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Software

Ah, the software. Here’s where things can get a bit sticky, so bear with me while I attempt to lead you through the jungle. In a nutshell, you’ll be finding and installing a new device driver and a tuning program. Sounds simple, right?

Using your USB dongle for SDR experiments requires, at a minimum, a device driver that is more adaptable than the standard manufacturer’s or Windows or Linux drivers. Once you get the new driver(s) installed and working, you’ll also need software that enables you to tune the dongle to your choice of frequency. This is often called RTL-SDR software. Windows users most often use a program called SDRSharp, while Linux users tend to use a package called GQRX.

Windows

For simplicity’s sake, all the Windows ...