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Author Topic: SDR Play RSP dx --or-- HF Plus Airspy  (Read 298 times)

COTTS

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SDR Play RSP dx --or-- HF Plus Airspy
« on: March 16, 2021, 12:35:35 PM »

My interests are LW, MW and FM/TV DX.   I do listen to the HF ham bands too.....

The dx is continuous from 1kHz to 2GHz while the Airspy does 1kHz to 31Mhz and then jumps to 60-200Mhz.... 

What experiences have folks had with these?

Thanks

Dave
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AB9GO

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Re: SDR Play RSP dx --or-- HF Plus Airspy
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2021, 02:16:03 PM »

I own two SDR Play RSP-DX's.  Wonderfully performing rigs.  The software is good but there is a learning curve.
Get one, work with it and you will be happy.

Randy.  AB9GO
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KF5LJW

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Re: SDR Play RSP dx --or-- HF Plus Airspy
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2021, 02:34:45 PM »

I own both, but each does one thing better than the other.

Hands down winner from a RX POV is the AirSpy HF+ Discovery. It stands up to the high end receivers found in contest rigs. I and a few friends use it as our primary receiver.

Comes down to this. Any frequency the Airspy can receive is a superior radio. SDR Play for everything else the Airspy cannot receive. The difference between the Airspy and all others is the Direct Down Converter is using 18 and 22 bit converters. Contrast that to all others that range between 8 and 12 bit converters. Airspy has a huge Dynamic Range advantage. They are using the same converters commercial radios use. In addition the Airspy has HF band-pass filters. You get what you pay for and you will pay up for AirSpy. So if Airspy meets your needs.......
   
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W6RZ

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Re: SDR Play RSP dx --or-- HF Plus Airspy
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2021, 04:24:35 PM »

The difference between the Airspy and all others is the Direct Down Converter is using 18 and 22 bit converters.

The Airspy uses Sigma-Delta A/D converters, which are 1-bit. They are heavily oversampled to usually provide around 10 bits of ENOB.

The 18-bit resolution is fabricated by the Digital Down Converter (DDC) which is a piece of software (although often implemented in an FPGA).
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N6YWU

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Re: SDR Play RSP dx --or-- HF Plus Airspy
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2021, 07:18:24 PM »

I have both an Airspy HF+ Discovery and an SDRPlay RSP2.  I find the software support of the Airspy (an open source library) to be more portable and reliable.  In my experience, the Airspy HF+ also seems to provide a slightly cleaner spectrum than the RSP2, given my antennas and noise floor (But the Dx is supposed to have improved in that area).  I use the HF+ for MW, HF, and airband.  The RSP2 is mostly used for frequencies (UHF and up) that the Airspy HF+ doesn't cover.

For MW and HF receive, I also use a Hermes Lite 2 QRP transceiver (but an HL2 is around twice the price of an HF+ Discovery).
« Last Edit: March 16, 2021, 07:20:31 PM by N6YWU »
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