USB DVB-T for use with SDR#?

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electronaut
 
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USB DVB-T for use with SDR#?

Post by electronaut »

This is my first purchase from adafruit and there are a few issues:
1. The DVB-TSTICK comes with antenna, remote, and USB adaptor,
CD with software/drivers, but NO documentation! The only documentation
I could find is on the adafruit site, and following the instructions there
leads to "The driver installation failed" when I use zadig to change the
driver. I suspect that this might be due to the fact that the USB ports
on my desktop are old (not 2.0), because this step does work when
I use my more recent vintage laptop. (If this is correct then users should
be warned that this product will not work with older machines.)
2. Without documentation it is not clear how to use the remote that
comes with this product, and pushing buttons on the remote seems to
have no effect?
3. I was able to get SDR# working on my Windows 8 laptop, but after
only a few minutes the USB adapter got very hot, and I am
concerned that this might damage my laptop (ASUS laptop).
Perhaps these is an impedance mismatch?
4. In the SDR# app, there is no place to adjust the frequency (tune
the radio) like there is in other online pictures of the SDR app? To
adjust the frequency I have to create a new form under the Frequency
tab and edit the form, very clumsy.
5. SDR# cannot receive FM frequency 87.7 MHz in New York (WNYZ-LP),
yet I can receive this station without problems using my Sony radio?
What frequencies can I expect to receive? Shortwave? AM? FM?
Thanks!

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adafruit2
 
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Re: USB DVB-T for use with SDR#?

Post by adafruit2 »

1. Oh yah, if you don't have USB 2.0 it wont work, computers made in the last 10 yrs+ should have USB 2.0 so look around or borrow a friends! We have a tutorial here, https://learn.adafruit.com/getting-star ... -sdr-sharp

2. The remote is sort of an 'extra' - originally these were designed to be computer-TV receivers, we like to hack them for use with SDR#

3. they get hot because they're doing a ton of software-radio work, not that unusual.

4. Try downloading from our link, in case SDR# has changed
https://learn.adafruit.com/getting-star ... l-software

5. FM radio shouldn't be a problem, if think you have a broken dongle just email support@adafruit and ask for a replacement

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electronaut
 
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:25 pm

Re: USB DVB-T for use with SDR#?

Post by electronaut »

Hi,

Based on the support page info it appears that this device cannot be used to receive
AM broadcasts, yet there is an AM selector on SDR#, so what kind of AM can be received?

So far I have only been able to tune into a few (high power?) FM stations, and I have
found no CB broadcasts, no weather broadcasts, etc. Can you recommend one
non-FM station that I can try?

Most importantly, is there a way to tune this radio without having to create a new
Frequency Manager form set to a particular frequency, one for every frequency that you want to listen to? This is very inconvenient, esp. because the spectrum analyzer only shows a small range of frequencies around the one you select, and there is no way to expand the range of frequencies, or to scroll through frequencies, or to select a new frequencies with the mouse or by using a virtual tuner dial. The user must instead create yet another Frequency Manager form configured for the desired frequency.

Finally, it would be nice if there was a way to get the WWVB time signal broadcast by
NIST. Is there a product/kit that makes this possible?

Thanks!

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alphanumeric
 
Posts: 633
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Re: USB DVB-T for use with SDR#?

Post by alphanumeric »

The aircraft band is AM. The VHF airband uses the frequencies between 108 and 137 MHz and uses amplitude modulation. This dongle will pick up those frequencies. If there is an airport close by see if you can find out what frequencies it uses for aircraft communication. That information should be freely available, its not something that is kept secret. It's all open unencrypted transmissions too.
It's getting hot because it is constantly scanning across a range or frequencies instead of being tuned to just the one TV channel. It scans from the lower to the higher frequency listed at the bottom of the spectrum window in SD sharp. Over and over again.
One thing I noticed on my laptop, is it doesn't get detected correctly when I plug it into a USB 2.0 port and SD Sharp just reports no compatible device connected. When I plug it into a USB 3.0 port it shows up as Realtek and works perfectly.

EDIT: I think I have a different SDR dongle than you do, mine is the Software Defined Radio Receiver USB Stick - RTL2832 w/R820T

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