As an amateur radio operator, scanner addict, electronic gadget freak and lifelong radio hobbyist, this has to be one of the greatest "inventions" I have seen in the past 30+ years. It used to be that if you wanted a wideband, all-mode receiver with a spectrum display and more features than you could count, you would be plopping down a few thousand dollars for a piece of gear that needed to be mounted on a 19" rack. Now, for around $20, you can plug this little USB gadget into your computer and get just as good, if not better, results with free software.
While I had read articles about Software Defined Radio many, many years ago, I never thought that I would be able to afford such a device as most early hardware cost as much if not more than a dedicated wide-band radio receiver. Of course, back when the earliest SDR hardware/software first came out computers were 10x the size and only had about 1% of the processing power as today's computers do. The fact that hobbyists were able to "hack" a hardware/software solution that does what this device does along with a program like SDR# absolutely blows my mind.
To be sure this is NOT a simple plug-and-play device. The USB stick may plug right into your computer, but there is no documentation and no instructions that come with the hardware. None. Fortunately, there is plenty of documentation on the Internet to get you started. Even so, just setting up the proper drivers is a manual process and mastering the software will probably take you quite some time and involve more than a little bit of reading.
If you know a LOT about computers and a LOT about radio you can be up-and-running in probably about 30 minutes after plugging this gadget in. If you don't know much about either you will really have your work cut out for you. If I tried writing a description of all the things this device and combinations of different software could do I could easily fill a 1,000 page textbook. The possibilities are nearly endless. As far as I am concerned, these SDR devices are the greatest invention since sliced bread, even if they cost $100. For that much money you could buy almost 5 of them though.
I am looking forward to eventually upgrading this kit so that it can more effectively pick up transmissions in the long, medium and additional shortwave bands. The bands I have tried it on so far though have yielded incredible results. I couldn't possibly be happier with my purchase. On a scale of 1-5 stars I would probably rate this item a 10. Five stars is all I am allowed to give though.
| Brand Name | RTL-SDR Blog |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 0.81 ounces |
| Package Dimensions | 5.25 x 2.75 x 0.75 inches |
| Color | Silver |
