SDR Comparison

SDR Comparison

Name	Type	Frequency range	Band with	Channel	Host Interface	Windows	Linux	Mac	Estimated price
AirSpy	Pre-build	24-1750 MHz	20 MSPS MSps ADC sampling, up to 80 MSPS	1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes using ports	US$199
SDRstick UDPSDR-HF1	Pre-built	0.1–30 MHz	80 Msps	1	1G Ethernet via BeMicroCV-A9	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$169
Apache Labs ANAN-10E	Pre-built	10 kHz – 55 MHz	122.88 Msps (14 bit ADC)	2	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$995
Apache Labs ANAN-10/100	Pre-built	10 kHz – 55 MHz	122.88 Msps (16 bit ADC)	4	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,649-US$2,449
Apache Labs ANAN-100D/200D	Pre-built	10 kHz – 55 MHz	122.88 Msps (16 bit ADC)	7	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$3,299-US$3,999
SunSDR2	Pre-built	10 kHz – 160 MHz	160 MSPS	3/4	10/100 Ethernet, WLAN (embedded)	Yes	Yes	?	US$1,960
bladeRF	Pre-built	300 MHz - 3.8 GHz	80 kSPS - 40 MSPS RX/TX (12-bit ADC/DAC)	?	USB 3.0 SuperSpeed	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$420
FLEX-6700	Pre-built	0.01–73, 135-165 MHz	245.76 MSPS (transceiver)	8/8	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$7,499
FLEX-6700R	Pre-built	0.01–73, 135-165 MHz	245.76 MSPS (receiver)	8/8	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$6,399
FLEX-6500	Pre-built	0.01–73 MHz	245.76 MSPS (transceiver)	4/4	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$4,299
FLEX-6300	Pre-built	0.01–54 MHz	122.88 MSPS (transceiver)	2/2	Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$2,499
FLEX-5000A	Pre-built	0.01–65 MHz	48, 96, 192 kHz (transceiver)	2/2	1394a Firewire	Yes	No	No	US$2,800
FLEX-3000	Pre-built	0.01–65 MHz	48, 96 kHz (transceiver)	1/1	1394a Firewire	Yes	No	No	US$1,700
FLEX-1500	Pre-built	0.01–54 MHz	48 kHz (transceiver)	1/1	USB	Yes	No	No	US$650
Perseus	Pre-built	10 kHz – 40 MHz (87.5–108 MHz using FM down-converter)	80 MSPS	?	USB	Yes	Yes	?	US$1,199
SDRplay: Radio Spectrum Processor	Pre-built	0.1–2,000 MHz	0.5-12 MS/s and up to 8 MHz bandwidth	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$149
ISDB-T 2035/2037	Pre-built	50–960 MHz	0.5-12 MS/s and up to 8 MHz bandwidth	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$25
Soft66AD / Soft66ADD / Soft66LC4 / Soft66RTL	Pre-built	0.5–70 MHz	External ADC required (I/Q output)	0/1	USB	Yes	Unofficially	?	US$20
FUNcube Dongle	Pre-built	64–1700 MHz	96 kHz	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$160
FUNcube Dongle Pro+	Pre-built	0.15–240 MHz, 420-1900 MHz	192 kHz	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$200
FiFi-SDR	Pre-built	200 kHz – 30 MHz	96 kHz (integrated soundcard)	0/1	USB	Yes	Yes	?	€120
SDR-IQ	PnP	0.1 kHz – 30 MHz	66.666 MHz	1/1 ?	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$525
WinRadio WR-G31DCC	Pre-built	9 kHz – 50 MHz	100 MSPS	3/3	USB	Yes	No	No	US$950
USRP B200	Pre-built	70 MHz to 6 GHz	56 Msps	?	USB 3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$675
USRP B210	Pre-built	70 MHz to 6 GHz	56 Msps	?	USB 3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,100
USRP N200	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	25 Msps for 16-bit samples; 50 Msps for 8-bit samples	?	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,515
USRP N210	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	25 Msps for 16-bit samples; 50 Msps for 8-bit samples	?	Gigabit Ethernet	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$1,717
USRP X300	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	200 Msps	?	Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, PCIe	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$3,900
USRP X310	Pre-built	DC to 6 GHz	200 Msps	?	Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, PCIe	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$4,800
Cross Country Wireless SDR receiver v. 3	Pre-built	472–479 kHz, 7.0–7.3 MHz/10.10–10.15 MHz, and 14.00–14.35 MHz	External ADC required (I/Q output)	1/1	Crystal controlled two channels	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$80
Realtek RTL2832U DVB-T tuner	Pre-built with custom driver	24–1766 MHz (R820T tuner) (sensitivity drops off considerably outside this range, but can go 0–2,200 MHz (E4000 tuner with direct sampling mod))	2.4 MHz (can go up to 3.2 MHz but drops samples)	?	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$8 - US$10
SoftRock-40	Kit	7.5 MHz	48 kHz	1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$21
SoftRock RX Ensemble II	Kit	180 kHz – 3.0 MHz, and 1.8–30 MHz operation	External ADC required (I/Q output)	1	USB	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$67
ZS-1	Pre-built	300 kHz – 30 MHz	10 kHz, 20 kHz, 40 kHz, 100 kHz	3	USB 2.0	Yes	No	No	€1,399
HackRF One	Pre-built	1 MHz - 6 GHz	8 Msps - 20 Msps	1	USB 2.0	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$299
HiQSDR	prebuilt modules & kits, pcbs	30 kHz - 62 MHz	48 - 960 kHz	?	10/100 Ethernet	Yes	Yes	No	US$650 US$1,400
KiwiSDR	Pre-built	0.1 - 30Mhz	30Mhz	4	Beagle black	yes	yes	yes	USD 99
LimeSDR	Pre-built (full Open Source / Hardware)	100 kHz to 3.8 GHz	61.44 Msps (12 bit ADC)	?	USB 3.0, PCIe	Yes	Yes	Yes	US$299(USB) US$799(PCIe)

How to install Gqrx SDR software on Linux using your RTL dongle or Softrock receivers.

How to install the Gqrx SDR software on Linux using your RTL dongle or Softrock receivers. (Ubuntu)

RTL _dongle

The RTL Dongles is available from http://www.giga.co.za/ocart/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_63

Gqrx SDR software

Update the repository files and update your Linux to the latest versions.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Now install the libraries ... get coffee
Now install the libraries for GQRX SDR on you Linux (Ubuntu)

sudo apt-get install cmake python-cheetah doxygen libboost-all-dev python-sphinx libfftw3-dev python-numpy libqwt-dev libgsl0-dev python-wxgtk2.6 qtcreator libpulse-dev swig libcppunit-dev libusb++-dev libusb-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev maybe some more coffee ;-)

For Ubuntu 16.04 I had to add the following libraries
sudo apt-get install qtdeclarative5-dev libqt5svg5*

Build and Install GNU Radio libraries

Create a directory where you will install the SDR software in your favorite install directory.

mkdir gqrx

goto directory you created.

cd gqrx

get the gnuradio source code

git clone http://git.gnuradio.org/git/gnuradio.git
git clone https://github.com/gnuradio/gnuradio.git

if you are using the old git before 1.6 then use this command

git clone git://gnuradio.org/gnuradio
it looks like for Ubuntu 16.04 you need to use the following git clone
git clone --recursive http://git.gnuradio.org/git/gnuradio.git You should see Cloning into 'gnuradio'...

got to the newly created directory gnuradio when the cloning is done

cd gnuradio make a build directory mkdir build goto the build directory cd build Compile gnuradio cmake ../ if you get an error -- WARNING: Found a known bad version of Boost (v104601). Disabling.

Then run cmake -DENABLE_BAD_BOOST=True ../

This can take a couple of hours depending on the speed of you Linux server.

make Now install the newly compiled binaries into the required directories sudo make install Now load the the gnu drivers sudo ldconfig

Build and Install RTL-SDR drivers
go to your favorite install directory
cd ../../../ get the latest source code from osmocom.org git clone git://git.osmocom.org/rtl-sdr.git go to the newly created directory cd rtl-sdr/ Now compile the rtl drivers create the build directory mkdir build go to the build directory cd build compile the code cmake ../ make now install the compiled binaries sudo make install load the drivers sudo ldconfig

now copy the content of the file rtl-sdr.rules and append it to the /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-cd.rules file

use your favorite editor

vi rtl-sdr.rules  and copy the content.

then open the file /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-cd.rules

sudo vi /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-cd.rules and append the previous files content at the end
in ubuntu 16.04 the file name was /etc/udev/rules.d/rtl-sdr.rules

This is how my file looked like

# This file maintains persistent names for CD/DVD reader and writer devices.

# See udev(7) for syntax.

#

# Entries are automatically added by the 75-cd-aliases-generator.rules

# file; however you are also free to add your own entries provided you

# add the ENV{GENERATED}=1 flag to your own rules as well.

# hp_DVD_RW_AD-7581S (pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0)

SUBSYSTEM=="block", ENV{ID_CDROM}=="?*", ENV{ID_PATH}=="pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0", SYMLINK+="cdrom", ENV{GENERATED}="1"

SUBSYSTEM=="block", ENV{ID_CDROM}=="?*", ENV{ID_PATH}=="pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0", SYMLINK+="cdrw", ENV{GENERATED}="1"

SUBSYSTEM=="block", ENV{ID_CDROM}=="?*", ENV{ID_PATH}=="pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0", SYMLINK+="dvd", ENV{GENERATED}="1"

SUBSYSTEM=="block", ENV{ID_CDROM}=="?*", ENV{ID_PATH}=="pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0", SYMLINK+="dvdrw", ENV{GENERATED}="1"

#************************* below is what was appended ****************
# original RTL2832U vid/pid (hama nano, for example)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2832", MODE:="0666"
# ezcap EzTV668 (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2838", MODE:="0666"
# Terratec Cinergy T Stick Black (rev 1) (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00a9", MODE:="0666"
# Terratec NOXON rev 1 (FC0013)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00b3", MODE:="0666"SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00b4", MODE:="0666"SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00b7", MODE:="0666"SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00c6", MODE:="0666"
# Terratec Cinergy T Stick RC (Rev.3) (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00d3", MODE:="0666"
# Terratec T Stick PLUS (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00d7", MODE:="0666"
# Terratec NOXON rev 2 (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0ccd", ATTRS{idProduct}=="00e0", MODE:="0666"
# PixelView PV-DT235U(RN) (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1554", ATTRS{idProduct}=="5020", MODE:="0666"
# Astrometa DVB-T/DVB-T2 (R828D)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="15f4", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0131", MODE:="0666"
# Compro Videomate U620F (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="185b", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0620", MODE:="0666"
# Compro Videomate U650F (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="185b", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0650", MODE:="0666"# Compro Videomate U650F (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="185b", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0650", MODE:="0666"
# Compro Videomate U680F (E4000)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="185b", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0680", MODE:="0666"
# Sweex DVB-T USB (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1f4d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="a803", MODE:="0666"
# GTek T803 (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1f4d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="b803", MODE:="0666"
# Lifeview LV5TDeluxe (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1f4d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="c803", MODE:="0666"
# MyGica TD312 (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1f4d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d286", MODE:="0666"
# PROlectrix DV107669 (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1f4d", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d803", MODE:="0666"
# Zaapa ZT-MINDVBZP (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d398", MODE:="0666"
# Twintech UT-40 (FC0013)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d3a4", MODE:="0666"
# ASUS U3100MINI_PLUS_V2 (FC0013)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d3a8", MODE:="0666"
# Dexatek DK DVB-T Dongle (Logilink VG0002A) (FC2580)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1d19", ATTRS{idProduct}=="1101", MODE:="0666"
# Dexatek DK DVB-T Dongle (MSI DigiVox mini II V3.0)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1d19", ATTRS{idProduct}=="1102", MODE:="0666"# Dexatek DK 5217 DVB-T Dongle (FC2580)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1d19", ATTRS{idProduct}=="1103", MODE:="0666"
# MSI DigiVox Micro HD (FC2580)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1d19", ATTRS{idProduct}=="1104", MODE:="0666"
# DigitalNow Quad DVB-T PCI-E card (4x FC0012?)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0413", ATTRS{idProduct}=="6680", MODE:="0666"
# Leadtek WinFast DTV Dongle mini D (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0413", ATTRS{idProduct}=="6f0f", MODE:="0666"
# Genius TVGo DVB-T03 USB dongle (Ver. B)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0458", ATTRS{idProduct}=="707f", MODE:="0666"
# GIGABYTE GT-U7300 (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d393", MODE:="0666"
# DIKOM USB-DVBT HDSUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d394", MODE:="0666"
# Peak 102569AGPK (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d395", MODE:="0666"
# SVEON STV20 DVB-T USB & FM (FC0012)SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d39d", MODE:="0666"
# SVEON STV21 DVB-T USB & FMSUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2b80", ATTRS{idProduct}=="d3b0", MODE:="0666"

Building and Install gr_osmoSDR

cd ../../ git clone git://git.osmocom.org/gr-osmosdr cd gr-osmosdr/ mkdir build cd build/ cmake ../ -Wno-dev make sudo make install sudo ldconfig

Building and Install Gqrx with command line.

git clone https://github.com/csete/gqrx.git gqrx.git
cd gqrx.git
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..

make
sudo make install

If you want to build the code using the Qt development environment then follow the steps below

cd ../../
git clone https://github.com/csete/gqrx.git cd gqrx qtcreator ./gqrx.pro

A new window will open (the QT compiler).

When it opens click the build menu then the build all option.

QT Compiler

you should see The process "/usr/bin/make" exited normally.

Plug in your RTL dongle.

Now run gqrx.

gqrx

Select Yes

GQRX Should now be open. On the first run you will be prompted for a device listing.

Select your SDR (in my case RTL dongle)

 In the device drop down menu select "ezcap USB 2.0 DVB-T/DAB/FM Dongle", then continue to the main GQRX window.

Select File->Start DSP. You should now be receiving something.

Tune to a local radio station between 88-108Mhz FM.

select Wide FM Stero as the Mode Type.

Now connect a proper external antenna to your RTL dongle or Softrock HF/VHF kit.
Hope you have lost of fun ;-)

Here is a video of GQRX using the 100Khz to 17Ghz RTL dongle in direct conversion mode.

How to configure your direct conversion dongle.

Here is the screen-shot of the configuration on Linux for Gqrx

1. Device Select other
2. Device String rtl=0,direct_sample=2 (possibly 0/1/2) (This number could differ depending on which pin was wired via balin)

 

 

Device String rtl=0,direct_sample=2

Here is a picture of the 100KHX to 1.7Ghz rtl dongle

100Khz to 1.7Ghz RTL direct conversion dongle

They are available at http://www.giga.co.za/ocart/index.php?route=product/product&path=59&product_id=178