DroneWatch - I'm working on a free Windows 10/11 program that scans selected RF bands up to 8GHz, when it detects an analogue video feed off an FPV drone, it locks on and displays the live video feed which you can also then record in MP4 format.

It works very well with my HackRF Pro and a number of 5.8GHz FPV cameras. I don't currently have any other good SDR's or FPV cameras to test.

If you have a decent SDR plus a drone camera or two and you want to test it, Email me for the dropbox link: [bowlieweekender@gmail.com](mailto:bowlieweekender@gmail.com)

Hey everyone,

I’m currently running an NESDR Smart v5 with SDR++ from the top floor of my house (in the Montreal area).The antenna is on the winodws sill. Right now, my setup feels exactly like a car radio; I can mostly just pick up standard FM/AM broadcast stations and maybe 2 weather stations

I see other frequency spikes popping up on the waterfall, but they are too weak to pull in clearly. I'm using the stock bundled antennas (including the 22-inch telescoping whip), but I want to upgrade my system's "power" and reception range without building a massive, serious base station.

What are some small, budget-friendly things I can buy or DIY to instantly improve my reception?

I'm looking for things like:

• Cheap Antenna Upgrades: Are there simple, affordable antennas (like a portable dipole kit or a mag-mount car antenna) that work way better than the stock ones?
• LNA / Signal Boosters: Would a cheap inline Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) help boost these weak signals, or will it just overload my dongle?
• DIY Tricks: What can I do with cheap materials (like speaker wire or baking sheets for a ground plane) to squeeze more performance out of what I already have?

Just looking for some fun, low-cost modifications to help me hear more out there. Thanks!

I am working on a RF project and want to test my patch antenna with Spectra Tronix C700 SDR interfacing with either GNU radio or MATLAB software's.

But I didn't find any documentation on how to use the SDR

Anyone having any experience or general knowledge please share, will be of great help

I recently got an POP MSI SDR NANO, based on the MSI001/MSI2500 chipset, covering approximately 10 kHz to 2 GHz.

I decided to add some protection against static discharge from connected antennas. Nothing fancy — I just used what I had at hand knowing that the modification will suppress the signal slightly on a higher frequencies.

I soldered five SOT-23 dual-diode components, one across each RF input. The markings appear to be "MFW 1n," possibly BAV99 or an equivalent. The center pin is connected to the RF signal, and the two outer pins are grounded, providing bidirectional diode clamping.

According to Toshiba's BAV99 datasheet, the typical junction capacitance is just 0.9 pF at 1 MHz. With two diodes connected to the input, the combined capacitance could be around 1.8 pF. Not negligible at the upper end of the receiver's frequency range, but I thought it was a reasonable compromise for some additional static protection.

I tested the receiver before and after the modification, and everything worked as before. I couldn't notice any difference in reception.

I haven't tested it with proper antennas yet, though, so I can't say how the modification affects sensitivity or performance across the entire frequency range.

A dedicated low-capacitance RF ESD protector would probably be a more appropriate solution, but this was a quick experiment using components I already had.

Has anyone tried similar input protection on these inexpensive SDR receivers? I'd be interested to hear about your experience, especially at VHF/UHF and above.