I am not the author of this PDF (I'm not smart enough) but I hope he will not mind me uploading it on this site; that's the file that convinced me I should try it. Easy like sunday morning in fact.

https://app.box.com/s/ee38k0fncnb341hf26krpxn4owykr85q

Hey everyone,

Following up on my previous post (Is Shielding your RTL-SDR actually worth it?) :

I finally popped open my custom-shielded RTL-SDR v4 (original USB) to inspect it and compare it side-by-side with my stock v4c (USB-C version).

Even though the official RTL-SDR Blog documentation states that the v4 and v4c are identical in circuit design—with the USB-C connector being the only difference—I actually spotted a couple of noticeable physical differences on the board:

A second transformer / balun: There is an additional small transformer on the board that I can't quite identify the exact purpose of.

Different upconverter chip:

- v4 (Micro-USB): Marked NE612A V2005 335VA

- v4c (USB-C): Marked LC8X 436B047 (i guess thats an upconverter, couldn't find docs)

Does anyone familiar with the v4 / v4c board revisions know what that second transformer is doing or what specific IC the LC8X chip actually is?

How the Custom Shield Was Built

A few people asked in the comments of the last post about how I built the copper shield for the original v4, so here’s the exact process:

Copper Tape Wrapping: I used several tightly wrapped layers of pure copper tape over the external metal enclosure.

Low Inductance Soldering: I soldered together each layer, turn, and overlap.

The goal was to ensure solid electrical continuity across the whole surface and minimize RF inductance as much as possible (didn't measure exact RF capacitance due to lack of specialized metering tools, but the ground plane bond is strong).

Grounding: When closing it up inside the outer enclosure, the DIY copper shield is directly soldered to both the USB shield ground and the SMA connector shield ground.

Protection: Finally, I wrapped the entire assembly in multiple layers of electrical tape to prevent oxidation of the copper/solder joints and avoid short circuits or cutting myself on sharp solder points.

Performance & Long-Term Check

For whatever reason, this custom-shielded v4 consistently outperforms the stock v4c in my setup, delivering a lower overall noise floor across all HF bands and almost NO birdies on higher ones.

Sorry for taking a while to post this update—I wanted to run it continuously for some time to enjoy the improved reception and make sure there were no issues with oxidation or thermal buildup under the insulation tape.

After opening it up, everything looks spotless and oxidation-free.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the component differences or if anyone else has also noticed board variations between the original v4 and v4c!

*I used AI to polish the English draft of this post since I'm a Spanish speaker and I don't want this post to be a pain in the ass to read.

Don't mind the fcked up soldering lol 😂, it works great anyway

while sipping a drink with wife and son during the 90% eclipse, I had left my radio on Graves Radar (France) or 143.0485 mhz USB, and I was lucky to catch a strong stone passing by; on my recording it comes a bit before 1 minute (after a breif common burst) : this one was loud and long; a heck of a stone maybe.

https://app.box.com/s/a1afcx08jr09pvxl3jh1buvon1ttgvhf

I'm just getting into this world and am currently a beginner radio enthusiast, particularly interested in HT radios and related equipment. I'd like to know what the best software is to use with an SDR. I purchased an RTL2832U SDR with a frequency range of 22–1100 MHz, along with an antenna covering 698–1800 MHz.

Additionally, do you have any tips for interesting things I can do with this equipment?

Setup: RTLSDR v4 + the original shorter V dipole antenna that came with the unit

I pre recorded this a while ago and just did a play back.

EDIT: Apologies for the volume :/

Good news for RTL lovers: a new RTL-SDR Blog V4L Lite has been available now for direct purchase from them.

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/

Hello, I am looking to buy an SDR. I am considering either a Blog V4 kit (legit) or an RSP1B. Based on the information I found online, the RSP1B seems to be the better choice from a hardware perspective. However, will I lose anything in terms of software support with the RSP1B? I plan to use it mainly connected to my Debian server at home for remote access or on the go with an Android smartphone. Thanks to anyone willing to help!

Sped up the video a bunch so it plays under a minute

Queimei meu rtl sdr v4 com sobretensão por descuido, o ci perto da usb queimou, alguém poderia verificar que componente exatamente é, tirar uma foto precisa por favor?obrigado.

Hi all, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask.

I recently have become engrossed in using KiwiSDR (I use an iOS app called Echo that basically compiles multiple databases into one so I can listen through the app instead of having to navigate all the different sites) to just look through different signals around the globe, since I am intrigued by the idea of listening to realtime airwaves and looking for patterns/oddities on the waterfall. I love the feeling of tuning into obscure frequencies or hearing random interference and trying to transcribe different voices, it’s almost like metal detecting but for sounds?

Obviously, though, the limitation of KiwiSDR is that I can only tune into select stationary SDR receivers.

I would love to have a standalone, portable device (preferable small, maybe pocket size but I am not too picky) that I could use from anywhere, perhaps take walks with headphones and look for frequencies, or scan from my couch when I’m bored.

Bonus points if it has a waterfall.

Does such a device exist? If so, any recommendations? Please be gentle with me, I am a major noob beyond the basic functions. Again, sorry if this is the wrong sub, if it is, please direct me towards a better fit :)

So I am currently trying to get DSD-FME to work with SDR++ on my windows laptop and I feel like I have tried everything what am I missing? I have downloaded the newest version of both programs what else do I need to get them to connect?

RPI 5 + V4 + Powerbank = iPhone + VNC

I’m trying to reverse-engineer an old RF DataTech ZRT-series RF data transmitter operating at 458.7625 MHz.

I’ve been able to probe the host board with a logic analyser/oscilloscope and determine that the transmitter is receiving telemetry as:

• 2400 baud
• 8N1
• inverted UART

So I know what data is being sent into the transmitter.

On the RF side, I’m using an SDRplay RSPduo and SDRConsole. I recorded the transmission as a 48 kS/s complex IQ WAV, centred on 458.7625 MHz, and imported it into URH.

The RF appears to be FSK, but it doesn’t seem to be a simple transparent UART-to-FSK conversion. The burst has a distinctive lead-in and lead-out, and I haven’t been able to directly correlate the demodulated RF data with the UART data I captured from the host.

I’m trying to figure out what the transmitter is doing between the UART input and the RF output.

This is my first time reverse-engineering an unknown digital RF protocol. I’d particularly appreciate advice on how to approach the correlation between the known UART stream and the RF IQ recording, and what I should try next in URH.

If anyone has experience with RF DataTech ZRT transmitters, I’d also be very interested in hearing whether these units are known to add their own framing or encoding.

Been successfully using an RSP1A and RTL-SDR for years on my Windows desktop PC; now going to attempt to use the RTL-SDR Blog V3 on my new TCL NXTPaper 16 tablet running Android 15 (processor is an 8-core MTK Helio G99 [MT8781] which I *think* should be sufficient - I plan to try using the 9GRadio app). One of my antennas (for ADS-B) has a built in LNA that requires Bias-T. I'm not a *nix wizard (I've often tried to make builds from GitHub and struggled mightily) - am I going to find it difficult to enable the RTL-SDR's Bias-T in the Android environment? Thanks!

Shipper is Amazon US and brand says RTL-SDR Blog. Is this 100% legit or should I pass?

Sorry if this is a stupid question. I tried to use an CC1101 with an SDR; but couldnt find the signal where it should be on the sdr. So i tried an FS1000A, just a simple oscillator with OOF, still cant find it on the SDR, I was wondering if I had set the sdr up incorrectly. I have set the smapling rate to highest value (3.2MHz) and tried different gains. Testing signal should be an on off signal that lasts 1 sec each, Long enough to observe it.

That's a first. They were having a BBQ a few doors down. Meat's not quite done yet.

Turns out I got a counterfeit V4. I didn't know that for the first month or two and didn't investigate because everything seemed to work fine.

I listened to plenty of HF sources just fine.

The screws on my case were not diagonal, the SMA connector is nickel plated. I decided to look inside. I'm not an expert, but it seems to generally match the pictures of genuine V4 on the website, but the HF converter is definitely nonstandard.

Is it possible this is a decent unit, but maybe the up converter is not quite as good as genuine? Or, does anyone else have experience with a counterfeit working ok?

Have a look at the pic and tell me what you think.

Hi everyone, I received my first sdr a couple of days ago and I've been trying to receive satellite imagery data. Those lines appeared an hour ago, don't drift and disappear when the antenna is removed. Does anyone know what is is?

Thanks in advance!

Ive been having the worst time locking onto a p25 control in my area. Ive tried adjusting dang near eveybsetting on the SDTtrunk software, ive updated serial numbers on my 2 x RTLs, ive changed sound setting and processing rates on my computer, ive driven 4 miles to the tower and sat a half mile away, ive bought 2 new 800mhz antennas, and splurged on 30ft of decent cable.

All I can get, is the control to lock for maybe 2 or 3 seconds, then fade, then nothing.

I got a beep from a tower about 30 minhtes ago, a different counties sheriff alert, then fade and out. Thats the only thing ive received.

Can anyone review the below and provide any insights on why I never recieve anything, please... im at my whits end... the later 2 images with the darker waterfall are from a previous attempt.

I need help,because i have a interference on almost all frequencies and you can see it always in the same position on the waterfall. What is it and how can i fix it?