Clayton,
Thank you for posting your comments. These are the sorts of specifics I have been looking for.
cheers, Graham ve3gtc
On 2016-01-23 02:37, Clayton W5PFG wrote:
Graham,
I know you specifically said you prefer Linux, but the solution which brought me the most success was HDSDR+SatPC32. The two applications talk together well via CAT and a pair of virtual serial ports. This gives you full Doppler shift adjustment by computer control.
My FT-857D was configured as a radio in SatPC32. The FCDP+ was configured as the other radio in SatPC32.
If you moved the dial on the radio, there was full, tracking feedback to SatPC32 and HDSDR. If you tuned on the HDSDR, it adjusted the radio as well.
I made several hundred contacts on all the available satellites during the time I was playing with this in the shack.
The only drawback to the solution was having to swap coax lines between 2m and 70cm.
73 Clayton W5PFG
On 1/22/2016 18:01, Graham wrote:
Thank you Stefan (and all),
I think I will put the FCDP+ at the top of my list for now.
Regards software. This has been a bit hit and miss with me for SDR's.
I like SDR# but it is Windoze only. I prefer Linux but use Windows when have to. On Linux I have been using GQRX. They all have their pluses and minuses but the challenge becomes getting everything to place nice together, for example which OS? I like GPREDICT and there are Windows and Linux flavours but the FCDP+ software is Windows only (or is it? I will have a go look see).
I guess it is time to do some more reading and research.
Glad I didn't get a HackRF.
cheers, Graham ve3gtc
On 2016-01-22 22:59, Stefan Wagener wrote:
Hi Graham.
If you check online, the HackRF has been a huge disappointment as a receiver for a number of reasons. The airspy is better but at the end it is the FCD Pro+ that will outperform all of them especially with the narrow SAW filters on 2m and 70cm. I had all three and tested them extensively for satellite work. At the end I only kept the FCDplus+.
Hope this helps,
Stefan, VE4NSA
On Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 4:33 PM, Graham <[email protected] mailto:[email protected]> wrote:
very interesting discussion. Does anyone have any first hand experience using the Airspy SDR http://airspy.com/ It is in the same price range as FCDP+ and a bit more than the SDRPlay. There are so many to choose from with prices all the over the place. I realize that you get what you pay for but sometimes that is not always obvious, for example the HackRF devices are considerably more the SDRPlay/FCDP+/Airspy but as someone commented, lacks front end filtering making them a poorer choice. So far I have been only dabbling with receiving the many satellites now flying about. It has been a long time since I have made any contacts through any of them, that was back in the OSCAR 7/8, RS10/11 era. cheers, Graham ve3gtc On 2016-01-22 20:45, Clayton W5PFG wrote: Like others have mentioned here, the $20-25 RTL Dongles have not worked very well for me when combined with a transmitter. The FT-857D/FUNcube DonglePro+ combo worked well for me. Not one of the two RTL dongles was suitable for regular use. I rank the RTL's as a failure for both mode B or J birds without significant additional filters. For simple receive use, they're okay. If compactness was a desire, the FCDP+ would be my choice. However, the SDRPlay mentioned has a lot more bandwidth capability and is reasonably priced from HRO in the states. 73 Clayton W5PFG _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings:
Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb