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| AirSpy HF + Discovery |
Where have these things been all my life?
By James Careless
Published: August 5, 2024
There is a new breed of RF receivers known as software-defined radios, and they are revolutionizing the way in which people listen to shortwave (SW) radio, or indeed any form of radio broadcast.
SDRs combine plug-in radio receiver dongles/boxes with personal computers, with the computer serving as the user interface. What makes this interface so useful is that the listener’s screen displays a wide swath of the bandwidth being tuned to, with each station’s signal shown as a visual vertical line that moves and grows/shrinks with its signal strength.
In other words, the listener can literally see what is happening across the band in real-time, rather than having to turn the dial or push the Up/Down scanning buttons on a conventional shortwave radio, checking one station at a time.
SDRs come with a range of software tools for viewing, filtering, and recording sound. One (or more) of these devices is an absolute must for anyone who likes to tune around the bands. And if you own a computer the only device to be bought is the RF receiver dongle/box, which is often less expensive than a standalone SW receiver of similar quality and performance.
Additional story on How SDRs Work and more at: