Updated opinion ... after a few months

[k3uk]

I just was thinking this morning that I have had so much fun with the SDRplay RSP since I bought it, I should restate my enthusiasm for the project. I should also mention an old conversation I had with a ham who had bought a Flex 1000 when they were new, I was thinking of buying one. He warned me .. "if you want a radio that is fully functional right out of the box, the Flex 1000 is not for you, it is really a work in progress". I took his advice , bought a Kenwood 2000, and waited several more years to buy a Flex. While the cost of an RSPplay RSP is so minimal that the purchase decisions are nowhere as difficult as purchasing a $2000 radio, I will mention that if you are new to SDR radio, buying an RSPplay RSP is well worth it but the "software" part of the term SDR is the part that is a "work in progress". I have had to accept that turning on the SDRplay each day does not always involve pressing the software 'start" button" and nothing else. I have learned that I have to assess daily conditions, establish gain settings that match the ionosphere for the day, tweak waterfall brightness, notch out street light interference, and figure out how to receive 10 channels at the same time (if I want 10 channels). It is exciting , and simple casual listening is easy, but the average person purchasing an RSP will see so much potential that they will be pushing the envelope every day.
Andy K3UK/AAR2BY

[jon]

I just was thinking this morning that I have had so much fun with the SDRplay RSP since I bought it, I should restate my enthusiasm for the project. I should also mention an old conversation I had with a ham who had bought a Flex 1000 when they were new, I was thinking of buying one. He warned me .. "if you want a radio that is fully functional right out of the box, the Flex 1000 is not for you, it is really a work in progress". I took his advice , bought a Kenwood 2000, and waited several more years to buy a Flex. While the cost of an RSPplay RSP is so minimal that the purchase decisions are nowhere as difficult as purchasing a $2000 radio, I will mention that if you are new to SDR radio, buying an RSPplay RSP is well worth it but the "software" part of the term SDR is the part that is a "work in progress". I have had to accept that turning on the SDRplay each day does not always involve pressing the software 'start" button" and nothing else. I have learned that I have to assess daily conditions, establish gain settings that match the ionosphere for the day, tweak waterfall brightness, notch out street light interference, and figure out how to receive 10 channels at the same time (if I want 10 channels). It is exciting , and simple casual listening is easy, but the average person purchasing an RSP will see so much potential that they will be pushing the envelope every day.
Andy K3UK/AAR2BY

Hi Andy, many thanks for sharing this with us - I think newcomers to SDR will take heart - 73, Jon