SDRplay Community Forum

My focus at the moment is on medium wave and long wave reception. Has anyone tried any serious DXing with the SDRplay on those bands? I am curious how the receiver holds up in terms of sensitivity and intermod in the lower frequencies.

Greg

Greg - sorry I didn't see your post earlier!
I'm a MW DXer (although a bit lapsed these days) and one of my tests for any radio is whether it can hear the weakish daytime signal from Manx Radio (1368 KHz) in the presence of the very strong signal from Asian Sound Radio (1377 KHz). Some radios just can't. My Sangean ATS909 can, and my AOR5001d definitely can, and so can the SDR Play. There seems to be a bit more background 'clutter' on the SDR Play compared to the AOR, but then the price differential is monumental....
My antenna is a Wellbrook loop at about 25 feet. I have a home-made filter box which is switchable from 100 KHz to 30 MHz which helps keep out unwanted stuff and there's an inline attenuator pot as well.
At very low frequencies (like MSF on 60 KHz), the SDR play suffers from MW breakthough/spurii, but this can be cleared with a 500KHz LPF. The 5001d is as clean as a whistle down here, but once again the price, the price!
I'm located in North Cheshire btw.

Thanks Andy!

Greg

I have had mixed results
I think it lacks an input filter.May be a front end attenuator too
The main problem without any filter is spurious response and it is not rare to have better
or at least as good reception of a known strong signal when tuned to a very different lower frequency.
Things get a lot better above about 6Mhz.
The new EXTIO .dll improved things and allowed me to use my favorite application SODIRA
with good AM synchronous detection,DRM and C-QUAM modes.
A strange behaviour is that results are always better with LNA on in spite of strong signals.

g1hbe wrote: one of my tests for any radio is whether it can hear the weakish daytime signal from Manx Radio (1368 KHz) in the presence of the very strong signal from Asian Sound Radio (1377 KHz).

Hi
There is a trick that can help with SDR's in such a case:
Tune the carrier of the strong signal at zero IF.
Thus it is attenuated for free by the coupling capacitors to the ADC.
I use it to notch the Europe 1512 Khz carrier when I try to receive 1510 Khz from Boston.
73's

F1BJB wrote:I have had mixed results
I think it lacks an input filter.May be a front end attenuator too

In fact my results are very good in daytime and very poor at night.
It is certainly due to the fact that I'm using an 80m dipole with a ferrite balun that
introduce a lot of loss in LW and MW.
When SDR play is not overloaded by shortwave signals I can receive low power NDB's 100Km away
but very little signal from DCF77.

Location: GA, USA
SDR Play Purchased at HRO 1/2016
Antenna: 35' random wire in attic

Here's the magical part,

I can hear clearly station NLK, Cutler Maine USA 24 KHZ just as clear on the SDRplay as my Icom IC-7410 and IC-7200 with a Heathkit/and MFJ VLF converter with loop antenna. (Palomar loop) Escundido California.

I can also hear, clear as a bell, WWVB, 60 KHZ time signal from Fort Collins Colorado clear as a bell. In addition to this, I am not using any loop antenna although i own Two(2). All off the random wire.

Next, all VHF/UHF police and fire channels including the air band come in crystal clear off the random wire. I have always had specialized antennas but this SDRplay performs miracles from my perspective, all off the random wire.

As I listen more than I transmit, I have since sold my 7200 on Ebay and the 7410 is next. This little box performs everything I need plus much more.

There is tweaking that is needed for different signals but it has excellent ears and performs extremely well. So much so that I bought a second one that sitting in my desk.

I agree. The SDRPlay gives my AOR AR5001d a serious run for its money at LF and MW(AM). Due to noise I can no longer use wire antennas, but on the Wellbrook loop the Play brings in stations just as well as the 5001. The only drawback is spurious responses, you have to know which signals are real and which are 'self generated' and images so you can avoid them. This is where the 5001 scores, as it has comprehensive RF filtering and never shows anything that should not be there. But then it is about 15 times more expensive.....