DXPatrol ultra-wideband 0.1-2000 MHz receiver - $109.95!
DXPatrol is an ultra-wideband software-defined receiver (SDR) in a surprisingly small package, measuring just 2.875" x 1.75". It provides full-coverage reception from 100 kHz to 2 GHz (less 800 MHz cellular blocked), using your favorite open-source SDR software via Windows, Mac, Linux or Android. It plugs into and is powered by your PC’s USB port. You can use your Android phone or tablet instead of a PC and have a truly portable setup for shortwave and DX listening.
Listen to signals throughout the radio spectrum using AM, FM and narrow-band signals like SSB and CW. You can see the radio spectrum from as narrow as 50 Hz to as wide as 3 MHz! Monitor the entire amateur 10-meter band in one screen. This is a Swiss army knife of SDRs, with applications only limited to your imagination and your software. Scroll down this page to see the numerous applications for this little gem and where you can obtain freeware software. To purchase this item or read the manual, scroll to the very bottom of this page.
A few ideas for how DXPatrol can be utilized:
Amateur radio applications
Band-hopping WSPR receiver
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/receiving-wspr-rtl-sdr/
Listen for meteor-scatter signals on 6 or 2 meters
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html
Monitor for band openings at 6 or 10 meters
Monitor HF propagation beacons (NCDXF) with FAROS or DXView
Create a single-band CW or RTTY activity skimmer
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/how-to-setup-cwskimmer-with-an-rtl-sdr-and-hdsdr/
Create an VHF or UHF APRS Gateway
http://e.pavlin.si/2014/12/09/raspberry-pi-rtl-sdr-dongle-aprs-rx-only-gate/
Create a band-tracking panoramic signal display for your existing HF analog receiver.
https://squashpractice.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/using-the-rtl-sdr-pan-adapter/
whole-band I/Q recording and playback
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/new-sdr-plugin-if-recorder/
Extra utility receiver for your emergency jump bag
Satellite and Space
Amateur Satellite Telemetry
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/video-tutorial-setting-satellite-tracking-sdrsharp-orbitron/
Amateur Satellite downlink reception using FM and SSB
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/receiving-the-fo-29-amateur-satellite-with-rtl-sdr/
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/receiving-50-saudisat-1c-rtl-sdr/
Near-space balloon tracking and telemetry
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/receiving-weather-balloon-data-with-rtl-sdr/
Pulsar and hydrogen-line Radio astronomy
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-for-budget-radio-astronomy/
Shortwave, VHF, UHF listening
Shortwave DRM broadcast monitoring and DXing
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/tutorial-drm-radio-using-rtl-sdr/
Analog and digital VHF and UHF public service radio monitoring
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-radio-scanner-tutorial-decoding-digital-voice-p25-with-dsd/
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-following-trunked-radio-unitrunker/
High-resolution NOAA and METEOR weather satellite reception
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-receiving-meteor-m-n2-lrpt-weather-satellite-images-rtl-sdr/
Monitor air-traffic control and watch real-time aircraft position using ADS-B and ACARS
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/adsb-aircraft-radar-with-rtl-sdr/
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-radio-scanner-tutorial-receiving-airplane-data-with-acars/
Monitor the marine vessel position using AIS
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-cheap-ais-ship-tracking/
Non-directional beacon (NDB) DXing
http://ve7sl.blogspot.com/2015/03/ndb-band-wakes-up.html
Clandestine signal monitoring in HF
http://www.dxing.com/clandest.htm
Part-15 reception DXing
http://www.part15.us/radio-station-listings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_radio
Free Software:
The “software” part of the SDR. Below are just a sample of the general-purpose software available, with more created frequently.
A great resource to watch is: http://www.rtl-sdr.com/big-list-rtl-sdr-supported-software/
Here are some of the more popular software options:
SDR Touch for Android. Freeware basic version, pay version for full version. Demo video by KD8RTT on YouTube:
SDR# (Windows, Free): http://airspy.com/download/
SDR-Radio v2 (Windows, Free): http://sdr-radio.com/Software/Download1
SDR-Radio v3 (Preview; Windows, Free): http://sdr-radio.com/v3_help
HDSDR (Windows, Free): http://www.hdsdr.de/
PowerSDR (Windows, Free): http://openhpsdr.org/download.php
Gqrx SDR (Linux/Mac, Free): http://gqrx.dk/
Linrad (Windows/Linux/Mac, Free): http://www.sm5bsz.com/linuxdsp/linrad.htm
CubicSDR (Windows/Linux/Mac, Free)
Click here to download the DXPatrol MK4 user manual