I recently purchased an SDRPlay RSP. Why? Only to see if the hype, which I did not believe, was true. I’ve got Airspys and R820T tuners already. My main interests are VHF/UHF digital signal decoding / trunking.
If your main interest is HF and you’re reading this mini-review, leave now. I have no use for HF / no desire to monitor HF. I don’t know nor care how the SDRPlay performs as a panadapter or anything else. It might be golden on HF. But that isn’t what this mini-review is about.
Why the SDRPlay is a fail for VHF/UHF digital decoding and trunking
- Not supported by Unitrunker (as of 4-7-2016)
- Not supported by DSDPlus (as of 4-7-2016)
- Not supported by SDRTrunk (as of 4-7-2016)
- Doesn’t handle adjacent channel interference as well as the Airspy
- Doesn’t handle strong signal overload as well as the Airspy
For only $50 dollars more you can purchase the Airspy, which is supported by Unitrunker, DSDPlus, SDRTrunk, GNURadio / OP25, and pretty much any SDR software you can obtain on the internet. And if that isn’t enough of a reason, the Airspy simply outperforms the SDRPlay in every configuration / environment that I’ve used both devices.
No, I’m not posting numbers. I don’t have test equipment. I use the equipment and compare the equipment using the same computers, cables, jumpers, coax and antennae. And I’m totally convinced that the Airspy has better performance on VHF/UHF with regard to handling a band full of signals or strong signal overload.
If your opinion is different, oh well — You are entitled to it. If you don’t like my review, you can print it out and then wipe your ass with the paper if it makes you feel better.
Back to using my virtually bulletproof Airspys to trunktrack and record an LSM system while monitoring 6 control channels of a statewide trunking system.
For $50 more than the SDRPlay I can buy two dedicated RTL-SDR v3’s to use with Unitrunker and monitor the surrounding counties’ Fire/Police/Etc. departments perfectly. I never use more than the v3 telescoping antennas INDOORS either since the reception is so fantastic at those frequencies. As the interwebs can attest, the greatest reason to not buy AirSpy is the developer Youssef Touil (prog in the forums) – a psychopath who would rather destroy the future of SDR than admit everything he has made isn’t perfect. Read some of his posts and you’ll feel guilty supporting this immature maniac.
Only50Huh
14 Oct 16 at 11:51 am
Only50Huh,
I’ve read all sorts of complaints about Youssef. I’ve dialoged with him before, and he was just fine to talk to. If he has an ego, oh well — most people who create great things have one hell of an ego. Whatever Youssef creates, he is entitled to manage / manipulate in whatever way he wants. Those who don’t like him can simply avoid supporting his efforts. In my opinion his product is great, and I’d buy it whether or not I liked his personality or behavior.
Not feeling guilty here.
M
awadmin
27 Oct 16 at 12:23 am