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The RTL SDR

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By p-i-c-o 1 min read

I recently bought the RTL-SDR, and I have been loving it! It lets anyone listen to any radio frequency around them.

Contents of the package

The kit I purchased came with:

  • 2x Long Antenna Whips
  • 2x Short Antenna Whips
  • 1x Bendable Tripod
  • 1x Suction Cup Mount
  • 1x Dipole adapter
  • 1x SMA Extension Cable
  • 1x RTL-SDR

Setup

I set up my antennas against my window using the suction cup mount, this way I could get the best connection to local radio stations and broadcast towers. Simply stick the suction cup mount on the window and screw on the dipole adapter, make sure the ground connection is pointing down by popping off the cap and checking the mounting hole with the plastic cable is pointing down. Then screw on your antenna whips (I prefer the long ones) and extend them to around 19 inches (50 cm). Then attach your SMA extension cable to the dipole adapter and the other end to the RTL-SDR. Finally plug your RTL-SDR into your computer.

Software

I daily-drive macOS, so I recommended CubicSDR. It works great as a started software for radio amateurs. Whereas for Windows, I hear SDRsharp is great. Most people run Windows on a daily basis, so this seems to be the best one.

What can you do with it?

You can listen to any radio frequency you can imagine. Use websites like SkyVector and Radio Reference to find frequencies of police stations, airports, EMS, and local radio stations to listen in on.

radio
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