SDR Quest: Looking for Software Defined Radios for FreeBSD

[Phishfry]

I decided to build a dedicated box for SDR Receivers and FreeBSD. What would be your ideal host SDR machine?

Touchpad/Tablet/Laptop with external dongles.

Touchscreen with Internal dongles.

Embedded amd64 Box with internal dongles.

Some Arm64 box with dongles.

Some thing else??

I plan to convert a pair of Nooelec RTL-SDR dongles to internal 4 pin USB header once they arrive. I like the low cost of these dongles.
I wanted a better jack I can bulkhead mount in a chassis..

I really have a beef with many of the PLUTO+ design. They have a microSD card slot and a dual core cpu. Reset buttons and all that. An embedded OS?
To me that is a security threat. What OS is on that board? Much like Sierra modems with a snapdragon cpu onboard. Do I trust them?

cubicSDR seems to only work with PulseAudio for output???
Do you copy?

 

[penguinslayer]

Do you copy?

I wish I could help. I'm still cutting my teeth on SDR. Maybe one day I'll have something useful to contribute. Meanwhile, it's nice to soak up the knowledge.

 

[Phishfry]

I just got back from a survey of the Home Depot looking for antenna parts.
They had 3/8 hard tube bronze but only 24" stick. So I could make a 1/4-Wave Ground Plane antenna for Marine Band as a start.

Must I use tubing for an antenna? Solid aluminum roundbar is cheaper stronger and easier to work..
Extreme version of question. Could you use all-thread for elements? Is stainless OK for material?

I had these in my used stash. Kinda useless for General Purpose??? One for Cellular Bands and one Wireless.

TerraWave 698-896/1700-2700 MHz 3/3.5 dBi Omni Antenna (M3030035O10006O-B)

DescriptionTerraWave 698-896/1700-2700 MHz 3/3.5 dBi Omni AntennaKey Features and BenefitsExperience the power of seamless connectivity with the TerraWave 698-896/1700-2700 MHz 3/3.5 dBi Omni Antenna. This high-performance antenna is designed to provide reliable, consistent signal strength...

www.solidsignal.com

OD9-2400

The OD9-2400 2.4 GHz Data Transfer Antenna is popular because of its high-performance & rugged construction. It terminates with a female N connector.

www.mobilemark.com

 

[waym0re]

Must I use tubing for an antenna? Solid aluminum roundbar is cheaper stronger and easier to work..
Extreme version of question. Could you use all-thread for elements? Is stainless OK for material?

Aluminum is great, and you can use any type. It's better for the surface to be smooth and uniform, so I would not recommend "all-thread". It sounds like a recipe for distortion at any frequency.