Device Specific Notes

StreamSDR supports a range of software defined radios.

As StreamSDR uses the rtl_tcp server protocol, which was originally designed for use with only RTL-SDR devices, StreamSDR attempts to emulate an RTL-SDR device when using other SDR devices. As such some radios may not support features supported by RTL-SDR devices, and some more advanced features provided by other radios may not be supported by StreamSDR.

RTL-SDR

To use RTL-SDR devices the appropriate drivers will need to be installed on the host system. We recommend reading the Quick Start Guide provided by the RTL-SDR blog for instructions on how to set up a RTL-SDR device.

All features provided by RTL-SDR devices are fully supported by StreamSDR.

SDRplay

To use SDRplay devices the SDRplay API needs to be installed on the host system. This can be downloaded from the SDRplay website. StreamSDR requires version 3 of the SDRplay API.

Due to the limitations of the rtl_tcp protocol the bit depth of the samples provided by the radio will be limited to 8-bit.

SDRplay radios use two gain controls, the LNA gain and the tuner gain, which vary depending on the radio band the tuner is tuned to. As the rtl_tcp protocol doesn't support this these controls have been mapped to 29 levels of gain which automatically adjust as the tuner changes between the radio bands.

Sample rates between 2 MHz and 3.2 MHz are directly supported by StreamSDR. Higher sample rates supported by SDRplay radios are supported by StreamSDR, but most rtl_tcp client applications will only allow samples rates up 3.2 MHz to be selected. Select sample rates below 2 MHz are supported by StreamSDR through the use of decimation on the radio to achieve the desired sample rate. The supported sample rates below 2 MHz are:

• 1 MHz
• 500 kHz
• 250 kHz
• 125 kHz