On: GNU Radio Tools for Radio Wrangling and Spectrum D...

[weinzierl]

Here is a quick comparison table I made for myself just yesterday. The purpose was to get an overview what is currently possible for what money. It most probably has errors but the sources are mentioned, so you can check for yourself. It's just the devices I stumbled upon, there are probably others.

    Source	Device	Price	Max.	Bandwidth       Resolution
     	        Name	EUR	GHz	MHz             bit
    1	        rtl-sdr	  20	2	2 		8
    2	        rad1o	 200	4	20		8
    3	        hackrf	 400	6	20		8
    4	        bladeRF	 400 	4	28		12
    5	        usrp	 700	6	60		12/14
    6	        warp	7000	5	170		14

1 http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr

2 https://rad1o.badge.events.ccc.de/

3 http://greatscottgadgets.com/hackrf/

4 http://www.nuand.com/

5 http://www.ettus.com/

6 http://warpproject.org/trac/wiki/about

Other sources I used:

http://www.eetutorial.net/sdr-showdown-hackrf-vs-bladerf-vs-...

https://media.ccc.de/v/32c3-7153-rad1o

https://media.ccc.de/v/32c3-7119-building_and_breaking_wirel...

EDIT: The videos just mention devices and that's where I got the ideas for what people are actually using. They don't contain any device comparisons or anything like that.

[tasty_freeze → weinzierl]

One you missed is airspy: http://airspy.com/

$199, 1.8GHz, 20Msps or 10Msps I/Q, 12b resolution

rx only

[vhold → weinzierl]

I believe another key difference between rtl-sdr and the rest is that rtl-sdr cannot transmit?

[weinzierl → vhold]

Yes that's right and important information. The rad1o and the HackRF are Half-Duplex all the others are Full-Duplex (IIRC).

[gravypod → weinzierl]

My issue is that I am allowed to transmit, and being unable to nullifies half the fun. Are there any cheap alternatives to use that can transmit?

[meatmanek → gravypod]

Since the HackRF is open source, there's a group that makes a lower-cost clone called the HackRF Blue: http://shop.hackrfblue.com/. Their model is $215, and they have some units that have some minor issues (can transmit jut fine) for $150.

I haven't used the HackRF Blue, so I can't compare it to the HackRF One. There are a few comparisons floating around the internet.

[gravypod → meatmanek]

That is getting closer to my price range. I saw something called the SDRX01B and was wondering if anyone heard of it or was able to comment on its performance.