[Scan-DC] Use a $15 Dongle for VHF voice, Radar, and ACARS monitoring

[Robert Fisher]

I'd be interested to know what brands of the dongle worked for folks...there is no shortage of different ones to choose from!!!

> On Oct 3, 2013, at 13:34, Dewey3 <dewey3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Yes, been using mine for a little while now.  The SDR (Software Defined
> Radio) dongles generally run between $15-$30 dollars.  They will cover
> something like 54 MHz all the way up to around 2200 MHz with a small break
> in the 1200 MHz area.  Been using two with Trunk88, one for the CC and one
> for tuning the analog voice.  They are also very fun to use by themselves
> because you can be listening to one frequency, and see activity occurring
> on other frequencies 1 MHz up or down.  They are not quite as sensitive as
> a scanner, and the included antenna is worthless ...BUT... put them on a
> better antenna, and they're a ton of fun for $15-$30.  Google "SDR Radio"
> to learn more about them.
> 
> Dewey
> 
> 
> On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 12:51 PM, Rick Hansen <Rick.Hansen at apsglobal.com>wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Hi, I found this event in an Amateur Radio group on www.Meetup.com. I plan
>> to attend.
>> 
>> The $15 Dongle appears to also be good for VHF FM, so Railfans should be
>> able to use it too.
>> =========================
>> 
>> Wednesday, October 9, 2013
>> 7:30 PM
>> 
>> HacDC
>> 1525 Newton St NW, Washington, DC (edit map)
>> 
>> http://www.hacdc.org/
>> Aircraft Data Monitoring
>> 
>> With a $15 USB dongle you can receive a variety of data from aircraft.
>> Martin KB3UJQ will demonstrate tuning in Mode A/C radar, ADS-B and ACARS
>> with a RTL-SDR dongle and conventional VHF radio.
>> 
>> We'll be using our roof mounted antenna to track aircraft flying in our
>> area
>> and monitor their data communications.
>> 
>> ADS-B is an upgrade for conventional surveillance radar for military,
>> commercial and general aviation.  ACARS is used like email between aircraft
>> and the ground.  The acronyms will be flying!
>> 
>> See more and join the group at:
>> http://www.meetup.com/hac-dc/events/141117982/?a=ea2_grp&rv=ea2
>> 
>> 
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Scan-DC mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/scan-dc
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net
>> 
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> ______________________________________________________________
> Scan-DC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/scan-dc
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net
> 
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html