I guess it’s already time for me to start studying, again. I knew that I wanted to upgrade my ticket, but I’ve recently got into something that’s making me want it, even more.
SDR (Software Defined Radio) is really an amazing thing that I have recently discovered. In the past, when I was really into the radio hobby, I had often wished for something that would allow me to receive a large section (and even multiple sections) of radio spectrum simultaneously. I might have even heard about something that did this, in the past, but it wasn’t very popular, then. Lately, there are more and more affordable ways for radio hobbyists to be able to listen to more than they were ever able to, in the past.
SDR is a receive-only platform that is used in conjunction with a computer. Through a matter of connecting various hardware and converters to a computer, then connecting antennas, you can listen to a very wide range of frequencies. Software that is used with SDRs also allows you to visualize the complete radio spectrum, so you can “see” what you want to listen to.
While I was looking at buying a new shortwave radio, I thought that I would just buy the things that I need for an SDR. Then, I discovered that I really didn’t need to invest all that money in the hardware and antennas, right now. “Jackpot” is what I thought!