For those interested in experimenting with SDR technology or in need of a higher quality SDR receiver, SDRplay has a new RSPduo device.

This new device has two full receivers/tuners using 14 bit technology for higher receiver dynamic range. The number of bits in the ADC (Analog to Digital) converter will set the maximum dynamic range of the resulting data stream. This is approximately SNR=6dB×Bits+4.8dB (for a full scale input sine wave).

Each tuner can operate individually anywhere between 1kHz and 2GHz with up to 10MHz of bandwidth or both tuners can operate simultaneously anywhere between 1kHz and 2GHz with up to 2MHz of bandwidth per tuner. Additionally this SDR has a high stability reference and option for external clocking. The device is intended for industrial, scientific and educational applications. Price is around $300.

For those needing the high quality device but without the higher cost dual receiver the RSP1A is a excellent alternative.

The RSP1A offers similar performance but at a lower cost of just over $100. With a 10MHz visible bandwidth and the companion SDRuno software the RSP1A has all the popular ham bands and shortwave broadcast bands as “presets” for instant set-up. This device may also be used as an low cost spectrum analyzer or portable receiver for tracking down interference sources..

Theses receivers offer a significant improvement in performance, as compared to the low end SDR dongle type of SDR, for a small increase in cost.