As many will be aware, the original raspberry pi had a problem with its usb host stack, for which i released a workaround here. The funcube dongle simple fits into your computers usb port. This article describes recent experiments with the software defined radio equipment known as the funcube dongle fcd1 to determine its usefulness as the receiver in a meteor scatter radar. In order to get one you had to be quick off the mark on ebay. The receiver covers a frequency range of 150 khz to 1900 mhz and can displayreceive a spectrum of up to 192 khz the funcube sdr receiver was developed to support the funcube satellite project of amsatuk. It was a little fiddly to initially set up but i have been impressed with its performance, it has opened my.
The video shows basic receive and scanner functions. Id like it if someone could point me at something better than the funcube. A radio astronomy paper describes the use of the amsatuk funcube dongle software defined radio as part of a radio telescope. While awaiting the fcd pro plus from my local dealer, two questions. This receiver still picks up more signals than any other radio ive ever. It provides iq data via usb audio and its control interface frequency, gains. This is the last satellite reception of a series recorded on monday, february 28, 2011 using the funcube dongle software defined radio receiver and the arrow ii handheld satellite antenna. May 19, 2012 ive been wanting to get a software defined radio receiver for some time now. I have used it on a number of computers including some quite old not very powerful machines and with different software applications primarily the sdr radio and hdsdr suites. Meteor radar sdr receiver british astronomical association.
Personally i see a great potential to use it with a. Designed for the commercial, government, amateur radio and shortwave listener communities, this software provides a powerful interface for all sdr users. After some digging around online the best one it seems is the funcube. Simon browns sdr radio worked as well, and with equal ease, though as luck would have it i tried it on the very day that the free licence key for the program expired. The original fcd has a limitation in the lo which is integrated into the tuner chip where. Software defined radio is an implementation of a radio communication system where components that have normally been implemented in hardware e. It covers lf, mf, hf, vhf, uhf and l band coverage is 150khz240mhz and 420mhz to 1. The funcube sdr usb dongle pro plus is an sdr software defined radio receiver built as a usb stick. We categorize the programs into general purpose software, single purpose software, research software and software compatible with audio piping. This sdr far outperforms the other cheap rtl dvb usb receivers that have been repurposed for general coverage use. The funcube sdr usb dongle is an sdr software defined radio receiver built as a usb stick.
Indeed, although from the outside it might look similar, its an entirely new design. In this article, well see how to install the system with the receiver providing direct input to the software. This page collects various amateur radio satellite and cubesat receptions carried out using the funcube dongle. Regarding your other comments, you should consider that the funcube dongle pro plus is a completely new design in almost every way. Funcube dongle is a software defined radio receiver in a usb stick tunable over a range of 64 mhz 1.
Compared to cheap rtl dongles the funcube pro does have a 16bit adc and a 96khz sample rate which in my case is desirable compared to 2mhz and 8bit adc of rtl dongles. As you may know, although the funcube dongle was originally designed with receiving signals from space in mind, theres nothing special about extraterrestrial radio waves when compared to those on terra firma. These receivers will usually significantly outperform the more general purpose receivers shown above in terms of sensitivity, but they usually concentrate only on the hf or amateur bands. It is written using the qt sdk and is qthid funcube dongle controller browse 3. Mar 22, 2014 im learning about software defined radio. Airspy, a high quality approach to software defined radio. This usb type works with my computer soundcard asus xonar essence stx. Hdsdr is a freeware software defined radio sdr program for microsoft windows 2000xpvista7. The fcd was my first exposure to any kind of software defined radio sdr.
Its compatible with many radio reception programs like rocky, m0kgk, spectravue and linrad. Ive been using the funcube dongle pro plus as my primary receiver for several years, i wouldnt trade it for anything. The receiver range is now 150khz to 240mhz and 420mhz to 1. I have no experience with software defined radios but as i have experimented with the. Not only for satellite reception but for all experimentation with amateur radio sdr in general. Radio amateurs and shortwave listening swling hobbyists have had high performance sdrs for some time now. Were lucky to live in a time of phenomenal radio innovation.
One of the drawbacks is that it does not go below 64mhz, and i would like to be able to listen to hf. It is written using the hid api library and the qt gui toolkit. This project is intended fo schools and pupils, who have the requirement for a very. With an sdr, many of the functions of a traditional hardwareonly radio are performed in software, such as demodulation, decoding and frequency conversion. It helps to disable power saving options on the computer used to run the sdr. In the paper dr david morgan of the british astronomical association radio astronomy group baarag describes how he used the funcube dongle as the heart of a radio telescope operating on 1420 mhz. Funcube dongle archives page 2 of 3 oz9aec website. So, for analogue reception, as well as narrow band fm and ssb, it is also possible to receive. Post office were frequently missed it is not a timedefinite service, and i was.
I am using this unit as an upconverter for the vhfuhf sdr dongle receiver and everything works great. The satellite is the good old fuji fo29 and the recording was made in jo45kg during orbit 71777. Ever since i got my funcube dongle pro last christmas it has been the main focus of my radio experimentation. Funcube dongle pro sdr radio astronomy and spectroscopy. Jun 27, 2018 download gqrx software defined radio receiver for free. In fact, at least one funcube dongle has even found its way into space itself on board a satellite. Apr 05, 2014 simple setup no drivers required and multiple sdr controller software available. It covers lf, mf, hf, vhf, uhf and l band coverage is. Rtlsdr blog r820t2 rtl2832u 1ppm tcxo sma software defined radio dongle only. Jun 22, 20 ive been spending a few hours playing around with a funcube dongle pro.
The fcd is the hardware adapter for a softwaredefined radio, its function is to. The antenna and head amplifier characteristics are discussed briefly, but for detail the reader is directed to previous publications. The funcube dongle fcd is a small software defined receiver sdr with a built. Noaa19 apt recption using gnu radio and a funcube dongle. If you know of a program that is missing please leave. There was a lot of excitement about this project a couple of years ago when it started. Moon bounce or earth moon earth eme is an amateur radio. Please note that frustratingly the waiting list software doesnt supply a positive. I wanted to do some sdr receiving on the hf radio bands.
Jul 30, 2011 gqrx is a software defined radio receiver for funcube dongle fcd, rtl2832ubased dvbt devices rtlsdr, universal software radio peripherals usrp and osmo sdr devices. It provides iq data via usb audio and its control interface frequency, gains, filters uses the usb hid api. Support for this device is enabled via the third party grfcdproplus gnu radio block, which must be installed after gnu radio but prior to grosmosdr. When i set out to use my fcd, there were certainly some early documents available, and i am very grateful that the respective. Buy products related to sdr radio products and see what customers say about sdr radio products on free delivery possible on eligible purchases. I am using hdsdr with another sdr receiver and satisfied with that software. In the video he tests the reception of radio new zealand. Not much bigger than a typical rtl tv tuner dongle.
Any reception problems are due to my location and antenna, not the radio. There are now dozens of software defined radio packages that support the ultra cheap rtlsdr. Ill be away for a few days next week 19 august to 23 august, so as there will be a short delay in dispatch, im currently offering free shipping until i return if you place an order before i return. On the funcube dongle software defined radio site howard g6lvb says. The receiver covers a frequency range of 150 khz to 1900 mhz and can displayreceive a spectrum of up to 192 khz. He compares the reception with an rtlsdr, funcube pro plus and. This radio receiver was designed to allow the greatest number try to receiving satellite radio and participate in a collaborative educational project collections information from the space. I already have a vhfuhf sdr dongle but it does not extend below 30 mhz. Funcube pro plus differs from rtlsdr dvbt stick, with 11 filters to improved quality of reception on radio amateurs and satellite band inculding the amateur band 2m and 70cm bands. On this page we will attempt to list, categorize and provide a brief overview of each software program.
These instructions are written with the windows 7 operating system in mind. You can download the paper experiments with a software defined radio. Theres also a sdr dongle that receives as high as 2. The funcube dongle is a small usbflashdisk sized software defined radio receiver for 67 mhz 1. The dongle the funcube dongle pro plus was initially developed in the project of satellite funcubes amsat uk. Airspy is a line of popular software defined radio sdr receivers developed to achieve high performance and affordable price using innovative combinations of dsp and rf techniques. Gqrx is a software defined radio receiver powered by gnu radio and the qt gui toolkit. Funcube dongle archives page 3 of 3 oz9aec website.
The pro model is unrestricted in its frequency coverage. Gqrx is free and open source software and anyone is invited to hack the source code to suit their needs. The receiver covers a frequency range of 64 to 1700 mhz and can displayreceive a spectrum of up to 80 khz. Gqrx is a software defined radio receiver for funcube dongle fcd, rtl2832ubased dvbt devices rtlsdr, universal software radio peripherals usrp and osmo sdr devices. Thought this might be of interest to the readers of this part of the forum, it is a software defined radio in a usb dongle that receives from 64mhz to 1. The funcube sdr receiver was developed to support the funcube satellite project of amsatuk. The results were so good that they also brought their gold standard racal ra3791 to the game, and the results are surprising. Folks, today we spent some time with the new raspberry pi 2 and the funcube dongle pro plus.
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