RTL-SDR Blog V4 R828D RTL2832U 1PPM TCXO SMA Software Defined Radio (Dongle Only)

I purchased the RTL-SDR V4 to upgrade from the V3 which I've had for over a year. I usually listen to the HF amateur bands and the V4 seems to be much better in this regard - less noise and interference and better sensitivity. I don't have a great setup - just a long-wire antenna about 13 meters long in the back garden but have heard contacts from all over the world. The unit does get very warm in use and, even though they say this is normal, so as not to shorten it's life I have attached an extra heatsink so that it now runs much cooler. I have tested it on the air bands, marine bands and commercial bands and all work just fine with clear reception. If you already have a V3 for listening to HF and are thinking of upgrading I'd suggest this is a good purchase especially for the price. There is less benefit to UHF, VHF etc so if this is your usual listening range the V3 is probably already more than adequate.

Very easy to install and update the dll files required for v4.Due to stable crystal frequencies are spot on - no more need to compensate for being off frequency. Fairly sensitive on my outdoor antennas. Good price to get a wide band receiver provided you use good software on PC.An led would be good to have to show when power on usb.

These are well known bits of kit and do their job well. I haven't had a chance to test the Direct Sampling on this which is meant to have improved. Delivers a marked performance boost over my v3!

Works as expected and is identical to the ones I got from the official outlet on Aliexpress where they are £11 cheaper, requiring only patience for delivery. There are a few niggles with the design - The SMA connector is set back on the PCB a couple of mm which means if you tighten the SMA nut, you will be pulling on the solder joints. The extruded case has screw mouldings on all four corners but they chose to only put two screws in each endplate to save pennies and these are coarse self-tappers that shed particles of aluminium swarf every time you undo them and why they chose countersunk heads in a non-countersunk plate is a mystery. I wanted to panel mount a few of these dongles but the SMA is too short to be able to poke it through and add another nut for proper grounding, again it's that bizarre set-back on the PCB. It's pot luck whether you receive a dongle with the USB plug soldered on straight.

Plugged in, downloaded some software, read the manual, plugged in an antenna, done. Working really well. Doesn’t get too warm, great value for money. Signals are clear, I did buy an LNA too, this helped reduce the gain settings. It will be use for a longer cable run I’m planning. So far all good, if you want to get into SDR, it’s a great starting point.

Into SDR ? Getting into SDR? I have this for a while now and used with my pc and with an app on my android phone. Works very well. Great value for money

Real nice piece of tech

Apparently it works as it’s suppose to do the person who we bought it for is very happy