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Listen in to Radio Signals from around the world with an SDRplay box and a length of wire

Pete Wood
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If you're looking for a fun lock-down project that doesn't cost the earth and you're interested in radio, then this might just be for you!

Before the Internet, Ham Radio allowed people around the world to connect and make new friends across continents. Although the advent of the Internet has allowed us all to communicate in multiple digital ways, analogue radio is still a facinating thing to explore. Tools like the SDRplay mean that you don't need to be an experienced Radio Ham with expensive equipment to listen into all kinds of radio signals, all you need is your computer, a little black box and an antenna.

In this video I show you how to hook up a basic wire antenna to listen into transmissions on the 20m band (14-MHz to 14.5 MHz) from around the world.

The SDRplay is a low cost software defined radio receiver that connects to your computer.  Starting at around £100 (GBP), it's a relativley inexpensive gadget, and is a great way to explore the world of Ham Radio without the need of a licence.
 
This versatile family of devices can also do other cool things, such using it as a Spectrum Analyser.
 

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It's not quite Tik-Tok, but here's one of my daughters surfing the radio waves seeing what she can pick up.

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Learn more about the SDRplay at https://www.sdrplay.com/

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Pete Wood
DesignSpark Team Geek Dad, Blogger, Gadget Junkie, Technology Evangelist. DesignSpark Team. twitter - @petenwood
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