{"id":13917,"date":"2015-07-03T06:52:49","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T10:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=13917"},"modified":"2019-08-03T07:02:26","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T11:02:26","slug":"a-review-of-the-sdrplay-rsp-software-defined-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/a-review-of-the-sdrplay-rsp-software-defined-receiver\/","title":{"rendered":"A review of the SDRplay RSP software defined receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following review originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of The Spectrum Monitor<\/a> magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"SDPlay-RSP\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Good things often come in small packages.\u00a0 But not all of these things are…well, affordable.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ironically, earlier this year, just after I began to evaluate and review the superb TitanSDR Pro<\/a>, a robust military-grade SDR, I was approached by the UK-based manufacturer of the SDRplay RSP <\/a>software-defined radio and asked to review their receiver. I was instantly intrigued\u2013\u2013and, truth be told, just a bit amused, considering the difference between these two receivers.\u00a0 And what, exactly, separates the SDRplay RSP from the TitanSDR? At least $1350.<\/p>\n

The SDRplay RSP is one of the recent generation of economical wideband SDRs based upon innovative, inexpensive chipsets; in the RSP\u2019s case, based upon the Mirics MSI3101<\/a> SDR chip, and a MSI001 tuner<\/a>.\u00a0 Priced at a mere $149 US (plus shipping), the SDRplay RSP is one of the least expensive, yet full-featured SDRs which actually include the HF bands and below, and which require no extra upconverter. Preliminary reviews of the SDRplay RSP were quite positive, so when the folks at SDRplay requested that I review an RSP on loan, I immediately seized the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Unboxing and connecting<\/h2>\n
\"My<\/a>

My review unit of the SDRplay RSP has blue ends caps and an F style connector. All current production units have the new back case and SMA connector.<\/p><\/div>\n

My SDRplay RSP arrived in a modest well-padded box. And what was inside? Only<\/em> the SDRplay RSP and a small F-to-BNC adapter. You\u2019ll need to supply a USB cord, as it\u2019s not provided by SDRplay. If you\u2019re like me, though, you already have a number of these around; I prefer USB cables with ferrite chokes (click here for an example<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Note that shortly after I received my review unit, SDRplay made two design changes to the RSP:<\/p>\n

1) the F style antenna jack has been replaced with the more common SMA connector, and 2) the chassis color has been changed to black.<\/p>\n

\"SDRplay-RSP-USB\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There are only two ports on the RSP: the antenna port, and on the other side of the box, a USB B-Type port (see photo above). Connecting it to your computer and antenna are a cinch.<\/p>\n

The RSP\u2019s chassis is made of a strong, lightweight plastic. A very simple design, and one that, I expect, would easily survive the rigors of my favorite brand of one-bag air travel to international DX destinations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Software Installation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlike many of the other SDRs I\u2019ve reviewed in the past (see the Elad FDM-S2<\/a> and TitanSDR<\/a>), the SDRplay RSP does not<\/em> come with a proprietary (OEM) SDR application. Meaning, the SDRplay company does not make their own SDR application that controls the RSP. Instead, SDRplay provides an API to allow application and demodulator development. There are already plug-ins for third-party SDR applications<\/a> (like SDR# and HDSDR, for example); once installed, these plug-ins create an excellent compatibility bridge with the RSP.<\/p>\n

But note that since the SDRplay RSP relies on third-party applications, the installation process isn\u2019t exactly plug-and-play; you must typically download USB drivers, then the SDR application of your choice, and finally (typically) a dedicated plug-in for the software. Yet it\u2019s not a complicated process by any means; SDRplay\u2019s website has links to all of the necessary downloads (http:\/\/www.sdrplay.com\/downloads.html<\/a>) and installation manuals (http:\/\/www.sdrplay.com\/documentation.html<\/a>). No intimidation factor here.<\/p>\n

Advantages and disadvantages of third-party applications<\/strong><\/p>\n

I should also note that I\u2019ve always been a fan of SDR manufacturers offering open compatibility with third-party applications; in fact, when hardware manufacturers have approached me in the development stages of product design, I always suggest they leave room for third-party development.<\/p>\n

\"HDSDR-SDRplay-RSP-CHU-Canada\"<\/a>

HDSDR running the SDRplay RSP (Click to enlarge.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Why? First, as free SDR apps are so widely used in amateur, scanner, as well as shortwave radio circles, there is already a very large user-base for support when you have compatibility issues. Additionally, third-party applications often work on multiple platforms, like Windows, OSX, Linux and even Android\/iOS; OEM application tend to work only on Windows OS. Secondly, if you\u2019re already using, for example, HDSRDR to control a radio, adding the SDRplay RSP is very easy, and as a bonus, you\u2019ll already be familiar with the user interface\u2013\u2013there\u2019s hardly any learning-curve involved. Finally, I find I\u2019m much less concerned about product obsolescence when hardware is designed to work in such an open-development environment, thus indicating greater potential for forward-compatibility.<\/p>\n

Of course, on the flip side, not having an OEM application means that troubleshooting is often more difficult. If you encounter a problem you\u2019ll have to determine whether the problem lies with OS, computer\/tablet, USB driver, SDR application, or hardware\u2013\u2013or whether the problem is in a combination of two or more of these, or the communication between them.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I\u2019ve been very pleased with the SDRplay support team; this group has promptly addressed any questions or concerns I\u2019ve had. Moreover, the RSP also has an active forum of users (http:\/\/www.sdrplay.com\/community\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Scope of review<\/h2>\n

In most reviews, I focus the majority of my SDR review upon the pros and cons of the application\u2019s user interface.\u00a0 In this case, since the SDRplay RSP is using widely-distributed third-party applications, I can focus primarily on the SDR\u2019s performance, instead.<\/p>\n

The SDRplay RSP is currently compatible with the following third-party SDR applications:<\/p>\n