SDRsharp Big Book v4.0

aligned to SDR# Studio revision 1.0.0.
1831
SDRsharp, to make
black and white
listeners see colours...
Slow reading recommended (for specialists and non-specialists)
THE BIG BOOK V4.0 (DEC’21) PAOLO ROMANI IZ1MLL PAGE 1 | 117
This book was born from a necessity: that of spreading SDRsharp and, seeing that a work like this
did not exist, I decided to write one myself, little by little... remembering that no book is for everyone,
but for all guys there is this book just waiting to be read...
The following pages are the result of years of listening, dedication, passion and a great deal of
personal commitment in the search for the best possible configurations and optimisations, as well as
operational suggestions that I have collected and typographically highlighted in blue italics and, at
the bottom, also a useful mini glossary with a reference on individual terms, indicated by (*), for check
the definition.
Happy reading and good listening with “Software Defined Radio” to all those who believe in it,
because when we switch on our new SDR we will be able to easily understand that this world really
has many faces but only one heart. SDRSharp (or SDR#) is the most complete freeware software,
performing, integrated, continuously updated and customisable (with plugins for every need) for all
RTL-SDR dongles and of course for AIRSPY devices. Many thanks to Youssef Touil and to all those
who interact with SDR# on a daily basis, and there are so many, because it really is a common learning
and growing experience for all of us.
The reference site (restyling on 29 sept.2021) is only: https://airspy.com/
News: the release 1785, officially released on February 5, 2021 in a continuing and perpetual quest
for improvement and refinement, has made a big leap to Microsoft's latest .NET 5. This multi-system,
open source development platform is capable of supporting side-by-side execution without the need
to install the runtime. This is not a simple code recompilation effort but involves a lot of changes,
some superficial and some fundamental!
Even externally you can see the difference with far fewer files in the package distribution and a
large executable file. There are far fewer DLLs which shorten the start-up sequence of the
program. The new SDR# can be used as before but with better performance by continuing to
use the same configuration files, Band Plan, memories and plugins as before.
Previously, the graphical user interface developed in Visual Studio with fully customisable layouts
was released on 13 November 2020.
SDRsharp download at: https://airspy.com/?ddownload=3130
and with prerequisite .NET 5 Runtime Desktop at: https://airspy.com/?ddownload=6293
The screens will present the dongles RTL-SDR and all the various devices AirSpy (but little change
for the other devices if not the configuration menu and the bandwidths/decimations used).
The graphic theme used in this guide (skin) is the dark one named "Fluent Dark" (selectable in the
Display menu).
Obviously, since these are radio signals that can extend from long waves to the GHz of UHF, it
is advisable to equip oneself with specific antennas (for HF: vertical, wire, loop, while for V-UHF:
discone or collinear) to be installed outdoors and as far away as possible from other elements
that can attenuate or interfere with the signals...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 14
12 13
15 B
A
16
17
These are the main points in details, followed by many insights and my tips:
A. Left Menu (example: Radio, Source, various plugins) – since revision 1778
B. Right Menu (example: Display, AGC, Audio) – since revision 1778
1. Main Menu (in jargon as “hamburger menu”)
2. Start/close the program
3. Opening new session (slice) – since revison 1741 and new update
4. Device configuration
5. Audio On/Off (mute)
6. Volume control bar
7. VFO Input / Frequency
8. Tuning type
9. Step bar - since revison 1782
10. Airspy logo (click above to visit the home page directly)
11. RDS decode (PS, PI, RT) for broadcaster stations in WFM (88-108 MHz)
12. Signal scale in dBFS (decibel Full Scale)
13. Vertical tuning bar (center red line, bandwidth and signal info)
14. Zoom bar for RF Spectrum and RF Waterfall
15. Contrast bar
16. Range bar
17. Offset bar
The main thing to know is that even the most inexperienced user can easily start with SDR# and
successfully even with the most sophisticated plugins...
So let's see how to start using the software starting from the installation.
In fact, since there is NO real installation procedure, you only need to remember this:
 Extract the zipped content into any directory (excluding only "Program Files...")
 All the necessary files are in the previous directory and nothing in the registry.
 Plugins must be inserted in the relative subdirectory and are automatically recognized.
 For non-radical updates you only need to replace the SDRSharp.exe file.
Same for the uninstallation... to delete the software it is sufficient to delete the directory where it
resides since no other dependency and/or registry key is used.
Once started, SDR# resides in memory with a small active set and little to no swap will be required.
You can use Process Explorer tool to get an idea how different programs use your computer.
That's all.
The general rule of thumb for all of the following setups is that the default settings work and any
changes require a good understanding of the underlying algorithms and own hardware.
Plug one of the many available dongles (with R820T/T2 or R860 chip, E4000, FC0012/13) into a
USB port.
Proceed to install the freeware software from the above link. SDRsharp is preconfigured for AIRSPY
but is fully compatible for any RTL-SDR dongle by installing the drivers not present in the original
package, running the internal batch file INSTALL-RTLSDR.BAT. An internet connection is required
to find the missing and/or updated files. Then run the software ZADIG.EXE.
In the OPTIONS menu, select "LIST ALL DEVICES" (if possible, without any other USB devices
connected to the computer), and your dongle ID should appear in
the drop-down window, e.g. REALTEK, TERRATEC or in my case
RTL2838UHIDR.
Proceed by clicking the INSTALL DRIVER or REINSTALL
DRIVER button (if you have already done so). You can also try
connecting your USB dongle after Zadig is running, as the list is
automatically updated by the system.
Be very careful to select ONLY the identifier of your SDR dongle and not e.g. your Bluetooth
mouse or keyboard, otherwise you will create serious problems with these devices!
After a few seconds everything is ready and you can start SDRsharp and select "RTL-SDR USB" in
SOURCE panel.
Sometimes some dongles are not immediately recognised by the O.S., or rather a pair of devices
that make up the dongle is shown but with other names, namely "Bulk-in, interface 0)" and "Bulk-
in, interface 1)" which is for TV remote control functions. You then choose "Interface 0" with the
target "WinUSB" and click INSTALL DRIVER.
If you still don't see your device you have to go to Control Panel / Windows Device Manager and
remove those devices marked with a triangle and start again.
Panel Feature
Click on the configuration button (4) (the cogwheel).
Sample Rate – Allows you to choose the bandwidth to be

displayed (0.25 to 3.2 MSPS (*)).
Generally, settings up to 2.4 MSPS work well on most PCs,
but for slower machines we recommend reducing this
value.
Sampling Mode – To tune above 30 MHz, leave set
“Quadrature sampling”. “Direct sampling” (I/Q branch) mode
should be selected for lower frequencies for those dongles that
are already set up for HF operation (otherwise a hardware
change is required).
Offset Tuning – For use on E4000/FC0012/13 tuner chips
only. Selecting this option will eliminate the centre peak in the
spectrum.
RTL AGC – Enables AGC (*) for RTL2832U chips only.
Tuner AGC - Enables AGC (*)
TCP/IP configuration In many cases it is better not to flag it and manually setting
the slider below.
RF Gain – Use this slider to manually set the RF (*) gain value.
Start from an average value in dB and gradually increase
towards the maximum on the right according to the signals
received.
Frequency correction ppm (*) – Allows to set a correction
value for those cheap dongles that do not have a TCXO (*). Not
needed for Airspy users!
If the dongle is not centred in frequency, tune in a strong and
stable signal (after ten minutes of powering up the dongle
having reached the correct temperature and stability),
changing the ppm value a little at a time so that it is centred at
the tuning bar (point 13).
The AirSpy product family is now grown up, with receivers and options for every need:
AIRSPY HF+ Discovery

HF 0.5 kHz / 31 MHz and VHF 60/260 MHz (single SMA input)
AIRSPY HF+ Dual port

HF 9 kHz / 31 MHz and VHF 60/260 MHz (double SMA input)
AIRSPY R2
10 or 2.5 MSPS IQ, continuous coverage 24/1700 MHz
AIRSPY Mini
6 or 3 MSPS IQ, continuous coverage 24/1700 MHz
SpyVerter R2
in combination with R2/Mini increases coverage 1 kHz/60 MHz
Normally AirSpy is a plug-and-play device that Windows (Vista to W10) automatically detects and
recognises when plugged into a USB port. If this does not happen, you can download, unpack and
install the following driver from the Windows device manager:
https://airspy.com/?ddownload=3120
Panel Feature
Device SN – Serial number of your device.
Firmware – Indicates the firmware version installed on the

device (see firmware upgade procedure below).
Samplerate – Allows you to choose the sampling rate: from a

minimum of 14 ksps (*) to a maximum of 912 ksps (*).
Bandwidth – The bandwidth displayed in the Waterfall and

Spectrum windows is linked to the previous Samplerate value:
from a minimum of 10 kHz to a maximum of 725 kHz.
HF AGC – Automatic gain control.

It is recommended that you leave it ON (at the same time the
Threshold to "Low" value) or disable to OFF and manually
adjust the HF ATT cursor value.
HF Preamp – Activates or deactivates the preamplifier.

Set to ON for low signal reception, OFF for strong signals.
HF Threshold – The "Low" threshold value introduces

attenuation but gives the signal better linearity, unlike the
"High" position which favours sensitivity.
You have to wait a few seconds to appreciate the differences
when changing the threshold.
HF ATT - With the HF AGC field set to OFF, it is possible to

change the attenuation value slider from 0 dB to a maximum of
48 dB with 6 dB steps.
An interesting note for all owners of the “Griffin PowerMate” wheel that may be lying
unused in an old drawer: it works brilliantly with the AirSpy /SDRsharp in Windows 10 and tuning
is much smoother and easier.
The firmware update procedure should be carried out under Windows 7 or Windows 10. Make sure
you do not have any other AirSpy devices connected to your computer and follow these steps:
 Download and unzip the contents of this file into a temporary directory:
https://airspy.com/downloads/airspy-hf-flash-20200604.zip
 Connect the device to be updated to the computer's USB port
 From the command line run the "FLASH.bat" file and wait for the procedure to finish (see
image)
 Disconnect the device from the computer
 Reconnect the device to the computer and delete the temporary directory.
The current and latest firmware version R 3.0.7 (dated 4 June 2020) has improved USB
streaming performance and two additional new samples at 456 and 912 ksps have been added.
It can be applied to device HF+ Dual port, HF+ Discovery (BB and CD).
Very rarely, during attemting to flash the

device, was found a messages like this
one...
Try the operation with a different computer.
Panel Feature
Device SN – Serial number of your device.
Gain: Sensitive/Linear/Free – Three different choices
for the gain adjustment at IF (*), Mixer and LNA(*) level.
”Free" is the one that allows greater user intervention
and customisation: there are no predefined settings
and everyone will have to adjust it as best they can
according to their own operating environment.
Sample rate – Allows you to choose the sampling:
 AirSpy R2: 10 or 2.5 MSPS (*)
 AirSpy Mini: 6 or 3 MSPS (*)
Decimation – Allows a lower bandwidth to be used to the
benefit of bit resolution and therefore lower quantisation
noise. Values: none, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64.
To make the best use of it, recommend adjusting the
Gain levels (shown above): the more you work in
decimation, the more you can increase the gain!
Display – The value shown of the bandwidth displayed in
the Waterfall and Spectrum windows is linked to the
previous "Sample rate" and "Decimation" settings and
changes for the different devices:
 AirSpy R2 10 MSPS (*) (from 125 kHz to 8 MHz)
 AirSpy R2 2.5 MSPS (*) (from 31.25 kHz to 2 MHz)
 AirSpy Mini 6 MSPS (*) (from 75 kHz to 4.8 MHz)
 AirSpy Mini 3 MSPS (*) (from 37.5 kHz to 2.4 MHz)
Bias-Tee – Allows the use of optional devices requiring
an additional power supply: 4.5v at 50 mA(*).
Tracking filter – Taking advantage of decimation and
enabling this filter will result in better selectivity, so more
gain can be used!
SpyVerter – Enables the optional "SpyVerter" device
(see relevant chapter), which allows reception from
longwave to 35 MHz and the initial portion of VHF. In
HF, the "Linear" mode,is recommended for the gain.
Enable HDR (*) – When activated (with software off)
applies a combination of analogue and digital filters to
optimise the dynamic range for the visible spectrum.
A high decimation ratio can be activated and selected
for better reception.
SV PPM (*) – AirSpy devices are factory calibrated to
approximately 0.05 ppm (*). This value can be adjusted for
the SpyVerter.
Updating the firmware will not change this value which
is stored in a different location.
Unlike the previous panel of the HF+ devices, here there is no indication of the firmware installed.
To check the your firmware it is necessary to use the "AIRSPY HOST TOOL", downloadable here:
https://github.com/airspy/airspyone_host/releases
Start by extracting the content into a temporary directory (e.g. C:\TMP)
 In that folder, run the command line interpreter by typing CMD
 Type airspy_info.exe and press Enter
 Immediately, the screen below will appear and will read your "Firmware version".
The firmware update procedure should be carried out under Windows 7 or Windows 10. Make sure
you do not have any other AirSpy devices connected to your computer and follow these steps:
 Download and unpack in a temporary directory (e.g. C:\TMP) the contents of this file:
https://airspy.com/downloads/airspy_fw_v1.0.0-rc10-6-g4008185.zip
 Connect the device to be updated to a USB port on your computer
 From the command line, run the file "airspy_spiflash.bat", wait for the finish procedure (see screen)
 Disconnecting the AirSpy device from the computer
 Reconnect the AirSpy device to the computer and delete the temporary directory.
The current and latest firmware release for the AirSpy R2/Mini is v1.0.0-rc10-6 (08-05-2020)
The first time SDR# is started, check the following points:
 Increase the RF gain level (on the sliders from zero to the right for higher values, taking
care that the waterfall window does not become over-saturated with strong orange/red
signals, but adjust the gain to bring them towards the dark blue colour).
 Reduce the "Range" slider (step 16) to about 30% from the bottom.
 Enable the "Correct IQ" field to remove the centre peak if using the R820-T/R820-T2 dongles
or enable "Offset Tuning" in the configuration menu if using a dongle with an
E4000/FC0012/13 chip.
 Disable the "Snap to grid" field in order to tune any signal independently of the specific step
of the planned services or set it according to the preferred step (e.g. in FMN the step is 12.5
kHz). If necessary, also disable the "Auto update radio settings" item in the "Band Plan"
panel (read the specific function later).
 Set the correct “emission mode” according to the signals you intend to listen.
The following adjustment procedure ensures that you get the maximum SNR (*) on what you receive
while preserving dynamic range:
 Start with the RF gain set to the minimum level.
 Gradually increase the gain until the noise floor increases by about 5 dB.
 Check that increasing the gain does not also increase the SNR. Then increase the gain one
notch higher and so on.
 Use the vertical blue bar of the "SNR meter" (to the right of the waterfall) to display the value.
Now let's take some time to familiarize ourselves with the new side menus (A and B).
The several menus and plugins (also from third parties, see the appropriate section below) may vary
in number and relative position.
The A and B menus are all dynamic, you just need to position them on top to open them... For the
various panels, in the upper right part, some options relating to the positioning of the windows:
Windows State, Auto Hide, and Close Windows.
The "Window State" option can take the following values:
Floating – The panel window can be released from its current

position and is free to be positioned anywhere, even outside the main
program window.
Dockable – The window is anchored to the main panel.
Auto Hide – The panel window is reduced to a minimum and is
opened by positioning the mouse over it.
Hide – The panel window is hidden. To make it reappear, it must be
enabled from step 1 (hamburger menu).
But the new and perhaps more complex and less intuitive part, at least at the beginning, is the
positioning of the individual panels with the wizard of the recently introduced GUI.
Keep the left mouse button clicked on the blue title of the panel, for example this:
let's start moving the mouse slightly (always keeping the left button clicked), these blue pointers will
appear, we will have to position ourselves above the one of our area of interest, move towards the
desired position and release the mouse button. This is the scheme of the possible areas (top, bottom,
right, left).
icon for the outer left side positioning
icon for left half positioning
icon for central zone positioning
Below are some screens for how to bring the "RADIO panel" to the left side of the screen in Dockable
mode, i.e. with the window docked to the main panel.
Since release 178x, the panels have an automatic scrolling function on the right, or for resizing, the
little horizontal bar (highlighted in yellow) can be used with the mouse. At this point, if you like the
composition, you can decide to save the layout with a name of your choice so that it can be loaded
later using the items in the hamburger menu "Save Layout... and Load Layout...".
Personally, I have created some specific layouts: one for example for purely HF listening and
others for V-UHF or FM 88-108 monitoring with my specific plugins of major use.
For those who are still fond of the previous releases for one reason or another (see also the chapter
"SDRsharp history") here are the links to some of them:
Revision v1716 (no skin)
https://airspy.com/downloads/sdrsharp-x86-noskin.zip
Revision v1777 (with collapsible panels)
https://airspy.com/downloads/sdrsharp-x86-collapsible-panels.zip
Revision v1784 (last build dotnet 4.x)
https://airspy.com/downloads/sdrsharp-x86-dotnet4.zip
From revision 1553 it is possible to create or use a remote SDR server using the "SPY SERVER"
tool. This allows you to connect via internet many "clients" to the same AirSpy or RTL-SDR device
even in a Raspberry Pi, Odroid, or Linux environment.
Or create a local network with your own SDRs
remotely located in the attic and connected
wirelessly to your computer throughout the house.
When only one user is connected, full control
(frequency, RF gain) is allowed, while when several
clients are connected, frequency and RF gain are
blocked.
To use a Spy Server simply select the "AIRSPY Server
Network" item in the Source panel. Click on the yellow
highlighted button of the "Browse Spy Server
Network", an internet page will open where you can
see the various servers present: the active ones are
highlighted with the green icon.
Since revision 1809 the webmap has been completely
renewed with the latest
Telerik RadMap.
Positioning the mouse over
the various icons will open a
box with all the technical
characteristics highlighted:
name, receiver type, coverage
granted (in HF, V/UHF or
full), bandwidth, server type
and URL). To connect, click
on the green icon.
Depending on the source
device, adjustments can be
made to gain, IQ format and
bandwidth. The "Use full IQ"
option allows streaming of
the full spectrum provided
you have sufficient network
bandwidth and a high-speed
connection.
To end the remote session
press the "D" button (Disconnect). A similar map can also be found directly at:
https://airspy.com/directory/
To create your own Spy Server, you must edit the file 'spyserver.config' with your own data. The
starting point is to know your static IP and to check that the ports are open and not blocked by
firewalls/antiviruses.
For the port, configure your router or ask your Internet provider for information. You can also use
the config file to indicate other additional information such as your name, QTH (*), device type,
tunable frequencies, etc. etc.
Now run the file "spyserver.exe", launch SDR# and in "AIRSPY Server Network" enter our IP
address and port. Press the "C" button (Connect) and if everything worked, you are in remote...
For the SpyServer Client: instead of using the Zoom on reduced spectrum data, ask a lower
bandwidth to the server and it will send you a high resolution, lower bandwidth version of the
FFT. The Zoom bar is left for convenience.
What does the SpyServer do in the first place?

It's basically a TCP server with the slicing capability. This means, you get X bandwidth from the
hardware to the SpyServer, it cuts 0.1 * X and only sends that part after some good amount of number
crunching. What you get in the end is not the whole spectrum, but rather a narrow band IQ
representation of the signal you are listening to. For convenience, it also send a low resolution FFT
for the general display, but that's not something you can use to create other slices.
The slicing always happens in the SpyServer. All the plugins that require the IF signal (IF NR, IF
BB, IF Processor, Co-Channel Cancellers, Zoom FFT, etc...) still work with this model, giving you
the false impression that the device is local, or the other "even falser" impression that the server is
streaming all the IQ data - and that's not true.
It stream the minimum that is required to make things work properly, unless you ask the server to
stream the "Full IQ" data and the server actually accepts.
There is a setting in the server to set the maximum data to send and a timer to prevent abusers from
sucking your internet bandwidth. Now even when using the server in your local LAN at "Full IQ",
you still can't create slices. This wasn't implemented for the simple reason that nothing is preventing
you from using multiple SDR# instances to stream from the same server, be it in "Full IQ" or
"Reduced IQ".
There are a couple of settings in the config file to set the "reduced" bandwidth limits when using the
SpyServer.
As of revision 1825 (5 October 2021), SDR# shows some information about the user interface and
plugins loading on the splash screen when starting...
The main settings and controls apply to all devices. The only differences, in some menus, may
concern the side to which SDR# interfaces. All devices must be configured in the menu where you
can find your RF gain controls, sample rate, AGC (*), PPM (*), etc...
Key Action
Menu panels With the button (“hamburger menu”) you can access to the dedicated panels.
The check mark, preceding some items, is a “visual reminder” of the
activation of some options inside (example "audio or service enabled").
"Open All Panels" and "Close All Panels" opens and closes all panels
altogether.
"Save Layout..." and "Load Layout..." to save/load your own layout, i.e.
the arrangement and sizing of your active windows (but only this!).
Normally, when you close SDR#, many of the settings are automatically
saved in the internal configuration files (e.g. Source device, VFO
frequency, mode, volume level, audio output), but not everything, e.g.
Zoom level is reset every time.
With this button you start / turn off the SDR# software.
Start Stop
New slice (VFO) This button can be used to open one or more new SDR# sessions (not just
present in the “Spy Server Network”). The "slice" is a separate session
showing a portion of the spectrum of the "master" with full separate controls,
but still in the sampled portion of the band!
For example, it is not possible to open a session in UHF (*) if the “master”
receiver is tuned to VHF. Attention: with the introduction of this function
from revision 1741 the previous Aux-VFO plugins (which used the same
internal DSP algorithms) are no longer usable. To reduce CPU (*) usage,
disable the slice you do not need and minimise its bandwidth. You can
choose to duplicate the "master" session completely or open a minimal
session. See also for SpyServer in the dedicated chapter
New sessions will have different colours in the RF Spectrum bandwidth
to identify them visually at a glance.
Configuration menu Configuration menu of your hardware and settings: gain, sample rate,
bandwidth, RF, PPM controls, etc.
Volume Activates / deactivates the volume, which you control (with the slider on the
right) the desired output level to the speakers or external device (example
to a VAC Virtual Audio Cable). It is useful to remember that if you use
external software decoders for digital systems (e.g. DSD+), the volume
control should be adjusted accordingly to have an optimal output signal
level (and minimum errors).
Input and VFO The frequency input is represented in 4 sections (000.000.000.000). The first
frequency section from the left represents the values in GHz, the second the MHz, the
third the kHz and the fourth the Hz. In the example to tune 103 MHz the
input must appear as 000.103.000.000 while if you want to tune a frequency
e.g. in MW (*) at 999 kHz, in addition to needing an up-converter (or the
optional unit AirSpy Spyverter) you must enter 000.000.999.000
 Move the mouse over the first digit that you want to impute (without
clicking) and enter all the numbers that make up the frequency and
confirm with the Enter key. This is the input I prefer! For example,
you stand where the arrow points and type in the number 103
followed by Enter. Quick and easy.

 Left click on the top of the digits (a small red rectangle will appear)
to advance one unit
 Left mouse click on the bottom of the digits (a small blue rectangle
will appear) to decrease by one unit
 or on the desired digit by turning the mouse wheel on it.
 Right click the mouse to bring a digit to zero and reset all the ones
to the right of it as well
 UP / DOWN arrow keys change the digit
 The Right/Left arrow keys move along the section in the input
Tuning types "Free tuning" - free tuning throughout the range, by clicking
anywhere in the RF spectrum or waterfall, the receiver will tune it,
also changing the below frequency range indication.
"Sticky tuning" - the frequency remains "connected" to the VFO
and you can scroll the frequency bar left and right by "hooking" it
with the left mouse button.
"Center tuning" - the tuned frequency will be always displayed in
the center of the RF spectrum and waterfall.
Step bar By selecting the appropriate step (expressed in kHz) in the center of the
option, you can then easily scroll through the frequencies by simply clicking
on the double arrows on the side. (See relevant section below).
RF Spectrum In this window the RF Spectrum is shown visually as a real-time graph. The
active signals appear as peaks of greater or lesser intensity. The lower part
represents the "noise floor.
A recently introduced feature is the "peak Color" which is activated by
clicking with the right mouse button on the Spectrum window, where a
yellow line of persistent memory relative to the received signals will
appear. It is possible to modify the color by changing the following line:
“SDRSharp.exe.config”: "spectrumAnalyzer.peakColor" value="FFFF00”
SNR meter On the right side of the RF spectrum there is a vertical bargraph that shows
the SNR value (in dB).
The Signal-to-noise ratio is a numerical quantity that relates the power of the
useful signal to the the noise in the system.
In the case of analog transmissions, a decrease in SNR causes a gradual
deterioration of the received signal, which is still receivable and
understandable. In digital transmissions instead there is a minimum
threshold of SNR below which the system no longer works for too many
errors received.
There is no S-meter to detect the signal strength, intended as an S-unit

and mainly used in the radioamateur world.
Waterfall This window shows the graphic representation in real time of the intensity
of the received signals as a function of frequency (on the horizontal axis)
and time (vertical axis) with the new data represented in cascade starting
from the top and going down: hence the name waterfall.
This representation is a great help to learn about the various types of
signals visually. A trained eye detects and recognizes an interesting
signal at first glance, even if it is weak and in the midst of disturbances,
because each signal has its own "footprint", as well as electrical noises
of all kinds !! Here are some examples of signals:
AM FM CW RTTY SSTV
To more easily recognize the numerous types of signals and
modulations I recommend the freeware software ARTERMIS 3 that
collects and catalogs several hundred of them, also providing a sample
audio playable:
https://aresvalley.com/Artemis
Tuning bar The vertical red line in the center of the RF spectrum windows shows which
frequency is currently tuned the receiver.
The inside of the gray rectangle is the active bandwidth (or BW) that can be
changed by simply dragging the left/right side of the rectangle.
The bandwidth must be set so that it covers the area of the tuned signal
(not too wide or too narrow, especially when receiving digital signals).
The following are the default panels that allow all the basic functions provided by the software as
well as some specific and unique features of SDRsharp. All others defined as "plugin" can be inserted
and used by the user (see later the appropriate section) or even developed independently for their
needs by those who have the knowledge and appropriate technical skill.
Choose your hardware from the drop-down list:
 AIRSPY R2 / Mini
 AIRSPY HF+ Dual / Discovery
 AIRSPY Server Network (see paragraph)
 RFSPACE
 RTL-SDR USB or TCP
 HackRF
 AFEDRI Networked Radios
 Funcube Pro / Pro +
 Softrock (Si570)
 UHD / USRP
 Baseband File (Vasili) / Baseband File (*.wav) /
Baseband from Sound Card to load and play I/Q
files. See below the "Recoding" panel.
For AIRSPY there are then to adjust: Gain controls (IF (*), Mixer, LNA (*) in a simplified or specific
way Sensitive/Linear or Free), Sample rate, Decimation, Bias-Tee (this option should be used
carefully as it sends 5 volts via SMA (*) antenna connector to additional optional accessories),
SpyVerter which allows the hardware option to receive the HF (0 – 60 MHz), Tracking Filter and
HDR (*).
The HDR feature gives a boost in dB in dynamic range. This means that the gains can be turned up
further without overloading occurring, and that weaker signals can come in much stronger without
strong signals overloading and drowning them out.
In this panel you select the various types of demodulation for the tuned frequency, Bandwidth,
Squelch, Step Size, etc…
Mode Features
NFM (*) Transmission technique that uses the frequency variation of the carrier wave. Mode
commonly used by civil and radioamateur services for both analog and digital modes
in VHF/UHF but not under the 27 MHz.
WFM (*) This is the mode used by FM stations (88-108 MHz band).
For stations with Radio Data System, in the upper part of the Spectrum RF, on
the left (see item 11) there is the dynamic decoding of some codes RDS that
carries a lot of informations:
 PI, Programme Identification. Unique four-character alphanumeric code that
identifies the radio station.
 PS, Programme Service. They are eight characters used, usually, to send
the name of the radio also in a dynamic way.
 RT, Radio Text. It allows to send free text from radios such as, for example,
the author and the title of the song on air.
AM (*) Transmission technique that uses a radio frequency signal as a carrier signal. Used
by worldwide long wave/medium/short wave broadcasting stations and by civil and
military aeronautical communications in VHF/UHF.
LSB/USB (*) Technique that foresees the modulation of a signal eliminating besides the carrier (as
in DSB) also one of the two lateral bands. Used in the HF band (0-30 MHz) by utility
and military services, by radioamateur radio in HF but also in VHF to transmit voice
and data efficiently with small bandwidths.
CW (*) Morse Code. System to transmit letters/numbers/symbols by means of a signal in
pre-established code made of points and lines. Used from always from the
radioamateurs and a lot of military stations still today in the age of the digital.
DSB (*) Use similar to AM but allows a higher modulation performance by suppressing the
carrier and transmitting only the sidebands.
It can be used to tune stations with interference (together with IF Spectrum
window where you can best configure the signal window by removing the
interfering signal) or with new AM Co-Channel canceller plugin...
SAM (*) To enable it, just set the DSB mode and check the option “Lock Carrier” on this
panel. The IF filter helps choosing which part of the DSB signal to use: LSB,
(even if it
does not USB or both. A very high-performance and adaptive PLL (*) is used, developed with
formally the help from high-profile DXers that has no match in performance. It just locks
exist it is everything even if the signal is barely visible in the RF spectrum. Even when the
fully signal is completely gone, it finds its way to keep the lock until it reappears again.
supported!) You don’t get that nasty loss of lock in portable radios or other software. This can be
combined with the “Anti-Fading” to improve SNR (*) when there is no co-channel
interference.
RAW (*) Used for playback or recording of RAW IQ streams or with external decoding
program, for example DReaM (DRM) / DSD+. DReaM works with RAW mode by
setting the its input to IQ, or using USB mode in SDR#.
Key Default Features
Shift 0 (if you dont This box is useful only if you use an UpConverter; it is used to
use rectify the frequency tuned to the value entered. For example, if
UpConverter) you use an UpConverter (with a 100 MHz oscillator) you set the
Shift to -100,000,000. Without the Shift, when using an
UpConverter to tune a 7 MHz signal, you should tune 100+7 = 107
MHz. With the Shift set, you can tune normally to 7 MHz without
artifice.
Filter Blackman- Set the type of filter used in the Fourier transform. It is used to
Harris 4 receive the signal highlighted in the RF window (where each filter
has a different response curve and characteristic), the default
Blackman-Harris 4 filter is the best in most cases and should not
be changed.
Bandwidth AM: 10.000 This is the bandwidth (BW) in the window of the gray rectangular
WFM: 180.000 area. You can set it manually in this field or by dragging the edges
of the window with the mouse.
Order 500 This cell changes the steepness value of the filter sides. With low
values (from 10 to 50), the transition between the pass band and the
out-of-band zone takes place gradually. With high values (from
100 to 500), the transition is immediate. The effect of this
adjustment is audible in the audio signal.
Very high values, however, can cause AGC instability or less
clean listening. You may increase the order of the filter when
there are strong signals near your tuned area. However, using
higher filter orders can cause a higher CPU load, so on slower
PCs you should reduce this value.
Squelch OFF Squelch is used to mute the audio when the signal strength is below
a specified threshold. A high value requires a stronger signal
strength to activate the audio. The Squelch is only implemented
for AM (Amplitude Squelch) and FM (Noise Squelch). SSB
needs yet another type of squelches that is not implemented
yet.
It is especially useful in NFM waiting to hear speech and not
just listening to background noise, but should be turned off
when decoding digital signals (e.g. via DSD+ or DReaM
software).
CW Shift 600 Mainly useful in receiving CW (Morse code) where you can set the
offset between transmission and reception frequencies.
FM Stereo OFF It will enable stereo output for WFM signals (in the 88-108 MHz
band) from FM broadcasting stations, but may worsen the sound
of weak and distant stations.
If a stereo signal is detected, the RDS display (in item 11) will
show the name of the broadcaster in a few round brackets.
Snap to ON The activation of the "snap to grid" and relative "Step Size" drop-
Grid down menu helps a lot the fast and correct tuning of the signals
centering the correct tuning for each type of emission. For example
in civil air band the channels are now spaced with the step of 8.33
kHz and this field, enabled with this value, allows the correct
tuning by clicking directly on the RF Spectrum or Waterfall. To
use it with a non-TCXO (*) dongle RTL-SDR, the PPM frequency
offset correction must be set finely after at least 10 minutes after
using the dongle, otherwise the frequencies may not be aligned
on the grid with real frequencies.
Lock OFF Active only in AM or DSB modes. Allow the Synchronous AM
Carrier which can greatly improve reception and keep the signal perfectly
locked, even if it is poor and unstable. Try it in DSB mode, it
makes all the difference for pleasant listening!
Correct IQ OFF This setting removes the small, annoying center peak present with
the dongles RTL-SDR R820T/R820T2. Normally it should be
activated.
Anti-Fading OFF Use when "Lock Carrier" is activated. Leverages the symmetry of
AM signals which helps in the presence of weak signals. Activate
it for better AM reception, but can increase CPU load.
Invert OFF If you use SDR# as a panadapter, some receivers may have the I/Q
Spectrum signals reversed and you must activate this option. The I/Q signals,
(or I/Q data), are a fundamental element of RF communications
systems, often represents signals in the time-domain.
The function of AGC (*) acts in real time on the amplification of the input signals by varying it in
order to obtain an optimal level on the output on low signals and avoiding distortion on high signals.
In WFM mode the AGC is disabled because the FM signal is limited and its amplitude is constant.
For NFM the AGC acts on the Audio output. This is useful with weak signals with low modulation
index. For AM, SSB, CW and RAW, the AGC acts on the narrow band IF, as usual.

Use AGC ON Activates the automatic gain control. The AGC will attempt to control the
audio volume level so that loud sounds are not too loud and the same for
low sounds. The default settings work well for voice signals. It is
especially useful to turn it on when listening to AM/SSB/CW mode
because loud signals may be distorted.
Use Hang It allows you to change the default behavior of the AGC in its Threshold /
Decay (ms) / Slop (dB) components, although in most cases the default
values are fine. Enabling it slightly changes the response over time and
may be useful for some SSB or Morse signals.
Threshold -50 This is the threshold of intervention of the AGC. The signals below that
(dB) level are not amplified, while those above are amplified at the level of the
strongest ones.
Decay (ms) 500 Response time. High values delay intervention, too low values can cause
an annoying sound effect.
Slope (dB) 0 Line slope for gain correction.
There are many AGCs at different levels:
Analog:
 RF AGC, which activates a 6dB stepped attenuator,
 IF AGC, which controls the IF gain just before the digitization.
Digital:
 IF AGC, to make sure the data is scaled properly (by digital amplification) before sending to the
computer.
 Narrow band AGC, which is the AGC panel controlling the signal that passes through the VFO
filter.
Important Notes:
 The role of the Analog AGCs is to adapt the sensitivity of the front-end to the signals at the input.
When enabling the AGC in the Source panel, you are activating both Analog AGCs.
 The Digital IF AGC is always activated and only starts acting when the strongest signal(s) in the
IF spectrum exceed -6 dBFS. This mechanism ensures your signals are always scaled properly
for unattended operations.
 When turning the Analog AGCs off, you can control the stepped attenuator manually, but then,
it’s up to you to determine which attenuation level is adequate for your signal at input. In general,
push the attenuation until the noise floor is around -100 dBFS. Higher levels do not necessarily
improve your SNR but will definitely reduce your available dynamic range. If in doubt, turn the
AGC on and let it do the job.
 When turning the Analog AGC on, you will notice that you also have a “Threshold” option
available. It is used to instruct the AGC to tolerate an extra 3 dB of signal power before setting
the next attenuation level. “Threshold Low” means the front-end is “less sensitive”, and
“Threshold High” means “more sensitive”. This is really useful when chasing marginal signals in
presence of very strong blockers (~ 100 dB of difference).
This panel adjusts the settings for audio processing.

Samplerate 48000 Sets the sampling rate of sound card. Some decoding software may
require you to set a specific sample rate. Usually the default value at
48000 samples/second should be fine for general purposes.
Input Sound card The input sound card is highlighted in this field.
Normally it should not be changed, automatically detecting your
card even if you are using SDR sound cards such as: SoftRock,
Funcube dongle, Fifi SDR, etc.
Output Speakers In this field you choose the output device from those available in
your system: Speakers, Line 1, Digital Output and for the best audio
quality: [Windows DirectSound...], [MME...] or the much better
performing [ASIO...].
Normally it defaults to the speaker line.
But what is ASIO? Audio Streaming Input Output is a low-latency
communication protocol for digital audio signals developed by
Steinberg. Thanks to it, a sound card can be able to record and play
back audio without delays. Low-latency drivers, designed to obtain
and manage incoming and outgoing audio streams with a small
memory buffer (where stream exchange and digital/analog
transformation takes place), allow for virtually zero delay!
For audio devices that do not have native ASIO support, ASIO4ALL
have been published universal and compatible ASIO drivers,
however, not being native for many systems, this may result in slight
reductions in performance but it is worth a try!
If they are not already present in your Windows 10, low latency
drivers can be downloaded from the site:
https://www.asio4all.org/
You can then easily perform a test with these drivers enabled:
tune in SDRsharp any broadcasting station and do the same with
an external receiver… the audio coming out of both systems will
be virtually in parallel and without any delay as is the case with
normal drivers.
Latency 50 or lower with The latency value (expressed in milliseconds) is the time that elapses
(ms) [Windows between the analog-to-digital conversion of the input signal, its
DirectSound] processing and the digital-to-analog reconversion at the output.
drivers It is advisable to keep this value as low as possible. The latest
developments of SDR# (revision 1783) have almost halved the
1 with [ASIO...] CPU/memory usage, while the latency is at the limit of what the
drivers hardware can do.
Since revision 1818 the latency has been drastically reduced
again and now ASIO drivers work without problems with the
value of 1 ms !
Unity Gain OFF Normally it should be deselected as it sets the audio gain to the unit
value of 0 dB.
Filter ON Audio filter. Improves the performance of speech signals by
Audio filtering the audio and eliminating hiss and DC noise. It should
absolutely be deactivated when decoding digital signals (e.g. via
DSD+ or DreaM).
The same applies to all other plugins (e.g. Audio Processors
or Filters that act on the audio level), which must be
absolutely deactivated when receiving digital signals (e.g.
DMR, DSTAR, C4FM, satellites), otherwise they will result in
incorrect decoding or dirty signals.
Panning 0 Balances the audio between the left/right speakers.
Display settings adjust the Theme, RF spectrum and waterfall screen options and other settings.

Theme Recently introduced with the latest graphic interfaces, allows you to
choose multiple design layouts, many even in dark theme.
View Both Allows to set the display of the RF spectrum screen, waterfall, or only
one of them, or none at all. On older PCs it may be useful not to display
the waterfall to avoid overloading the processing.
Window Blackman- Set the type of filter, where each filter has a different response curve
Harris 4 and characteristic: the default of Blackman-Harris 4, it has balanced
performance and is the best in most cases and should not be changed.
Resolution 32768 Increased resolution will improve signal quality in the RF spectrum
display and waterfall. Using a higher resolution can be useful when fine-
tuning, as you can better see the peaks and structure of the signal.
Be aware, however, that high resolutions can slow down the PC and
can cause problems especially with older machines. Normally, if your
PC can handle it, you should use at least the value of 32768.
Allows you to choose different styles of waterfall signal representation:
Style DOTS
SIMPLE CURVE
SOLID FILL
STATIC GRADIENT
DYNAMIC GRADIENT
MIN MAX
Marker It allows you to change the color of the marker on the waterfall by simply
Color clicking on the Windows color palette.
Allows customization of the color palette used in the waterfall.
Gradient Youssef suggests for High Dynamic Range applications to modify
the file "SDRSharp.config" with these values:
<add key="waterfall.gradient"
value="FF0000,FF0000,FBB346,FFFF00,FFFFFF,7AFEA8,00A6FF,000091,000050,000000,000000" />
Initially there was only
one palette encoded
within the configuration
file, but starting with
revision 1818 you can
choose some pre-set
gradients: Sharp Classic,
Spy, Artic, Moroccan
Sunset and Custom.
In order to immediately
evaluate the most
suitable one for us,
once chosen from the
menu, I suggest
viewing the vertical bar
on the right with the
complete palette of
colors represented.
The button activates the "Gradient Editor" to further customize

the color palettes.
Mark Peaks OFF Allows to highlight a circular marker on each signal peak on the RF
spectrum window.
Time OFF Displays a time indicator on the left side of the waterfall screen to date
Markers the signals transmission. By definition it is set to 5 seconds.
S-Attack / S- Changes the uniformity and average of the received signals in the RF
Decay spectrum display. Set them halfway.
W-Attack / Changes the uniformity and average of the received signals in the
W-Decay waterfall display. Set them halfway.
Speed Changes the refresh rate of the RF spectrum and waterfall. Never keep
it at maximum.
The four vertical sliders on the right (items 14/17), referred to as "Zoom Bar", adjust the following
settings in the RF spectrum and Waterfall display.
Zoom down Moving this slider up will magnify the RF spectrum and waterfall around the
tuned frequency. However, the higher the magnification, the lower the
resolution will appear. An alternative to zooming is to reduce the sample rate or
use the decimation function in the Source panel.
Contrast down Adjusts the contrast of the waterfall. Moving the cursor upwards the signals will
be distinguished from the background noise, but do not exaggerate and avoid
saturating by having an screen all yellow/orange or red...
Range down Changes the level in dBFS (*) on the left axis of the RF spectrum window. You
should adjust it so that the noise floor threshold is very close to the bottom
of the RF spectrum window. This will make the RF spectrum and waterfall
signals more readable, making weak signals easier to detect.
Correct Wrong
Offset down Adds an offset to the dBFS (*) level range in the RF spectrum window. The offset
is added to the upper value of the dB level range in the RF spectrum. Normally
you do not need to adjust it, unless you need additional contrast on weak
signals in combination with the "range" adjustment. Adjust it so that the
height of the signal peaks are not clipped at the top of the screen.
Wrong
Since revision 1785, the "Step Size" field (next to the "Snap to Grid" item) is no longer present in the
"Radio" panel, but the "Step Bar" has been created now on the right-hand side of the VFO (*).
Clicking on the left double triangle will decrease the VFO frequency by the value indicated in the
step, while clicking on the right double triangle will increase the frequency. The possible choices
concern steps between 1 Hz and 1 MHz or, with free tuning, not flagging the first item "snap".
To use a new step not foreseen it is sufficient to edit the SDRsharp.config file at the key starting
with <add key="stepSizes" value="... and insert in the right place for example the new value
"3.125 kHz". Another very interesting and fast possibility is to use the mouse: just position
yourself in the Waterfall or Spectrum window and with the central wheel of the mouse rotate it
forward to advance with the frequencies of the pre-set Step or on the contrary, rotate it
backwards to decrease the frequency.
Following the user requests in order to enhancing Medium Waves and Short Waves AM DX reception
in presence of Co-Channel interference, the AIRSPY team has developed the world’s first working
Co-Channel Canceller algorithm! There are two distinct plugins for AM and FM mode, this patent-
pending algorithms not only recovers the interference plagued audio, but can also be combined with
our other plugins to fight QRM, QRN, and anything that could compromise your signals.
This unique, free and constantly updated plugin (last revision with 1820) is not present in any other
software!
This even works with Zero-Offset Co-Channel, you can remove the local station and listen to the DX
stations on the same frequency. A very strong local station with distorted phase can be completely
cancelled to emphasize other very weak stations on the background!
During a listening session it may happen to find the right conditions for using these plugins, obviously
they are not a normal condition of use, but only in case of interfered stations from which to try to
unravel a rare DX (*) signal devoting some time and attention because the procedure can be a bit
laborious, at least the first few times…
I will try to summarize the main steps, although they may vary slightly in your specific use:
A) MW local station with very strong signal at 819 kHz
B) DX station at 810 kHz buried and unreadable
1) Tune the (B) station
2) Widen the filter from 810 to 820 kHz to include the right local signal carrier (A)
3) Enable the “AM Co-Channel Canceller” and the relative “Remove Carrier” with Carrier
Offset value at 9.000 (designates interference is 9 kHz from
the station). The plugin will hooked and show in blue
"Locked" on the right hand side, and you see in Spectrum RF a vertical blue line over the
carrier to be removed from (A)
4) Enable the plugin “Zoom FFT” and active the “Enable IF” + “Enable filter” always staying
tuned on (B)
5) In the “Zoom FFT” windows narrow the BW to exclude the interfering carrier always on the
tuned station (B): now listen and appreciates the new result!
In a similar way works the equivalent "FM Co-Channel Canceller"; its initialization code and
sensitivity have been further improved in revision 1819. In this example we see how to set the panel
to listen to a weak station overwhelmed by a very strong signal...
Example: strong WFM station at 91.500 MHz and weak station tuned to 91.600 MHz (red vertical
center BW line at about 100k).
Enable the plugin, set the Carrier Offet to -100.000, to delete the signal at 91.500 MHz (blue vertical
line on the left), adjust the left side of the filter in the IF Spectrum window and slightly change the
position of the "Sensitivity" slider (range 0 / 15) until the desired effect is obtained… after a while,
appears the name of the station with its PI code in RDS too.
Not only does it work “live” in realtime, it functions very well with previous recorded I/Q files too!
In the picture, make sure the cancelling filter covers the offending signal entirely. For example, if you
leave the left side of the offender, you can’t get rid of the right side which is on top of your signal.
When listening to speech signals, which are often weak and noisy, it is very useful to activate
digital noise reduction. Two Noise Reduction options are available: Audio AF and IF. The AF option
uses the noise reduction algorithm on the audio output signal, the IF option on the IF signal.
Audio AF NR is better for FM modes because it eliminates the hiss, which has mostly high
frequency components in the audio spectrum. The IF NR eliminates the RF noise which can be
located anywhere within the signal. This has no effect in WFM or NFM with high modulation
index because the signal is spread over a large bandwidth, but with linear modulations like AM
and SSB, it can improve the SNR dramatically by detecting the parts of the spectrum that do not
contain any signals and attenuating them. The combination of AF and IF NR can give some
excellent results when using “Custom” profiles tuned for the signal in question. Probably the best
in the market today.
The sliders control the strength of the applied algorithm, and you can use some predefined and
optimised profiles: Hi-Fi, Talk, Speech, Narrow Band and Custom.
For Custom profile, it is possible to customise all the individual components down to the smallest
detail: Boost SNR, Depth (in dB), Slope (in dB), Attack (in ms), Decay (in ms) and FFT Size (in bins
or spectrum samples by defining the frequency resolution of the window).
The Noise Blanker is a function that can be activated to try to reduce impulsive and pulsating noises
such as that coming from sources such as some motors, power lines, power supplies of various kinds.
This function can really make a difference, especially in the HF band, when receiving weak signals
immersed in noise.
The algorithm tries to remove those tracks that have large pulses inside of them. In SDR# there are
three different types:
 “AF Noise Blanker” operates within the tuned area
 “IF Noise Blanker” operates on the IF signal
 “BB (BaseBand) Noise Blanker” operates over the entire RF spectrum and removes pulses from
the FFT and Waterfall.
The pulsing noise can appear in different forms at different stages. It’s important to know that at
the Baseband stage, you have more opportunity to eliminate very short pulses without affecting
the rest of the processing. If the pulses are “fat”, ie. have a long time window, you can eliminate
them at the IF stage with better results, but it’s less optimal than the BB NB with short pulses.
Finally, at the Audio stage, the pulses will definitely take something from your signal, but that’s
the last resort when everything else fails. Consider there is more averaging effect happening
between the Baseband, IF and AF stages, which will spread the pulses in time as the processing
goes. The earlier you can cut the offending pulses, the better.
There are obviously no preset values or thresholds, so you need to gradually move the various
sliders until the pulsing noise disappears or reduces without distorting too much the received
audio.
This panel allows you to make Audio and I/Q recordings. The "Sample Format" allows to choose the
quality level of the recording. Since the various RTL-SDR dongles are 8-bit, we can select the 8-
bit PCM option to save hard disk storage space.
When saving the IQ data at a lower resolution, you must be sure the signals are strong
enough to pass the quantization noise of the target resolution. For 8-bit, you will need a
noise floor near -80 dBF. Increase the RF gain until you reach that level, then you can
safely quantize the data.
The audio you hear can easily be recorded by checking the "Audio" box. A standard WAV audio file
will be created in the SDR# directory that can be played with any player. An I/Q recording is a tuned
full bandwidth recording that allows subsequent playback and analysis without the slightest loss of
information. To make it, you need to check the "Baseband" box but remember that recordings in
this format take up a lot of disk space, so observe the two counters “File Size” (in MB) and time
in “Durations”...
I/Q recordings can be played back in the Source panel by selecting "Baseband File (*.wav)".
The first time you use it, a “Select File” pop-up is automatically opened where you can choose the
IQ file to play. To load a new file later, simply click on the icon
Another good choice to play the I/Q recordings is to select from Source the "Baseband File (Vasili)"
by Vasili Beliakov that uses a different player with excellent features.
If the following warning window appears the first time it is used, it may be caused by the fact that in
the SDRSharp.config file there is a FilePlayer line with an empty path or an incorrect path.
Just click on OK to close the window and then press the wheel of device configuration to load
the IQ file and run it. At this point a new "Plugin Visualization" window will open, allowing you to
move within the registered IQ file. By clicking on the icon the “WAV Player” panel will open
with the possibility of further parameterizations.
There is also this plugin worth mentioning that I personally use very often to make on-the-fly
recordings in the normal audio format.
.
You establish where the files will be saved with the "Folder select" button while in the "Configure"
button you can customize many things some really important... In "File options" for example you can
decide for the quality of the WAV file and the automatic rules in the creation of the name !
In "Recorder options" you can configure many other parameters. I consider very useful the "Write all
in one file" otherwise the system creates many different files and especially the "Dont'write pause /
Use squelch" very useful to make recordings only when the audio is activated...
Zoom FFT is a default plugin in SDR#. It creates a zoom, at the bottom of SDR#, of the spectrum
display and other customizable windows.
Key Feature
Enable Opens a new zoom window of the RF spectrum around the tuned IF bandwidth area.
IF Allows you to view the signal structure with a better resolution.
Enable If the previous Enable IF option is selected, you can activate with this a special IF filter
Filter that can be adjusted as desired on both the left and right side of the tuned IF bandwidth.
Enable Only active on WFM signals (band 88-108 MHz). Allows you to see the MPX (*)
MPX spectrum (multiplexing), i.e. the baseband audio of an FM radio station. The spectrum
contains, on the abscissae axis, from 0 kHz the monophonic audio section, then a pilot
tone (at 19 kHz), the stereo section (centered at 38 kHz), then the RDS data sub-carrier
(57 kHz) or other special services such as DARC all visible in this screen...
Enable Allows to see the audio spectrum in the base band.
Audio
The Band Plan panel (or Frequency Plan) is very useful to view the many services that use radio
frequencies across the spectrum in an organized way from different countries (in the following screen
the "FM Broadcast").
Key Default Feature
Show on Enabling this option will display a rectangular color bar with the
spectrum bandplan in the RF Spectrum window at the position indicated by the
"Position" option.
Auto update Enabling this option will automatically detect the emission mode/step
radio settings and set in the VFO (*).
So if in the bandplan, in certain portions of the HF band is provided
the USB mode and 0,5 kHz step, it will be applied immediately only
typing the frequency !
Position Bottom It allows you to choose between three different positions for the display
of the Bandplan: Top, Bottom, Full (over the whole RF Spectrum
window).
The support "BandPlan.xml" file, present in the program directory, must be modified with the
information of your national knowledge by inserting the appropriate lines of text and respecting the
format syntax. This must be the format of each "RangeEntry" unique for each frequency group:
<RangeEntry minFrequency="87500000" maxFrequency="108000000" color="90FF0000" mode="WFM"
step="12500">FM Broadcast</RangeEntry>
Each band can be divided into individual areas with different coloring, except for the overlapping of
a subgroup (but not altogether).
Colors are defined as T-RGB, where T=Transparency (in values from 0 to 99 as a percentage, from
almost completely transparent to full color) R=Red, G=Green, B=Blue in blocks of 2-digit
hexadecimal values (indifferent to uppercase or lowercase letters).
To define the colors you can use the internal tool named "Color dialog" that you can reach from the
panel “Display”  “Marker Color” 
In the BASIC menu, through this icon you can select a color on the screen to have immediately,
in the "Current" window, the hexadecimal countervalue.
Or by entering a value you can immediately see the result in the field. In the example below, the red
band of FM broadcast appears as "900000". Or you can use the "Professional" menu to have all
possible color palettes available.
Or at these links among the many available on the net:
http://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_names.asp
https://toolset.mrw.it/html/colori-del-web.html
https://www.sitiwebgallery.it/blog/tabella-colori/
http://www.colorihtml.it/
https://encycolorpedia.it/d0417e
The "mode" must be set between: WFM, NFM, AM, USB, LSB, CW. The "step" will automatically
set the receiver VFO to the preset value for each band. The final field allows you to enter a text label
that will appear as a name in the bandplan. Be careful not to enter particular or special characters
that could block the interpretation of the XML file, so it is recommended to use only alphanumeric
characters.
This plugin is very useful and allows you to divide the various bands of service assignment in
automatic mode by simply clicking on the RF Spectrum, but be careful because some bands with
multiple assignment in emission modes make the correct mode pre-selection impractical (e.g. the
articulated V-UHF bandplans of radioamateurs). In this case, deselect the "Auto update radio
settings" option in the Band Plan panel.
Any formatting errors in the file or the use of special characters will prevent the plugin from loading
when the program starts!
The Frequency Manager panel allows you to catalogue a large database of all the frequencies of
interest. A new frequency can be added directly by clicking on the “New” button. A small data-entry
opens, where all you have to do is add the name of the Group (if any), the name of the station and
confirm all the other data already automatically acquired.
Then a double click on a record will tune SDR# to that frequency, automatically setting the emission
mode and its bandwidth. If the "Show on spectrum" box is checked, the frequency label will be
displayed in the RF spectrum
.
See also the optional "Frequency Manager (FreqMan) & Frequency Scanner" plugin....
This diagnostic plugin is useful for determining the power levels (dB) of signals.
On YouTube, the radioamateur Leif Asbrink (SM5BSZ) has
uploaded some very interesting and technical videos, where he
shows how the AIRSpy HF+ can be used as an accurate power
meter for RF signals. He points out that if the noise figure (NF)
or minimum distinguishable signal (MDS) of a device is
known, then it is possible to use this device as a power meter
by calibrating it with a resistor (dummy load) at room
temperature.
I suggest viewing at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipwWayemCSQ&feature=youtu.be
The SNR Logger has been implemented in the latest 18xx
revision to include Peak and Floor in addition to SNR,
making it truly unique in the SDR arena.
The signal strength is the height of the peak shown in the
Waterfall while the noise level is simply the strength of the
noise at frequencies where no signals are emitted. The
absolute value of the difference between the two is called
SNR and is expressed in dB.
Once the flag has been enabled in the panel and a time interval has been selected with the cursor (up
to 60 seconds), a text file with a name similar to this one will be created in a directory of your choice:
"SDRSharp_20210315_140603Z_SNR.csv" inside are written the values in dB for SNR, and dBm
for Peak and Floor detected by the active frequency of the VFO (*). The small CSV file can be
imported into MS Excel for further analysis and, using a suitable graphical representation, it will
be possible to report the Timestamp data (date/time) on the x-axis and the values of the received
signals on the y-axis.
In the example the reception of R.Charleston at 5.140 kHz on 15 March 2021).
In this section I will describe, in alphabetical order, some "Plugins" that compared to the default
"Panels" are options developed specifically for SDR# that expand or extend the original functionality.
This is in fact another peculiarity of the software, unique in its genre, that allows to API developers
to make it for all specific needs...
There are really a lot of them on the net, but recently SDR# software has been updated to the latest
technical knowledge about internal DSP and graphical interface: therefore individual developers
should review their plugins in this perspective, especially for readability with darker video themes.
In addition, from version 178x, non-default plugins will adopt the clear Windows theme
A lot has changed since revision 1801!
Now you just have to create a subdirectory "Plugins" and put the relevant DLLs in it.
The upload will be automatic and the Plugins.xml file and its MagicLine are no longer
needed!
You can also decide to use another custom directory by editing the instruction
"core.pluginsDirectory" in the SDRSharp.config file.
To disable loading of a specific DLL (or directory) simply rename it so that it starts
with the underscore "_" character.
If an error occurs when loading the plugin, it can be found in the log file
"PluginError.log".
Previously, in order to manually insert a new plugin, downloaded from the network in compacted
format, you had to close SDR#, extract the DLL (or more than one) in the software folder and insert
the "MagicLine" in the Plugins.xml file, taking care not to change anything in its syntax, save the file
and restart SDR#.
Some plugins are about innovative and purely ingenious things, others are specific radio or hardware
management (e.g. for satellites), others are modified and extended versions e.g. for audio
recording/reproduction, like all the original russian Vasili ones at: http:// http://rtl-sdr.ru/
The plugins can be loaded manually and individually or via the flexible and always
updated "Community Package" developed by Rodrigo Pérez, which can be reached
here: https://sdrchile.cl/en/
Note to developers.
1) As a general recommendation, one's own plugin should load the first time with the 'disabled status'
and leave it to the user how and when to activate it.
2) Youssef has recently included some sample plugins from the latest SDR# release candidate as a
reference for other developments:
https://airspy.com/downloads/shrsharp-plugin-sdk-vs2019.zip
The solution provided allows you to edit, build and debug these plugins within Visual Studio 2019.
This is probably the fastest way to develop plugins for SDR# now in dotnet 5, but the reference to the
old programming still works.
WARNING! SOME OF THESE SYSTEMS IT COULD BE ILLEGAL IN YOUR COUNTRIES!

Check carefully and thoroughly the regulations in force in your country. Some of this radio system
was specifically designed for use by government, emergency services, for public safety networks,
etc etc. who all share spectrum allocated to a city, county, or other entity.
Already author of the "Magic Eye" plugin (see below), BlackApple62 has made available as freeware
his newest work named "Audio Equalizer:
https://github.com/BlackApple62/SDRSharp-Audio-Equalizer-Plugin
The plugin provides a DSP audio graphic equalizer, compatible with SDR# Studio 32 bit .Net5.x but
only for SDR# releases greater than 1784.
With the "Enable" flag activates the plugin and with the "Gain" slider you set its gain in real time.
With the "SET" button you can access the configuration of the five presets starting from the possibility
to assign a label at will and then set the nine bands (from 60 Hz to 16 kHz) in the range 6 dB / -6 dB.
The "Reset Gains" button resets the gain of the nine bands to flat (0 dB value) within each preset.
The equalizer configurations data are automatically saved in the "SDRSharp.config" file.
With this plugin, you can make baseband recordings in WAV format with some specific features
that are useful to know before using it...
The "Configure" button allows you to choose the following file types:
 WAV SDR# compatible (size header 32 bit, for recording max 2,047 GB)
 WAV full (size header 32 bit, up to max 4,095 GB)
 WAV RF64 (size header 64 bit, for infinite files ... or almost!)
A software I've been using a lot since many years is the "CSVUserlistBrowser" (CSVUB) of
radiomateur Henry (DF8RY). CSVUB is a Windows application that interfaces to SDR#, to manage
numerous databases (or lists) of radio frequencies of long, medium, short and WFM broadcasting
stations. It displays the lists in the following formats: AOKI, EIBI, HFCC, FMSCAN, numeric
stations, "ITU monitoring", ClassAxe (for NDB), etc. etc. as well as Personal Userlists.
CSVUB tunes the receiver with a single mouse click in the proper emission mode, showing the station
name, time, language, transmitter position, distance and bearing, as well as other information
automatically updated by the respective servers! It also contains Hamlib and Omnirig control for
external receivers, also analog receivers that can be connected via RS-232. The plugin allows you to
interface SDR# in a fast and non-invasive way, unlike other much slower and uncomfortable to use.
The CSVUB window is external, dimensionable and positionable at will.
The CSVUB window is external, sizable and can be placed wherever you want. I prefer to keep
it above SDR# to see all the frequencies and information immediately.
In the screen above, SDR# is tuned in full screen at 92,100 kHz WFM, the plugin sends the
information to CSVUB, which displays it in tabular form, showing in the first line of different color
the identified broadcaster. Everything is configurable in font and size, as well as having a
customizable "skin" for the color scheme (in the example the skin used is the "SDRsharp"!). It can
also work in reverse, you click on a frequency in the CSVUB table and the receiver will immediately
tune in the correct emission mode and specific bandwidth preset.
In this screenshot, a Spy Server Network is used to verify a broadcaster on 19-meter. By enabling the
"Track mode" option, the first line appears in CSVUB with its transmission highlighted. For very
busy slots, you could also use the "Now" option which immediately filters the transmission at the
current time. Let's see in detail the possible plugin configurations through the “DF8RYDatabridge”.
Key
Enable RX1 / RX2 Enable or disable SDR#-CSVUB control. There are two instances of
connection to SDR#, for example one with an Airspy and the other with an
RTL-SDR dongle.
Autostart radio The plugin automatically starts the radio it finds connected. In case of
problems when the radio is not connected, it is preferable to disable the
option and start it manually.
The receiver only starts automatically when RX1 is enabled. The autostart
is blocked for a second instance of SDR# with RX2, otherwise it would start
the same radio twice and cause confusion.
Tune… Auto The frequency position, tunes in the RF spectrum, is controlled by SDR#.
Tune… Center The tuned frequency always appears in the center of the SDR# RF spectrum
(see Tuning types).
Tune… Sticky Use SDR# Sticky tuning mode (see Tuning types).
Tune… 15 kHz off The frequency is tuned to 15 kHz from the center. This avoids collisions
with the typical peak I/Q that some RTL-SDR/sound cards produce in the
center of the RF spectrum RF.
Tune… 150 kHz off As in the previous point, but for reception in WFM. The frontend must have
sufficient RF bandwidth (at least 300 kHz).
Direct input Here you can directly type a frequency in kHz or MHz and press Enter for
kHz or MHz tuning: really very convenient and fast! Or, when with the mouse, you have
the "focus" on this field, the Pag Up/Down keys or Up/Down arrows tune
the VFO gradually with the Step Size selected in SDR#.
NFM … RAW Eight buttons for immediate setting of the various modes.
Bandwidth Presets These are some default snapshot settings for SDR# that may sometimes be
and AGC Decay useful. Not related to CSVUB.
PI / PSN > When a WFM station is received with the RDS decoded by SDR# it is
Clipboard possible to copy its PI and/or PSN code to the clipboard, to be used to
compose its own Personal Userlist.
Reset RDS The button activates a new RDS decoding in SDR# (it is basically a reset of
the RDS).
For its many features and functions I invite you to consult here:
https://www.df8ry.de/htmlen/csvub/%F0%9F%91%93features.htm
and if you want, downloadable obviously freeware, to this the download link:
https://www.df8ry.de/htmlen/csvub/%F0%9F%93%BBsdrsharp.htm
It has so many options and features that it is impossible to treat them all here even minimally. I
recommend that you download and consult the relevant manual.
These two plugins, for analogue CTCSS (*) and digital DCS (*) detection, have recently been updated
by the tireless work of "thewraith2008" (already the author of other plugins from the initial TSSDR
Vasili work) to work again in the latest SDR# releases.
In fact, with revisions 1818/1822, the size of the audio buffer having been greatly reduced, the
previous plugins no longer worked, as they required the presence of some "zero crossings" in the
audio buffer (i.e. points of zero crossing, just before the change of sign, in the alternation of the signal
between positive and negative values) to detect the tones, and therefore have been updated again.
They can be downloaded, together with other plugins (Auto Start, FreqMan, Frequency Scanner,
ScopeView and Short-wave info), from the site forum: https://www.radioreference.com
Option
Detect “Detect” enables/disables plugins.
The tones/codes detected and decoded by the audio buffer are made visible in the
following ways: in the body of the plugin, in the spectrum window and/or in an
auxiliary window.
Read the three NOTES below...
Show on CTCSS: With this parameter enabled, you can
spectum display the detected tone directly on the bottom of
the RF Spectrum, on the right side of the VFO mark,
(or on the left side if the margin is at the edge of the
screen). Even if you have the Band Plan enabled,
the tone shown will appear just above the Band
Plan line.
DCS: The detected codes (positive or

negative) will be displayed at the top of
the RF Spectrum and next to the VFO
marker.
No reset Option recently added with release 1.3.0.0. Keeps the last detected
(on change of CTCSS/DCS visible on the panel and on the external window but will delete
frequency) the one on the RF Spectrum. Can be useful during a scan to keep the last
detected tone/code visible.
Aux windows With this parameter enabled, it
is also possible to display the
measured data in auxiliary
windows that can be positioned
anywhere on the screen and
always in the foreground with
respect to all other open
windows.
Squelch / Set this Enables/disables Squelch to operate with the detected tone/code.
tone
NOTE (1) - CTCSS: The developer informs us that the plugin may have some difficulty in
detecting subtones at a lower frequency in Hz and therefore recommends (SDR# v1810 and
lower) to increase the Latency value to 60 (mS) in the "Audio" panel.
NOTE (2) - DCS: An option has been introduced to use only those DCSs that exist in the table,
thus reducing the list of DCSs. The three options are:
0 = Default - No need to vary anything.
1 = To use only the 83 standard DCS codes (those ETSI TS 103 236 v1.1.1-Table 2)
2 = As point "1" but in addition the 21 extended DCS codes.
To use the option, the following line must be added in the file "SDRSharp.exe.config" with the
preference value, at the end of the block of the other entries starting with "DCS.xxxxx":
<add key="DCS.OnlyUseDcsCodesInTable" value="1" />
NOTE (3) - DCS: Introduced an additional option to eventually switch the display of DCS codes
between 'Normal' and 'Inverted'.
To use this option, the following line must be added to the "'SDRSharp.exe.config" file:
<add key="DCS.SwapNormalInvertedDcsCodes" value="True" />
You can also try using the external KG-TONE software described below...
Writing “plugin” can be very reductive, in fact that of Jeff Knapp is a freeware "suite" composed of
several modules and plugins. The whole has been recently updated to make it fully compatible with
the new versions of SDRsharp 18xx.
The reference link: http://www.freqmgrsuite.com/
Here are some details but of course I refer to the online documentation and PDF that is very rich and
comprehensive in every way:
Activity Logger
It records the scanner activity created by the "Frequency Manager+Scanner" plugin.
Data Tools Wizard

Is an external executable program (FMSuite.DataTools.exe) that I find really useful and very
powerful. It is designed to download and import various frequency databases for use within the
Frequency Manager+Scanner.
The databases available via the internet are: AOKI, CLASSAXE, EIBI, FMLIST, HFCC, MWLIST.
It also allows you to import the default SDR# Frequency Manager database, import a generic file and
export an FMS database to a generic file.
Frequency Manager+Scanner
It is the real heart of this Suite (written in C#), perfectly integrated for the actual SDR#. It offers a
management tool for any frequency and related emission modes and various information with data
visualization on the waterfall. It easily allows to edit and browse frequencies and to scan previously
defined frequency ranges or groups of frequencies.
Scanner Metrics
It is an accessory to the Frequency Manager+Scanner. It provides a means of recording scanner
frequency activity to a database and later performing analysis on that information; the goal being to
make it easier for you to determine which of the millions of frequencies you can receive actually are
worth spending time on.
Scheduler
It provides a means of creating, using, and re-using schedules to manage frequency changes in SDR#.
The plugin permits you to define multiple operating schedules. When a schedule is activated, the
Scheduler will change the frequency on the dates and times you specify. You can use a schedule only
on the dates and times defined in it, or you can ignore the dates and re-use the time portions of the
schedule on any date. Schedule activity is logged to a file so that you can review the actions it took.
.
In the screenshot above you can see the FMS Frequency Manager+Scanner in combination with the
newly imported EIBI A21 database.
Tuning for example in HF the frequency 5.140 kHz, the database, in "Live Track" mode, will be
positioned at the corresponding frequency and the stations found isofrequency are highlighted in blue
color.
A customizable label in font and color is also displayed in correspondence of the waterfall. It is
possible to create personal archives for VHF and UHF frequencies, importing easily those that you
have already inserted in your standard SDR# Frequency Manager.
These are the fields of the full-bodied SQLite database for Basic Info and Extended Info that you can
enhance and make filters and searches.
These plugins, taken from TSSDR's (Vasili) initials, are now maintained and updated thanks to
"thewraith2008". They are downloadable, with others (Auto Start, CTCSS/DCS, ScopeView and
Short-wave info), from the site forum: https://www.radioreference.com
With the "Frequency Manager" (or FreqMan to

distinguish it a bit from the previous one) you can create
different groups to store any frequency by assigning a
name.
Other parameters such as emission mode, BW filter,
centre and shift are automatically detected by the
current VFO of SDRsharp.
The very useful thing is that FreqMan uses the same

archive as Frequency Manager (i.e. the file
'frequencies.xml' in the program directory). So both
plugins will conveniently see the same groups and
frequencies…
You can create many different groups according to your
needs: HF, VHF/UHF or by genre, for example FM
broadcasters, amateur radio, satellites, etc. ...
On the right, in this version of "FreqMan", there is a very useful
checkboxes "S" that allows you to mark each record and then scan it
by pressing the "Scan" button. Below the latter is a handy counter
that indicates the memories currently saved in the group ("FM" in our
example).
By pressing the wheel button instead you access the

configuration panel where you can customise other options including
the possibility of displaying a label on the Waterfall or Spectrum
(with a font of your choice), of the only active frequency or of the
current group, etc. etc...
With the "Frequency Scanner" it is possible to search in a wide

range and with impressive scan speeds that cannot be achieved with
any other scanner, even analogue!
There are two modes: the more immediate mode of searching in the
current spectrum window using the "Screen" preset, or defining a
scan range in priority by pressing the "Edit scan range" button for
example with this data:
You can take advantage of as many as 5 different scanning modes:
Scan all with save new, Scan all without save new, Scan only
memorized exclude new, Scan only new exclude memorized,
Scan only enabled in Manager.
The "Configure" button allows you to set every possible parameter
of the Scanner, Channel Analyzer and Logging to file in detail.
The "Detect" button allows you to vary the scanning speed
allowing the best detection of an active signal. The default value
is 100.
The "Wait" button allows you to vary (in seconds) the delay with
which to resume scanning. You can start testing with a value of
5 seconds.
At this point you are ready to press the "Scan" button to see and
appreciate the extreme speed of scanning (still improved in version
2.2.10.0 for CPU and scan speed!) and the wealth of supporting
information. In this author example, the nautical band is being
scanned. The Channel Analyzer window will appear with a rich set
of indications and operational buttons. Let's see how to use them:
 The buttons << >> control the scanning direction or to skip the current active frequency
 With | | to pause or resume scanning
 Use “locks” to lock/unlock one or more frequencies
 The Z1/Z2 buttons toggle the zoom type in the channel analyser window
While the following buttons control interrupting and resuming the scan:
 The red ones adjust the level of the "trigger" (red horizontal line). When the signal goes
above the red line the scan stops and you can listen.
 The yellow ones adjust the "hysteresis" level (yellow horizontal line). When a signal goes
below the yellow line, the countdown (for waiting) starts. When the time is up, scanning
resumes. If in the meantime the signal goes above the red line again, during the waiting
period, the counter will be reset and the scanner will remain on the current frequency.
The colours at the bottom of the Channel Analyser have these meanings:
BLUE = The frequency is not present in the associated Frequency Manager
database and is not locked.
DARK RED = The frequency is not present in the Frequency Manager
database but is locked.
YELLOW = The frequency is present in the Frequency Manager database but is locked.
GREEN = The frequency is in the Frequency Manager database and is not locked.
For a correct use of all the functionalities of this very useful and fundamental plugin, please read
carefully its PDF manual of 27 pages.
On an “old-style” note, in this world of ultratechnological software, you might like to try the freeware
plugin 'Magic eye', of old memory, by the author BlackApple62:
https://github.com/blackapple62/SDRSharp-Magic-Eye-Plugin
Once installed and activated, one of thirteen patterns will appear in the top left corner of the RF
Spectrum window, customisable in size and transparency relative to the background.
An analogue SNR meter is also implemented.
This is his Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackApple62 to keep in mind, because the author is also
working on a brand new and unpublished plugin "ListenInfo" for all Shortwave Radio listening that
will allow to display directly on the RF spectrum many details of the station!
For a friend who is interested in FM-dx (*) I tried the new plugin "MPX Output" in combination with
the professional decoder "RDS-Spy" which allows you to discover and highlight all, but really all,
the "secrets" hidden inside the RDS (*): https://rdsspy.com/downloads/
The system is really performant and very sensitive, often it hooks
the PI codes (*) even before they are detected by the SDR#
integrated RDS decoder (see below the picture with the immediate
PI detection). For this, however, it is necessary that your sound
card supports 192 kHz sampling in recording and that this is
enabled in the audio panel (as shown below), only then you can
have the decoding of the RDS.
By enabling the checkbox

"Enable MPX output" the
multiplexed audio stream will be
routed to the indicated device and
from this to the RDS-Spy decoder
which will be configured in the
panel “Configure / Select RDS
Source / Sound Card / Input
Mode “Direct RDS/MPX (192
kHz)” with the same device
selected in the MPX plugin.
At this point the decoder panel will animate with all the RDS information and in "View / Basic RDS
services” you can appreciate the multiple indications "Program Details, PS & PTY, AF, EON". In the
"Group Analyzer" all the active groups will be checked with their percentage of diffusion in time...
In the following example I found for the RADIO1 broadcaster the presence of the TMC service -
Traffic Message Channel on block 8A
In the my tests I found some difficulties to set the 192 kHz sampling that was not present in my
W10 operating system despite the drivers were updated, then reading a thread on the net,
someone suggested to uninstall
the drivers of device also marking
the highlighted field.
Upon restarting Windows the
system was correct…
Only on a laptop I didn't succeed and
so, on a friend's suggestion, I tried
another way with the plugin
"SDRsharp RDSOutput" that allows
to use RDS-Spy but without MPX, Virtual Audio Cable and the whole issue of sampling and
configuration for 192 kHz.
The "trick" is done by using the TCP/IP protocol and taking SDR#'s
internal RDS decoding. The RadarFolf plugin is available here:
https://github.com/RadarFolf/RDSOutput
After unpacking the DLL, in the
usual SDR# directory, configure
RDS-Spy in the “Source / ASCII G
Protocol” menu with these
settings: localhost, port 23. Then
click in RDS-Spy on File / Play
Stream...
Digital fans and radioamateurs will find these simple plugins, which are fully integrated with
SDRsharp, very practical and immediate.
Freeware downloadable: http://rtl-sdr.ru/
As the title says, they are 'simple', perhaps even too simple, with no indication of the various
information that the DMR (*) can carry, such as Colour Code, talkgroup, network type, etc., etc., but
for this very reason they are fast and ultra-practical!
Extract the DLLs in the Plugins directory and launch SDRsharp.
All that remains is to enable the plugin in the checkbox at the top left and, if necessary, adjust the
volume slider: as soon as one of these digital transmissions will pass, you will hear the audio directly
through SDRsharp.
A new magnetic loop concept
The success of the Airspy HF+ series brought a lot of feedback from users noting that many problems
were related to receiver antennas that were ineffective, too sensitive to surrounding noise, had
excessive gain, and lacked the necessary linearity.
This led to the idea of designing a new 'Noise-
Cancelling Passive Loop' (NCPL) to solve the
noise problem and take advantage of the low noise
performance of AirSpy receivers. The new loop
antenna was named 'YouLoop' from its designer
Youssef.
Architecture
YouLoop is a generalisation of the Möbius loop in
which a two-turn balanced coaxial cable is used as
the centre of a multi-turn loop. This construction is
electrically balanced for large wavelengths, i.e.
when Lambda is very large compared to the size of
the antenna. This helps to cancel the electrical
noise at the lower bands, exactly where most of the
electrical noise energy is concentrated. To

preserve this electrical balance from being
disturbed by the transmission line, a miniature
low-loss BALUN (*) is used underneath the loop.
Performance in VHF too

Another interesting aspect of this two-wire coaxial construction is its response in the VHF range. The
same HF magnetic loop can therefore be used in the FMW, aviation and 2m amateur radio bands with
a slight change in its basic principle: it is now a folded dipole. In fact, the feed point of the folded
dipole is at the top and the arms of the dipole form the ground of the coaxial. At the feed point, the
signal is routed from the two sections of coaxial cable to the wideband, low-loss BALUN.
Equipment list
Once the best quality components have been chosen (beware of clones and imitations!!) and the PCB
has been pre-assembled with the BALUN, the only thing to do on receipt of the loop is to connect the
blue cables marked SMA (*) in just a few seconds and maybe attach the antenna itself to a rigid
Hula-Hoop, like the ones used in children's games, to make it more manageable and steerable
on some temporary structure (e.g. a photo tripod).
For semi-permanent outdoor installations, it is recommended that the “Balun-T” and

“Phase Inverter” elements be sealed with sealing tape.
For optimum performance it is recommended to use coaxial cables
suitable for the purpose.
Any phase or amplitude mismatch will result in sub-optimal
performance. Those proposed meet the criteria for optimum
performance:
 2 arms (1m) in RG402 18 GHz coax cable, with male SMA
connectors
 1 transmission line (2m) in RG402 18 GHz cable, with male
SMA connectors
 Phase inverter (upper part of the loop)
 Wideband low-loss T-shaped BALUN (bottom of loop)
Technical specifications:
HF: from 10 kHz to 30 MHz
VHF: up to 300 MHz
Maximum Power: 250 mW
Passive design and no tuning/synchronisation required
Low-loss, wide-band BALUN (0.28 dB loss)
Compatibility:
Airspy HF+ Discovery (Recommended)
Airspy HF+ Dual Port ((with R3 short-circuited)
Other SDR with MDS (*) <= -140 dBm
It is very likely that your own third party receiver is not sensitive enough to work properly with
the YouLoop... Not using an Airspy HF+ Discovery, some people have even tried, without much
success, to make preamplifiers to compensate for the lack of sensitivity and/or dynamic range
required by substandard receivers.
Before the advent of Airspy HF+ Discovery/Dual Port you could extend your coverage below 30
MHz with the SpyVerter Upconverter in combination with your devices...
It is a low-loss, high-dynamic-range up-converter based
on a switched-mode design, the same type that is used in
high-end HF rx which, due to its frequency stability and
sensitivity, can compete with analogue designs at a very
affordable cost.
SpyVerter R2 is based on the successful SpyVerter
architecture and enhances the key points of high
performance HF reception.
The architecture is based on a dual balanced switched-
mode mixer that transposes the entire HF spectrum in the
VHF band between 120 MHz and 180 MHz.
An embedded microcontroller provides both PLL
programming (Si5351C) and VCTCXO voltage control via its built-in DAC.
The substantial difference between SpyVerter R0 and R2 is the high-speed PLL instead of the
TCXO.
Technical specifications:
RF Input 1kHz to 60 MHz
IF Frequency 120 MHz – Positive Image
Technology: Switched Double Balanced Mixer
Total Conversion Loss + Filtering: 8 dB typ.
35 dBm IIP3
LO leakage: -42dBm typ. (12 dB lower than the original SpyVerter)
Phase noise at 10kHz separation: -122 dBc/Hz
RF Filtering: Low Pass Filter with corner at 65 MHz – 75dB ultimate rejection
IF Filtering: Band Pass Filter with corners at 120 MHz and 180 MHz – 75dB ultimate rejection
Max RF power: +10 dBm
Return Loss: -10 dB
Bias-tee voltage: 4.2v to 5.5v
Internal 10 MHz Reference Clock input
Current consumption: < 100 mA
Compatibility:
Airspy R2
Airspy Mini
HackRF One
RTL-SDR
The SpyVerter offers HF coverage starting near DC and up to 35 MHz

where it overlaps with Airspy's VHF-L.
The default software settings allow the Airspy to power the SpyVerter unit
via the "bias-tee" feature, so no extra power is needed. Simply connect the
SpyVerter's IF output to the Airspy's RF input via the supplied barrel
adapter.
It is recommended to use the “Linear gain” mode in HF.
An idea I had recently was to use the SpyVerter in combination with an AirSpy R2 for
simultaneous HF decoding of ALE and GMDSS signals thanks to the brand new multi-channel
decoders by Chris Smolinki's Black Cat (W3HFU)...
Let's see some steps together.
I'll give more information on Black Cat's ALE and GMDSS decoders in the "Listening Recipes"
chapter later, but this is the general principle. Exploiting the SpyVerter and the combined use of the
Slice (see "New Slice" in the chapter "Main settings and controls") is like having several
independent receivers (but always within the default bandwidth) to which you can feed several signals
to monitor and decode!
For example, for HF world nets in ALE or in the GMDSS system there are many frequencies to keep
an eye on and not all of them are active at the same time or can only be received at certain times of
the day...
If you could have a decoder active on each frequency you could optimise simultaneous reception and
automatically catalogue a large number of logs.
All this is possible by using some new multi-channel decoders designed specifically for this purpose
in combination with multiple virtual audio channels, with the only limitation of having a sufficiently
powerful computer / CPU ...
Obviously you can start with two/three frequencies and its VAC properly configured on Line 1/2/3.
In this screenshot on an AirSpy R2 tuned to 6.312 kHz of the GMDSS world system I opened two
new Slice at 8.414,5 and 12.577 kHz
Keep in mind, however, that the SpyVerter is designed to be a broadband HF receiver. This may
be useful for some scenarios, but it may lack the dynamic range for high performance use when
receiving weak signals or with strong blocks in the vicinity. The limitation does not come from
the SpyVerter as the weight is delegated to the VHF receiver output. Slice is the way to have
stand-alone receivers with full functionality from the same front-end.
If the SpyVerter is used remotely, the following parameters must be used in the spyserver.config file
# Initial Center Frequency
#
initial_frequency = 7100000
# Minimum Tunable Frequency
# Comment if using the device default
#
minimum_frequency = 0
# Maximum Tunable Frequency
# Comment if using the device default
#
maximum_frequency = 35000000
# Converter Offset
# Set to -120000000 to enable the SpyVerter offset
converter_offset = -120000000
# Bias-Tee
# For AirspyOne only – Useful for LNA’s and SpyVerter
enable_bias_tee = 1
Those who live in cities or in the vicinity of strong/very strong signals from WFM broadcast stations
will need to make or buy a good notch filter to attenuate the presence of these signals, which can also
desensitise other portions of the spectrum not included in the operating range in question (e.g. the
adjacent aeronautical band).
There are different forms and performances (with attenuation,
expressed in dB, also very high). In the best ones, the insertion loss
outside the operating band and up to 500 MHz is practically
absent, while it is very low for higher frequencies.
In our case, it is preferable to choose the newer ones with an
SMA connection so as not to put too much mechanical strain on the older, heavier ones still with
BNC or PL connectors.
This is a typical usage configuration...
If you start using them afterwards, you won't be able to do without them....
Until revision 1784 (which can still be downloaded from the link on page 13), the distribution
included some standalone utilities for use with Airspy devices, which many of you will remember
and which can still be used today. For a bit of amarcord, let's take a brief look at them.
ADSB Spy v1.0.0.83

This valuable tool is used for real-time reception of aircraft transponders on the nominal frequency
of 1,090 MHz. It would require a dedicated antenna and possibly little and good coaxial cable, but
you can initially try with a discone or a VHF/UHF bibanda but better would be to design a small
dedicated collinear copper or brass alloy that offers good gain and reception in the range of a few
hundred kilometres ... Please refer to the link: http://www.radioamatoripeligni.it/i6ibe/ads-b/ads-
b.htm
The ADSBSpy interprets the ADSB data received from the device
and redirects them to the decoder software for appropriate display
on maps (in graphic and table format).
Once started, after a few moments, the "Aircraft" and "FPS"
counters will appear, indicating the data packets received,
providing a real-time view of correct reception, as well as the
received signal strength indicator (RSSI). The default port address
is 47806 and is used to communicate with the decoding programs
(see below).
The "ADSB Hub" and "Local server" boxes are used to send data
to a specific host, IP address and port.
Previous versions of ADSB Spy also allowed the use of normal
RTL-SDR sticks with good results.
The most popular radar software, in alphabetical order, are:
adsbSCOPE (see screen): http://www.sprut.de/electronic/pic/projekte/adsb/adsb_en.html
Planeplotter: https://www.coaa.co.uk/planeplotter.htm
Virtual Radar Server: http://www.virtualradarserver.co.uk/Default.aspx
Each one needs its own specific configuration and settings and this is not the place for a detailed
individual sheet. Please refer to the links and various enthusiast sites on the net.
At the time of writing, developers Youssef and Wiedehopf are working on a new version
of ADSB for Airspy, which seems to give the best performance of all ADSB receivers.
Astro Spy
Developed for radio astronomy to observe a specific L-band frequency over time. I have not been
able to test it, it should detect the hydrogen line 21 cm at 1420 MHz perhaps with a horn antenna
pointed at the Milky Way.
Spectrum Spy
The Spectrum Analyser allows the display of wide frequency ranges (or the whole range in 'Full'
mode) by exploiting the scanning speed which is comparable to 'real' spectrum analysers (...and
maybe even more!). I've loved it since the first time I used it and resort to it whenever I need to
analyse small or large portions of the spectrum or to see the source of some new signal (often
unwanted like a local noise) or if a slot has opened up in the 88-108 MHz range to try FM-DX(*)...
Key Features
Starting / closing the programme
Span Allows you to choose a specific portion of the range for analysis (10, 20, 50,
100, 200, 500 MHz, 1 GHz, Full)
Center Allows the desired frequency to be centred on the screen.
The combination of Span / Center allows the best analysis of the signal
in the desired range.
Min Y To choose the minimum values for the ordinate axis ( -80 / -120 dBFS(*))
Max Y To choose the maximum values for the ordinate axis (-70 / 0 dBFS(*))
RF Gain To increase or decrease gain
Style Allows you to choose the style of signal representation in the Spectrum
(Simple curve, Static gradient, Dynamic gradient, Old school)
Allows a screenshot of the Spectrum/WF to be saved at any time.
Full FM band
88-108 kHz
AirSpy R2 in
full range 24-1700 MHz
As mentioned elsewhere in this guide, a very interesting possibility is the study of digital signals and
their decoding, using special software and a "virtual audio cable".
This is necessary in order to redirect the audio of SDRSharp (or other SDR programs) towards
external decoders for many signals that we can find in HF (examples: MultiPSK, Fldigi, WSJT-X,
Morse, Wefax, DReaM (1) etc.,) or in V-UHF (examples: DSD+ (2), APRS, satellites and weather
satellites, etc.).
1. DReaM for the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), which is the only worldwide digital broadcasting
system planned for long, medium and shortwaves that can use the same frequencies currently
allocated to the amplitude modulation (AM) broadcasting service in the spectrum up to 30 MHz.
The system is currently active but with only a few stations.
2. DSD+ (Digital Speech Decoder) è un programma open source per la decodifica di segnali di
parlato digitale multistandard come il DMR, Dstar, Fusion, P25, ecc...
In general for decoding there are some aspects to consider in order to improve the chances of success,
these are the main indications:
 Except in special cases, check whether your "Virtual Audio" program is configured for 48 ksps
sampling rate on both input and output ports.
 Check that the SDR software is set to an appropriate volume level (not too low and not too high).
All decoding programs have a level indicator that allows you to see the incoming signal and fine-
tune it. You can start with a volume of 60/70% if the decoders don't report any errors... Remember
that when the audio is redirected, for example to a Line1 or similar, it is no longer heard through
the loudspeaker, but often the software comes with a suitable "audiorepeater" in case you still
want to listen to the digital signal being processed.
 Disable Squelch and all those plugins (e.g. Audio Processor or Filters) that act on the audio level,
which must be absolutely deactivated when receiving digital signals, otherwise they will result in
incorrect or incomplete decoding or dirty signals.
 Check that the SDR software is set to the correct reception mode for the decoder. For example,
on HF (*) the USB (upper sideband) prevails, while on VHF-UHF (*) the FMN (*) is used. For
narrower digital modes such as CW (*), DGPS (*), RTTY (*), you can go gradually with a narrow
filter of 400 or 600 Hz and increase to 1500/3000 Hz for FT8 (*) or wefax (*). You can also do it
the other way around: start with a wide filter and then narrow it down to reduce noise and get
proper decoding.
We should now be able to start searching the radio waves for signals other than speech, and make use
of the many websites (with frequencies and lists of utility stations), to better understand what we will
find in our listening sessions...
I would recommend the UDXF (Utility DXers Forum) for the exchange of news and information
related to utility stations and signals below 30 MHz: http://www.udxf.nl
Much more complex and fascinating topics are the analysis of signals and transmission modes and
related protocols.
It would take a book just to minimally introduce the subject (there are a few on the net) so I will just
give a flash, citing the most professional I know and the only one of its kind, the blog by Antonio
Anselmi: http://i56578-swl.blogspot.com and also his Twitter : https://twitter.com/i56578_swl

etc etc. who all share spectrum allocated.
Another possibility is to use the sound card to share the signal without any particular need for
decoding, but to read in your own language what a broadcasting station is transmitting at that
moment...
In fact, you can direct the audio to the Google translator to have it translated in real time into your
native language (try it to believe it!). This is really very nice and funny, let's see what you need to
do...
The prerequisite is to use the Google Chrome browser, which allows you to convert speech audio
directly live via your sound card on your computer.
“Audio panel” SDRsharp with Input/Output

for your sound card. You can also use
"Stereo Mix" by enabling it in the
"Recording" tab in the Windows Audio
setting.
If the entry does not appear, you need to

click on the other input devices and
temporarily choose "Disable".
It should now be enabled and set as "Default

device" with a green tip icon.
Access Chrome's settings by clicking on

"Settings", then "Privacy and security", then
"Site settings" by scrolling until you find
"Authorisation - Microphone". From the
drop-down menu, select "Stereo Mix".
You start up Google Chrome, select the source language (automatic detection is not yet working...)
and the target language:
and finally click on the blue icon of the microphone symbol and this is the result, when
I captured China Radio International on 7435 kHz frequency during a language lesson in Chinese,
promptly translated into my own language.
here is another example…
How to combine a great SDR and some excellent software to set up a useful receiving capability.
As in the best cookbooks are written the recipes, ingredients and operations necessary to deal with
culinary dishes of all kinds, in this new chapter I will collect some screenshots, just with a title and a
few brief comments, leaving the images the right weight and trying to arouse personal interest for
subsequent insights that will be made by following the instructions of the developer of the individual
software indicated.
I would like to point out that ALL third party applications are made by different
individuals/companies who have no connection to SDR# and AirSpy. Third-party applications are
stand-alone programmes that add or complement functionality.
etc etc. who all share spectrum allocated to a city, county, or other entity.
The legendary yellow 'peak colour' line (see RF Spectrum feature)

SDR#: RF Spectrum + right mouse button
I find this option very interesting, a kind of chronological memory of the RF Spectrum. In the
example, in the amateur radio band 2 meters, already after a few minutes you can see the peaks of the
stations that have been activated and, positioning the mouse over them, you can read the frequency
and intensity of the signal received.
An idea could be to use it in some portions of the spectrum not well known and after a few hours to
see what has occurred ... a bit like going fishing with our SDR
Click the right

mouse button
Tune a frequency with a simple move
SDR# + CSVUB plugin in “frequency parser” mode
With CSVUB plugin, previously mentioned, it is possible to tune the VFO of SDR# only highlighting
the frequency taken from a site like DXcluster or, as in the following example, from a site of
calculation of radioamateur satellite transits.
Enable the DF8RYDatabridge plugin (top right) with the flag on "Enable RX1" will access from the
menu WEB / DX CLUSTER WEBSITE PARSER (or with Ctrl+Shift+D keys) where you will choose
the URL to which we want to connect…
Really convenient and very fast!!
The same thing is possible in HF with one of the many radioamateur Webclusters even more
interesting...
How to eliminate unwanted signals
SDR#: IF Processor, Notch and IF Spectrum
Inserting the DLL "SDRSharp.DigitalIfProcessor.dll" in the plugins directory makes the IF
Processor available.
The power of its "Asymmetric filter", the multiple "Notch

tracking" and "IF Spectrum" with multiple functions allow to
eliminate entire portions of frequencies that in some circumstances
can create serious interferences...
In the screen the red portion a few kHz wide with extreme variable noise that made it difficult to
receive the very weak CW signal at 7016.5 kHz (indicated with the yellow arrow)...
AIS …to navigate a bit virtually!
AirSpy R2 with software AISRec + AIS Decoder
In the vicinity of the coast it is easy to come across two VHF frequencies in the nautical band that
H24 transmit AIS spots (*): 161.975 and 162.025 MHz.
The AISRec software for Windows allows you to simultaneously receive the two signals in IQ format
and extract the NMEA sequences to send them via UDP to another software (AIS Decoder) for
decoding all 27 types of AIS messages provided...
To complete the thing

, it is also possible to combine a map (e.g. with the OpenCPN freeware) which, thanks to the
geographical coordinates received, makes it possible to display the position of vessels and various
fixed stations received by our receiving system...
ALE …a new decoder, indeed a multi-channel decoder!
AirSpy HF+ Discovery and software Black Cat ALE
HF is always fertile ground for developers with new ideas and strong technical knowledge...
It is still in beta but you can download the demo that allows you to try for 30 days a software with
extreme sensitivity compared to other software used by fans for a long time and with the ability to
use up to 24 decoders simultaneously (SDR and computer permitting!).
With the "regular license" you can use up to 3 decoders simultaneously, while you can get up to 24
with the "High performance" mode.
It is possible to monitor in a totally automatic and independent way different frequencies or single
net of interest, each one combined to a specific audio channel (example VAC on Line1/2/3/x).
Each decoder/tab will display the text (in different formats provided in the software) in a special
screen 1/2/3/x, while in the "Combined" one there will be the result of all individual channels.
Other innovative features are:

 Use previously recorded audio files or WAV samples present on the network (even more than
one at the same time) with an impressive decoding speed (even 10 times the real one)!
 Creation of Logs with different custom formats, also for the UDXF Bulletin Board
 Other features still under development to work on specific Callsigns / Net / ...
APT NOAA images mosaic…
AirSpy R2 with software WXtoImg
WXtoImg is one of the best software for fully automated decoding of APT and WEFAX (WXsat)
weather satellite signals.
The software allows recording, decoding, editing and viewing in Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
It supports real-time decoding, map overlays, advanced color enhancements, 3-D imagery,
animations, multi-pass imagery, projection transforms (e.g. Mercator), text overlays, computer
control for many satellite weather receivers, and much more...
This a mosaic of images captured in September 2021 by friend Rob (IZ0CDM) assembling the output
of signals received from the following satellites at later times:
NOAA15 06:52 UTC,
NOAA19 07:18 UTC,
NOAA18 07:59 UTC...
CLOCK, to synchronize via radio the time of your computer
AirSpy HF+ Discovery
"Clock", included in "MultiPSK" Windows software by Patrick Lindecker (F6CTE), provides date
and time by decoding time frames received via radio from FLE (ex France-Inter), DCF77, HBG,
MSF, BBC, WWVB, WWV, WWVH, CHU, RAI, JJY, or via GPS or the Internet.
In addition, you can synchronize the local (current) and universal time (UTC) of your computer with
the time received by radio! After synchronization (confirmed with a loud beep) the computer clock
will be accurate to within 1 second with the real time.
In the following screen, received on 162 kHz frequency of FLE (ex Radio France-Inter), once the
signal is locked and confirmed by PLL Locking (in my case
demodulated in CW), the field "Reception of the time frame" will be
initially colored blue and after a while the decoding of the data of
"Public holiday", "Local time type", "Minute", "Hour" and at the end of each minute of the remaining
information: "Day of week, Day, Month, Year".
While the following, similarly, is a time frame of DCF77 (Mainflingen, Hesse, Germany) received
by tuning at 77.5 kHz frequency.
Decoding CTCSS / DCS / DTMF /…
Software KG-TONE
A very good external software to help identify unknown radio link signals using subaudio tones (or
CTCSS) and/or DCS digital codes.
It's called KG-TONE and it's free. The latest release for Windows XP/Vista/7 is 1.0.1 (Dec'2011) at:
http://www2.plala.or.jp/hikokibiyori/soft/kgtone/kgtone.zip
.
In KG-TONE, the following sources were provided as input signals in menu "Settings / Wave input
device" (useful to know as SDR receivers were not contemplated at the time):
FM voice - obtained from the headphone socket or the loudspeaker socket, is not always good, as the
audio path may be filtered in later stages (e.g. the elimination of audio subtones!).
FM detect – i.e. the signal taken before filtering by subsequent stages of the receiver: for decoding
purposes it is better than the previous one.
12 kHz I/Q – the I and Q components are samples of the same signal detected orthogonally in phase
and therefore contain different informations. With their separation it is possible to measure the
relative phase of the signal components, which is useful not only for FM demodulation. This is the
best mode, ideal for signal analysis and can be processed directly by the software without any loss.
The manual at the time stated to check if your receiver was equipped with a 12 kHz I/Q output socket
and referred only to the AOR-5001D and ALINCO DJ-X11 receivers.
Translated directly from Japanese (in the hope of interpreting it correctly from the brief instructions
included with the software), I provide a comprehensive table of all the decoding possibilities in the
various modes:
Source signal type NQSL CTCSS DCS TRAIN MSK DTMF
FM voice (audio) C A C * * *
FM detection A A B * * *
12 kHz I/Q * * * * * *
(*) = Possible in many cases

(A) = Possible, but depends on the model
(B) = Impossible, but it depends on the model
(C) = Almost impossible
NSQL = Noise Squelch operation (noise silencing)
Operationally, using with our SDRs, I noticed no difference with the settings set to "Audio" or
"Discriminator".
Turn on the audio from e.g. the VAC (also running the
audiorepeater.exe file to keep hearing the audio!), choose the
audio input in KG-TONE and press the 'OK' button.
The software analyses the signals and displays the detected data
in its small, graphically appealing panel. If the audio paths are
correct, and the noise squelch is open, the "BUSY" icon and thus the detected tones will be
highlighted on the left in bold.
It also has a "COMBO" mode with which you can

have a larger underlying panel displaying all
CTCSS or DCS and with a useful "memory
effect" of all those activated over time appearing
on a dark background. Truly an excellent piece of
professional software!
It can also detect DTMF (*) but I was not able to

test it for TRAIN / MSK modes, which are not
active in my country.
Unless specifically required, the sliders can be held initially in the following positions:
Perhaps few people are aware that by pressing the button it is also possible
to activate an “audio inversion band” decoder and adjust its tone (pitch) by slightly
moving the vertical slider above...
DAB / DAB+ (part 1)
AIRSpy Interface + DABPlayer
Simple but ingenious interface to connect via TCP (*) your AIRspy devices to Andreas Gsinn's
DABplayer and enjoy the full DAB (*) content with slideshows, quality recordings and lots of
informations on Ensemble, FIC (*), MSC (*) and audio...
DAB / DAB+ (part 2)

software WELLE.IO
It is an open source SDR (for Windows10, Linux, macOS, Android), with support for Airspy
(R2/Mini), RTL-SDR, SoapySDR. It supports high DPI resolutions (*) including touch screen displays
and also works on cheap mini computers like the Raspberry Pi 2/3 and various tablets / smartphones.
Suite DAB / FM (and spectrum displays)
software SDR-J
This is a rich suite of different open source SDR programmes (for Windows and Linux OS) for
receiving FM, DAB/DAB+, etc.
Support is for Airspy, HackRF, Lime, Pluto, RTL-SDR and SDRplay. The first screenshot is of
DAB+ and the second is of FM reception.
A Spectrum-viewer also completes the equipment
and the Panoramascope
DRM in HF
SDR# + DReaM software
Using an AirSpy HF+ Discovery, tuned in USB mode in HF during a DRM (*) transmission it is
possible to listen to the programming (also multi-channel) in high quality thanks to the free software
DReaM that you can find free here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/drm/
Read DTMF ...without a decoder!
Software Audacity
We do not always have a decoder to detect DTMF (*) tones such as the one shown above. So let's see
how to easily identify DTMF frequencies (in hertz), which is a coding system created for telephony,
at Bell laboratories, to encode numerical codes in the form of sound signals in the audio band.
The DTMF keyboard consists of a 4×4 = 16-position
matrix, where the row represents a low frequency and
the column represents a high frequency. For example,
pressing the 2 key generates two sine waves at
frequencies of 697 Hz and 1336 Hz.
Rather than using 16 different frequencies for the 16

numbers/letters on the keyboard, 8 different frequencies
have been used, with 2 being associated to each key.
The term multi-frequency is therefore derived from the simultaneous use of two audio tones.
The frequencies have been allocated appropriately and with good intrinsic safety.
So to start it is necessary to save a WAV file from our SDR and analyse it for example with the
freeware software Audacity.
Load the wave file, select the first portion of the DTMF signal, go to the menu "Analyze" and then
"Show spectrum" where the program will perform the analysis of the frequencies.
In this window we will position ourselves on the two peak frequencies, reading down the two
frequencies at 697 Hz and at 1336 Hz, which from the previous table correspond in fact to the number
“2”.
Then move to the second audio portion and repeat the analysis.
GMDSS, a multi-channel decoder
AirSpy HF+ Discovery and Black Cat GMDSS decoder
Black Cat GMDSS is a first multi-channel GMDSS HF decoder with new concept compared to
previous radioamateur decoders that will surely make people talk!
Up to 8 decoders can run at the same time for all GMDSS channels provided by the worldwide system
at 2187.5, 4207.5, 6312, 8414.5, 12577, 16804.5 kHz.
Each decoder can be connected to its own audio input source (a virtual audio device or physical sound
input device).
One of the distinctive features of the decoder is that it can decode directly from a WAV audio file.
Multiple files can be selected, they will decode one after another.
Decoding of WAV files is much faster than real time decoding, limited by the speed of your computer,
often 10x real time processing.
There are also a number of useful tools for map visualization and online search on the MMSI database.
Those who have had the opportunity to try and test it in comparison with other GMDSS decoders
says the best accuracy in decoding, with fewer errors than all competitors.
In addition, not least, is the extreme lightness in terms of CPU usage (in some cases even 5 times less
than others!)
HFDL at 300 bps
AirSpy HF+ Discovery e decoder PC-HFDL
PC-HFDL is a windows based decoder for the ARINC 635-3 HF data-link protocol. Is based on a
number of interconnected ground stations. Each ground station transmits a frame called
a Squitter every 32 seconds (see screenshot). The Squitter frame informs aircraft of the system status,
provides a timing reference and provides protocol control.
Each ground station has a time offset for its Squitters this allows planes to jump between ground
stations when trying to log on to the best one. When passing traffic Time division Multiplexing is
used (TDMA) this prevents two aircraft transmitting at the same time causing collisions.
The program uses the system table (now version 51) to determine the frequencies being used are. This
information is transmitted by the HFDL groundstations.
Net of current worldwide stations: AGANA – GUAM, AL MUHARRAQ – BAHRAIN,

ALBROOK – PANAMA, AUCKLAND – NEW ZEALAND, BARROW – ALASKA, CANARIAS
– SPAIN, HAT YAI – THAILAND, JOHANNESBURG - SOUTH AFRICA, KRASNOYARSK –
RUSSIA, MOLOKAI – HAWAII, MUAN - SOUTH KOREA, REYKJAVIK – ICELAND,
RIVERHEAD - NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO – CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ – BOLIVIA,
SHANNON - IRELAND
The “Squitters” display write information in a separate dialog box. “Smart display” shows next
timeslot allocations.
This software has been designed as a decoder and does not carry out extensive logging or analysis of
received information.
ISS reception and satellite tracking
AirSpy R2 + Gpredict & plugin Gpredict Connector
The ISS and other amateur radio satellites are not difficult to receive and it is sufficient even only a
discone antenna or a vertical antenna for the 2 meters band... the most important thing is to use a good
software for the calculation of satellite passages and their automatic tracking to compensate for the
frequency shift due to the doppler effect in many cases very marked.
It will be necessary to look for and download the GPREDICT software (for example the release
"gpredict-win32-2.3.37.zip") and install it...
For the first configuration: set your coordinates in EDIT / PREFERENCES / GENERAL /
GROUND STATIONS while in INTERFACES / RADIOS you will have to create a line like the
following for our SDRsharp with Localhost and port 4532:
For subsequent use: always update the TLE data in the EDIT / UPDATE TLE DATA FROM
NETWORK menu or provide an automatic update in ED in EDIT / PREFERENCES / GENERAL /
TLE UPDATE
To configure tracking: in Gpredict, click on the "Module options/ Shorcuts" icon
(highlighted here at the side), select a satellite (in our case the ISS) from the
CONFIGURE menu and then access the RADIO CONTROL panel to set some
fields to confirm the type of traffic to be monitored (e.g. "Mode U/V FM VOICE")
and then click on the "TRACK" and "ENGAGE" buttons...
Let us now see on the SDR# side what needs to be done.
We will use the free plugin "GpredictConnector", which can be downloaded here:
https://github.com/alexwahl/SDRSharp.GpredictConnector
By extracting the DLL in the usual directory, it enables automatic

dialogue with Gpredict as soon as the “enable” flag is enabled.
If everything is working properly the plugin will connect to port

4532 and "Server Status" will not only display "connected" in green
colour, but SDR# will and autonomously follow the downlink
frequency of the satellite with appropriate VFO changes to
compensate for the doppler effect, as well as providing multiple tracking information and AOS (*) and
LOS (*) times.
METEOR-M N2 Reception of quality images
AirSpy HF+ Discovery and many software
It is not easy to condense the whole process in a few lines, but the final result of BlackApple62 in
receiving images from the METEOR-M N2 satellite is definitely of very high quality...
LRPT images received at 137.1 MHz in RGB+Rainfalls/RGB mode with Turnstile antenna and
SPF5189 RF Low Noise Amplifier. These are the software used: Tracking DDE v1.2 + Meteor
Demodulator v2.3 + LRPT decoder v2019.9.14.0056 + Postprocessor MeteorGIS v2.24.
The "data flow" kindly granted to me, represents in a very simplified way how data pass from radio
reception to decoded images on disk. A more detailed description of the events in each software
module would be needed, starting from the AOS phase of the satellite, up to the LOS and finally to
the writing of the processed images, but it would take a dedicated guide, so for those interested this
is an introduction: http://happysat.nl/Setup_Meteor/Setup.html
NDB's, dinosaurs in extinction...
AirSpy HF+ Discovery
Non-Directional Beacons, better known as NDBs, are beacons used for many years for instrument air
navigation or maritime radionavigation.
In the course of 2021, the Italian Air Navigation Authority has planned to phase out NDB, L and
VOR type radio beacons at italian airports.
The NDB works in medium waves (between 200 and 1750 kHz), transmitting a continuous wave in
vertical polarisation, on which an amplitude modulation of an audio signal is superimposed, through
which the instrument communicates its identification in Morse code.
Here is an example of one of the last NDBs still receivable at the moment: 392.5 kHz and with “TOP”
Morse code identification (Poirino/Torino - Italy) remembering that decoding starts at the bottom...
QRSS signals not listenable and nor visible in RF spectrum!
AirSpy HF+ Discovery and software ARGO
Hams like to experiment and a lot, especially in the study of propagation...
The QRSS (*) is a very special morse signal, transmitted so slowly that you cannot hear it by ear (a
"dot" takes six seconds to be sent while a "line" takes eighteen seconds) and with very low power
using frequency shift coding.
With this system you do not make conversation (in Q code called “QSO”) but you can analyze the
propagation, test antennas or specific software. In my case I used the software "ARGO" but I suggest
also "FSKview" for the visualization of the spectrograms of FSK (*) signals.
My SDR was tuned to 10138.7 kHz in USB and after several minutes I received and decoded the
english beacon G0PKT as highlighted in the first line. Note that in the waterfall and in the RF
Spectrum on the right no signal is visible...
From the net says that the beacon is active on 30 meters with the power of about 250 mW.
Try it on the other bands in WSPR and QRSS mode as well!
Radiograms (bulletins and images)
SDR# + FLdigi software
Using an AirSpy HF+ Discovery, tuned in my example to the 15770 kHz frequency on certain days
and at certain times, it is possible with the FLdigi software to receive curious transmissions,
RadioGrams, i.e. digital text and images (MFSK-32/64 mode) via the analogue radio transmission...
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Shortwave_Radiogram_Gateway
https://swradiogram.net/
Radiosonde in UHF
AirSpy R2 + software RS41 Trakers
RS41 Tracker is an external software, developed by Diego (IW1GIS), capable of decoding real-time
telemetry from Vaisala RS41 radiosondes. Used in conjunction with an SDR it allows you to display
the positions of the radiosondes on a map and control parameters such as height, temperature, wind
speed/direction and burst killer information, etc.
Link: http://escursioni.altervista.org/Radiosonde/
By tuning into UHF at set times and with a bit of luck it is possible to receive
directly signals like this and using a virtual audio cable send them to the
decoder.
By referring to this informative link, you can also find the UHF frequency for transits in your area:
https://tracker.sondehub.org
RTL_433 for reading tyre pressure, weather sensors, etc. etc.
AirSpy R2 and RTL_433 plugin
With this nice plugin it is possible to detect and decode particular data
signals transmitted on specific bands dedicated worldwide to these
services.
It is therefore possible to decode hundreds of sensors that detect
temperature/humidity, weather data, energy consumption, tank level,
etc... etc... and why not the TPMP ones, i.e. the tyre pressure and
temperature monitoring system of some car models!
The plugin, with all the necessary instructions, can be downloaded

free of charge, here:
here:https://marco40github.wixsite.com/website/plugin-
sdrsharp-pour-rtl-433?lang=en
You can start by trying in RAW mode and with a bandwidth of at least
200k, disabling squelch and any other audio filters...
It can be configured to receive the overall message list of all received

devices, with the possibility of exporting the data to files.
Or single lists such as the following with a Toyota TPMS and of an

outdoor temperature sensor (model GT-WT02) or a graphic window of a termosensor (Oregon
THR228N).
It can sometimes happened that after particular changes or risky actions the program will fail due to
internal (or often external) code problems. Many things have changed since the 177x revision
(including scheduled Windows updates…), sometimes if something crashes, it is for external
problems at SDR# code. All errors are automatically detected and recorded in the "crash.txt" file in
the program directory...
Maybe the only thing to do, if the program is very "customized", is to copy again the file
"SDRSharp.exe.config" from the original distribution package. You will lose some customizations
(example of the “audio recorder” panels) but this way it will start again for sure. So I suggest to save
this file in a moment that everything works so that you can reuse it when you need it. Or even to
diversify SDR# installations on your HD and keep a "test directory" to test and verify the new plugins
or own customizations.
In other cases and situations it has been verified that some problems came from too many devices
plugged into the same powered HUB (*). Therefore it is preferable to connect the devices directly to
the native USB socket!
Another suggestion is to avoid the simultaneous use of 4 or more RTL-SDR devices (4.8 MSPS) on a
single USB2 bus. Preferable then is a USB3 card...
The Microsoft .NET Runtime can also sometimes cause problems when starting SDR#, especially if
you have previous versions installed on your PC (perhaps a mix of x86 and x64). It is recommended
to use a good uninstaller to do a complete clean up and reinstall the software from the following
AirSpy link: https://airspy.com/?ddownload=6293
After some specific Windows 10 updates it happened that you could no longer send audio to external
decoding programs (e.g. Fldigi, HFDL, WSJT, etc.). I suggest checking this:
 Select Start > Settings > Privacy > Microphone . In Allow access to the microphone on
this device, select Change and make sure Microphone access for this device is turned on.
 Then, allow apps access to your microphone. In Microphone settings, go to Allow apps to
access your microphone and make sure it's turned on.
Check your computer's performance

A number of utilities (command-line) have been developed to help detect and resolve some
performance issues often related to USB controllers/drivers.
WINDOWS
Download the latest version of the software: https://github.com/airspy/airspyone_host/releases
 Open a console (cmd.exe) and run: airspy_rx -r NUL -t 0
 Let it run for 30 seconds, then close it with Ctrl + C
 If the average throughput is below than 10.0 MSPS then either the USB controller has problems
or the CPU can’t process the data.
Possible solutions:
 Try another USB port (avoid HUBs and port repeaters)
 Update the USB drivers (prefer OEM drivers to generic ones). For more details see also:
https://github.com/libusb/libusb/wiki/Windows
 Check antivirus or any other software at the same time with heavy loads on the CPU
 Use a PCIe USB 2.0/3.0 controller
LINUX (Debian/Ubuntu) Ubuntu possibly with the distro 14.04 LTS.

 Building airspy, gr-osmosdr and gqrx:
Download the airspy-git repository, compile it, install it
Download the gr-osmosdr repository, compile it, install it
Download the gqrx repository, compile it, install it
Get pulseaudio using standard Arch way
Configure pulseaudio (add user and group…)
Thanks to SEGFAULT post http://airspy.com/?topic=linux-airspy-gqrx/#post-658
 Performance problems:
 Build the host tools following "How to build the host software on
Linux”: https://github.com/airspy/host
 Open a shell and run airspy_rx -r /dev/null -t 0
 Leave it running for 30 seconds, then Ctrl+C
 If the average throughput is below 10.0 MSPS then either your USB controller has problems or
your CPU can’t process the data.
Possible solutions:
 Use another USB port

 Update your kernel
 Use a PCIe USB 2.0/3.0 controller
For further technical details:

https://github.com/airspy/airspyone_host/wiki/Troubleshooting
Wiring of the devices and their positioning

The advent of 3D printers provides the ability to create very custom accessories and storage boxes.
However, the general consensus seems to be not to use any form of support/mounting that would
limit heat dissipation, perhaps inside small plastic enclosures even for weather protection when used
outdoors or in an attic.
At the limit just a small piece of double-sided Velcro to stop it on the receivers shelf, but for my part
I prefer to leave them free on the table of the radios, maybe in the vicinity of a small fan properly
turned on just in the hottest summer months to help the cooling of the outer shell.
Another issue concerns the "micro USB" cable and connectors that must be arranged for minimum
tension, pressure and torsion so that they do not create mechanical stress on the connector itself and
the underlying PCB to which they are soldered.
Rigid cables are not a
solution because they tend to
lift the connectors from the
boards and the soldering and
tracks on the PCB are
insufficient to maintain
contact for long periods of
stress.
Also not recommended the continuous connection/disconnection of the cable from the device "micro
USB" socket (surely preferable to do it from the side of the normal USB socket of the computer).
Also the antenna connection would be preferable to make it through short SMA connector cables
(male/female) of excellent and thin flexible cable to connect in line your more robust and rigid coaxial
antenna cable maybe even equipped with heavy and bulky adapters. All this will help to remove
physical stress and allow long life to our small devices...
Over the years I have received many signals like the previous one and very few are easily identifiable
at first glance. It must be said that not all signals emitted in HF/VHF/UHF are on purpose because
many of them are caused by the most disparate radio interference and disturbances: noise generated
by the internal circuits of the receiver itself or by the USB or power supply of your computer,
industrial equipment or the many poorly designed or poorly shielded domestic equipment, but also
occasional natural phenomena of various entities (solar storms, ionospheric propagation, etc.).
Today, thanks to the use of SDRs, it is possible to have a clear graphical representation of these
phenomena and with the use of waterfall, it is possible to visualize and analyze in real time all the
received signals including interferences. But being able to make a cataloging is quite difficult if not
impossible. Sometimes even a simple switching power supply of low cost radiates signals difficult to
identify if not turning off one at a time the various utilities (but what if it were our neighbor?)
On the net sometimes you come across similar screenshots received from guys maybe from the other
side of the world, but no one has yet assigned a unique name, there are those who call them Squiggles
or Doodles or Ladders but in the end they are the same things... What do you think can be a new
form of radio listening or why not of what I define "Waterfall Art"? Will you give me a hand to collect
and try to catalog the most curious and strange?
Oddities in VHF, a unknown signal drawing a Christmas tree in the middle of August!!
Very unstable speech transmission on 145 MHz
MW signals from the ...Umbrella Corporation?

While listening to my local medium wave station I came across some unknown specular signals in
the 999 kHz vicinity. Demodulated
in USB by ear it sounded like a low
audio note that gradually extended
its frequencies to open up like a
digital umbrella. I had to increase
the contrast of the following images
a lot as it didn't appear too sharp on
screen. After a few seconds the
cycle changed and the umbrella
closed, leaving a further trace: a
very short, higher-pitched audio
note that I have circled in red. In about 100 kHz bandwidth the signal was visible 7 times every 16
kHz exactly... Curious indeed, and the definition of the "Umbrella Corporation" - the fictional
biotechnology company featured in the Resident Evil video game series - came to my mind.
Continuous HF noise from 1.0 to 5.0 MHz from my Atlantis desktop PC power supply.
A strange and dense array of signals appeared on HF for a few days between 11 and 13 MHz,
perhaps one of the many OTH - Over the Horizon radars?
What about these? All noises coming from the USB or the laptop's internal power supply?
Here everything is ok: DAB+ signals, but who knows why with such a different multiplexing?
Here the problems in UHF return... with these unknown 'sculptures' of pure noise!
And who generated these curious VHF "whiskers" with signal ranging from 147.1 to 146.8 MHz
captured in the time frame of only five minutes? (October 1, 2021 at 13:30 UTC)
Sometimes it can be useful not to depend on a personal computer running 24 hours a day
(CPU/HD/monitor consumption, fan noise) or to have the need to remotely locate your
receiving station (perhaps in an attic near the antenna cable) and so the use of a Mini-
computer can open the way to many projects and applications even in the amateur radio field. The
Raspberry Pi (or “single-board computer”), which costs very little and consumes very little power, is
ideal both for its high-end technical features and for its extensive software/radio equipment, which
also includes all our AirSpy devices!
There are certainly other ways, and I will describe one of them in detail, which has led to excellent
results, even though it will be the most challenging chapter, and with some possible criticalities.
Those who know Linux well can try it differently by following the indications given here:
https://photobyte.org/raspberry-pi-running-spy-server-as-a-service/
Prerequisites:
 Raspberry Pi (with power supply, monitor and keyboard)
 a microSD card (of at least 8 GB)
 software PiDSR (image file): https://github.com/luigifcruz/pisdr-image/releases/tag/v5.0.0
 portable BalenaEtcher (for flashing the microSD): https://www.balena.io/etcher/
This is not the session to describe in detail the various types of Raspberry, there are dedicated sites
for every need as well as describing the different distributions and customisations available created
specifically for the ARM (*) architecture which is very different from the PC architecture.
In my test, I reused a Raspberry Pi 3 model B that had been lying in a drawer for a long time, in
combination with a good external power supply (since it is well known that the Pi3 model is very
sensitive to power supply
variations). So let's see the bare
minimum to get up and
running in no time, starting
with the software that we are
going to download from the
links indicated in a directory
on our Windows computer
(e.g. C:\Temp).
Connect the microSD to the PC
and run the opensource and
portable software BalenaEtcher. Choose "Flash from file" where in my case I indicated the image file
(a "Raspbian" modified with SDR software compatible with each Pi model) named "2020-11-13-
PiSDR-vanilla v5.0.img.xz", taken from the site of the developer: the radioamateur Luigi Cruz
(PU2SPY). Then in "Select target" choose the drive that contains the microSD and finally the third
button "Flash!" to start the process. It will take about 15 minutes between writing and verification, do
not interrupt it and at the end you will see the following screen:
Make sure that no errors are reported when writing/verifying the image, otherwise reformat the
SDcard or use another one. The image has now been created (it is obviously not accessible or
viewable via a Windows browser), so it can be extracted from the PC and installed in the Raspberry's
slot.
PiSDR's pre-installed software for radio use is very rich indeed, but I have only tried a fraction of it
at the moment... The supported SDRs are the following: RTL-SDR, LimeSDR, LimeNET, PlutoSDR,
all Airspy (R2, Mini, HF Discovery and HF+), HackRF One, USRP.
In my case, I connected the Pi to my home WiFi router with a good Ethernet cable (if the distance is
long, consider a class 7 cable, which is also shielded) then a video/keyboard and of course an
Airspy!
Let's take a look in sequence at the various screenshots that appear on first start-up for configuration:
1) Welcome 2) Choose country and language
3) Change password 4) Select wireless network
While I left out the window with the request to update the software (which I did not do)...
On the developer's website, it is recommended to run the

following command from the “Terminal”:
volk_profile which will optimise the
system. The Terminal icon is this (the fourth
in the top left corner)
Allow time for the update to take place (several minutes)
and then close the Terminal only when you see the usual
terminal prompt...
At this point, our new operating system is almost ready. All that remains is to connect to
the Airspy website using the "Web Browser" (second icon on the top left), and download
to the desktop the file “SPY SDR Server for 32-bit ARM boards” from the following
link: https://airspy.com/?ddownload=4247
Once the file “Spyserver_arm32.tgz” has

been downloaded, I created a folder called
Spyserver on my desktop and extracted the
three files from it...
For these operations and to move between the

system's folders, I used the third icon
in the menu at the top left..
For the moment, I disabled Bluetooth and Wireless from their respective blue icons in the menu at
the top right... Instead, I wrote down the number of the IP address
assigned by the system that appears by hovering the mouse over
the Wireless icon at the top right "eth0: Configured
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx". We will need it shortly afterwards...
Now we need to edit the file "spyserver.config" for our needs.

You can either click on it or stand on it and with the right mouse button choose the "Text Editor".
We need to edit some values, remove a # (which means to make that line of the script active) and
finally save the file, being careful not to change any other parameters for this time.
We will have time later to go back and analyse and better understand all the lines of the "SPY Server
Configuration File". These are the lines to be considered for modification and use with an AIRSPY
R2 (read below for other devices):
bind_port = 5557
list_in_directory = 0
device_type = AirspyOne
device_sample_rate = 2500000
initial_frequency = 101800000 (optional, it concerns the frequency that will appear at
start-up in the VFO of the SDR#: in my case I can see if everything works on the first shot (if in
the attic the active antenna and the multicoupler are on and working, if the remote switch is
correctly positioned, etc.).
initial_gain = 10 (for device: R0, R2, Mini)
The "Device Type" group has these choices (so indicate your own instead of xxx)
# Device Type
# Possible Values:
# AirspyOne (for device: R0, R2, Mini)
# AirspyHF+
# RTL-SDR
#
device_type = xxx
The "Device Sample Rate" group has these choices (indicate value instead of xxx)
# Device Sample Rate

# Possible Values:
# Airspy R0, R2 : 10000000 or 2500000
# Airspy Mini : 6000000 or 3000000
# Airspy HF+ : 768000
# RTL-SDR : 500000 to 3200000
#
device_sample_rate = xxx
Now that the file has been properly configured, all that remains is to run it by double-clicking on the
"Spyserver" icon and then "Run in Terminal" which will open with a few lines highlighting that it is
"listening" while waiting for the client to connect...
click here
We are finally almost at the end... thanks for your patience!
Now from the laptop that I have decided to use as SDR# Client (wirelessly connected to my home
network) it will be necessary to activate the Source field "AIRSPY Server Network" by typing under
my IP address (previously marked) : port number, and then press the "C" button.
If everything is working properly, the client/server connection is
established and the panel
populates with more
informations. The only thing
needed is to adjust the Gain
to the right, set the proposed
frequency and use it
normally: audio, decoding and functionality will be practically
the same. For the other options already discussed please refer to
the AIRSPY Server Network chapter.
Subsequently, to correctly close the connection it will be

necessary to press the "D" button while on the server side, on the
Pi, the Terminal will be closed and then the Raspberry
from the "Close Session / Stop" menu from the first
icon at the top left...
Wait a few moments and then the power can also be switched off...
Looking back at our Raspberry Server we can see that in the meantime the Terminal panel had been
populated with more information during our connection.
For those who would like to know more, here are some commands to execute in the Terminal that
may be very useful:
dmesg Allows you to read (in the USB lines) the details of your connected SDR
free -h to see how much RAM in your Raspberry
htop to monitor system processes in details. To close: CTRL + C
hostname -I to get the IP address of the our Raspberry
Here a complete list: https://www.tomshw.it/hardware/comandi-linux-raspberry-pi/

Owners of a Raspberry Pi4 (with AARCH64 ARM architecture) can instead download and use the
"SPY SDR Server for 64-bit ARM boards" from the following link:
https://airspy.com/?ddownload=5795
I have to admit that all this was not immediate, unfortunately you can find very few indications on
the net and they are often misleading for your needs, hardware/software available on your computer
as well as firewall and antivirus configuration.
Then an important thing was to check which IP address was to be pursued and configured so that
everything could talk at its best and without bottlenecks. For example, your own router can reserve
some unpleasant surprises, in my case with the R2 and the 10M sample rate, the transferred audio is
hiccuping and ripped (unusable) and I could not understand if it depends on the RAM of my Pi or on
other configuration parameters of the Spyserver.config file (for example I tried to change the
parameter "Force-8bit = 1")…
But all this is part of that amateur radio spirit that leads to experimenting with patience and renewed
enthusiasm even the most complex and unfamiliar things. Limited knowledge of Linux and its various
distributions held me back a little at first, but I managed to reach my goal in the end.
Tests carried out on a Pi3 have shown that it is possible to run two RTL-SDRs at the same time,
provided that the performance is not too exaggerated... In fact, it is possible to obtain reasonable
results by using, for example, AIS and ADS-B decoders in parallel, which do not require the
entire stream to be transferred, but only the processed stream... Who knows what could be done
with a Pi4!
Thank you for following me in the hope that all the notes collected will help you too!
If this book has helped you to better appreciate SDRsharp I consider it an excellent result. I have
personally tested everything in the guide, now it's your turn !
It is always a difficult thing when switch to the SDR world from your good old analogue receiver.
There are plenty of SDR's on the market, but to get similar performance to a top class analogue
receiver, people spent a lot of money because the underlying technology was (and still is) very
expensive when aiming for a high level of performance.
Those who initially venture into SDR often confuse performance with displayed bandwidth, when in
fact it is quite the opposite. The more you are "open" to other signals that you don't need, the worse
it is. Also, some hobbyists unfortunately often confuse their strong local interference with their radio's
ability to cope with the dynamics in the various bands.
I conclude our journey together with this collection of famous quotes that I find well matched to our
topics....
The quotation attempts to reproduce in writing a passion for reading, to rediscover the instantaneous
electrocution of the stimulus, because it is precisely reading, stimulating and exciting, that produces
the quotation - A. Compagnon
Without bases there are no heights - Anonymous

When faced with an obstacle, the shortest line between two points can be a curved line – B.Brecht
There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm – W. Cather
Reading is one of the greatest pleasures and tools in our lives - Roal Dahl
You were not made to live like brutes but to follow virtue and knowledge - Dante
A smattering of everything, and a knowledge of nothing - – C. Dickens
Auxilio Divino - Sic parvis magna – F.Drake
You do not possess what you do not understand – J.W. Goethe
Perfection has one grave defect; it is apt to be dull – W.S. Maugham
The things that escape us are more important than the things we possess - W.S. Maugham
Either say something better of silence, or keep quiet - Menander
If I have seen further, it is because I standing on the shoulders of giants – I. Newton
Blessed be the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed - A.Pope
Often a small gift produces big effects - Seneca
Geniuses are those who say long before what will be said long afterwards - R.G.Serna
If SDRsharp did not exist, it would have to be invented – d’après Voltarie / P.Romani
SDRsharp, to make black and white listeners see colours - d’après Maneskin / P.Romani
SDRsharp makes your life better! – P.Romani
Switch off the smartphone and switch on the SDR – P.Romani
ADS-B - Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast
AF – Alternate Frequencies (RDS)
AGC – Automatic Gain Control
AIS – Automatic Identification System
ALE - Automatic Link Establishment / HF standard for initiating/supporting digital comms
AM – Amplitude Modulation
AOS - Acquisition of Signal (or Satellite)
BALUN - BALanced-UNbalanced, device for adapting an unbalanced/balanced line
BW – BandWidth
CPU – Central Processing Unit
CTCSS - Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System (analogic)
CW – Continuous Wave
DAB/DAB+ - Digital Audio Broadcasting
dB - decibel
dBFS - Decibels Full Scale
DCS - Digital Coded Squelch (digital)
DGPS – Differential Global Positioning System
DMR – Digital Mobile Radio, is one of the main open standards for radio communications
DPI - Dots Per Inch, graphic screen resolution
dPMR – Digital Private Mobile radio, other open radio communication standard
DRM – Digital Radio Mondiale – digital radio in HF
DSB – Double Side Band
DSP – Digital Signal Processing
DTMF - Dual-tone multi-frequency
DX – Long-distance radio connection
EON – Enchanced Other Networks (RDS)
FFT – Fast Fourier Transform
FIC - Fast Information Channel (DAB)
FM - Frequency Modulation
FM-DX - search for distant FM radio stations under particular propagation conditions
FSK – Frequency shift keying
FT8 - Franke-Taylor design, 8-FSK modulation
GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System, geo-radiolocation system
GPS - Global Positioning System, USA satellite positioning and navigation system
HDR – High Dynamic Range
HF – High Frequency (3-30 MHz, decametric 100-10 m)
HUB - hardware connecting various devices to the computer
IF – Intermediate Frequency
kSPS – kilosample per second (103 * sps)
LF – Low Frequency (30 / 300 kHz, kilometric 10-1 km)
LNA – Low Noise Amplifier
LOS - Loss of Signal (or Satellite)
LSB – Lower Side Band
mA – milliAmpere (submultiple Ampere-ora)
MDS - MultiDimensional Scaling
MF – Medium Frequency (300 kHz / 3 MHz, ettometric 1 km-100m)
MPX – Multiplexing
MSC - Main Service Channel (DAB)
MSPS - Megasample per second (106 * sps)
MUX - short for "Multiplex", technique for transmitting digital radio/TV signals
MW – Medium wave
NDB - Non-Directional beacons
NFM o FMN– Narrow Frequency Modulation
PI – Programme Identification (RDS)
PLL – Phase-Locked Loop
PPM – Parts per Million
PS or PSN – Programme Service Name (RDS)
PTY – Program Type (RDS)
QRSS - Very slow speed Morse code
QTH – amateur radio Q code indicating own geographical position
RAW – unprocessed data
RDS – Radio Data System
RF – Radio Frequency
RT – Radio Text (RDS)
RTTY – Radioteletype
SAM – Synchronous AM
SMA – SubMiniature type A (coaxial connector)
TA – Travel Announcements (RDS)
TCP - Transmission Control Protocol
TCXO – Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator
TII - Transmitter Ident Information (DAB)
TMC – Traffic Message Channel (RDS)
TP – Traffic Programme (RDS)
UHF – Ultra High Frequency (300 MHz / 3 GHz, decimetric 1m-100mm)
USB – Upper Side Band
UTC – Universal Time Coordinated
VFO – Variable Frequency Oscillator
VHF –Very High Frequency (30 / 300 MHz, metric 10-1 m)
VLF – Very Low Frequency (3 / 30 kHz, miriametric 100-10 km)
WEFAX – Weatherfax
WFM o FMW – Wide Frequency Modulation
Just to keep chronological memory of the "latest" software revisions....
revision date Change log

…
1716 15sep19 Last revision with No Skin
…
1761 04oct20Added real sampling capability for single ADC radios. This brings significant CPU
savings compared to the full bandwidth IQ conversion. To enable this feature for the
R2/Mini the config key "airspy.useRealSampling" must be set to "1". The baseband
recording is not yet available for real sampling, but the IF should be still available for
third party plugins.
1763 06oct20 Added full support for recording and playing Real spectrum files. Plugin authors are
invited to contact me for more details.
1764 07oct20 Added Vasili's File Player and RTL R820T enhanced plugin.
1765 09oct20 Fixed the audio recording in the Wave plugin; Added more acceleration to the DSP.
1766 18oct20 Added AM DX Co-Channel Canceller plugin. Use in combination with the Zoom FFT
filter.
1767 19oct20 Enabled the Boost SNR feature for all IF signals in the DNR plugin; Added marker colors
for the Dark and Clear themes in the Co-Channel plugin; Many DSP code
enhancements.
1768 19oct20 Improved the rejection in the Co-Channel Canceller; Added more controls: - Channel
Bandwidth for the co-channel, IF Offset to shift the IF and filter out the interference.
1769 20oct20 Improved the the Co-Channel Canceller algorithm: Better tracking, Better phase noise,
Better rejection
1770 24oct20 Many enhancements for the AM Co-Channel Canceller: Added more controls:
Integration and Sensitivity, Better phase and amplitude tracking, Added some visual
feedback in the spectrum Window to ease the tuning.
1771 28oct20 Added a new Co-Channel Canceller for FM. Same usage as the AM version; Allow wider
bandwidth selection with dynamic decimation; Many DSP code enhancements.
1772 30oct20 Added a "Sensitivity" setting to the FM Co-Channel Canceller. This allows better fine
tuning of the co-channel rejection. Many enhancements for the AM Co-Channel plugin.
Added a new noise threshold algorithm that works with the dynamic decimation. The
Wide FM mode is also supported.
1773 05nov20 Added Anti-Fading processing for the AM Co-Channel Canceller. Use this with Zero
Offset. Changed the stepped increments to continuous for the different settings when
applicable (NR, NB, CCC, Zoom, etc.)
1774 06nov20 Initialize the maximum VFO bandwidth for the SpyServer client from the config.
1775 06nov20 Polish: Enable the keyboard control of the Telerik sliders.
1776 07nov20 Added a status marker for the different DSP and plugin sections.
1777 10nov20 With collassable panels. Added a new high performance resampler for digital outputs.
1778 13nov20 New Visual Studio Interface with support to all the existing plugins.
1779 14nov20 Fixed the device initialization synchronization when the control panel is not active.
1780 14nov20 Added support for saving/loading the UI layout; The profiles can be saved/loaded live.
1781 16nov20 Smoother and faster handling of Airspy devices; Faster startup; The spectrum is now
kept in shape when resizing; Same for the peak hold.
1782 17nov20 Added a stepped navigation bar.
1783 22nov20 Many audio and FFT latency optimizations; The sizes of the dock windows are now
saved.
1784 23nov20 Smoother FFT streaming and lower memory usage.
1785 05feb21 Now in Dotnet 5 Microsoft.
1786 06feb21 Added new IMustLoadGui interface for forcing the plugin loader to bypass the lazy
loading if needed. This is useful for plugins that need to be activated on startup.
Examples updated in the Plugin SDK.
1787 06feb21 Added support for lazy GUI loading with active background processing.
1788 07feb21 Added a menu command to open all the setting panels available.
1789 10feb21 Faster loading of the "full plugin config", Better layout, Faster rendering, Fixed the auto-
scroll theming.
1790 11feb21 Faster master loading; Faster slice loading; More slicing options; Many UI
enhancements (rendering and performance). More layout enhancements; Added fall-
back docking for older plugins. More layout and UI improvements.
1792 12feb21 Removed the panel borders for the plugins.
1793 13feb21 New adaptive FFT slicing/overlapping/skipping algorithm for the display; Improved
refresh rate.
1795 15feb21 Optimized the adaptive FFT sequencing. Added sequence control and dynamic frame
skip for the FFT display. Now the FFT display supports high sample rates at speed-and-
resolution-constant resource usage.
1796 16feb21 Set the Garbage Collection to low latency mode; Added dynamic buffering depending
on the data usage; A few minor UI enhancements.
1797 17feb21 Fixed many numerical rounding issues due to the way LLVM handles int64 and doubles;
Code cleanup.
1798 17feb21 Set the step bar to fixed size. That was really annoying; Added new properties in the
control interface: LockCarrier, AntiFading, VisualPeak, VisualFloor, ThemeName,
Added extended logging to SNR Logger plugin, Clode cleanup. Getting ready for rev
1800.
1799 18feb21 More resampler optimizations. Significant gains in CPU usage.
1800 18feb21 Added two more properties in the control interface: ThemeForeColor, ThemeBackColor
1801 19feb21 Added automatic Plugin discovery and loading. Now you can just place the extra plugins
in the "Plugins" directory and they will be loaded automatically. It is also use separate
directories or some custom file tree. To disable the loading of a specific directory or a
dll, rename it so it starts with an underscore "_". The plugin directory can be set in the
config file so you can share it between multiple installations. You can use the config key
"core.pluginsDirectory". Added automatic IF shift adjustment for the slices when using
IF shifted sources. Many minor UI refinements.
1802 20feb21 Added more APIs: ThemePanelColor Property, RegisterKeyboardShortcut.
1803 20feb21 Added fail-save boundaries for range APIs.
1804 23feb21 Added more support code for RTL-SDR with the Community Package.
1805 24feb21 Updated Telerik library to version R1 2021 SP2; More consistent behavior of the
PanelBackColor property.
1806 24feb21 Enhanced the initial control panel resizing mechanism for the plugins; Updated the build
system for easier Telerik upgrades; Updated Microsoft.Windows.Compatibility" to
version 5.0.2.
1807 26feb21 More loading speed optimizations; Fixed the initial position of the spectrum splitter with
the main window maximized.
1808 02mar21 Removed the old .net Framework compatibility assemblies from linked executable. No
impact on the API; More UI polishing: Main window size, startup location and startup
size; More UI polishing: Plugin panels.
1809 04mar21 Replaced the web map with Telerik RadMap in the SpyServer source; Added full support
for mouse wheel scrolling in the TrackBars (sliders); A few other UI enhancements.
Initialize the bandwidth display for the HF+ source; Added binding redirects for better
support of different .net assembly versions; Minor UI enhancements.
1810 06mar21 Added the necessary dependencies for Calico and many other plugins in the main
package. These are not necessary for SDR# to run, but will ease the deployment of the
plugins. Re-added the Windows Compatibility Package for the older plugins.
1811 29mar21 More DSP optimizations; Many fixes for RTL dongles (mainly workraounds for old libs);
Revert to libusb 1.0.20.11004 for backward compatibility; Revert to portaudio 2016 for
backward compatibility; Code cleanup. The ThemeForeColor property now reflects the
color of a label within a plugin panel; Many performance optimizations for the Sharp
Kernels library (shark.dll).
1812 03aug21 Added a new API for enumerating the loaded plugin instances. Added Linrad spectrum
dot mode. Updated Telerik toolkit to version 2021.2.614.50; Added Gray and Dark Office
2019 Themes; Rewrote the spectrum rendering code to take advantage of more poweful
CPUs and give smoother experience; Allow Airspy front-end controller to tune using sub-
harmonic mixing (up to 4.29 GHz); Optimized the layout of the trackbars; More GC
tweaks.
1813 16aug21 Switched to Server Garbage Collection for faster Telerik loading; Reordered RTL
sources in the menu.
1814 17aug21 Updated the Table Layout controls and UI animations; Replaced the RadColorBox
control with the OS default; Improved the layout loading.
1815 17aug21 Rearranged the loading of the plugins.
1816 18aug21 Fixed a regression in the dock visibility.
1817 18aug21 Improved the default waterfall gradient for better handling of HDR signals; Improved the
resizing of the zoom/offset/range sliders.
1818 19aug21 Added low-latency "best effort" mode for audio playback; Added a gradient selector and
a few built-in styles; Added more Airspy specific buffering; Many UI improvements.
optimizations; Configured the audio latency dynamically; Improved the loading of docked
plugins.
1819 20aug21 Improved the sensitivity of the FM Co-Channel Canceller; Improved the Co-Channel
initialization code.
1820 21aug21 Added more sanity checks in the AM Co-Channel Canceller; Added theming fallback.
1822 21aug21 A few layout optimizations; More IQ buffering for slow sources; New theme loading
mechanism with automatic theming for legacy plugins.
1823 01oct21 Upgraded to Telerik UI for WinForms R3 2021 (version 2021.3.914); Improved the UI
loading.
1824 04oct21 Many GUI optimizations; Added progressive loading.
1825 05oct21 Many UI and GC optimizations; Added a status message in the splash screen.
1826 05oct21 Much faster UI loading.
1827 05oct21 Fix the Zoom FFT plugin initialization. Updated the quantization of the spyserver and
moved its Windows tool chain to clang.
1828 06oct21 Fixed the initialization of the Airspy Network Browser.
1829 08oct21 Rounded corners around the status text in the Splash Screen - Windows 11 Style.
1830 08oct21 Moved more C# functions to the Sharp Kernels (shark) library.
1831 26nov21 Upgraded Telerik UI for WinForms R3 2021.
1 Cover
2 Introduction
3 Main screen
4 SDRsharp installation
5 Dongle RTL-SDR’s configuration
7 AIRSPY line
8 AIRSPY HF+ Dual / Discovery configuration (and firmware upgrade)
10 AIRSPY R2 / Mini configuration (and firmware upgrade)
12 First SDRsharp start-up
15 AIRSPY Server Network
17 Main Settings
20 Default panels ………………..………………………………………
20 Source
21 Radio
24 AGC
25 Audio
27 Display
29 Zoom Bar
30 Step Bar
31 AM / FM Co-Channel Canceller
33 AF / IF/ Noise Reduction
33 AF / IF/ BB Noise Blanker
34 Recording
36 Audio recorder
37 Zoom FFT
38 Band Plan
41 Frequency Manager
41 Signal Diagnostics
42 SNR Logger
43 Plugins … (in alphabetical order).…………..…….…………………
44 Audio Equalizer
45 Baseband Recorder
45 CSVUserlistBrowser
48 CTCSS & DCS
50 FMS Frequency Manager Suite
52 FreqMan & Scanner
54 Magic Eye
55 MPX Output e RDS-Spy
57 Simple APCO/DMR/dPMR
58 Accessories…………………………………..…………………………
58 Antenna YouLoop
59 SpyVerter R2
62 Notch filter 88-108
63 Various topics …………………………………………………...……..
63 ADSB, Astro e Spectrum Spy
66 Signal decoding and analysis
69 Listening recipes
69  Yellow line (Peak color)
70  Tune frequency with mouse in CSVUB
71  Eliminate unwanted signals
72  AIS
73  ALE
74  APT NOAA
75  CLOCK
76  CTCSS / DCS / DTMF
78  DAB / DAB+ / FM
81  DRM
82  DTMF
84  GMDSS
86  HFDL
87  ISS
89  METEOR-M
90  NDB
91  QRSS
92  RADIOGRAMS
93  RADIOSONDES
94  RTL_433
95 Things to know for don’t lose the head…
98 Thing I didn’t understand…
103 Raspberry Pi
109 Conclusions and quotes
110 Abbreviations
112 SDRsharp history
115 Summary
117 “AirSpy’s world”

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aligned to SDR# Studio revision 1.0.0.

Slow reading recommended (for specialists and non-specialists)

Click on the configuration button (4) (the cogwheel).

Sample Rate – Allows you to choose the bandwidth to be

AIRSPY HF+ Discovery

AIRSPY HF+ Dual port

Firmware – Indicates the firmware version installed on the

Samplerate – Allows you to choose the sampling rate: from a

Bandwidth – The bandwidth displayed in the Waterfall and

HF AGC – Automatic gain control.

HF Preamp – Activates or deactivates the preamplifier.

HF Threshold – The "Low" threshold value introduces

HF ATT - With the HF AGC field set to OFF, it is possible to

Very rarely, during attemting to flash the

Try the operation with a different computer.

The "Window State" option can take the following values:

Floating – The panel window can be released from its current

icon for the outer left side positioning

icon for left half positioning

icon for central zone positioning

What does the SpyServer do in the first place?

followed by Enter. Quick and easy.

There is no S-meter to detect the signal strength, intended as an S-unit

Choose your hardware from the drop-down list:

Key Default Features

There are many AGCs at different levels:

This panel adjusts the settings for audio processing.

Key Default Features

Key Default Features

The button activates the "Gradient Editor" to further customize

I suggest viewing at:

WARNING! SOME OF THESE SYSTEMS IT COULD BE ILLEGAL IN YOUR COUNTRIES!

DCS: The detected codes (positive or

The reference link: http://www.freqmgrsuite.com/

Data Tools Wizard

With the "Frequency Manager" (or FreqMan to

The very useful thing is that FreqMan uses the same

By pressing the wheel button instead you access the

With the "Frequency Scanner" it is possible to search in a wide

By enabling the checkbox

electrical noise energy is concentrated. To

Performance in VHF too

For semi-permanent outdoor installations, it is recommended that the “Balun-T” and

The SpyVerter offers HF coverage starting near DC and up to 35 MHz

ADSB Spy v1.0.0.83

WARNING! SOME OF THESE SYSTEMS IT COULD BE ILLEGAL IN YOUR COUNTRIES!

“Audio panel” SDRsharp with Input/Output

If the entry does not appear, you need to

It should now be enabled and set as "Default

Access Chrome's settings by clicking on

here is another example…

The legendary yellow 'peak colour' line (see RF Spectrum feature)

Click the right

The power of its "Asymmetric filter", the multiple "Notch

To complete the thing

Other innovative features are:

(*) = Possible in many cases

It also has a "COMBO" mode with which you can

It can also detect DTMF (*) but I was not able to