A few days ago we posted about the recent release of the SDRplay RSP1B software defined radio, which is an upgrade over the previous RSP1A model. The changes include a new steel enclosure, significantly improved noise performance under 1 MHz and in the 50 - 60 MHz region, noticeable noise improvements in the 3.5 - 5.5 MHz and 250 - 320 MHz range, and improved signal handling at HF frequencies.
Over on the Tech Minds YouTube channel, Matt has released a video testing the new RSP1B. He notes that thanks to the improved noise performance under 1 MHz, reception of NDB's from airports is significantly better.
Matt also tests SDRConnect Preview 2 which is SDRplay's new multiplatform receiver software. It is currently in 'preview', so features are still being added, and there may be bugs. In the video Matt shows a few of the new features in SDRConnect Preview 2 including band selection buttons, IQ recorder, asymmetrical, notch filtering and the remote server feature which allows SDRplay devices to be used over a network or internet connection.
Thank you to RTL-SDR.COM reader Aaron, who recently found a Kraken-to-TAK converter made by "SignalMedic" and "dngrssgnls" which converts the KrakenSDR bearing output data to "Cursor on Target" (COT) or XML format, allowing common TAK interfaces to read and display the data. Currently the converter allows a line of bearing to be displayed in a TAK app, with arbitrary length. The converter consists of a single json file for Node Red. The GitHub readme reads:
Convert data from a Kraken SDR to TAK endpoints
The software will parse information collected by Kraken, convert to COT and XML and send to common TAK interfaces. The length of the line is arbitrary. The line is 6km long, but has no correlation besides bearing to the transmitter. Intersecting bearing lines are necessary for determining the geolocation of a transmitter.
Planned improvements include:
Button for persisting the current line and generating a new UID
Work on filtering out by DOA Angle node
Dashboard for easier updating of Kraken and TAK endpoints
Simplified deployment
We note that most TAK apps may be a little limited for direction finding purposes as they cannot calculate bearing intersections over time, or calculate a bearing grid like the KrakenSDR Android app, and KrakenSDR online web mapper does. However, often a single line of bearing is enough information, especially if there are multiple distributed units contributing bearing data.
If you weren't already aware, KrakenSDR is our 5-channel coherent radio based on RTL-SDRs, and it can be used for applications like radio direction finding. It can be purchased on Crowd Supply.
TAK (Tactical Assault Kit) is software used by the military and other organizations for visualizing geospatial information such as enemy and friendly positions. Civilian versions of TAK also exist, such as ATAK for Android. Previously we posted about how ATAK has the ability to plot aircraft positions via an RTL-SDR receiving ADS-B.
SDRplay, a manufacturer of popular low cost software defined radio devices have just launched their "RSP1B" model. This is a refresh of their popular lowest price model, the RSP1A. The changes include a new steel enclosure, significantly improved noise performance under 1 MHz and in the 50 - 60 MHz region, noticeable noise improvements in the 3.5 - 5.5 MHz and 250 - 320 MHz range, and improved signal handling at HF frequencies.
The RSP1A remains for sale at US$117 + shipping, and the new RSP1B sells for US$132.25 + shipping.
SDRplay introduces the RSP1B SDR receiver
Their press release reads:
SDRplay Limited is announcing the launch of a new Software Defined Radio receiver product – the RSP1B. The RSP1B is an enhanced version of the popular RSP1A powerful wideband full featured 14-bit SDR which covers the RF spectrum from 1kHz to 2GHz. The RSP1B comes in a rugged black painted steel case and has significantly improved noise performance. All it needs is a computer and an antenna to provide excellent communications receiver functionality. It comes with a choice of SDRunoTM for Windows and multiplatform SDRconnect (TM) SDR software for Windows, MacOS and Linux (supplied free of charge by SDRplay). It allows users to monitor up to 10MHz of spectrum at a time. A documented API allows developers to create new demodulators or applications around the platform.
The RSP1B has the following additional benefits compared to our lowest cost device, the RSP1A:
It is housed in a strong black painted steel case.
It has significantly improved noise performance below 1MHz (i.e. for MF, LF and below), and in the 50-60 MHz region. There are also noticeable noise improvements in the 3.5-5.5MHz and 250-320MHz spectrum.
It has improved signal handling at HF frequencies.
As is the case for the other RSP family members, SDRplay will work with the developers of the popular third party SDR receiver software packages to maximise compatibility. SDRplay will also provide multiplatform driver and API support which includes Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and Raspberry Pi.
The RSP1B is available to purchase direct from SDRplay or from SDRplay’s authorised resellers where it is expected to retail at approximately £106 GBP or $133 USD (excluding taxes or shipping). A list of SDRplay’s authorised resellers can be found at www.sdrplay.com/distributors/
For more information visit the SDRplay website on www.sdrplay.com
About SDRplay:
SDRplay limited is a registered UK company, with registered offices in the UK and Ireland.
Over on his website "Jacopo's Lair" IU1QPR (@original_lego11) who is also a developer for SatDump has written up many tutorials about weather satellite decoding that involve the use of SatDump. SatDump is a popular piece of software often used with RTL-SDRs and other low cost SDRs for decoding weather satellite images.
With a small satellite dish, feed, RTL-SDR and LNA+filter and the SatDump software it's possible and download beautiful images of the earth from many geostationary and polar orbiting weather satellites. We note that we are currently taking pre-orders on Crowd Supply for our Discovery Dish system, which is low cost hardware designed to help users get started with weather satellite reception.
Over on Reddit IU1QPR has created a listed summary of all the tutorials he's written. These are currently the most up to date and comprehensive tutorials that we have found on this topic. The tutorials cover everything from what satellites are available, what dish sizes you need, what SDRs can be used, what LNA+filter and other hardware you need, and how to use the SatDump software.
Thank you to SDR++ developer Ryzerth who has let us know that RTL-SDR Blog V4 support has recently been added to the nightly build of the APK. With this release, Android is now fully supported by the RTL-SDR Blog V4 via Martin Marinov's SDR Driver app (which many SDR applications connect to), SDRAngel and now SDR++.
A reminder: With SDR++ you may find that you will need to close (using the task manager on Android) and reopen the app a couple of times before it will detect an RTL-SDR dongle.
Job Geheniau was someone whose amateur radio astronomy projects were often featured on RTL-SDR Blog (often referred to as Job's Radio Telescope). It with great sadness that we have recently learned that Job Geheniau passed away from cancer in late December 2023. We would like to take the time share this post to highlight some of his achievements in the amateur radio astronomy field.
Back in 2020 Job first surprised us with one of his first radio astronomy results (Part 1, Part 2) where he was able to image the Milky Way in neutral hydrogen by using a 150cm dish, RTL-SDR, LNA and motorized mount. Over eight nights he recorded hydrogen line readings throughout the Milky Way and ended up creating a 2D Excel sheet that showed an image of the Milky Way at the 1420 MHz hydrogen line frequency.
Job would go on, rapidly evolving and each time showing us that low cost hardware set up in a backyard could be used to unlock many of the secrets of the universe. Using a satellite dishes less than two meters in diameter, RTL-SDRs, LNAs and filters he was able to:
Job's Radio Astronomy website remains up at https://jgeheniau.wixsite.com/radio-astronomy, and many results and writeups of his other experiments can be found there. We will sorely miss posting about Job's achievements, but we hope that his life has inspired you to take a closer look at the amateur radio astronomy hobby.
The ADALM-PHASER is a kit designed to provide experience with phased array beamforming and radar concepts. The kit consists of a PlutoSDR, mixers, LO synthesizer, ADAR1000 beamformer chip, LNAs and array of patch antennas. It operates between 10-11 GHz, has 500 MHz BW FMCW chirps, and has 8 receive channels and 2 transmit channels. It is an open source kit that costs US$2800, and it is produced and available from Analog Devices. Currently the kit appears to not be in stock, but they note that they are working on getting more stock in soon.
The ADALM-PHASER a phased array kit for implementing radar and other phased array experiments.
Over on YouTube, Jon Kraft who appears to be affiliated with Analog Devices, is working on a series of videos that will ultimately result in a drone tracking radar being built with the ADALM-PHASER. Currently two videos have been released.
The first is an overview of radar concepts, giving an explanation of pulsed vs CW radar, and the various hardware options we have to implement low cost versions of these methods.
The second video covers more radar concepts like range resolution and shows us how to build a CW radar with the ADALM-PHASER system.
The three remaining videos are yet to be released, so keep an eye on his channel for updates.
Build Your Own Drone Tracking Radar: Part 1
Build Your Own Drone Tracking Radar: Part 2 CW Radar
Just recently we posted about the release of some firmware for the AntSDR E200 which allows it to decode DJI DroneID. DroneID is a protocol designed to transmit the position of the drone and operator to authorized entities such as law enforcements and operators of critical infrastructure.
In his latest video Matt from the Tech Minds YouTube channel shows this firmware in action. In the video he first shows how to install the firmware, and how to connect to its serial output. He goes on to test it with his DJI Mini 4 Pro and show some live DroneID frames being decoded.
DJI Drone Hacking Using Software Defined Radio ANTSDR E200
