Nooelec RTL-SDR v5 Bundle - NESDR Smart HF/VHF/UHF (100kHz-1.75GHz) Software Defined Radio. Premium RTLSDR w/ 0.5PPM TCXO, SMA Input, Aluminum Enclosure & 3 Antennas. RTL2832U & R820T2-Based Radio

I enjoy using this SDR. The software is easy to install and it works right away after it is installed. It takes a while to familiarize with the display software, if I may, but once you get used to them, everything is easy. I recommend thisfor beginners like me. You get somewhat complete stuff for the price.

These work great for RTL-SDR use. Plus they give you a pack of 3 Various antennas. NooElec also sends you an Email link on how to setup this SDR up in Windows. For the price, these are just incredible to mess around with for looking at the RF spectrum or to check signal levels For Your New Scanner Antenna! You should also buy a (SMA male to F female adapter ) to hook up to some RG6 cable for an outdoor antenna setup for less interference (noise floor) from your computer, etc. Very revealing, to see just how good/bad a signal comes in to you and how high the noise floor level floats underneath. You could spend thousands and get a high end device to do that too, but this SDR (with the free software) will give you nearly that accuracy for $25. I have at least one running all the time and after an hour or so, there is No Drift whatsoever! I'm locked on a P-25 control channel and the carrier peaks exactly on frequency and just stays there all day. It has no drift. You can't ask for better specs. It receives radio signals from about the CB band (27Mhz) to about 1.7Ghz. Great for radio type "pirate experiments" too. You can hear and examine any signal you point it at, but it will only decode audio on Analog signals with the standard software. Digital P-25, etc signals will just be heard as noise bursts. For these digital signals P-25/trunking you'll need two of these SDR units and other software and yet more advanced computer skills. You can also use it to look at FM radio broadcast signals, and RDS data too. You can hear those as well. I also have the NESDR mini 2, but this is the better package deal. The case gets warm but it does not block another USB port, so this thing was well thought out. It is not a toy. NooElec gets my 5 stars vote for an Incredible Radio Receiver Device that really delivers the goods as a full fledged advanced RF Analyzer Tool with a low price. They don't know how Great it really is. I have wanted this particular device in my possession for 40 years. Great product, NooElec!

Gets hot, and sometimes REALLY hot. Kind of weird how something that's meant to receive radio signals would get so hot... Can't quite cook an egg on it until trying to use it all day, so that's something. Definitely need to augment cooling. Otherwise, as far as functionality, it's mostly plug and play. They have a program and some drivers you have to download in windows to get everything to work properly, which they don't clearly tell you about. Once that's done it works very well and is reasonably sensitive with the provided antennas. However, one big downside is that (again they don't tell you this) is that to receive ham radio signals you need extra stuff to connect to it. Also, TV is a no go since this thing does not have the bandwidth capacity needed. Works well for AM/FM radio and aviation, etc....Linux usage was pretty much plug and play. Only thing I had to do really after connecting it was installing software that could use it, and the most popular one works great on Linux. There's actually a bunch of tools on Linux, under the task-hamradio apt metapackage.Overall, it's not a horrible value for the money, and decent enough for basic needs. The heat and limited bandwidth issues are huge drawbacks.Unfortunately though, to get a unit that can do TV, you're spending more than $300. So, for what it does I guess it's not a horrible value. I kept mine since it comes in handy sometimes.

I purchased this tuner to use with a Raspberry Pi for an inexpensive VHF/UHF receiver. It works very well for that purpose considering it is broadband tuner and doesn't have tuned front-end bandpass filters. I live within 5-10 miles of some powerful paging transmitters and a NOAA weather transmitter and they don't seem to degrade the performance of the tuner when it is listening elsewhere. Quite acceptable performance considering the cost.The included antenna pack works well for VHF/UHF and the cable is long enough to place the antenna away from the Raspberry Pi. You can also connect an outdoor antenna to the SMA connector if you need better performance.Installing the drivers was not difficult and Nooelec sent along instructions that were easy to follow. When using the Zadig utility, be very careful when selecting the device to install. Don't rush and you will be fine. One of our club members accidentally selected his Bluetooth adapter instead of the SDR dongle and it took a bit of work to undo that mistake. This is not the fault of Noolec (or Zadig actually) -- to one who is given much power, much responsibility is required.Please note that these units (as do any SDR dongles) run hot, even with the all metal case to dissipate the heat, so be careful touching the case after it has been running for a period of time. Although I would prefer that the operating temperature would be lower, it doesn't seem to impact performance and hopefully product life. I have a Nooelec Nano 3 and that runs even hotter and has been in service for some time now without issues.Nooelec has been very responsive when I have contacted them and shipped my orders promptly, even with the current pandemic.All in all, a solid and inexpensive way to experiment with Software Defined Radio.