Re: Re: how to tune into ham radio?
By: badweather to candycane on Fri Aug 25 2023 06:47 pm
You can also pick up inexpensive USB SDR dongles on Amazon and get familiar with tuning across a huge range of spectrum.
Good call! I don't know why I didn't mention SDR dongles. They do require a little more fiddling, though, and the stock antennas leave much to be desired. Seems like you could get more (use and satisfaction) out of an SDR dongle after you are familiar with the radio a bit more.
Man, the price of them really has gone up. You used to be able to pick one up for $6-7 shipped. Now looks like if you go to eBay and search for RTL2832, then sort by price low to high, the cheapest one is about $13 shipped. Still worth it, but under $10 is nice :)
Once you've got one of those, you can even map APRS use in your area. Automatic Packet Reporting System is often used by people in their vehicles to transmit their position coordinates. In the USA, usually the standard frequency for that is 144.390mhz where you will hear short bursts of modulated data. On Windblows I use Pinpoint APRS software. On OSuX, I use CubicSDR (or GQRX) and QTH.app.
If you have a "digipeater" nearby, you could probably hear from all over your town and see people driving around on the map.
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