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Zambia, Lusaka
1 Level
685 Review
56 Karma

Review on Nooelec NESDR Smart v4 Bundle - High-Quality RTL-SDR with Aluminum Enclosure, πŸ“» Accurate 0.5PPM TCXO, SMA Input & 3 Antennas. RTL2832U & R820T2-Based Software Defined Radio. by Sam Carter

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Nice SDR adapter for external components

A few months ago I read about SDR and thought it would be interesting to try it. I didn't really know much about it but decided to give it a try and this seemed like a good start. TCXO was a highly recommended feature to avoid frequency drift unlike cheaper models. This and the various antennas that came with it prompted me to click the 'Add to Cart' button. It's a learning curve to use them, especially on Windows as many programs seem to be more Linux-oriented, but I've enjoyed using SDR Sharp. for basic scanning and wiretapping and then using the Unitrunker and SDR Trunk to wiretapping local police/fire brigade systems etc. Please note this device has a range of just over 2MHz for wiretapping trunking systems, at least for me , are local Trunk systems much wider. You can get a couple of devices so one listens to the control channel and the other is tuned to voice, or in my case I've upgraded to HackRF to do additional things that have a lot more range. Use this key to "listen" to ADS-B planes and Dump1090 (yes, there is a Windows version, but I've tried on Linux too) and Virtual Radar Server. I even enhanced the setup with special antennas for different things. The included ones are good to start with, but they don't really pick up too much unless you're close to the station you're listening to. All in all it's a great thing considering all the features of the SDR and while the thing does get a little warm with constant use I haven't had a single issue with it and it locks in frequency with no issues.

Pros
  • Elegant design
Cons
  • Miscellaneous Miscellaneous