Features:

  • An ultra-low noise software defined radio, capable of receiving nearly ANY RF signal from approximately 25MHz-1700MHz. Includes SDR, high-quality antenna base, and 3 antenna masts to get you started right away without any further purchases!
  • Unmatched price & performance--redesigned PCB reduces noise by an average of a full 3dB! Includes all the same fantastic features as the rest of the NESDR SMArt series, including an ultra-low phase noise TCXO, with a guaranteed <0.5PPM tolerance out-of-the-box. This is at least 4x more accurate than units advertised as containing 1PPM TCXOs, which have up to a +/- 2PPM initial offset
  • Same form factor as the other devices in our NESDR SMArt series, which means no USB occlusion issues--run devices side-by-side without messy extension cables or adapters, even on embedded devices like the Raspberry Pi!
  • Always-on, 4.5V bias-tee with independent ultra-low-noise power supply and 200mA power capability allows you to power nearly any active antenna circuitry without messing around with drivers or software
  • Designed and manufactured by NooElec in North America. Impeccable quality and full 2-year warranty!
Great SDR!

Really nice SDR. I use it to listen to police, fire, and EMS.

Great SDR for the money

Very nice SDR. One thing I noticed regarding other SDR devices comments, is how warm or hot these can get. This model does get warm, but not hot, even with use over 3 hours. I believe this is because of the new heat sink configuration inside the SDR USB. After purchase, the company sent me a link to their web site with very good instructions to install the required drivers and software, which was very easy to do, once my SDR arrived. Their web page also has several SDR software packages that can be downloaded, but I prefer SDR#. Very good reception on most bands, including HAM, air, law enforcement, CB, etc. and of course FM. Antennas work well and even better with ground plane. The antenna base is magnetic and I highly recommend putting antenna on something metallic (i.e. steel) such as a cookie sheet or something like that, this will greatly improve reception of the frequencies.

SDR dongle.

The drivers installed without issue. The software app to run the dongle was a little more problematic, and it took 4 times to download before I ended up with SDR Cube to make it work. Go ahead and order an antenna for it to put outside as the ones that come in the package will not pick up anything other than strong local fm signals. After connecting to my outside antenna lots of broadcasts started streaming in. It’s a fun toy to play with.

Five Stars

fast shipping, as described. Solid vendor and a solid product.

FINALLY ... IT'S WORKING!

*** UPDATE October 6, 2018 *** The replacement unit arrived and, so far, is working great. *** UPDATE September 30, 2018 *** My original review is below. After just 24 hours of use, the unit is causing problems. It keeps dying and hanging my computer. I called customer support and a return/refund is underway. I'm not yet giving up on this unit ... I have just repurchased, so we'll see how the replacement holds up! My advice for anyone purchasing this device is to run it continuously for the first 24-48 hours (... just turn the volume down!) If there are going to be any hardware problems with your particular unit, they are likely to appear during this time and you can then simply do a return through Amazon. _______________________________________________________________________________ I really just wanted stereo FM radio capability on my PC, so this purchase may have been a little overboard, for me. I do like not having to have a regular FM radio for entertainment! I also have a BT transmitter attached to my PC, so being able to transmit to the speakers in my kitchen is very handy. After following the instructions, the device installed OK and was recognized by my Windows 7 PC. I settled on the SDR# (SDR Sharp) software. It can be a little overwhelming to someone not really into the hobbyist side of radio / SDR, as there are a lot of options. I fumbled through and managed to understand the features I wanted to use and reception is good where I am. (I'm actually using one of those square HDTV antennas with an adaptor on the cable). SDR Sharp does not actually need to be "installed" on your computer, so it does not add anything to the Windows Registry. You just need a folder in which to unzip the software, then you add the DLL file for this specific device. The user guide is sketchy and appears aimed at the radio enthusiast. The function of each of the options (the drop-downs, check boxes and buttons) on the interface screen should be explained. Also, there should be a way to minimalize the screen ... to remove the rolling graphic display, which would probably mostly not be needed for normal usage. This unit gets hot when you have the software running and are receiving a signal. I have mine suspended by cable in mid-air. You would do best to run these units via an extension USB cable, just to keep the heat away from your computer's case and also, don't use these in an enclosed cabinet or place them on furniture for the same reason. One of my Windows 7 updates knocked out the driver, so I had to re-install - something to keep in mind if you do a Windows update and your unit suddenly stops working. I would recommend this unit to others, with just one reservation ... you'll need to hunt for things and if you are not a little computer-savvy, you might have issues getting the device to work on your computer.

It works!

Works as expected. It does get a little warm after long usage.

Antenna is not a proper monopole

My 2 gripes about this USB SDR. For one, the software is not included, you have to hunt around on various websites to find it, then once you get it, there are some tricks that you need to do to install the correct driver. In summary, many tricks are needed to make this work with SharpSDR, and how did one know that we needed SharpSDR? Another trick to figure that one out. The other major gripe is that the antennas are not true monopoles. They don't have a ground plane, and the magentic base is electrically connected to the monopole element. So you really have no choice but to cut off the base and split the wire and make your own half wave dipoles, instead of trying to use their little monopole.

Works great

First one fried after 5 min. Second one works great.

NooElec product support is excellent

After connecting the original dongle I received to a Ubuntu Linux machine and running it for about 3 minutes, it seems to have died. The machine could no longer detect the usb device. I had tried to see if I can access it from another machine, and no go. NooElec has been extremely proactive about helping me resolve the issue with the first dongle I received. After performing some troubleshooting, NooElec determined the original device was defective and immediately sent a new device. If you're looking for an SDR device, NooElec is the way to go.

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