[RFI] Portable sdr Setup for Tracking RFI

[Aaron Kreider]

I'm brainstorming about a portable sdr setup for tracking RFI and how to 
make it as convenient/portable as possible.  Has anyone tried this?  If 
so what would you recommend?

I want to use SDR because I think there are a large number of false 
positives in my neighborhood (minor sources of RFI which aren't causing 
me any interference).

On the very cheap end, you can get your basic RTL 820 SDR dongle (25 mhz 
to 1.3 Ghz) for as little as $9 on Ebay.  I already have one of these.

I can see some of my RFI in 25 mhz - 100 mhz, but  I some sources are 
only found in HF frequencies.


There is a version of the RTL 820 that uses a hack to receive 100 khz to 
1.7 GHZ.  $56
http://www.ebay.com/itm/100KHz-1-7GHz-Full-Band-U-V-HF-RTL-SDR-USB-Tuner-Receiver-R820T-8232-Radio-US-/191488135592?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c959511a8


There is a new version of the RTL 820 that includes both an upconverter 
and the RTL 820 chip in a single package for $74.  I haven't found 
reviews of this, but have heard that upconverters are more sensitive.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/100KHz-1-7GHz-VHF-UHF-band-RTL-SDR-UpConverter-SDR-receiver-AM-NFM-FM-DSB-CW/301465540265?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27705%26meid%3Db0b57959821843199721210fa74c6972%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dlo%26sd%3D111544959140&rt=nc


There is also the Ham It Up, upconverter for the RTL 820 which is 
well-reviewed.  However, it unfortunately comes in a seperate package 
and would be less ideal for portable use.
Cost $38 + $24 for the enclosure.


Or the best, but also most expensive, method might be to use a Funcube 
Dongle Pro
(125 pounds - probably costs $200 after shipping to the US).
http://www.funcubedongle.com/

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The second part is finding a small tablet that would be powerful enough 
to run the software and one that comes with a USB port. Maybe a mini usb 
port?  I don't currently own a tablet (or even a laptop), so I'm less 
sure as to what the requirements would be. I do think that tablet PC 
cpus are getting pretty powerful.

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The third part is the antenna. I'm thinking about a small loop (say 4-12 
inches in diameter) for wideband and directionality.