I've also had the SDRPlay 1 for a couple of years and for the most part it has been fun to play with. My biggest complaint with it though is the puny antenna connector. Probably like a lot of people, I use an adapter to be able to connect my PL-259 connectors from my various antennas to it. When I do this I'm always afraid that I'm going to knock it off that little pencil neck connector and break it. Since the SDRPlay is so small and light, it's easy to knock around if I'm not careful. I looked at the SDRPlay 2 and I've now looked at the SDRPlay 1a and they both have this same (as I consider it) flaw. As I said, over all it's been fun to play with and I'm glad to see the software has been improving for it, which makes it even better although I wish there was something like a 5 to 10 button memory panel though for when I want to flip between several frequencies. I really wished for this when I was listening to a local air show and I was jumping back and forth between the tower, ground crew, plane and several other groups covering the show. Trying to click on the different frequencies was a pain and I finally gave up. I'm still considering the SDRPlay 2 because of the multiple antennas but I haven't decided yet. Other than the antenna connections, you guys have done a real good job on these. Mike
The best way to deal with this is to use a pigtail adapter. SMA, a foot or more of cable, then the PL-259.
That's what I use with the WSPRLite and RTL-SDR. Instead o PL-259 on one end, I have multiple pigtails with either F , SO-239, or BNC female.
Yes, an adapter with a pig tail would make more sense although when I ordered this from HRO and looked for an adapter to get at the same time, I did not find one with a pig tail. After I got it and started using it and saw the potential weak point, I didn't think to go back and look for a different one. I just learned to be real careful with it. Now if you guys had offered your suggestions a couple of years ago... Thanks guys. Mike
Another potential source for such pigtail adapters is inside older junked surplus military & test equipment. I've gotten several male SMA-to-female BNC pigtail adapters that way and they are top quality.
I agree with this product production strategy and am glad to see an upgrade to the RSP1 rather than another totally new product. In my case, I use (2) RSP1s for various purposes and they work well but certain features would be a nice upgrade. But the RSP2 has a lot of features which are unneeded for my purposes -i.e. multiple antenna ports, clock I/O, etc. and so the RSP1a is the way for me to go when I buy next.
Where can I find information how to use my RSP2pro with a Android tablet? I thought only RSP1 works with Android?
The RSP2 works with the SDR Touch Android app if you install the SDRPlay driver. App- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=marto.androsdr2 Driver- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sdrtouch.sdrplay Note the driver is listed as "experimental". I've been using it with my RSP2, it works but the operation is a bit buggy. Hopefully there will be further development of both the driver and the app to make it more useful with the SDRPlay. For this to work on an Android device it has to support OTG through the micro USB port, and you'll need to power the RSP externally as the device won't have enough power available from its port. I have mine connected through a small powered USB hub (phone port connected to hub input through OTG cable, RSP plugged into a port on the hub).
As much as I want to like all of this I want the physical over the digital. By the time I get "radio time" I am exhausted of the multimedia, multitasking, meme world we have created. Makes me sad that this is the direction radio is going. Rant over. Carry on.
Because then it would displace the RSP2. The differences between the RSP1A and the RSP2 are basically down to 3 things only. Extra antenna port, clock in, and optional metal case. I would not be surprised if the next release is an RSP2A.
I do understand and am somewhat the same way having been licensed for 40 years and using mostly homebrew & military surplus for about the first 5-7 years. Been through many, many rigs since then too. And I still use my Heathkit HW-101 sometimes. But I can also clearly see the advantages of SDR technology - little to no moving parts (switches, pots) to wear out, ease & speed of tuning, interoperability, etc. and filtering which we could only dream about just a few short years ago. The spectrum view with most SDR radios is a marvel - definitely beats my old Heath SB-620 and is MUCH less expensive. And nothing will ever wear out, whereas on the SB-620 I used to wonder if it was going to work each time I powered it up . The military jumped on this bandwagon near the beginning largely because of the things which I just mentioned, and it makes good sense for them especially in terms of reliability and adaptability. I use an SDRPlay RSP-1 here along with the aforementioned Heath HW-101 and all is well cuz I get the best of both worlds . Hats off to the SDRPlay chaps for bringing to us these nice radios at affordable prices.
