In his latest video, Matt from the TechMinds YouTube channel tests out an LHCP L-band helix feed designed for receiving Inmarsat satellites. Matt pairs the feed with an 85cm satellite dish, an L-band LNA, and an Airspy Mini.
The L-band helix feed comes from a small German engineering company called nolle.engineering. The feed is priced at 94.70 Euros (incl. VAT) (~$102 USD), plus shipping costs. It is a passive antenna so it needs to be combined with an LNA to be usable with a typical SDR.
In the video Matt shows that the reception with the LHCP helix + dish setup is better than expected. He also compares it to a previous test he did with a longer RHCP helix antenna also produced by nolle.engineering. The RHCP antenna is used to be used without a dish, however, as expected the SNR is less than the dish + small LHCP feed setup. Matt then shows some Inmarsat signals being decoded including STD-C and Aero voice.
On June 25 the NOAA GOES-U weather satellite was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Heavy rocket. Once it reaches geostationary orbit, this will be a new weather satellite that RTL-SDR hobbyists can receive with an RTL-SDR dongle, satellite dish, and LNA.
From launch, it will take about two weeks for GOES-U to reach geostationary orbit and once it gets there it will be renamed to GOES-19. It is due to be positioned where GOES-16 currently is, and GOES-16 will become the redundant backup satellite. This positioning will make the satellite visible to those in North and South America.
GOES-16 is where GOES-19 will be positioned.
We are anxiously looking forward to the first images from GOES-19 received by hobbyists, but once positioned it will probably take several weeks to be tested and calibrated before hobbyists can receive any signals on L-band.
Over on X, @WeatherWorks posted a short video showing that the launch plume was visible from GOES-16.
A successful launch of @NOAA's GOES-U satellite yesterday. But was even cooler? It was seen from GOES-16! Check it out. It may be hard to see, but a cloud blips into view on satellite as the @SpaceX falcon heavy rocket as it lifts off from Cape Canaveral. #Space#SpaceX#GOESU… pic.twitter.com/e1s261y797
Thank you to 'Tuned Signal' (TS) for sharing his video with impressive production quality, detailing his story on how and why he became hooked on software-defined radio. TS notes how it all started with an Outernet receiver that he purchased, which came with an RTL-SDR dongle. From there he ended up purchasing higher end SDRs and learning more about the different types of signals he could receive.
If you're interested, check out some of his other videos on his YouTube channel which cover topics like how to receive train radios, how to listen to CB radio and more.
Paolo Romani (IZ1MLL) has recently released the 2024 version of his SDR# Big Book. The book is available for download on the Airspy downloads page, just scroll down to the title "SDR# Big Book" and choose your language. (At the time of this post only English and Italian are available in the 2024 edition, but multiple languages are available for the older guides).
Paolo writes that the book has been updated for the latest SDR# v1920 version, and now the editions will be labelled by date, instead of version number. He also writes that page 25 of the big book now includes information about the differences between RTL-SDR Blog V3 and V4 dongles.
Over on YouTube Matt from the Tech Minds YouTube channel has tested out NooElec's new 'FlyCatcher', which is an RTl-SDR ADS-B hat for the Raspberry Pi. The FlyCatcher has two RTL-SDRs built into it, each with it's own LNA and SAW filter. One SAW filter is tuned for 978 MHz UAT, and the other for 1090 MHz ADS-B.
The device also has buttons that allow you to bypass the LNA stage, and just use filtering, in case you have an external LNA. They appear to be using the Qorvo TQL9063 LNA chip, which has a built-in bypass.
In the video Matt tests out the FlyCatcher, but only on 1090 MHz as 978 MHz UAT is not used in his country. He shows how to set up the software on the Raspberry Pi and then shows some results.
In one of his latest videos Matt from the Tech Minds YouTube channel tests out the RX888 MK2 software defined radio at HF frequencies. Matt notes that while the bandwidth of this SDR is limited to 10 MHz at VHF/UHF, you can actually use it in direct sampling mode to achieve a massive bandwidth of 64 MHz, allowing you to receive the entire HF band at simultaneously.
In his video, Matt uses SDR-Console V3 and he shows the entire HF band being received at once. He also shows the SDR-Console V3 matrix bands organizer, which allows you to create multiple windows of zoomed-in spectrum. That combined with the multi-receiver feature could allow you to have multiple audio outputs for digital decoding across the HF band.
Airspy is currently holding their annual summer sale which gives 15% off their line of products until June 30 2024. The sale brings the price of the popular Airspy receiver products down to the following in US dollars (note that actual pricing may vary across local resellers):
Airspy R2: $169.00 $143.65
Airspy Mini: $99.00 $84.15
Airspy HF+ Discovery: $169.00 $143.65
Airspy SpyVerter R2: $49.00 $41.65
YouLoop Antenna: $39.95 $33.95
The sale is active at all participating resellers, which includes our own store where we have the YouLoop on sale for US$33.95 including free shipping to most countries in the world.
Over on his YouTube channel, Aaron, creator of DragonOS and WarDragon has uploaded a video showing how it is possible to decode Meshtastic with an RTL-SDR and GNU Radio project called Meshtastic_SDR.
If you weren't aware of it, Meshtastic is software that enables off-grid mesh network based communications and can run on cheap LoRa hardware. The mesh based nature of the system means that communications can be received over long distances, without any infrastructure, as long as there are sufficient Meshtastic nodes in an area that are able to route the message to the destination node. One example application of Meshtastic is to use it as a mesh-based text messaging system. This might be useful for teams of hikers, pilots, or skiiers who operate in remote areas without cell phone coverage.
In the video, Aaron shows how to install the Meshtastic GNU Radio software on DragonOS (Linux), and how to run the GNU Radio flowgraph and Python decoder script. Later in the video Aaron shows some test text messages being received by the software.
The Meshtastic_SDR project can also be used to transmit Meshtastic messages with an appropriate TX-capable SDR.
Thank you to Ihar Yatsevich for writing in and sharing with us his open-source WSPR beacon project. The WSPR beacon consists of a custom PCB with ATMega328 microcontroller, GPS module, single transistor amplifier, and Si5351 with TCXO.
The result is a very simple, portable WSPR beacon that can be heard all over the world. However, it appears that no band filters are built into this, so you will need to add a bandpass filter for the WSPR band that you are using.
WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter) (pronounced "whisper") is an amateur radio digital HF mode designed to be decodable even if the signal is received with very low power. Because of this design, even low-power transmitters can be received from all over the world. It can also be used to help determine HF radio propagation conditions as WSPR reception reports are typically automatically uploaded to wsprnet.
If you are interested, Ihar has written about his project in more detail over on Reddit.
Back in 2019 we posted about the release of Artemis 3, an open-source multi-platform program that makes searching through the Signal Identification Wiki offline possible and easy to do.
Recently Artemis 4 has been released which is an entire rewrite of the code, resulting in some substantial improvements, and paving the way for future features like machine learning based identification. Author Marco Dalla Tiezza writes:
Artemis was initially designed to provide an offline solution for consulting the library of signals provided by the community on sigidwiki, but the database was formerly a simple .csv with all its limitations. Now the database is a proper relational sqlite which is much easier handled and offers many other possibilities like: additional fields (for example, each frequency of a signal can contain a description and this is true for every single parameter), faster db operations (for example, filtering signals is done by a simple query), increased extensibility due to the fact that new fields/parameters can be introduced in the future or by the user itself.
The only searchable database with Artemis 3 was the Sigid wiki database.Now, with Artemis 4, users can create their own custom databases, enter an arbitrary number of signals and parameters, attach documents or any useful information, and export it by sharing it with their friends.
The documentation has been completely revised to be as clear as possible and to be able to take the user from installation to advanced use of the program by giving instructions on how they can contribute to the project. DOCUMENTATION
As usual, the program provides a real-time interface to be able to track space weather in near real-time, but now this module is more focused on RF propagation such as meteor scatter, EME, sporadic E, aurora spots, DRAP, aurora forecasts and many more (we are actively adding useful descriptors).
Artemis 4 now relies on the PySide 6 graphics framework, which not only allows for a modern and newer, user-customizable GUI but also allows for less use of third-party libraries to run the program.
Given the flexibility and especially the modularity of the new software, it is very likely that signal analysis functions will be introduced in the future (such as automatic recognition of signals via machine learning/neural network or simpler ones like FFT for obtaining ACF from an audio file, etc.)
The homepage of the project (https://www.aresvalley.com) as been updated as well and there you can see some screenshots or directly download the software to give it a try.
If you weren't aware, the Signal Identification Wiki (sigidwiki) is our sister site, which we started a few years ago to collect and catalog various types of signals that an SDR user might see and hear on the airwaves. The idea is that a user could search the database to learn about and identify unknown signals. Over time it has grown significantly, now over 500 known signals with both waterfall images and sound samples available in the database. We have since handed over the operation of the Wiki to the community, with Carl Colena taking on the lead.
Thank you to creators Sergey and Andrew who have submitted news about their upcoming software defined radio called 'xMASS SDR'. xMASS will be a SDR with 8 RX and 8 TX channels, with a max sample rate of 60 MSPS per 8 channels, or 100 MSPS per 4 channels, and a frequency range of 30 - 3800 MHz.
The board comes in a modular PCIe form factor, with 4x FPGAs, and GPS/PPS clock sync input. The system is designed in mind for 4G/5G applications but should be useful for other applications too.
xMASS SDR will be crowd-funded on CrowdSupply, and they note that they expect to launch the campaign soon. So if you are interested, sign up for email updates on their CrowdSupply page.
Sergey and Andrew write:
We’re creators (Sergey Kostanbaev and Anrew Avtushenko) of the M.2 uSDR board that we successfully crowdsourced a year ago. Now we want to share our new invention called xMASS SDR, a modular, high-performance MIMO transceiver. It has 8 RX and 8 TX channels that can be synchronized for directional finding, beamforming and more applications. Each SDR module, called xSDR, is based on the LMS7002M chip and can deliver 2 RX and 2 TX channels. Like uSDR, xSDR shares the same form factor and M.2 pinout and both use the same open-source software and gateware stack.
xMASS SDR is ideal for 4G/5G but can be interesting among academic, industrial and advanced hobbyists.
The xMASS SDR board connected via PCIe on a motherboard.The xMASS SDR board with 4x modules by itself.
Welcome back to Sarah from the SignalsEverywhere YouTube channel who has recently returned to producing videos from a hiatus. In her latest video, Sarah shows off her new OP25 Mobile Control Head Android App which allows you to implement a full P25 digital radio scanner at a fraction of the cost of a commercial digital scanner. In the past, Sarah had released a similar application written for the Raspberry Pi but has decided to shift her focus to writing an equivalent Android app that is less clunky and can be deployed for a lower cost.
The app controls and displays information from the OP25 software that runs on a Raspberry Pi with RTL-SDR connected. It works by using a server application on the Raspberry Pi that manipulates the OP25 instance and its configuration files.
Sarah writes:
The application is a wrapper for OP25 that uses a raspberry pi and an android device to provide users with a mobile control head for their OP25 P25 scanner setup. Currently it's just a basic application but I'll be adding features like automatic site switching, etc.
Jay has also thought about cooling, allowing for space between the two dongles, and adding vent holes. He has also ensured that the SMA ports on the dongles are protected while allowing space to hand-tighten the connectors.
Jay writes that he has tested his enclosure with RTL-SDR Blog V4 units, but given that the dimensions of the V3 (and V2) are the same, it will work for those units too.
Thank you to Viol for writing in and letting us know that his uSDR software has recently been updated to V1.7.0. The uSDR software (not to be confused with the unrelated uSDR hardware) is a lightweight general-purpose multimode program for Windows that supports the RTL-SDR, Airspy, BladeRF, HackRF, LimeSDR, and other SDR radios.
Viol highlights the latest features added in the 1.7.0 update below:
Fobos SDR frontend native support, the very new SDR from RigExpert
bladeRF API v2.5.0 support, oversampling mode up to 122.88 MHz sample rate (do not forget to update FX3 firmware)
advanced IQ playback mode, precise timing and streaming
improved DSP routines and memory management, minimized CPU load
excellent ruler tool for spectrum frequency and amplitude measurements
uSDR Updated to Version 1.7.0. Images shows FobosSDR support.
Over on Twitter/X @lamdbaprog, creator of Airspy products and the SDRSharp software has teased his next upcoming software-defined radio hardware called the "Airspy HF+ Ranger". The Airspy HF+ Ranger prototype was also seen at the Dayton Hamvention through their local Airspy.us reseller.
The specifications appear to be very impressive, with a wide frequency range of 0.5 kHz to 1750 MHz and excellent sensitivity, linearity, and dynamic range figures. The Ranger is based on the same main RF chips used in the HF+ Discovery, so it will retain the relatively small maximum bandwidth capability of 710 kHz. However, for many use-cases this small bandwidth is more than sufficient.
Currently, there is no word on a release date or pricing but given the prototype status, it must be close. We expect this to be priced higher than the Airspy HF+ Discovery which sells for US$169.
Update: A page for the Airspy Ranger is now on the Airspy website. It shows a block diagram and further details. RTL-SDR.COM reader Ladislav has also sent us a PDF with the specs and a Dynamic Performance graph.
Over on Twitter/X, patrons of the Dayton Hamvention event have posted a few pictures of the display.
In recent years GPS spoofing and jamming have become quite commonplace. Recently popular YouTuber Scott Manley uploaded a video explaining exactly what GPS spoofing and jamming is and explains a bit about who is doing it and why.
In the video Scott explains how aircraft now routinely use GPS as a dominant navigational sensor and how some commercial flights have been suspended due to GPS jamming. Scott explains how ADS-B data can be used to determine the source of GPS jamming (via gpsjam.org) and shows hotspots stemming from Russia. He goes on to show how drone shows have also failed in China either due to GPS jamming by rival companies or due to Chinese military warship jamming. Scott then explains a bit about GPS and how jamming and spoofing work.
Over on his YouTube channel, Rob VK8FOES has started a new video series about Iridium Satellite Decoding. Iridium is a constellation of low-earth orbiting satellites that provide voice and data services. Iridium was first decoded with low cost hardware by security researchers back in 2016 as mentioned in this previous post. Being unencrypted it is possible to intercept private text and voice communications.
Rob's video is part of a series, and so far only part one has been uploaded. The first video outlines the hardware and software requirements for Iridium decoding and demonstrates the gr-iridium software. An Airspy and RTL-SDR Blog Patch Antenna are used for the hardware, and the software runs on DragonOS.
Rob writes that in part two he will demonstrate the use of iridium-toolkit, which can be used to extract data and recordings from the Iridium data provided from gr-iridium.
At the end of last week, we posted how SDRplay released the RSPdx-R2, an updated version of their RSPdx product. Recently Matt from the Tech Minds YouTube channel received his RSPdx-R2 and has uploaded a video comparing the RSPdx-R2 to the previous model. His results show that the new model has an improved lower noise floor, resulting in signals with higher SNR.
In his tests, Matt uses the SDR Connect Preview 3 software. This is the latest version of SDRplay's new custom multiplatform software that they are developing. While testing the RSPdx-R2, Matt allows shows some of the new features in SDR Connect Preview 3, including a new Audio peak hold graph, FM MPX view, and a new frequency manager.
Jon Hudson, SDRplay Sales and Marketing Director said “Global supply chain support issues have prompted some redesign of existing products to ensure continued supply for our UK manufacturing partners. With each new member of the RSP family, SDRplay tries to include improvements. This has given us the opportunity to offer performance enhancements at the same time as assuring supply”.
The RSPdx-R2 provides up to 10MHz spectrum visibility anywhere from 1kHZ to 2GHz with no gaps. It features:
Improvements to the RSPdx for MF frequencies and below:
Improved noise performance below 1MHz
Improved dynamic range below 2MHz both in tuner mode and HDR mode
3 Software selectable inputs, including a BNC input for up to 200MHz
The suggested retail price is £188.00 GBP (excluding VAT), $235.00 USD (excluding tax) or €225.60 EUR (excluding tax).
SDRplay recently launched their free multiplatform SDRconnect software which as well as running on Windows, will also run on MacOS and Linux/Raspberry Pi. As with their SDRuno windows software, the emphasis is on “plug and play” making the SDRplay receivers an easy-to-use and low-cost way to discover (or rediscover) the radio hobby for anyone who already uses a computer.
SDRplay has also provided the datasheet of the RSPdx-R2 which can be downloaded here.
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