RTL-SDR V5 on GNU Radio – Telecommunications, Navigation & Electronics

Introduction

Recently I received a lot of questions about the RTL-SDR V5 and how to get it working on GNU Radio so I decided to get one and try it out. These are my results. If you are using the RTL-SDR for the first time, you have to install the Windows driver (Ref.1).

HF Reception

Fig.1 AM Reception 540KHz to 1.7MHz on GNU Radio Companion

Figure 1 shows an AM reception schematic in GNU Radio Companion. In the RTL-Source block you have to add “direct_samp=2” in the Device Arguments in order to enable the direct sampling on Q branch. Tuning is from 540KHz to 1.7MHz. The RTL is sensitive to overload so keep gain down to a minimum. See the YT video for operation.

VHF/UHF Reception

Fig.2 NBFM Reception 155-164MHz on GNU Radio Companion

Figure 2 shows a schematic for NBFM reception 155-164MHz on GNU Radio Companion. In this case we are using the normal mode of RTL-SDR operation with quadrature sampling so there is no entry in the Device Arguments. See YT video for operation.

GNU Radio Companion Basics Course