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Also, many thanks to Dave Zantow who notes that HRO has also included the Icom IC-7300 in the same sale. The IC-7300 price is now $1299.95. Also an excellent price for such a full-featured general coverage transceiver.
This morning, SDRplay Limited announced the release––and availability––of their second generation software defined radio, the RSP2.
Regular SWLing Post readers will note that I’m a pretty big fan of SDRplay’s first SDR, the RSP, or “RSP1,” as I’ll now call it (I published a review of the RSP1 in July 2015). To me, the $129 RSP1 has been the best wideband receiver you can buy under $200 US. Its HF performance, in particular, is sincerely impressive at this price point.
Introducing the RSP2
So what’s the RSP2, and how does it differ from the original RSP?
In a nutshell, here’s how SDRplay describes the difference between the two:
“The RSP2 delivers a significant number of additional features which result in a higher spec for specialist amateur radio users as well as benefits for additional scientific, educational and industrial SDR applications.”
In a sense, the RSP2 gives the enthusiast and experimenter access to more receiver parameters and control, opening it to a wider array of possible applications. The RSP2 will also cover a broader range, from as low as 1 kHz to as high as to 2 GHz, and is designed with better selectivity across the spectrum. Enhanced selectivity will certainly benefit amateur radio operators and SWL DXers who might seek weak signals in crowded portions of the band.
The following list outlines the primary additional features of the RSP2 (via SDRplay’s press release):
10 built-in, front-end pre-selection filters, with substantially enhanced selectivity
Frequency coverage extended down to 1 KHz
Software selectable variable gain Low Noise Preamplifier
2 x SMA Software Selectable 50? RF ports (1.5 MHz – 2 GHz)
1 x High Impedance RF port (1 kHz – 30 MHz)
Built-in software selectable MW /FM notch filters
Highly stable 0.5PPM TCXO trimmable to 0.01PPM
24MHz Reference clock input / output connections
4.7V Bias-T option (on one of the software selectable antenna inputs)
RF screening within a strong plastic case for the standard RSP2
A Rugged metal box version – the ‘RSP2pro’
The RSP2 has a total of three antenna ports: two SMA and one Hi Z for optimal LW/MW/SW performance
For the moment, the RSP2 only works with SDRplay’s own application, SDRuno. But SDRplay is already working with developers to make the RSP2 compatible with HDSDR, Gnu Radio, CubicSDR, and SDR Console. I appreciate that although the RSP series has an excellent free proprietary application (SDRuno), it was nonetheless developed with many open-source applications, also free, as well. This level of compatibility and support makes SDRplay rather unique among SDR manufacturers.
SDRuno running the RSP2 (click to enlarge).
Of course, SDRuno is a great application in its own right, and pairing it with the RSP2 will provide you with out-of-the-box calibrated RF and S meters. So far I’m very pleased with native SDRuno features like virtual receivers, embedded time code, spectrum display options, and streamlined design.
Current SDRuno users will note the different antenna and filter options with the RSP2 which works natively with the latest versions of SDRuno (click to enlarge).
SDRuno installs very easily and provides a plug-and-play experience. It does have a modest learning curve, but SDRplay has an excellent owner’s manual and “cookbook” available to help you set everything up the first time.
Preliminary impressions of the RSP2
SDRplay sent me a pre-release RSP2 (the base model, not the metal box “Pro” version) to evaluate and provide the company with feedback.
I installed SDRuno and put it on the air only this past week. In truth, as I’ve been traveling and must be on the road again this coming week, I prefer not to comment, at least in depth, on the SDRplay’s performance as I’ve had comparatively little dedicated time with the unit.
Yet I have had the RSP2 on the air a few hours of casual listening, and find that it performs as I would expect: low noise characteristics and sensitivity that seems to be at least as good as the RSP1, if not a bit better. I’m looking forward to a side-by-side with the RSP1 running an install of SDRuno on my laptop!
I must say that I’m very pleased with the RSP2’s Mediumwave/FM notch filter. It happens that a local daytime 45kW AM broadcaster in our area is having transmitter issues which send wideband spurs across the entire HF spectrum; but at night, when the station lowers its power levels, the RSP2’s MW notch filter effectively mitigates the noisy signal. I imagine this filter will be a welcome addition for listeners living in RF-dense environments.
When the RSP1 was first introduced, it retailed for $149. As the economies of scale worked in their favor, SDRplay lowered the price to $129. The new RSP2, meanwhile, is expected to retail at approximately £130 (excluding taxes), or $169 US (excluding taxes). Quite a value, in my opinion: at $169, you’re getting a lot of SDR for the price––and an effective SDR application, to boot.
But if you already own an RSP1, I wouldn’t necessarily rush out and grab the RSP2 just yet. Of course, if you like the added features mentioned above, or if you’d like an inexpensive SDR with no less than three switchable antenna ports and a MW/FM notch filter, $169 is a bargain and about the same level of investment as a good modern shortwave portable.
As for myself, I’m happy to see a mom-and-pop community-supported company like SDRplay continuing to innovate for our hobby. I’m pleased to support them, and am truly appreciative that they also support our SWLing Post. This is a win-win, in my view; I’d be pleased to support more such companies.
Again, check back here as I plan to compare the RSP2 with the RSP1 and several of my other SDRs.
I plan to take the RSP2 with me on my travels this week. Time permitting, I might even pair it with my recently acquired PK magnetic loop antenna for some spectrum gathering and testing.
In the coming weeks, as my schedule permits, I’ll post updates here on the SWLing Post, including audio comparisons with some of my SDRs. If interested, bookmark the tag RSP2.
For more information about RSP2 pricing and availability, check out SDRplay.com.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Black, who reminds us why the Squires Sanders SS-1R receiver (Dan recently spotted on eBay) was so innovative at the time:
It’s legendary because it leaped forward in receiver design, at least at the amateur level, and there was the article in QST in 1963 by Squires about the design. So lots of people knew about the design, even if they weren’t owners.
There’s no RF amplifier, the antenna feeds the mixer trough a tuned circuit. There’s a q-multiplier on that tuned circuit, to improve selectivity (q-multipliers were mostly seen in 455KHz IFs). The mixer was a 7360 beam deflection tube, hard to overload, and a balanced mixer, which was likely a first in ham receivers. After, everyone was using 7360s for receiver mixers, at least until good solid state balanced mixers came along.
I keep forgetting that it is still a dual conversion receiver (except for one band), though presumably to avoid other issues while allowing for a fixed 500KHz tuning range.
But the second IF is at 1 or 2 MHz, higher than the usual 455KHz, a sign of the future, though there were already some SSB transceivers with IFs in the HF range.
It does seem a relatively simple design now, but wasn’t fifty years ago.
The ham band version was the “big seller”, the shortwave version maybe offered because they could. It’s not clear if the front end needed changes to cover the SW broadcast bands. But it would have been an expensive SW receiver, and needing another crystal for each 500KHz tuning segment, a new concept at the time (though a few years later Drake had their SW receivers like that). But that was the trade-off, most receivers did have a 2:1 tuning range, while some were like the R390 , very complicated mechanically and crystals for every band. A subset of 3 to 30MHz meant fewer crystals and a simpler bandswitch but you spent a lot of money for a receiver that wasn’t “general coverage”.
Michael
Thank you, Michael, for the insight! At last glance, the bidding was only at $227.50. I suspect it will go much higher, but perhaps this will end up being a deal for someone.
I was not at all familiar with this ham band receiver, Dan. I like the unique analog two digit log/frequency display below the main dial. Looks to be pretty clean, though the seller notes that this is an estate item and has not been tested. A buyer would have to assume the cord and, most likely, a few capacitors will have to be replaced.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who shares the following guest post:
Review: DoxyTronics Portable HF Magnetic Loop 8020CA
-by Troy Riedel
Before I purchased the DoxyTronics 8020CA antenna, I emailed the owner/manufacturer and asked if he felt this antenna would be a good choice with the radios that I own. He promptly and courteously answered my question and I purchased the antenna on September 30th. I received the antenna approximately 6-days after I ordered it.
The DoxyTronics 8020CA magnetic loop antenna
I have been evaluating the antenna for 5-6 weeks mostly on my Grundig Satellit 750 and my Grundig G3. I have used other portables but the two aforementioned Grundigs were the radios I used most.
The antenna control box has a ¼-20 hole on the bottom so it can be mounted to a video camera tripod. The assembled antenna weighs 3 lbs. I tried using a light duty DSLR tripod that I own, however that was nowhere near sturdy enough. I had to use a heavier duty tripod (Ravelli AVT) that I use for astronomical purposes. This Ravelli has a weight capacity of 16 lbs and it easily supported the antenna. I’m confident a much smaller and lighter duty tripod than the Ravelli could be used, I simply don’t own anything in-between as my astronomical binoculars and binocular telescopes weigh 5 – 14 lbs.
The 8020CA Antenna consists of a large tuning knob and control box. The control box has switch settings of 3-5 Mhz and 5-15 Mhz. In testing, I found that I could “tune” up to 17.840 MHz. No batteries are needed to operate.
The antenna worked equally well with all of the “portable” radios that I tested (I am a SWL’er, not a ham).
I can summarize the antenna’s performance as this: it is not a magic elixir that will allow you to capture signals too faint to recognize without the antenna attached, but it definitely enhances the signal and “stabilizes” it to the point where the level of the signal remains relatively constant (less peaks & troughs in signal strength).
Hopefully you can hear what I have summarized and concluded. I have included a two and one-half minute recording of the following:
Radio: Grundig Satellit 750 Recorder: RadioShack 140-214 Freq: 7.310 MHz BW: Wide Broadcaster: Radio Romania International Date of Recording: 15NOV2016 Time: 2309 – 2313 UTC
00:00 – 00:30: 8020CA Antenna Attached 00:30 – 01:00: Radio’s Whip Antenna 01:00 – 01:30: 8020CA Antenna Attached 01:30 – 02:00: Radio’s Whip Antenna 02:00 – 02:30: This last 30-second segment is with the 8020CA attached, however I am panning the Ravelli tripod 360-degrees in the horizontal. You will hopefully notice that there is a “sweet spot” where the signal and reception is the best of the entire 2:30 recording. I had set-up the antenna and I completed a quick, test recording of Radio Romania. But conditions changed slightly and the best signal during the recoding was approximately 50-60-degrees away from where the best reception was earlier. This is a positive for the antenna: you can pan the tripod head where the antenna sits to null and/or find the best signal.
Note: this is my first shortwave and radio-related review I have ever done. I have done many astronomical reviews – where I have much more experience – so please be kind towards this first attempt.
No worries, Troy! We’re kind and appreciative here–especially since guest posts are all about sharing our experiences and experimentation!
I must say, the DoxyTronics loop is doing a fine job mitigating the local QRM/interference that is easily heard when only the telescopic whip is being used. I’m also impressed that a passive loop this modest in size has so much gain without amplification.
Thanks, Jim-I wish you success in this campaign (though it appears you’ve met your base goal and are now into stretch goals).
While there are a fair amount of SDRs in the $200-300 price range, there are few that are actually transceivers. I’m also impressed with the level of filtering on both the RX and TX stages and the fact that the baseband and digital section have separate and isolated grounds. The RS-HFIQ could potentially have a low noise floor and a decent front end.
If you back the RS-HFIQ, please consider sending us your review to publish here on the SWLing Post!
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