Hama Nano, Software defined radio on the cheap

metatron · Post by **metatron** » Thu May 10, 2012 11:23 am

Okay so I thought I should throw up a quick review of the Hama Nano usb TV tuner which is one of the supported devices that will work as a software defined radio. Its a nice cheap way of taking a high end radio with you if you have a netbook.

Positives:
Its small
mcx connector
easy to set up
Works well with HDSDR
64 to 1700MHz

Negatives:
Bit more expensive then other supported devices
Gets very hot.
Lot of cool stuff below 64MHz

The process of getting it to work is fairly simple, install HDSDR, plug in the adaptor and install the software from http://wiki.spench.net/wiki/USRP_Interfaces, remembering to install it into the same directory as HDSDR, then open HDSDR and set it up so it uses RTL and a rate of 1 to 3.2 (1 works best)

For £14 plus £1.28 (ebay) for the MCX to BNC adaptor its worth the money.

Post by **scoobie** » Thu May 10, 2012 1:34 pm

Cool! I've just ordered a Newsky TV28T which goes a bit lower in the frequency range I believe. I want to hook up a transverter with it, so I can use it on the HF bands. Just need to find a suitable pre-built one or a circuit to build one myself!

I bought a kit to build a multi band HF SDR a while back, but not got around to buying any of the SMD tools needed to build it yet, so it sits unbuilt on my shelf for now..

metatron · Post by **metatron** » Thu May 10, 2012 4:20 pm

scoobie wrote:Cool! I've just ordered a Newsky TV28T which goes a bit lower in the frequency range I believe. I want to hook up a transverter with it, so I can use it on the HF bands. Just need to find a suitable pre-built one or a circuit to build one myself!

I bought a kit to build a multi band HF SDR a while back, but not got around to buying any of the SMD tools needed to build it yet, so it sits unbuilt on my shelf for now..

There are a lot of good SDR HF kits out there but most are not that easy to put together. I'm always surprised there are so few affordable ready made devices for HF as the kits would not be hard to put together with a placement machine and some flow soldering in China.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Thu May 10, 2012 4:47 pm

I think it is just low demand, the Chinese need tens of thousands to make it economical and cover the tooling costs. I am happy with my Alinco HF and, whilst SDR is intriguing, I don't really want to bother until it really 'comes of age'.

I feel the same about D-Star, a solution looking for a problem. Having said that the Trisquare radios look to be fun. It is a pity we can't have them over here.

Post by **scoobie** » Thu May 10, 2012 5:01 pm

Ham radio is or was always about experimentation and pushing the limits of what we can do (think VHF EME QSO's!)

I'm all for SDRs and the progression of technology. I still love simple old rigs too

Hamradioop · Post by **Hamradioop** » Wed Jan 23, 2013 8:49 pm

scoobie wrote:Cool! I've just ordered a Newsky TV28T which goes a bit lower in the frequency range I believe. I want to hook up a transverter with it, so I can use it on the HF bands. Just need to find a suitable pre-built one or a circuit to build one myself!

I bought a kit to build a multi band HF SDR a while back, but not got around to buying any of the SMD tools needed to build it yet, so it sits unbuilt on my shelf for now..

You might want to have a look at this link for an upconverter for the SDR dongle - seems good value?:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/it...trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

uk-preppers.co.uk