The first thing that got my attention was the ~10-15dB drop in RSS just after 1 December.
So while it may indeed be the Christmas decorations doing the dirty deed, that might be just
part of the story. There’ shouldn’t be a problem with an RSSI of ~-70dBm, but that combined with
the Christmas lights may be a problem.
And that’s the benefit of having an expert look at things I hadn’t even noticed that. So maybe my hypothesis is wrong or more complicated. Still, it makes me even more keen to investigate the source.
It’s available on Amazon in the US but not here in the UK. The US site will ship to me but I think it will be easier and cheaper to order from Aliexpress. Thanks for the link, though, I’ll order one. Again it’s obvious what the solution is when you already know
Ah, HDSDR is Windows. I run Linux so I’ll need to look at something else. The first few are:
Linrad
GQRX
CubicSDR
ShinySDR
Do you or anybody else have any experience with them to know what they’re good for? Are there specific features in a package that would be good to have?
There’s GNUradio and rtl-sdr packages in the openSUSE repositories as well as various other hits for SDR, so again it’s a question of [not] knowing what I’m looking for. I see there are various web pages about using SDR for interference analysis on linux systems but any known-good resources would be very helpful.
Of those, I’m only familiar with gqrx but it can do what you need.
Also look out for rtl_433 which is capable of decoding many devices on 433 (and 868) MHz. I use it together with a bit of python to feed my emonPi with data from some CurrentCost power monitors and a weather station.
What I was hoping for was a picture of it as installed.
It’s actually fairly easy to “detune” one (read that as decreased performance)
if it’s not located and mounted correctly.
rtl_433 is aimed at decoding data from various personal weather stations and the like.
While it’s something he might want to look into later, ATM his need is for a simple spectral
display to detect any signals that may be interfering with his OEM system.
I’ve already ordered the RTL-SDR kit. How would you use the Andoer unit, since it seems to have an omnidirectional antenna? My main question would be about software support for it though since it only mentions Windows. It looks vaguely interesting as a toy since I run TVH with a TBS 6805 quad tuner.
Many of the of the low end SDRs are based on the RTL2832U chipset and
R820T / R820T2 tuner which is the chipset/tuner combo supported by much of the available software.
The same can be said WRT almost all of the USB dongle type SDRs.
There are some exceptions, but they don’t carry a 20 dollar price tag.
Airspy (169 USD) and SDRPlay (99 USD) are two examples that come to mind.
The RTL-SDR.com V3 receiver is one of the better low-end units.
Rule-of-thumb is one-quarter wavelength (or more) separation distance.
(roughly the length of one element) One-half wavelength or more is better
but if that’s not possible, quarter-wave separation is better than nothing.
So mount your dipole as high and as far away from the wall and mains cables as practical.
OK, the mains cables take a right angle above the picture and run above the antenna, towards the south/left. I suppose I should stay half-wave below that.
Only one of the dipole elements radiates energy. Ideally you want that one on top.
So you can try flipping it end for end. It may or may not make much, or any, difference,
but it’s easy to do.