gqrx window on 97.3 FM

I’m intrigued by software-defined radios, which are the cutting edge in radio technology and have a much wider operating range than their discrete component cousins. When I saw that one popular model was $20, I picked one up on a whim without really knowing what to expect.

I had purchased an RTL-SDR Blog V3 kit. I was just a tad disappointed to learn it’s a receive-only SDR, but for the price, I wasn’t expecting perfection. I found a couple of YouTube videos to give me some ideas for things to try.

Since I run Linux primarily, I found that Gqrx was a good starting point. It wasn’t too difficult to get installed and running. This is my first experience with waterfall displays and being able to quickly tune around. It’s fun looking at broadcast FM stations to see which ones have digital sidebands, or scrolling around in the ham bands to find transmissions like little caterpillars running down the screen. I can definitely see where this will be a nice tool in my ham radio toolbox.