{"id":54246,"date":"2022-10-09T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T10:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=54246"},"modified":"2022-10-06T06:23:36","modified_gmt":"2022-10-06T10:23:36","slug":"mario-shares-a-short-review-of-the-airspy-hf-discovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/10\/mario-shares-a-short-review-of-the-airspy-hf-discovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Mario shares a short review of the Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN)<\/a>, who shares the following guest post:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>

Author\u2019s Airspy HF+ Discovery (small black box to the left of the laptop)<\/p><\/div>\n

A Short Review of the Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR<\/h1>\n

by Mario Filippi (N2HUN)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recently purchased an AirSpy HF+ Discovery<\/a>.\u00a0 As a SWL for over 60 years who\u2019s owned many shortwave radios by manufacturers such as Drake, Yaesu, Icom, Zenith, Kenwood, Panasonic, Sony, Radio Shack, Grundig, CountyComm, MFJ, Sears, AOR and have used a number of different SDRs such as the RTL-SDR.com, HackRF, NooElec and many other rudimentary inexpensive first generation SDR dongles, I feel the AirSpy was an excellent choice. It cost $169 plus shipping.<\/p>\n

For LW\/MW\/HF reception, I use a 30\u2019 ground mounted vertical with about 50 buried radials in different stages of decomposition hihi. For VHF, a roof mounted 2m\/70cm SlimJim antenna is used, but I haven\u2019t done much listening in that portion of the spectrum yet except for occasional foray into the aero, 2m ham, NOAA satellite and public service bands.\u00a0 Note that the AirSpy also covers 60 \u2013 260MHz.<\/p>\n

An older Dell Inspiron laptop and SDR# are used in conjunction with the AirSpy.\u00a0 For decoding, MultiPSK, FLDigi, MTTY, Yand (for NAVTEX), along with VB cable are the accompanying software to make the digital modes intelligible.<\/p>\n

So far I\u2019ve logged a few local LF aeronautical beacons and some DGPS beacons on longwave but will be in a better position to judge its performance when winter sets in.\u00a0 As for the medium (520 \u2013 1710 kHz) wave AM broadcast band, the AirSpy easily brings in both local stations during daytime and distant stations at night with no adjacent channel interference whatsoever.\u00a0 Even low powered community Emergency Alert Stations in the 1600 \u2013 1710 kHz portion of the band can be heard daily from this QTH. A rotatable loop would certainly improve reception though.<\/p>\n

As for shortwave listening the AirSpy HF+Discovery is, in my opinion, great for listening to both shortwave broadcasts and utility stations though I tend to concentrate on UTES mostly such as VOLMET, WEFAX, RTTY (the few that remain unencrypted), CW marker stations (e.g. XSG and XSQ from China) NAVTEX (519 kHz), aero\/maritime SSB, time signal stations (WWV, CHU) and many of the other esoteric digital utility signals populating the band.\u00a0 As for SW broadcast stations, WRMI, Radio Exterior, RFI, R. Marti,\u00a0 BBC, WWCR and Radio Algerienne, to mention a few have been received.\u00a0 The Frequency Manager (memory storage) in SDR# has quickly filled up with intercepts using the AirSpy.<\/p>\n

As a ham and CB operator (yes, the two can mutually coexist in the same human body), I\u2019ve found the AirSpy HF+ Discovery to be a trouper on all the HF ham and CB bands. One of my favorite hangouts is the 28.100 \u2013 28.300 MHz slice of 10m where domestic and international low power CW beacons transmit their callsigns (and at times their grid squares and power output) into the ionosphere and achieve great distances.\u00a0 Recently, beacons from 5, 6 and 7 land in the US along with DX prefixes ED4, PY4 and XE1 were logged.\u00a0 If you\u2019re into 10m FM operation you can also tune the AirSpy to hear local and distant repeaters on 29.62 \u2013 29.68 MHz.\u00a0 When the band is open, .62 and .64 seem to be the most active here in Central NJ.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a CB (aptly named the Citizen\u2019s Band) op, the AirSpy HF+ Discovery does a stellar job on Channels 1 \u2013 40 which is especially exciting when the band\u2019s open.\u00a0 While domestic (USA)\u00a0 CB\u2019ers are limited to frequencies from 26.965 \u2013 27.405 MHz you\u2019ll nonetheless hear DX ops below our (USA) channel 1 and above channel 40 conversing in French, Spanish and German in LSB\/USB.\u00a0 Add to this mix the fact that the FCC dropped the 150 mile limit for US ops a few years back and now the advent of the FM mode operation in the US, you\u2019ll find the AirSpy won\u2019t disappoint.\u00a0 In my opinion the AirSpy HF+Discovery was an excellent choice and I\u2019m more than satisfied with its performance.<\/p>\n

In the matter of honesty and full disclosure, I purchased the AirSpy HF+ Discovery<\/a> completely on my own in an effort to upgrade my station.\u00a0 My choice was based on information gathered from the Internet and YouTube video reviews.\u00a0 The performance of this receiver was based on my experience using the vertical antenna described earlier, the hours spent at my QTH (location) listening to stations of interest to me and my six decades experience as a SWL.\u00a0 No test equipment to assess sensitivity, selectivity or other empirical methods to measure performance was used. That information can be found on the Airspy website<\/a>.\u00a0 The main purpose of this article was to craft a rudimentary review for those interested with the caveat that reception will vary depending on many factors such as location, antenna, ionospheric conditions, feedline quality, computer\/software variations, QRN, QRM, and operator experience.\u00a0 The results presented in this article are typical for my location; others may experience different results.\u00a0 Thanks very much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who shares the following guest post: A Short Review of the Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR by Mario Filippi (N2HUN) I recently purchased an AirSpy HF+ Discovery.\u00a0 As a SWL for over 60 years who\u2019s owned many shortwave radios by manufacturers such as Drake, Yaesu, Icom, Zenith, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,3194,545,3,129,43,158],"tags":[3724,7791,8585,4342,4311,157,4087],"class_list":["post-54246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-guest-posts","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-reviews","category-shortwave-radio","category-software-defined-radio","tag-airspy","tag-airspy-hf-discovery","tag-airspy-hf-discovery-review","tag-guest-posts","tag-mario-filippi-n2hun","tag-sdr","tag-software-defined-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-e6W","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38928,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/fenu-radio-reviews-an-airspy-hf-discovery-prototype\/","url_meta":{"origin":54246,"position":0},"title":"Fenu-Radio reviews an AirSpy HF+ Discovery prototype","author":"Thomas","date":"August 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Fernando Duarte of Fenu-Radio has just posted his review of the AirSpy HF+ Discovery SDR prototype.\u00a0 I trust Fenu's reviews because they're always thorough and based on actual listening sessions. In short, he's quite impressed with the prototype. In many instances the Discovery outperformed his benchmark Winradio G33DDC Excalibur Pro.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/aurspy-hfplus_discovery.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39021,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/airspy-hf-vs-hf-discovery-ivans-blind-daytime-propagation-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":54246,"position":1},"title":"AirSpy HF+ vs. HF+ Discovery: Ivan’s blind daytime propagation comparison","author":"Thomas","date":"August 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan NO2CW, who shares the following: I did this video where I compared the two Airspy editions [HF+ and the new HF+ Discovery] only calling them Receiver 1 and Receiver 2: https:\/\/youtu.be\/VV4nOWkxACU Click here to view on YouTube. Using the same W6LVP loop. 3\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/SDRs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/SDRs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/SDRs.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46594,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/radio-deals-airspy-black-friday-sale-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":54246,"position":2},"title":"Radio Deals: Airspy Black Friday Sale 2020!","author":"Thomas","date":"November 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've been thinking about pulling the trigger on an Airspy product, now's the time! Airspy is once again offering huge discounts during their 2020 Black Friday promotion. For example, their Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR--which I consider to be one of the best HF SDRs on the market--is 30% off\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Deals"","block_context":{"text":"Deals","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/deals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Airspy-Black-Friday-e1606155245418.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Airspy-Black-Friday-e1606155245418.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Airspy-Black-Friday-e1606155245418.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":55097,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/sstv-fiesta-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":54246,"position":3},"title":"SSTV Fiesta 2022","author":"Thomas","date":"December 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who writes: For those who\u2019d like to try receiving SSTV images and also get into the holiday spirit, there is an annual SSTV Fiesta from December 12, 2022 to January 6, 2023. The Fiesta is sponsored by the Azteca DX\u2019ers. The frequencies are 14.230\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Modes"","block_context":{"text":"Digital Modes","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/digital-modes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022-12-16-17-25-45-montage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022-12-16-17-25-45-montage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022-12-16-17-25-45-montage.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2022-12-16-17-25-45-montage.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57725,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/ivan-compares-the-new-rtl-sdr-v4-and-the-airspy-discovery-hf\/","url_meta":{"origin":54246,"position":4},"title":"Ivan compares the new RTL-SDR V4 and the Airspy Discovery HF+","author":"Thomas","date":"September 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan (NO2CW), who writes: I ran a test of weak signals RTL-SDR v4 against Airspy HF+ Discovery. 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I ran the test at approximately 9 pm local time using the same\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/RTL-SDR-V4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/RTL-SDR-V4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/RTL-SDR-V4.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/RTL-SDR-V4.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/RTL-SDR-V4.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/RTL-SDR-V4.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37967,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/the-airspy-hf-discovery-a-new-high-performance-sdr\/","url_meta":{"origin":54246,"position":5},"title":"The Airspy HF+ Discovery: A new high-performance SDR","author":"Thomas","date":"May 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"At the 2019 Hamvention, I stopped by the Airspy.US booth and checked out the specifications of Airspy's latest SDR: the Airspy HF+ Discovery. At first glance, the Discovery looks a lot like the Airspy HF+ but even smaller and sporting performance upgrades. Keep in mind, I consider the Airspy HF+\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Airspy-HF-Plus-Discovery-PCB.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Airspy-HF-Plus-Discovery-PCB.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Airspy-HF-Plus-Discovery-PCB.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Airspy-HF-Plus-Discovery-PCB.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54246"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54250,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54246\/revisions\/54250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}