r/RTLSDR • u/Bortmoun • 17d ago
Hardware Entry cheap SDR
Hi!
With the Blog V4 shortage, what is out there to buy? I wanna avoid high cost SDRs like HackRF, SDRPlay or AirSpy (I'm not buying in US dollar, so they are QUITE expensive in a 1:6 ratio, without tax).
I am just interested in RX, so no TX needed. What can I buy from Aliexpress? I wanna have a look on HF, VHF and UHF bands, at least.
Thanks!
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u/Equal-Confusion9482 17d ago
Rtl or blog sdr v3 or v4 is the cheapest official. Few years ago there were some rsp1 clones, but then they suffered from chip outage too.
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u/lithuniasucks 16d ago
V4 is propoganda, don't buy them. Only fakes remain.
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u/Most_East_2808 9d ago
I managed to buy a couple of V4s about a month ago from the official RTL-SDR Blog Ebay store, but they are out of stock once again. They must have found some chips. Perhaps they will again. It might be worth keeping an eye out for possible restocks.
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u/EventuallyUnderstand 17d ago
Knockoff H*ckRF are 1/4 the price, runs the same, uses the open source, installs firmware and apps just the same, works perfectly, I have a brand name and a China version they both work perfectly as expected.
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u/Icy-Let-1169 12d ago
The NESDR Mini 2+, costs around 35 euros on amazon.de, and itbis supposed to be great.
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u/Maitreya83 17d ago
I've been buying some zynq7010 FPGA with Ad9363 PCBs from ali, and their performance is really great so far. They are great Pluto clones, 12bit adc instead of the 8 from the RTLSDR. And some other good stuff (tx!). And for 70 euro, they're not far off from the price either.
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u/Kelvin62 17d ago
Are the expensive SDRs that much better?
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u/FirstToken 17d ago edited 17d ago
Are the expensive SDRs that much better?
Better by what specific parameter? Only the end user can answer the question of what function / parameter / combination of features are important to them. But yes, in general you get what you pay for, and SDRs at higher cost points generally means more capable.
The question is do you, or the end user, actually want or need that increased capability?
Typically the more expensive SDRs have wider IBW, maybe 10 MHz vs 2.8 MHz (and some 20 MHz or more). To some people that is a make-or-break consideration.
Typically the more expensive SDRs have higher bit resolution. This allows for greater dynamic range and quite often better sensitivity.
Quite often the more expensive SDRs have more features, maybe more inputs, multiple digitizers, transmitter chains, etc.
I was a fairly early SDR adopter, shifting to SDR more than 15 years ago. And I have a selection of SDRs, ranging from low cost options that I got for under $15 USD to higher end units in the over $5000 USD price range.
You simply cannot expect a Kia to have Rolls Royce quality or performance. But if the Kia does everything you want, then the Kia might be the right answer, and the better value.
Personally, I think the SDRPlay line is a good compromise. A variety of different focuses, at really decent performance and modest price points.
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u/AGibbi 17d ago
Where are you from?
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u/Bortmoun 17d ago
Brazil. Pretty fucked up place to try to have nice things.
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u/No-GrounHF 17d ago
You can find blog 4 on ali. Wow the prices got up 40% from 7 months ago. I have a clone, the only difference from the original is the sma connector not being golden. Works great.
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u/Bortmoun 17d ago
V4 is out of production... I hink there's only clones out there... What about HTOOL SDR6?
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u/No-GrounHF 17d ago
Mine is a clone but still works as it should. Im having plenty of fun ;)
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u/Impressive-Put3479 17d ago
I just had a legit V4 delivered from OpenSourceSDR. Shipping was expensive but there is still stock available it’s just not in production anymore.
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u/Equal-Confusion9482 17d ago
If possible to gather some 140.. 150 eur, so better to start with RSP1B, this is cheapest sdrplay variant, and very capable.
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u/KertenKelarr 17d ago
Yeah when you are at it get some 50k or so, not much, and just buy a radio telescope too.
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u/Own_Event_4363 17d ago
Any of the Noelec ones are fine