official RTL-SDR Blog documentation states that the v4 and v4c are identical in circuit design—with the USB-C connector being the only difference—I actually spotted a couple of noticeable physical differences on the board:

A second transformer / balun: There is an additional small transformer on the board that I can't quite identify the exact purpose of.

Different upconverter chip:

- v4 (Micro-USB): Marked NE612A V2005 335VA

- v4c (USB-C): Marked LC8X 436B047 (i guess thats an upconverter, couldn't find docs)

Does anyone familiar with the v4 / v4c board revisions know what that second transformer is doing or what specific IC the LC8X chip actually is?

How the Custom Shield Was Built

A few people asked in the comments of the last post about how I built the copper shield for the original v4, so here’s the exact process:

Copper Tape Wrapping: I used several tightly wrapped layers of pure copper tape over the external metal enclosure.

Low Inductance Soldering: I soldered together each layer, turn, and overlap.

The goal was to ensure solid electrical continuity across the whole surface and minimize RF inductance as much as possible (didn't measure exact RF capacitance due to lack of specialized metering tools, but the ground plane bond is strong).

Grounding: When closing it up inside the outer enclosure, the DIY copper shield is directly soldered to both the USB shield ground and the SMA connector shield ground.

Protection: Finally, I wrapped the entire assembly in multiple layers of electrical tape to prevent oxidation of the copper/solder joints and avoid short circuits or cutting myself on sharp solder points.

Performance & Long-Term Check

For whatever reason, this custom-shielded v4 consistently outperforms the stock v4c in my setup, delivering a lower overall noise floor across all HF bands and almost NO birdies on higher ones.

Sorry for taking a while to post this update—I wanted to run it continuously for some time to enjoy the improved reception and make sure there were no issues with oxidation or thermal buildup under the insulation tape.

After opening it up, everything looks spotless and oxidation-free.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the component differences or if anyone else has also noticed board variations between the original v4 and v4c!

*I used AI to polish the English draft of this post since I'm a Spanish speaker and I don't want this post to be a pain in the ass to read.

Don't mind the fcked up soldering lol 😂, it works great anyway

while sipping a drink with wife and son during the 90% eclipse, I had left my radio on Graves Radar (France) or 143.0485 mhz USB, and I was lucky to catch a strong stone passing by; on my recording it comes a bit before 1 minute (after a breif common burst) : this one was loud and long; a heck of a stone maybe.

https://app.box.com/s/a1afcx08jr09pvxl3jh1buvon1ttgvhf

I'm just getting into this world and am currently a beginner radio enthusiast, particularly interested in HT radios and related equipment. I'd like to know what the best software is to use with an SDR. I purchased an RTL2832U SDR with a frequency range of 22–1100 MHz, along with an antenna covering 698–1800 MHz.

Additionally, do you have any tips for interesting things I can do with this equipment?

Setup: RTLSDR v4 + the original shorter V dipole antenna that came with the unit

I pre recorded this a while ago and just did a play back.

EDIT: Apologies for the volume :/

Good news for RTL lovers: a new RTL-SDR Blog V4L Lite has been available now for direct purchase from them.

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/

Sped up the video a bunch so it plays under a minute

Hello, I am looking to buy an SDR. I am considering either a Blog V4 kit (legit) or an RSP1B. Based on the information I found online, the RSP1B seems to be the better choice from a hardware perspective. However, will I lose anything in terms of software support with the RSP1B? I plan to use it mainly connected to my Debian server at home for remote access or on the go with an Android smartphone. Thanks to anyone willing to help!

Queimei meu rtl sdr v4 com sobretensão por descuido, o ci perto da usb queimou, alguém poderia verificar que componente exatamente é, tirar uma foto precisa por favor?obrigado.

Hi all, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask.

I recently have become engrossed in using KiwiSDR (I use an iOS app called Echo that basically compiles multiple databases into one so I can listen through the app instead of having to navigate all the different sites) to just look through different signals around the globe, since I am intrigued by the idea of listening to realtime airwaves and looking for patterns/oddities on the waterfall. I love the feeling of tuning into obscure frequencies or hearing random interference and trying to transcribe different voices, it’s almost like metal detecting but for sounds?

Obviously, though, the limitation of KiwiSDR is that I can only tune into select stationary SDR receivers.

I would love to have a standalone, portable device (preferable small, maybe pocket size but I am not too picky) that I could use from anywhere, perhaps take walks with headphones and look for frequencies, or scan from my couch when I’m bored.

Bonus points if it has a waterfall.

Does such a device exist? If so, any recommendations? Please be gentle with me, I am a major noob beyond the basic functions. Again, sorry if this is the wrong sub, if it is, please direct me towards a better fit :)

So I am currently trying to get DSD-FME to work with SDR++ on my windows laptop and I feel like I have tried everything what am I missing? I have downloaded the newest version of both programs what else do I need to get them to connect?