NESDR Mini 2 USB RTL-SDR & ADS-B Receiver Set, RTL2832U & R820T2 Tuner, MCX Input. Low-Cost Software Defined Radio Compatible with Many SDR Software Packages. R820T2 Tuner & ESD-Safe Antenna Input

In summary, these SDRs are superb device for Radio beginners, discrete projects and for experimentation. They are very easy to set up and get immediate gratification but complex enough to become a life long obsession too. I have been a licensed Radio Ham since I was a kid and also love programming and hacking but have resisted the SDR craze of the last few years mostly due to ongoing projects and a busy life. I bought one of these as an impulse and it sat around for a month before I had a project for it. Having been woken several times by fast jet noise I was curious if this device would let me see who was up there. So I make an ADS-B receiver out of an old Pi Zero and this Newlec dongle. The project took about an hour from the first search on Google for drivers/software to having a working ADS-B receiver. So very easy, it turns out the RAF Typhoons have been active around here (go get 'em boys!). What a great little project for kids - easy and satisfying. I also used the available software from Newlec on my Windows 10 machine. Suffice to say the install was easy and the software gave immediate results - from listening to Radio 4, my local repeater, ATC, Marine and ADS-B. Luckily, I managed to make the Pi ADS-B receiver and stick it in the loft before getting too far into using the dongle as a frequency agile receiver - I would have enjoyed wasting far too much time. I won't try and quantify the sensitivity or selectivity of the radio beyond saying, with the Newlec software, they are adequate for most tasks. Now I know what the fast jet noise is I really don't need an ADS-B rx anymore (not my interest really) so I do plan to write some software so I can "detect" the ISS (via it's APRS beacons) and optimise chances of seeing it wizing overhead. I might also buy another dongle for Meteo reception. While results are immediate and easy you also have quite low level access to the device so there is an almost inexhaustible learning curve available to you. The dongles do require a good power supply - probably not an issue if using a powered hub or modern desktop. I did have grey outs on the Pi which just required a better power supply. I also find the dongle does require a bit more processor power than a pi B / Pi Zero can provide. The load averages of the pi running the ADS-b (Pi Zero) Rx were about 80% when running nothing else and with a chopped down image. While I still prefer 'old style' radio I can not fault these devices and they will open up a lot of fun without spending huge money and traditional radio gear.

My hobby is aircraft tracking and sharing my data with two well-known sources and for the past couple of years, I have been using a cheap RTL-SDR Dongle from China to receive and decode ADS-B and MLAT data in which they have been very good at doing the job successfully. However, many people I know have upgraded their hardware to this NooElec Mini2 Dongle, due the its performance in cutting out a lot of frequency noise. So, I decided to purchase one of these too. This item was fulfilled by Amazon and received it very quickly and installed it straight away - and for those who have Raspi's, you only need to plug this into a USB port and that's it. No messing about with Linux codes for any drivers or changing the gain in dump1090_muta. The performance of this NooElec Mini2 dongle is amazing. Whilst I didn't gain any further distance, my message rate went up an extra few thousand compared to what it was with my previous dongle - message rate compared to previous dongle on a particular day and time, over a 4hr period. This NooElec dongle is plugged directly into my Raspi and both hardware items are situated in my living room and whilst my living room is currently 20 degrees Celsius, the dongle, which has been running 24hrs per day since receiving it, is at 30 degrees Celsius and operating perfectly. At busy Air Traffic periods, I simultaneously track in the region of 100+ aircraft in excess of 250nm. I'm receiving both ADS-B and MLAT data and using the VRS browser and the dongle doesn't freeze or get any warmer. I would certainly recommend this dongle to those of the same interest as I am. You won't be disappointed. Please feel free to ask a question in relation to the use of this dongle for aircraft tracking. I have not used this dongle for any other purpose than stated above and so, I may not be able to answer any other questions.

I ordered 2 of these for use with a couple of Raspberry PI 2s i am using for feeding data to Flightradar24 (I wanted identical systems so i could compare different home made aerials!). They work well and pick up ADS-B signals without fault. I haven't used them for Software Defined Radio, so i can't comment on what they are like for this! EDIT : Using both dongles on the same aerial using a splitter one consistently receives less messages and gets less range, even after swapping things around to eliminate issues with Pi's and pigtail connectors.maybe they're not as well made as they could be. so i'm knocking a star off.

This is a great piece of kit, it doesn't come with instructions but youtube has multiple videos on this piece which is a massive help to get it up and running with what ever you want to do. So far I tried tracking aircraft and so far it can pick up signal from aircraft at 37,000 feet (the highest aircraft I have seen) and it also covers a radius of about 80km, I had it set up inside and I didn't really have it by the window and there is a few blind spots for the line of sight around my house, but it didn't matter it still picked up the aircraft. I hope to upgrade the ariel soon to get more out of it but I was very suprised with this, its well worth it's price tag if not more.

Quite easy to use. Plug n play in my case using a Pi400 in conjunction with Flightrader24. Will eventually upgrade the antenna. At present i am getting 95nm range on it which isn't bad considering i am shielded from two directions by hills around my area. Seems to be functioning great and for the cost and value for money you cannot knock it , plus its unlocked the business account on flightradar24.

Working well, but as expected, needs an a better antenna than the one supplied.

The device is a niche piece of tech. The aerial system that you need is far more important than you may have considered. It does open up the radio spectrum to an amazing extent, but you will need a real purpose to see or listen to what it captures. I found the software you have to hunt for, effective, and if you drool over waveforms displayed on screen, you will love this. Suitable only for the seriously technical person, not for someone who has mastered switching on the radio or tv.

Well, what can I say about this dongle other than it being super awesome. Let's give it a try. This dongle was delivered rather quickly, for it coming from America to Europe. It was also very nicely packaged, came with an antenna, the dongle, and a remote control. I am using this dongle to receive satellite images using SDR# and WXtoIMG and as a radar for tracking aircrafts. However I have noticed that it gets pretty hot when operating on 1090MHz. The antenna is pretty useless, it is fine for receiving FM radio and probably TV (have not tested it for TV), but useless when the signals are weak. However I can't complain for the price. I have not tested the remote, however I am sure it works. I recommend this dongle for anyone trying out SDR#. It is really great.