A peek in Frugal's Travel Bag : SDR & Scanner gear on the road

[@alainbroekema5000]

Long time no see, nice reception report Rob, Thank you !

[@FrugalRadio]

Cheers!

[@borisvokladski5844]

Cool. Thanks for showing. My SDR travel bag is not so fancy. Mine consists of two dipole antenna kits, two NooElec dongles, one telescopic SMA antenna, a ThinkPad X280 laptop, a PD power bank for charging my laptop, a portable ruler + USB and SMA cables. I always find it interesting to monitoring ship traffic when I take the ferry to visit my parents-in-law

[@FrugalRadio]

Your SDR travel bag sounds great! It's nice to have multiple SDRs. The portable ruler is an excellent idea for sizing the telescopic antennas. I might just have to add one to my travel bag now!

[@borisvokladski5844]

@@FrugalRadio I'm glad that I could inspire you.

[@KI4ASK]

Rob, thanks for sharing. How do you like that SDS100? They’re back in stock and I’m contemplating one. Our local public safety is switching to a digital system soon and I’ll need a digital scanner.

[@FrugalRadio]

It works quite well for 700/800 systems. I haven't spent long with it on 400-500. Airband is horrible on it - in fact conventional scanning isn't great. That's why I bring multiple radios when I travel. The SDS100 does best at digital 700/800 stuff in my opinion with limited testing.

[@KI4ASK]

@@FrugalRadio I did end up buying the SDS100. Great scanner, love the easy to read screen and user interface. It tends to run warm and the battery life isn't great, but it's a fine scanner. Thanks again for the video and suggestion. 73, KI4ASK

[@FrugalRadio]

Glad it has worked out well for you too Joe. Agreed, battery life isn't great.

[@jameswhitaker1324]

I’d be curious to hear how a bag of radio equipment is received by immigrations and customs?

[@FrugalRadio]

Generally no issues. The only problem I have run into is a security officer who couldn't figure out what the Broadsword antenna was. He wanted to take a look to ensure it wasn't dangerous. No issues with the scanners, telescopic whips, SDRs, USB cables etc.

[@brazoon1]

Hi Rob, I posted a question earlier that got removed, I think because I put a link to a product that I wanted to ask you a question about. I've since been able to answer that question and realize it was a stupid question. lol So this is my question now: Does the SDS100 do anything that you can't accomplish with your SDR set up? I'm new and have had limited success using my 2 SDRs ( Nooelec) as a scanner (in Ottawa). With SDRTrunk I can't seem to isolate individual talkgroups and end up hearing everything in every department which is annoying. (despite following the instructions of many videos) On SDR# the scanning features seem a little clunky and I've yet to successfully decode digital with DSD+. Sometimes the text scrolls upward like in your video but I can never hear any audio, whether encrypted or not. I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with SDR and feel like biting the bullet on an SDS100 but wonder if I should just keep trying/learning the software etc. Sorry for the long comment. Your channel is great, please make more videos. lol :)

[@FrugalRadio]

The SDS is basically an SDR in a handy little case. It works well, but I use my SDRs more than the SDS. The SDS is great for traveling when I want to monitor digital systems. But even when I travel, I take my SDR and laptop. Just can't take the laptop & SDR in my pocket when I go out for a day! Keep persisting with your setup. Play around with the gain settings. Once you get your system tuned, you'll enjoy what the SDR can do!

[@bodstrup]

No USB charger for the scanners ? I Find laptop USB power to be too low for most use - now I carry a 200W charger with 2 x USB-C + 1 x USB-A ports. Handles my MacBook Pro + phone + any accessories

[@jamespiroli823]

Way to go SDS100

[@FrugalRadio]

It's great having access to the database and not having to program all the trunked systems and talkgroups manually!

[@jamespiroli823]

@@FrugalRadio Agrred. Glad you are having fun. Another great video

[@WXFD-Media]

@@FrugalRadio Don't grab you radio by the antenna!! Please. you may loosen or break the connection

[@FrugalRadio]

Ha ha, you caught me!!!

[@DR4Christ]

Wow - thank you for this video. I’m always on the go and have less space available than you do there. What flexible lightweight (less than 1/2 lb) antenna could I pair directly to the RTL-SDR and get the best results possible without carrying 3 dipoles? Thank you for all the reviews - always enjoy them.

[@FrugalRadio]

To a large degree, that would depend on the frequencies you want to monitor. VHF, UHF, 700/800 etc. That said I usually just travel with the dipole kit, as it can be tuned to any given frequency. The Youloop is lightweight and does a fairly reasonable job, even on VHF and up.

[@DR4Christ]

I watched your Youloop video and loved that antenna - went to purchase and it lists it as 26 oz’s. Do you think it’s that heavy? I would think just a dipole would be lighter.

[@FrugalRadio]

26oz might be the full shipping weight. It does have a couple of attachments, but I'm fairly sure it's not half a pound. That said, I transport mine in a padded envelope which adds a little weight, and the coax is a stiffer type. I've just never put it on a scale! Dipole kit is definitely light though.

[@DR4Christ]

Well if you say go loop I’ll go loop - I carry a 2m & 70 cm already and want to add the SDR to a Samsung tablet to listen in on emergency frequencies in SW to Central U.S. as well as in the Caribbean where I travel heavily. Is there a dipole that picks up all VHF & UHF and maybe ARES?

[@FrugalRadio]

The dipole kits RTL-SDR blog sell are great. They're telescopic, so adjust to the wavelength you are looking for, and away you go. Comes with a tripod stand and suction cup mount - great for hotel windows :-)

[@jaym1301]

I once brought a portable scanner with me on a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada in the days before SDRs and trunked systems. I was able to receive a lot of police and fire traffic from my hotel room but I quickly realized that as I was unfamiliar with the city the things I was receiving basically meant nothing to me regarding street names and neighborhoods. Has anyone else found this to be the case?

[@FrugalRadio]

Absolutely been the case for me. However Google Maps is your friend! Back in the days of had no idea what districts I was in or listening to. Now some departments have district maps on their websites for Police & Fire services. These are super helpful. Some associated Wikipedia pages even provide a breakdown of callsigns by station. As always, the web proves to be a tremendous resource!

[@alannorthdevonuk763]

Thank you for the video, it was very informative. I have been away from monitoring radio for about 50 years and as a kid, I once had a great big battery radio I dragged off to Heathrow during school holidays and spent happy hours listening to aircraft and controllers. I am now thinking about getting a scanner (Uniden UBC-125XLT ) although a bit concerned as I live in hilly and very rural North Devon, a couple of miles from the coast and nowhere near an airfield or airport so not too sure what I'd get apart from marine traffic. I have a Ham 7cm & 2 meter antenna in the loft - I'm an inactive ham and radio rusty. I was wondering if it is it still worth getting an analogue scanner? I've been looking at the Uniden UBC-125XLT and I do love a gadget. I have subscribed to your and will be looking at other options. I have a lot of high-level air traffic and use flight radar so I think I'm in for a chance just not sure what option (s) to go for. Thank you for the videos.

[@FrugalRadio]

I would say it is always worth having an analogue scanner. The 125XLT is a great little unit as well. With your loft antennas you could expect to receive aircraft from about 200 miles away - unless you're right in a valley. In your area there is also military activity that can be monitored with the RAF & RN having flights of various kinds.

[@marsgal42]

I like to take something with me when I travel, usually a portable shortwave radio and my trusty Icom aviation handheld. When I was out of town last weekend I took my Airspy Mini and laptop with me. A first, with interesting results. Local airport security tend to be baffled by anything more technologically advanced than a rock but that's another matter...

[@FrugalRadio]

Great to hear from you Laura, thanks for sharing your experiences. Interestingly I've not had anything strange go down at the airport. Although on one occasion an airport security guard was confused by the long Broadsword portable antenna. Despite me having a YouLoop, AirSpy R2 and a couple of scanners. It's always fun seeing the looks you get when emptying out the carry on bag for the x-ray machine!

[@leandrovargas6787]

Hi, whats the software you use?, regards

[@FrugalRadio]

DSD+ Fastlane, SDR#, SDR++

[@socalamateurradio1118]

Needs an Icom R-30.

[@FrugalRadio]

What would you say the best benefits of an R-30 would be?

[@socalamateurradio1118]

@@FrugalRadio Standalone HF for maritime and aeronautical in a very small package.

[@mercilessradio1770]

Shit. Missed it.