Tried and Tested SDR Hardware

Recommended Hardware:

Invest in your radio setup with Nooelec hardware. My daily use, tutorials, and working demonstrations prove their value. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to enhance your experience backed by exceptional support. Listed below are some of my recommended hardware.

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Nooelec NESDR SMArTee XTR SDR – Premium RTL-SDR w/ Extended Tuning Range, Aluminum Enclosure, Bias Tee, 0.5PPM TCXO, SMA Input.

Nooelec RTL-SDR v5 SDR – NESDR SMArt HF/VHF/UHF (100kHz-1.75GHz) Software Defined Radio. Premium RTLSDR w/ 0.5PPM TCXO

NooElec SAWbird+ GOES – Premium Saw Filter & Cascaded Ultra-Low Noise LNA Module for NOAA (GOES/LRIT/HRIT/HRPT) Applications. 1688MHz Center Frequency.

NooElec SAWbird+ NOAA – Premium Saw Filter & Cascaded Ultra-Low Noise LNA Module for NOAA Applications. 137MHz Center Frequency

Nooelec SAWbird+ IR – Premium Saw Filter & Cascaded Ultra-Low Noise LNA Module for Iridium and Inmarsat Applications. 1620MHz Center Frequency

Nooelec SAWbird iO – Premium Dual Ultra-Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) & Saw Filter Module for Inmarsat Applications. 1542MHz Center Frequency

Flamingo+ FM – Broadcast FM Bandstop Filter v2 In my opinion this is a must-have! (FM Notch Filter) for Software Defined Radio (RTL-SDR) Applications. Blocks Problematic 88-108MHz Frequencies from Your SMA-Connected Radio. Flamingo+ FM has a higher attenuation than other similar commercial filters, while also have a lower insertion losses outside of the stop band (<0.25dB avg.) and less of an effect on the adjacent VHF airband of 108MHz-137MHz (8dB avg. attenuation vs 16dB avg. of similar filters)

Nooelec Satellite Mesh Antenna Boom for Inmarsat, Iridium, & Hydrogen Line Applications. 21dBi w/ 1.4GHz Center Frequency, 300MHz+ Bandwidth. LMR400 SMA Feed Cable w/ Male SMA Connector

Nooelec GOES Weather Satellite Mesh Antenna – For those who need just the feed and dish- 21dBi Parabolic Antenna w/ 1.7GHz Center Frequency, 200MHz+ Bandwidth, LMR400 Feed Cable with Male SMA Connector, Mounting Hardware, & 2 Year Warranty

Nooelec GOES Weather Satellite RTL-SDR Bundle – Includes NESDR SMArTee XTR Software Defined Radio, & Everything Else Needed to Receive LRIT, HRIT & HRPT Satellite Weather Images Directly from Space!

Nooelec Satellite Mesh Antenna Bundle for Inmarsat, Iridium, & Hydrogen Line Applications. 20dBi Parabolic Antenna w/ 1.4GHz Center Frequency, 300MHz+ Bandwidth. LMR400 SMA Feed Cable & Mounting Kit.

Balun One Nine v2 Barebones – Small Low-Cost 9:1 (1:9) HF Antenna Balun and Unun with Antenna Input Protection for Shortwave. Great for Software Defined Radio (RTL-SDR), Ham It Up & SDRPlay

Nooelec Ham It Up Nano – Tiny HF, MF & LF Upconverter w/TCXO. Extends The Frequency Range of Your Favorite RTL-SDR or Radio Down to 100kHz. includes aluminum enclosure & accessories. Made in the USA!

NooElec Ham It Up Plus v2 – HF/MF/LF/VLF/ULF Upconverter and Panadapter w/TCXO & Switchable LNA/Passthrough Options Extend The Range of Your RTL-SDR, NESDR or Other Radio Down to 300Hz.

Nooelec Ham It Down 3GHz Down Converter – Extends The Frequency of Your RTL-SDR or Radio to 3.1GHz! Receive UHF & L-Band Transmissions with Ease. TCXO, SMA Connectivity & Multiple Power Options

The Little Things

Don’t forget the small stuff, These little do-dads are important to have in your box of necessities.

SMA Connectors kit In my opinion this is a must-have! 18 Type SMA RP-SMA Adapter Plug and Jack Straight and 90° SMA Connector Goldplated Brass RF Coax Connectivity Set

NooElec SMA DC Block in-Line 50 Ohm 50kHz-8GHz Connector Blocks DC Voltage from your Radio or RF Test Equipment. Ultra-Low Insertion Loss (<0.3dB to 6GHz) and 2 Watts Maximum Power.

Nooelec SMA Attenuator Kit – I Highly recommend this kit!
Bundle of 6pc 2W 50 Ohm SMA in-Line Attenuators Provides Highly Linear Attenuation from 1dB to 42dB in 1dB Increments. Includes values of 1dB, 2dB, 3dB, 6dB, 10dB and 20dB, which allows for selective attenuation of anywhere between 1dB-42dB in 1dB increments- Fantastic accuracy of / – 0.1dB through to 3GHz

Other Choices that I have used and can recommend.

While Nooelec is my preferred hardware choice, I’ve also had the opportunity to test other products. Here are a few that impressed me.

V4 R828D RTL2832U 1PPM TCXO SMA Software Defined Radio – Several improvements over other brands including use of the R828D tuner, built-in HF upconverter circuit, improved filtering, improved component tolerances, a 1 PPM temperature compensated oscillator (TCXO), SMA F connector, aluminum shielded case with thermal pad for passive cooling, improved filtering, and an activatable bias tee circuit. Can tune from 500 kHz to 1.7 GHz and has up to 3.2 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth (2.4 MHz stable). NOTE: The RTL-SDR Blog V4 requires a driver update. Please follow the installation manual carefully!

V3 R860 RTL2832U 1PPM TCXO SMA Software Defined Radio R860 tuner, improved component tolerances, a 1 PPM temperature compensated oscillator (TCXO), SMA F connector, aluminum shielded case with thermal pad for passive cooling, and a software activatable bias tee circuit. Can tune from 500 kHz to 1.7 GHz and has up to 3.2 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth (2.4 MHz stable). (HF reception below 24 MHz in direct sampling mode with reduced performance).

Broadcast FM Block Filter (88-108 MHz Block) by RTL-SDR Blog Blocks the broadcast FM band between 88 – 108 MHz with over 50dB of attenuation. Insertion loss is less than 0.5 dB between 0 – 1 GHz, and mostly less than 1.5 dB between 1 – 3 GHz. Uses SMA female connectors. Comes with a free SMA male to SMA male adapter. I have several of these.