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SDR Play via Internet

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 10:14 am
by Ronstub
Hi,
i have recently replaced DX-Patrol and FCD Pro Plus with SDR Play. Bottomline it is the better SDR and i use it every day together with SDR-Console (V2) from Simon. The Software fits SDR Play very well and the combination is really powerful. I am also using from time to time the online access to SDR Play remote (IP adress 81.135.42.106). This also works great and extends the reach from my own antenna´s (20 m wire in the garden, Boni-Whip on the Roof and Inhouse Loop) significantly. Question: what antenna is this SDR Play remote using? It seems to have a great bandwidth spanning from short wave ham to airband and further. It would only be great if the session would not terminate already after 1 hour...Any Chance to extend this?
vy 73 de Ronald (from Vienna/Austria)

Re: SDR Play via Internet

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2015 1:49 pm
by Quimquim
Hi,
another solution to control the RSP via internet is to use TEAMVIEWER. I already tried it with a friend in France ( I'm in Canada ) and he was able to control and listen the RSP correctly.

The other advantage is that you can use any SDR application not just limited to SDR Console. :mrgreen:

Re: SDR Play via Internet

Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:02 pm
by jazzkutya
Hi eveyrone,

I tried an sdrplay receiver remotely with sdrconsole to see how it performs before buying one.
This is the receiver:
"SDRPlay RSP with HF antenna in UK" 86.141.114.226

Well what I experienced was very disappointing. I tuned to 27.440Mhz and saw a lot of false receptions (mostly from some other HF band) with both min and max gain setings (or at least what i assumed to be min/max settings). The gain settings are a headache alone, they give no meaningful response on the spectrum.
Is sdrplay really like this or is this a problem with that particular setup? Can I expect similar bad performance of sdrplay with linrad on linux?

Thanks

Re: SDR Play via Internet

Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 2:41 am
by jon
Hi jazzkutra, It may be that you tuned across a band boundary which can cause problems at the moment with SDR console. The settings are tricky at first since the RSP uses gain reduction as opposed to gain. I am the owner of the radio you tuned into and I did temporarily borrow the G5RV antenna for a couple of hours earlier in the week so another possibility is that was when you were trying it. If you use Facebook then the Sdrplay Facebook group would be a great place to chat through the specifics drawing on experts on the use of SDR console with the RSP. Jon

Re: SDR Play via Internet

Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 3:26 pm
by jazzkutya
Hi Jon, thanks for the answer and I'm glad the server owner answered.
I knew about the band boundaries so I stopped and restarted every time it was needed.
I have tried maximum and minimum gain reduction settings (that second widget next to LNA threshold) with LNA threshold on 25dB.
Tried many settings in between also but there was image reception at all settings.
I did it on sep 23 around 22.30 CET and also a couple of hours later I have tried 18Mhz - same result.
Ok I am not sure it is image reception, it was many false signals and those seemingly changed frequency when I moved the SDR Center frequency a bit (the red bar at the bottom). I think you can try it yourself on nights when lower HF bands are strong :)

So -80dB gain reduction is the lowest gain and 0 gain reduction would be maximum gain? You know, literally -80dB gain reduction is 80dB gain addition :) a bit confusing. And this is my other problem: going down towards -80dB with the gain reduction does not produce a clear lowering on the spectrum.

Re: SDR Play via Internet

Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2015 1:52 pm
by jazzkutya
Here are screenshots using Jon's sdrconsole server.
Image
Image
They were taken at 10.50-10.56 UTC on Sep 25.
They definitely look horrifying for someone looking to buy SDR Play (well at least for myself they do).

Re: SDR Play via Internet

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:01 am
by jon
Hi again. I am not an expert user of SDR-Console and recommend the Facebook forum https://www.facebook.com/groups/sdrplay/ for real expert help on using SDRplay with SDR-Console - particularly when it comes to settings for particular bands and modes. The latest from SDR-Console author, Simon Brown is that his new software update for SDRplay will come out this week and I recommend holding off until it is there, since this will address the DC offset related issue. It should also offer alternative choices of Local Oscillator (as supported right now on HDSDR for example) - one of the limitations of SDRs can be the compromise which comes with a fixed number of filters and any given regime for mixing down to the IF. Large (strong signal) interferers may mix and get through the wide bandwidth being used, and cause problems only fixable by adding additional front end filters. A practical workaround is to switch to an alternative local oscillator frequency thereby moving the interferers away from where you are listening. I will announce when my server has been updated on this forum and on the blog page. Thanks for your patience, best regards, Jon