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.

For a relativly small inexpensive item you can listen to transmissions around the world.Build quality is solid, it does get warm. The in built up-converter makes a real difference andreally sets you up to explore this hobby. A better antenna is going to improve the signalsbut a long wire is a good starter.Endless fun for not much money.

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.

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.

This is a very affordable SDR. It isn’t exactly plug and play and took some googling to set up but I’m not an expert and for the price should expect to have to put in a bit of work to get it set up. So far I’m really happy with it and it can be used with a range of different sdr software

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!

Its a bit tricky to set up but once I got it going it was actually really good and I was able to find and listen in to local ATC Tx's. I had seen in reviews that it runs quite hot which it does or did, because after a few days it has stopped working which is disappointing. The software side seems to be okay although I will try re-loading again , but I think it could be an issue with the unit and possibly due to the heat generated by it. If I can get it working again I will update this post