Tag Archives: SDRplay

Mike Harwood explores active magnetic loop antennas with SDRplay

Many thanks to Jon Hudson with SDRplay who shares the following announcement:


Introducing a new series of videos comparing the performance of wideband active loop amplifier/antennas for HF frequencies and below. In this introductory video, Mike Harwood shows how an RSPduo enables a real-time comparison of two antennas – in this demo, he uses a Wellbrook 1530AN and one of his own compact loop creations. You can see that he has lined up several other active loop antennas/amplifiers to try in future videos, including the Bonito Megaloop FX, the LZ1AQ amp and the Cross Country Wireless amp.

SDPlay will endorse antennas which work well and formally recommend them on its website antenna suggestions page: https://www.sdrplay.com/antennasuggestions/

This is one of many videos from SDRplay – makers of the RSP family of SDR radios. See the full list of SDRplay videos and applications documents on: https://www.sdrplay.com/apps-catalogue/

The RSP family of SDRs from SDRplay cover 1kHz to 2 GHz with no gaps and give up to 10MHz spectrum visibility.

SDRplay is a UK company. The RSP SDR receivers are made in the UK and can be purchased for worldwide delivery directly from http://www.sdrplay.com/ (click on purchase and select your country to view shipping costs) or you can buy from any of our worldwide resellers listed here: http://www.sdrplay.com/distributors/ Many of the resellers offer local free shipping and/or local language technical support.

The SDRplay YouTube Channel is: https://www.youtube.com/c/SDRplayRSP

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SDRplay’s article regarding counterfeit products and how to avoid them

A fake SDRplay RSP1A on Walmart.com

SDRplay recently posted this article which focuses on counterfeit products. It’s a worthy read.

They’ve seen an uptick of people contacting them believing they’ve purchased a genuine SDRplay SDR only to discover it’s a counterfeit and will not work with new SDR Uno releases.

As I’ve mentioned before: I’m not a fan of counterfeits and will not knowingly link to them on this site.

The problem with fake products is that they’re not supported by the original manufacturer and often don’t perform up to the same specifications. The price difference is negligible–sometimes fakes are even higher than the genuine article (see the ad at the top of the page as a case in point). I feel like any money saved is a moot point when counterfeit product can’t take advantage of firmware upgrades and RF performance isn’t tested and verified.

It’s best to purchase either directly from the manufacturer or their authorized dealers.

Also, when you purchase the genuine item, you’re supporting the innovators in our radio world. Companies like SDRplay, AirSpy, and ELAD–original SDR manufacturers–are always seeking a means to get the best performance and functionality out of their products. They do meaningful research and development and implement customer feedback in each product iteration.  Fake products do not: they merely copy and sell. They have no R&D department. Their quality control is all over the place.

When purchasing a new SDR–or any product for that matter–I encourage you to buy the real deal, Not only will you have product support in the long run, but you’ll also be investing in the innovators of our radio world.

Click here to read SDRplay’s article on the topic.

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New SDRplay-related software installer scripts

SDRplay RSPdx SDR

Many thanks to Jon Hudson with SDRPlay who notes:

Want to add SDR software to an existing Raspberry Pi setup? Check out our new SDRplay-related software installer scripts: Add SDRplay-related software to your existing Raspberry Pi SD card – SDRplay

Click here to view at SDRplay.

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SDRuno V1.40.2 released

(Source: SDRplay via Mike Ladd)

SDRuno 1.40.2 has been released. This is to fix the ini file corruption issue we posted about recently, but it also introduces some new features and more plugin functionality. Release notes can be found here: https://www.sdrplay.com/docs/SDRplay_SDRuno_Release_Notes.pdf

Please note that the SDRplay plugins and community plugin installers that are included in the SDRuno installer are also available on our downloads page and will be updated when needed independently of SDRuno. If you are installing them separately, please make sure you get the right installer for the version of SDRuno you are using.

Added
• Hotkey to start/stop stream – P.
• Support for loading and saving profiles (supports multiple VRXs).
• Profile file area in the memory panel below the memory bank file area.
• Button in the memory panel to store profiles.
• Checkbox in the main panel settings to disable and hide the Bias-T function.

Changed
• LO and VFO for VRX#0 now separate on start-up and when loading a profile.
• ini file is only saved when SDRuno closes cleanly.
• Halved the size of the memory bank file are in the memory panel to accommodate the profile file area.
• Overhaul of the minimise and restore functionality (now only main panel appears in the taskbar when minimised).
• Plugin Control panel look/feel now matches the rest of the SDRuno panels.
• The default directory for community plugins is now the same as in the Community Plugins installer for ease of use.

Fixed
• Memory panel being flagged as modified when it is not.
• Check for new version can sometimes get something other than the version number.
• HDR 630m band was non-functional due to the wrong centre frequency being used.
• If decimation had been set before the 10m band was selected, the decimation value would be wrong after the band was unset.
• Cancelling wav file open window on start-up allowed SDRuno to continue to open with no input.
• SDRuno could crash on start-up if the memory bank referenced to be open was empty.
• Clicking on the frequency title in the memory panel to sort the frequency list could cause the
current band to be unframed.
• The Plugin Control panel will no longer allow the SDRuno Plugins folder to be selected when
using the right click method as community plugins should be stored elsewhere.
• Manual frequency entry after being band framed did not disable the notch filter.
• Pausing a memory scan could make it impossible to un-pause.

Known Issues
• SP2 CWAFC drift issue (Zoom/window size/freq display)
• IF output mode disabled SP1 spectrum mouse clicks

Plugin information can be found on: https://www.sdrplay.com/plugins/

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Paul discovers fake RSP1As being sold on AliExpress

“RSP1A” Clone

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Rawdon, who writes:

Hi Thomas

I was browsing through AliExpress and came across a cloned version of the SDRplay RSP1A, the price being asked is slightly lower than the genuine version from SDRplay. I notified SDRplay of what I found. They pointed out that as it is a clone it is unlikely to work with any of their software.

You may like to notify readers of this because it really amounts to a scam.

The AliExpress advert can be seen here:

I do own the genuine RSP1A and yes it lives up to the positive reviews out in internet land.

Thanks for the work you put in to SWLing.com there’s always something interesting to read.

73s

Paul Rawdon

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Paul! Yes, this is a blatant fake RSP1A clone and, as you say, only a few dollars cheaper than the real thing. I suppose the manufacturer is simply hoping the buyer doesn’t realize it’s fake.

If you’re interested in purchasing an SDRplay product, go directly to their website and purchase from an authorized distributor. Not only will it carry a warranty, but you’ll know it will work with SDRplay’s SDRuno app.

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