NEW NooElec NESDR Mini 2+

FlightAware ADS-B Flight Tracking
1

I noticed that they have out another NooElec NESDR Mini 2. But this one is the NooElec NESDR Mini 2+. I didn’t know if anyone has tried this one yet?

URL is:

nooelec.com/store/computer-p … -plus.html

I have 2 of the NooElec NESDR Mini 2

I just bought this one to try. $12.99 from Amazon.

amzn.com/B00SXZDUAQ

Thanks, What are some of the other ones you are using?

2

It is better from the Chinese manufacturer is 4 times cheaper
aliexpress.com/af/R820T2.htm … =y&catId=0

3

A few weeks ago I helped infect a friend with the ADS-B bug. He picked up one of theMini+ units with the 0.5ppm TCXO in the aluminum case (around $60 at Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR-Mini-Enclosure-Compatible/dp/B00NW3OBVG/

When I did the frequency cal on it, it was off by -0.3ppm – I’d call that pretty good, considering most of mine are in the 32 to 35 range.

From what we saw, it doesn’t drift much at all. No idea on sensitivity and lower noise claims. But the initial frequency accuracy and lack of drift are worth something.

You decide if it’s worth enough to you.

bob k6rtm

4

Thanks Bob for the info. I might have to look into this one. I thought about getting the enclosure for the USB dongle.

5

I use the aluminum enclosures – I scrape the anodizing off the mating surfaces and do some other things to get a good ground bond; I also use some thermal transfer material between the bottom of the SDR board and the enclosure; that helps control temperature and drift.

I really like the performance of the higher priced spread!

–bob

6

Hi Bob,

Would you please send some pictures of your aluminum enclosures, to have an idea what it looks like :slight_smile:

Thanks.

7

I think Bob is referring to this: amazon.com/NooElec-NESDR-Min … 00NW3OBVG/

8

I think I might order the aluminium box this week and try that out…

9

I found the $6 RTL2832U+R820T better than my $15 Newsky RTL2832U + R820T2 with TCXO oscillator.

10

OK, so how do you do the “frequency calibration”? I simply plugged it in and ran the PiAware image. Is this something that is done automatically, or should I be doing it manually for better performance?

Can you pick up more/further aircraft with the 0.5ppm T2+? Does the Aluminum case make much of a difference?

11

You might take a look at this for starters. There may well be others around.
http://www.rtl-sdr.com/how-to-calibrate-rtl-sdr-using-kalibrate-rtl-on-linux/

12

The ADS-B signal is sufficiently wide that frequency calibration doesn’t make a huge difference; you’ll still pick up 99% of signals even if you’re off by 100ppm (~100kHz).

Some transponders actually transmit quite far off 1090MHz too (the spec allows for something like 2-3MHz variation IIRC) so a mistuned dongle is probably just picking up a slightly different set of aircraft, not necessarily fewer!

It’s still a good thing to do, particularly for mlat if you have a dongle that’s at the extreme edge of the manufacturing range - the mlat server has a hardcoded limit of 200ppm frequency variation between pairs of receivers - but it probably won’t make a huge difference overall.

13

I got one and a RTL-SDR Blog brand R820T2 RTL2832U 1PPM TCXO SMA using the OEM antenna on both and the rtl-sdr seems to receive better signal.

14

I eliminated the USB extension cable and my stats went back up to where they should be. Those active extension cables mess with MLAT timing.

15

Odd, I’ve been using a 12’ extension with no problems on my production feeder.

Cheers!
LitterBug
ke8elk

16

Is it an active or passive extension? I think anything that acts as a USB “hub” (like an active extension) may mess with the timing. I also think it may depend on the brand.

17

I am not so sure on that, as your USB ports are likely connected to a USB hub inside of your computer that then gets to the southbridge. I would be more concerned with the power or quality of the data lines than adding an additional USB hub inline.



root@piaware:/home/pi# lsusb
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:2838 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL2838 DVB-T
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0424:ec00 Standard Microsystems Corp. SMSC9512/9514 Fast Ethernet Adapter
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:9514 Standard Microsystems Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
root@piaware:/home/pi# lsusb -t
/:  Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=dwc_otg/1p, 480M
    |__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Hub, Driver=hub/5p, 480M
        |__ Port 1: Dev 3, If 0, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=smsc95xx, 480M
        |__ Port 4: Dev 4, If 0, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=usbfs, 480M
        |__ Port 4: Dev 4, If 1, Class=Vendor Specific Class, Driver=, 480M
root@piaware:/home/pi#