INTRODUCING PLUGINS
Plugins allow the user to seamlessly access 3rd party software and enjoy exciting new capabilities.
There are 2 types of plugin:
- Those which were developed by SDRplay – these come preinstalled with SDRuno.
- Those developed by the community (also called 3rd party plugins) – these are continuously being developed and may be installed individually at any time. There is also a “Community plugin installer” (included with SDRuno) which is updated periodically with some of the latest available community plugins. This means that you have control if and when you choose to install any community plugins.
The following video explains how this works and shows you how to install community plugins: https://youtu.be/fZT5EODa9K4
Plugins are accessed via a plugin control panel. The Plugin Control panel displays both the plugins that are delivered with SDRuno and plugins that come from other sources and placed in a user defined location.
The latest version of the SDRuno manual has more information about accessing plugins on page 36: https://www.sdrplay.com/docs/SDRplay_SDRuno_User_Manual.pdf
SDRplay DEVELOPED PLUGINS
Please note some of these are working demos and are not perfect. If you find bugs in a particular plugin, or as a result of using the plugin you find that there are problems with SDRuno, it has no reflection on the stability of SDRuno.
These are installed by default with SDRuno but they may be updated if needed by going to downloads and choosing “SDRuno Plugins”, then “SDRplay SDRuno plugin installer”
DAB Plugin
This is for reception of DAB and DAB+ broadcast signals. DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) is a digital radio standard used in many countries around the world (excluding the USA)
Click here for the written guide to the DAB Plugin and here for the video guide
DXCluster Plugin
This new plugin displays DX cluster callsigns on the SDRuno spectrum display. A DX cluster is a network of computers, each running a software package dedicated to gathering, and disseminating, information on amateur radio DX activities. With this plugin you can overlay the DX cluster callsigns as they pop up. There’s a choice of how long you let them display and you can control the way in which they appear.
Click here for the guide to the DXCluster Plugin and here for a video guide
Audio Recorder plugin (updated Sept 13th 2021 to include on Squelch recording feature)
The Audio Recorder plugin records the currently tuned signal (VFO) for the selected Virtual Receiver (VRX). The plugin will output the audio in either PCM WAV or MP3 format
Click here for the guide to the Audio Recorder Plugin and here for the video guide.
MPX Output plugin
The MPX Output plugin sends the 192 kHz FM stream to an RDS application such as RDS Spy
ADSB plugin (originally developed by SDRplay, we are not able to include this in the SDRuno or community plugin installers for licensing reasons. Please use the link below to download it and add it to your library)
The ASDB plugin automates the set up process for using your RSP to select and decode aircraft transponder data from 1090MHz.
We have also released the source code for the ADS-B plugin. For anyone wishing to further develop this code, it can be downloaded via: https://github.com/SDRplay/plugins/tree/master/SDRunoPlugin_ADSB
The source code for this plugin was derived from dump1090, which contains code distributed under the GPL license terms. These licensing terms effectively precludes us from distributing the plugin software ourselves as part of the SDRuno installation procedure, but an installer can be obtained via: https://github.com/SDRplay/plugins/blob/master/SDRunoPlugin_ADSB/Installer/SDRuno_ADSB_Plugin_Installer_1.2.exe (click on the Download button on the right)
Links to this page can also be found via the software/downloads section of our website
Click here for the video guide to the ADSB plugin: https://youtu.be/CtcS9OstHJI
3RD PARTY PLUGINS (COMMUNITY PLUGINS)
As shown in the video mentioned above, all the latest community plugins can be downloaded by going to downloads and choosing SDRuno Plugins, then “Community Plugins for SDRuno” . Alternatively, you can download individual plugins for the links below or other sources.
Here are some of the 3rd Party plugins are available:
Contour Shuttle Plugin controller plugin
This Contour Shuttle Plugin gives you the ability to control your SDRuno application with your own shuttle device. This plugin works with the Contour Shuttle Express, Pro and Pro V2. It’s now included with the latest SDRplay community plugins download
Click here for a video guide in English and here in German (danke Manuel Lausmann)
FRAN (FRequency ANotation) plugin (works with the latest Plugins version 2 and SDRuno 1.40.2)
This plugin can read SWSKEDS or .s1b memory bank files and display the active stations from the files on the main spectrum window. Click here for the GitHub link.
Eric is an active member of both the SDRplayUsers Groups.io forum Independent SDRuno Facebook group where you can ask questions about it and see news of any updates coming. Click here for a video guide.
Black Cat Systems plugin (works with the latest Plugins version 2 and SDRuno 1.40.2)
The Black Cat Systems plugin was developed by the author of the Black Cat Systems software, Chris Smolinski. The plugin delivers the audio data directly from SDRuno straight into Chris’ suite of software. It also provides bidirectional control for things like frequency etc. More information can be found at blackcatsystems.com
Click here for a video guide
Eddie Macdonald (author of the Contour Shuttle Plugin) has completed a screen reader accessibility plugin which we hope will be available this fall (autumn)
Other compatible plugins:
CW, NAVTEX, RTTY, PSK, FT8 and DRM decoder plugins (ONLY AVAILABLE FROM github):
Jan van Katwijk (the developer of QT-DAB) is actively writing and updating many SDRuno plugins. The code is open source and Jan has been clear that he sees them as experimental and is happy for anyone to develop or improve them further. He updated us in July 2022 to say you can access all his plugins, including a new FT8 plugin by going to: https://github.com/JvanKatwijk/unoPlugins-jan
Jan has provided compiled DLLs as well as making the source code available.
To use the plugins, just download the DLL and place it in your Community Plugins folder and restart SDRuno.
You can leave feedback and suggestions on Jan’s Github page, but please remember that he has done this purely as a gesture to the SDRplay community and receives no reward other than your appreciation, so we hope that all feedback will be polite and respectful
Jan van Katwijk has also written a basic Weather Fax plugin for SDRuno. If you want to give it a go, the plugin dll can be downloaded from: SDRuno_weatherfax/the-dll at master · JvanKatwijk/SDRuno_weatherfax · GitHub
Here’s a video guide showing how easy it is to use: https://youtu.be/Cz4-8-vMasM
The CloudMarkers plugin (developed by Jo Schmidt) is a community maintained database for markers that you can show in the your spectrum display. (September 12th 2022 update – recently there was a problem with synchronising data from the website which has now been fixed)
Every plugin user can add new markers and edit existing ones. For each marker some additional information can be stored, so that you can see which station you are receiving when scrolling over the spectrum. Jo encourages you to have a look at it and give feedback and suggestions for improvements. You can always find the latest version of this plugin at http://markers.cloud.
Download the ZIP file and extract the DLL to your community-plugin folder
The CloudMarkers plugin is included in the community plugin installer (v2.5): https://www.sdrplay.com/downloads
You can find out the latest plugin news and links by going to : https://www.facebook.com/groups/sdrunoplugindevelopers
INFORMATION FOR PLUGIN DEVELOPERS
Plugins are a way for existing software developers to integrate the power of SDRuno within their existing applications, thereby reducing the dependency on interfaces like “Virtual Audio Cable” . The new plugin system also gives anyone with some C++ coding knowledge, the ability to create exciting new interactive applications for radio reception (e.g. decoding, display, demodulators, custom signal annotation and so on).
We’ve put a developer pack together on GitHub…
https://github.com/SDRplay/plugins
It uses C++ – Please have a look through, there is a template that should just build in Visual Studio 2017 – note that the nana UI library .lib file was too large for GitHub, so we had to compress it – see the pdf in the repository for more details.
For more Nana UI information, that can be found here:
http://nanapro.org/en-us/
This video illustrates the overlay system for annotating the main spectrum display window within SDRuno: https://youtu.be/_fXtcw0zS60
We have set up a Facebook group for plugin developers and people interested in trying out new plugins: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sdrunoplugindevelopers
If you are interested in creating your own plugin and have questions, please contact SDRplay at plugins@sdrplay.com