[NLRS] First tests with DVB-T dongle

[Doug Reed]

DVB-T TV is not used in the USA but there are a few US vendors selling 
the dongles. But the easiest place to get them is on Ebay, assuming you 
use Ebay. Just search for "dvb-t rtl2832 e4000" and you should find 
quite a few sellers. Don't bother buying a unit with a remote control, 
since the SDR software doesn't support them and you will not be using 
the original software....

<http://www.ebay.com/itm/White-DVB-DVB-T-HDTV-Realtek-RTL2832U-Elonics-E4000-64-1700-MHz-SDR-GNU-P335-/370607013140?pt=US_Video_Capture_TV_Tuner_Cards&hash=item5649e63d14>
This picture looks like one of mine.

Some recent emails mentioned experiments to feed the antenna RF directly 
to the baseband input of the RTL2832 chip, bypassing the tuner chip. The 
idea is to directly sample everything from zero to 3MHz. There is also a 
question if the RTL2832 can support sampling in multiple "IF bands" 
under 30MHz.... There is still a LOT of development going on and not a 
lot of info available on the parts because of non-disclosure agreements.

And there are people building simple up-converters from HF to VHF so the 
FunCube or DVB-T dongle can be used with HF signals. Keep in mind the 
frequency stability and accuracy of the dongle is nothing to write home 
about.....

Probably the biggest problem is overload of the "DC-to-daylight" 
wideband front-end. The E4000 chip has adjustable gain but people are 
still trying to figure out how to set it correctly.... Things are 
getting better as a few people turn up with NDA's and time to write 
code. It is very much a "work in progress."

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.

S. Earl Jarosh wrote:
> Check out
> http://wiki.spench.net/wiki/RTL2832
> For some source code
> BTW where can I get a couple to play with?
> S. Earl Jarosh, N0HZ