choosing sdr

Which SDR to choose?

Here's a quick comparison. There are many other similar tables: crowdsupply,

SDR Name	Price [EUR]	Freq. range [MHz]	MSPS	Sampling [bits]
RTL-SDR v3	40	0.5 - 1700 MHz	2.4	8
AirSpy Mini	130	24 – 1700 MHz	20	12
NooElec NESDR SMArTee XTR	50	65 - 2300 MHz	2.4	8
LimeSDR	~500	30 - 3800 MHz	61.4	12
LimeSDR Mini	~300	30 - 3800 MHz	30.7	12

MSPS stands for Mega Samples Per Second and determines how wide or narrow the bandwidth can be received. Bandwidth in MHz = MSPS/2

RTL-SDR v3

• Pro: the cheap option (150PLN, 35EUR)
• Make sure to get a version with aluminum case
• v3 has a Bias-Tee that's controllable via software
• Con: narrow bandwidth 2.4MSPS (stable), experimental up to 3.2 (but supposedly unstable)

NooElec SMArTee XTR

• Pro: marginally more expensive than RTL-SDR v3
• Based on the same chipset as RTL-SDR v3, but with extra frequency range (up to 2.3GHz)
• Con: Bias-T always on

AirSpy Mini

• Pro: much wider bandwidth, 12 bits ADC, much more stable clock
• Con: none, really :)

AirSpy R2

• Pro: much wider bandwidth, 12 bits ADC, much more stable clock
• Pro: extra input for external clock (useful to sync multiple SDRs)
• Con: more expensive, bigger

LimeSDR / LimeSDR Mini

• Pro: Superb performance (60MSPS, 6 RX channels, 4 TX channels)
• Con: sold out everywhere till Feb. 2022
• very good description on wimo
• Pro: backed by ESA

HackRF One

• very good, honest description on wimo
• Pro: TX/RX
• Con: very weak TX capability (mostly lab only)