The only drawback so far was reception of shortwave. Ever since i got my funcube dongle pro last christmas it has been the main focus of my radio experimentation. An out of the box test of the highly innovative funcubedongle sdr software defined radio. Gnu radio with funcube dongle sdr amateur radio stack exchange. The quadrature sampling rate is at 96 khz with 80 khz useable. The hid drivers required by the dongle are normally shipped with windows xp and higher. You can adjust the frequency correction by changing the correction part in the funcube dongle tab. The interface started up, and to get things running, there are two things you need to do. Nov 24, 2011 using a ct1ffu hf upconvertor kit with sdrradio and a fcd fun cube dongle going into vac virtual audio cable then to mmsstv software. 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. See more ideas about ham radio, software and ham radio antenna. All rtlsdr compatible devices employ the rtl2832u as an adc and usb controller, but different rf tuners may be used.
Funcube sdr dongle overview and first impressions ham radio. I have used it on a number of computers including some quite old not very powerful machines and with different software applications primarily the sdrradio and hdsdr suites. In the last few months, software defined radio has seen an explosion in popularity thanks to a small usb tv tuner dongle able to receive. These dashboards are under continual development and the next planned development is to create a single dashboard that will service all funcube telemetry payloads simultaneously. A few months ago i did a video on an sdr unit that. The cubicsdr software in combination with the rtl dongle can tune and demodulate different ranges and types of radio signals.
With the hf converter the reception of a frequency range from 0 to 52mhz now becomes possible. It covers lf, mf, hf, vhf, uhf and l band coverage is 150khz240mhz and. Funcube sdr dongle overview and first impressions ham. I got an airspy a few weeks ago and i am just blown away by its noise floor and dynamic range. Using a ct1ffu hf upconvertor kit with sdr radio and a fcd fun cube dongle going into vac virtual audio cable then to mmsstv software. Dsp, controls, io board, softrock base, txpa 1, multirx, xlpf, internal cables, and enclosure. Just wanted to say that were a small company and our goal is to improve the rtlsdr dongle into a product that is more sdr than dvbt dongle whilst keeping the price low enough so that anyone can afford one and have fun. Softwaredefined radio sdr is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented in hardware e. Airspy is a line of popular softwaredefined radio sdr receivers developed to achieve high performance and affordable price using innovative combinations of dsp and rf techniques. In that video i showed how the unit worked in vhf and uhf but failed to get it working in hf mode. If the console is running you must restart the console for the changes to be detected. You can also adjust the lna gain to get around 0db in map65iq see later in this document next we need to check the map65iq settings from sdrradio.
Sdr cube quick kit virtually no soldering required, because we did it for you. Certificate and qsl cards available online as announced at the recent amsatuk colloquium, a certificate of achievement andor a amateur radio style qsl card are now available online. Before getting this sdr dongle, i had used one of the cheapcheap rtl dongles, and thought that for its low price, that rtl was fun, if woefully inadequate from overload to filtering to noise floor to range deafness on a 90 grounded, unund random wire and then thought perhaps more money would. This usb type works with my computer soundcard asus xonar essence stx. Full coverage of all amateur bands from 6khz through hf, 6m, 2m, 4m, 2m, 1. Before getting this sdr dongle, i had used one of the cheapcheap rtl dongles, and thought that for its low price, that rtl was fun, if woefully inadequate from overload to filtering to noise floor to range deafness on a 90 grounded, unund random wire and then thought perhaps more money would garner a better. A small side by side comparison of a funcube dongle and a cheap rtl sdr. Sdrplay recommends bonito antennas and this compact moonraker hf antenna for our us government and hf alerting partner click here. The center frequency of the funcube dongle can be set by software. All rtl sdr compatible devices employ the rtl2832u as an adc and usb controller, but different rf tuners may be used.
Getting started with software defined radio hackaday. I have to express my appreciation to howard long, g6lvb for putting this device out there for purchase. Only those who have successfully received telemetry from funcube 1 and uploaded it to the warehouse are able to download these documents. We have included the recommended warehouse settings for each satellite as well as the fcd centre frequency. In that video i showed how the unit worked in vhf and uhf but failed to get it working in hf. The fcd is the hardware adapter for a software defined radio, its function is to downconvert a raw portion of spectrum that is streamed as a stereo audio stream. Ultra cheap sdrwelcome to the forum a place to discuss all things related to cheap software defined radio, with focus on using rtl2832ubased dvbt usb dongles on linux with gnu radio, and on windows with hdsdr. Simon browns sdrradio 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. As a side note, it is worth remembering that while dsp approaches can. The goal is to satisfy the most demanding telecommunications professionals and radio enthusiasts while being a serious alternative to both cost sensitive and higher. At this time i would have to say that the funcube dongle fcd is more of an experimenters sdr radio than a finished product.
Sep 10, 2015 a few months ago i did a video on an sdr unit that. The digital tv dongles can transfer a much wider bandwidth. This is noticeable if you try to receive band 2 fm radio through the fcd the signal sounds distorted on peaks because the bandwidth isnt quite wide enough for fm stereo. There are now dozens of software defined radio packages that support the ultra cheap rtlsdr. Jun 03, 2011 the quadrature sampling rate is at 96 khz with 80 khz useable. Users should remember the that dashboard that was started last, is the one that will control the frequency settings applied to the funcube dongle.
Just wanted to say that were a small company and our goal is to improve the rtlsdr dongle into a product that is more sdr than dvbt dongle whilst keeping the price low enough so that anyone can afford one and have fun with sdr. Sdr cube on hold while awaiting new enclosures and restocking of the rf deck modules. The fcd looks like a budget usb sound card to the sdr software, so its bandwidth is restricted to 2 x 48khz. For this example, well select frequency modulation stereo fms as the signal type. The beginners guide to software defined radio rtlsdr duration. If you know of a program that is missing please leave. This time small side by side comparison of a funcube dongle and a cheap rtl sdr dvbt dongle hama nano. Meteor radar sdr receiver british astronomical association. These modes can also be received with the rtl sdr and an upconverter such as the nooelec hamitup upconverter. Introduction to rtlsdr low cost software defined radio. With an sdr, many of the functions of a traditional hardwareonly radio are performed in software, such as demodulation, decoding and frequency conversion. 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. The funcube is a cubesat a low cost miniature 10 cm cube sized satellite which is intended mainly for educating young people about radio, space, physics and electronics, but has also piqued the interest of.
On this page we will attempt to list, categorize and provide a brief overview of each software program. It was a little fiddly to initially set up but i have been impressed with its. Give a try with your rtl2832u dongle and see how you like it. Checking funcube pro plus dongle frequency calibration against known standards then looking for an active ham band. Each satellite carrying a funcube payload has a dedicated dashboard and we have updated the one page summary funcube dashboard summary v 3 of those dashboards, their current version number and a dedicated download link.
Hf converter kit for funcube dongle sdr sparkys blog. Cubicsdr fm radio getting started with rtlsdr and sdr. Funcube pro plus differs from rtl sdr dvbt stick, with 11 filters to improved quality of reception on radio amateurs and satellite band inculding the amateur band 2m and 70cm bands. Software defined radio sdr is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented in hardware e. I have tried installing ubuntu with gnu radio on a virtual machine and when i try to run the flow graph nothing shoes up in the sink and the frequency control software qthid crashes. Only those who have successfully received telemetry from funcube1 and uploaded it to the warehouse are able to download these documents. We categorize the programs into general purpose software, single purpose software, research software and software compatible with audio piping. See more ideas about ham radio, ham radio antenna and qrp. Send us your cube see midnight design address below, and well be happy to. Click for more info rf powercube coming to production in fall of 2020.
Fun cube dongle the fun cube dongle or fcd is an sdr product that has recently become available in small numbers and which has been bought by amateur radio enthusiasts around the world who wish to become involved with this new technology and explore its many applications. Sdrplay recommends bonito antennas and this compact moonraker hf antenna. Apr 23, 20 download qthid funcube dongle controller for free. The idea behind the development of this device was to make available.
Click here to browse our apps and support catalogue. The funcube dongle fcd is a small software defined receiver sdr with a built. Software defined radio receiver usb stick rtl2832 wr820t. I wonder why there isnt a single rtlsdr dongle that has. Cubicsdr fm radio was last updated on may 12, 2020. It is written using the qt sdk and is available for linux, windows and mac os x. Device drivers are already included in your operating system windows, linux or mac osx, 32 or 64 bit. Sdruno supports rsp1, rsp1a, rsp2, rsp2pro, rspdx and the rspduo. Using a ct1ffu hf upconvertor kit with sdrradio and a fcd fun cube dongle going into vac virtual audio cable then to mmsstv software. The funcube dongle sdr receiver has been a huge success so far and enjoys wide acceptance with many radio amateurs for receiving satellites and other vhfuhf communications. It covers lf, mf, hf, vhf, uhf and l band coverage is 150khz240mhz and 420mhz to 1.