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

Using to grab the temperatures from many Acurite thermometers around my house. Google RTL433 to find the software than can do this. I also played with motoring the planes flying overhead. It worked, but you really need a better antenna.

The antenna is quite small, but has pretty good range. I have it sitting inside our basement in a window and I'm getting around 6,000+ ADS-B beacons a day from planes flying overhead.Works out of the box with FlightRadar24's official Raspberry Pi image on a Raspberry Pi 3 B+. For around $30 dollars, you'll net a $300+ business upgrade from them simply by sharing your receiver's data.

Finally, A Best ADS-TECH Product!(NOTE: I realize now that this is the older product, superceded by the NooElec NESDR Mini 2+ version. These "2" versions have a frequency tuning error of at least 62 PPM, and tends to drift as the unit warms. I have just acquired the "2+" version and will be returning this "2" version.)The design casing gave me a surprise when I first opened the product packaging, and realized this device oddly looks similar to other ADS TECH USB radios. (For which I gave a test run and has been laying in a shoe box for several years now.) But this is the first device, for which I'm finding extremely useful!As with other software defined receiver enthusiasts, I'll be using this hardware for analyzing frequencies.Pros1) Best bang for your buck. A device allowing users to fully exploit hardware's capabilities, using computer software.2) Can likely be utilized and extended with up-converters.Cons1) Difficult to find exactly which software utilities and which drivers you need to using as a computer software defined radio for analyzing frequencies. This product was engineered for use with European DVB-T over-the-air transmissions, but can be utilized within the US for receiving over-the-air FM modulated or other modulated frequencies.2) No RTL2832 chip specifications are published. (ie. Read forum posts dated approx 2014, read reddit.com forum post, "RTL2832 datasheet / deep info?")3) Device's tuning crystal is susceptible to temperature fluctuations. As such, users need to constantly recalibrate the device for accurate frequency usage. Easy method is to tune and center to a known strong signal and adjust the device Frequency Correction PPM value to match the signal's commonly known frequency. Adjusting either the device's "Frequency Correction PPM" or "Input Sample Rate" will effect the value of the other's value. Currently my values are Frequency Correction 57.0 PPM & Input Sample Rate 96000Hz or 96k. Another example, Frequency Correction 67 PPM and Input Sample Rate 1,000,000 or 1MHz. Even after entering this correction, since Frequency Correction PPM value does not accept a float values within SDRSharp or GQRX, manual fine tuning is still required except for maybe wide band FM. The more difficult and more accurate method of calibrating or tuning, is using a GSM signal.4) For most people living outside the city, requires both hardware and tuner AGC to be active, in order to obtain any really usable signal, especially when utilizing digital signals or operating digital speech decoders. (Without hardware and tuner AGC, you'll have some static.) SDSharp (Windows) has both hardware AGC and tuner AGC options, and GQRX has hardware AGC top right menu tick box and a variable tuner(?)/software AGC slider on the bottom right menu. RTL-SDR rtl_fm has a tuner gain (or AGC?) via "-g" option, so being digital to speech decoding requiring a very strong local signal, this is not going to be available to most people except for inner city folks.

I purchased this USB-connected software-defined radio (SDR) to set up a Raspberry Pi based FlightRadar24 receiver/reporter.The setup was quick and straightforward. Initially, my FR24 rig with the SDR's included antenna placed near a second-story window captured ADS-B position data from around 12 airplanes. Cool, but I wanted more! After experimenting with the antenna's length and setting the antenna on a makeshift ground plane (an aluminum cookie sheet), the transformation was remarkable.Opting for a half-wavelength setup (13.75 cm for 1090 MHz ADS-B signals), strategically placing the antenna near the exterior window, and using my cookie sheet ground plane, the system went from tracking 12 airplanes to an impressive 32, with position data extending up to 95 nautical miles! These adjustments proved crucial, unlocking the full potential of the included antenna.This USB-connected SDR, combined with the provided antenna, does a great job as part of a budget-friendly FlightRadar24 ADS-B rig. Highly recommended for those willing to explore and fine-tune for exceptional performance.

It was a good cheap first step into RTL-SDR, but the device definitely overheats at ambient temps around 84 degrees (nearby temp sensor). No operating temperature specifications listed anywhere (amazon or nooelec site) so who knows it that's within spec, but I wish I'd spent a little more on another device.