What's on my radio today in the background:

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. Thanks.

Last edited Sun May 20, 2018, 03:49 PM - Edit history (1)

I might get around to ordering one from cheatin' Jeff Bezos' Amazon.

From https://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-quick-start-guide/:

SDR# (SDRSharp) Set Up Guide (Tested on Windows 10/8/7 32/64 Bit) (XP/Vista Incompatible)

So there's that. I'm not sure if Windows 7 has service packs, and if it does, which one I have. I can check tomorrow.

Also:

You must have the Microsoft .NET 4.6 or newer redistributable installed to use SDRSharp.

I'll have to check at work tomorrow. That's where the Windows 7 computer is.

I really lucked out. We just upgraded at work from Windows 7 to Windows 10. We had to turn in our old computers, Dells in each case. I asked about the docking station and power supply, thinking that maybe, just maybe they would work. They did. The power supply is a stock Dell 19.5-volt PS, which fits both computers. The docking station they let me have fits the Vista laptop, and I have another docking station at home that fits the Windows 7 computer.

I found it inside a box that had held a flat screen TV. I always give those a little rattle as I walk past, on the grounds that maybe the old TV is inside, or a handful of A/V cables. Neither of those was there, but there was this laptop inside.

Nothing ventured; nothing gained.

The RR wiki looks like a gold mine of information:

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Software_Defined_Radios

Another thing I'm thinking about is an SDR TV tuner, such as:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/RTL2832U-R820T-DVB-T-USB-Digital-TV-Tuner-Receiver-Support-SDR-F-Laptop-PC/928738077

or

https://www.amazon.com/DVB-T-RTL-SDR-Realtek-RTL2832U-Receiver/dp/B00MN90D0S

The one from Amazon might not work, because:

input frequency:174 MHz-230 MHz;470 MHz-862 MHz
We still have a few local TV stations that are broadcasting on their old analog frequencies. That is, their physical frequencies and their virtual frequencies are the same. That would be the DC stations on channels 7 and 9, and the Baltimore stations on channels 11 and 13. I forgot what physical channel 7 is. If only there were some way to look that up....

Oh, that will work. Per Television Broadcast Frequencies, the VHF high band (channels 7 through 13) runs from 174 MHz to 216 MHz. UHF, channels 14 through 69, are no problem. So I'd be good to go.

My interest stems from the fact that I have no way of recording TV programs in the digital domain. I can receive digital TV transmission, but I can't record them. With an SDR TV dongle, I could save them to hard drive, I guess.

Thanks again.