SDRConnect

M0RVB

SDRplay's SDRConnect was released as a preview a couple of days ago ( https://www.sdrplay.com/sdrconnect/ ). Like many others I expect I had been waiting a while for this, having heard about it maybe a year ago. So of course, new shiny... I had to install it.

It failed to run on my Linux box but, being a fiddler that is probably down to my own config. So I installed it on a Pi 4B with a 64-bit version of Raspberry Pi OS (SDRConnect needs a 64-bit OS). I had a quick fiddle but running headless via VNC was too painful and I had lots of house stuff to do so too little time to trim things.

Regrouping, SDRplay publish video guides on how to set things up. I prefer just textual documentation but their videos are generally good. I installed the s/w on my Mac mini and ran it up on the Pi as a server (--server flag) and it runs nicely with no GUI and just a textual status output. The software has a good look and feel and I can see me buying at least one other SDRplay device to add to my somewhat old now RSP2 as a result. My initial aim is to mount the Pi in the garage as I have Ethernet down there, and set up a VLF antenna outside - far too much noise in the house, hopefully the garage is far enough away.

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M0RVB

SDRconnect and RSPdx

I now have an RSPdx which arrived today and connected it in the loft to a discone which was already there. I changed the o/s on my Pi 4 that runs an ADS-B receiver to the 64-bit flavour, reinstalled FR24feeder and installed SDRconnect. Running it as a server it communicates very nicely with SDRconnect on the Mac Mini. It will be interesting to watch this software as it develops. One this was clear… the discone is useless! While I realise it is little use at HF it is pretty deaf thereafter. So I have moved the RSPdx down to the shack so it can be plugged into ‘proper’ antennas. It is currently pulling in 20m. Of course, my HF antenna is on a tuner so I need to tune it via one of the HF rigs and then swap leads to plug the SDR in, but that is not much of an issue because it is all done via the BNC patch panel. I also had it looking at 2m via the white stick in the loft. My old RSP2 is destined to go into the garage with a couple of VLF antennas as it is far too electrically noisy…

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