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

(XP Incompatible)

SDR# is the most commonly used SDR program on Windows. We recommend it as one
of the easiest to use and setup with the RTL-SDR.

1. Purchase an RTL-SDR dongle. The cheapest and best for most applications is the
R820T/R820T2 dongle. Information on purchasing one can be found here.
2. You must have the Microsoft .NET 4.6 redistributable installed to use SDRSharp. Follow
the link and install the redistributable. Most Windows 10 PCs should already have this
installed by default, but PCs with older operating systems may need this to be installed in
order to run SDR#. Note that .NET 4.6 is not compatible with Windows XP. If you are
running XP please scroll down on this page and look for the HDSDR or SDR-Console
install guides. Note that on some computers you may also need to install the Visual C++
Runtime if it is not already installed.
3. Go to [Link] and find the downloads button on the top menu. Next to the “SDR
Software Package” heading click on the download button to download [Link]. Note
that we recommend downloading the x86 version for now even if you have a 64-bit OS
as the x86 version is a bit more stable currently.
4. Extract (unzip) [Link] to a folder on your PC. (Important! Many people who have issues
forget this step! Do not run the files from within the zip file or the following steps will fail). (Also, do not
extract into a folder within the Program Files directory, or installation may fail as these folders are often
automatically made read only by Windows).
5. Double click on [Link] from within the extracted folder. This will start a
command prompt that will download all the drivers required to make SDRSharp work
with RTL-SDR. The command prompt will automatically close after a few seconds when
it is done. It the bat file ran successfully the files [Link] and [Link] will
be downloaded into the SDR# directory. If they were not downloaded then your PC or
anti virus solution may be misconfigured and may have trouble running batch files
(Check that the folder is not read only, and not located in the Program Files directory). If
[Link] fails, do a manual driver installation.
6. Plug in your dongle. Do not install any of the software that it came with (if any),
and ensure that you wait a few seconds for plug and play to finish attempting to install
the dongle (it will either fail or install Windows DVB-T drivers). If you’ve already installed
the DVB-T drivers that came on the CD bundled with some dongles, uninstall them first.
7. In the folder where you extracted the sdrsharp files find the file called [Link]. Right
click this file and select “Run as administrator”.
8. In Zadig, go to “Options->List All Devices” and make sure this option is checked.

9. Select “Bulk-In, Interface (Interface 0)” from the drop down list. Note on some PCs you
may see something like RTL2832UHIDIR or RTL2832U instead of the bulk in interface.
This is also a valid selection. Do not select “USB Receiver (Interface 0)” however.
10. We need to install the WinUSB driver, so also ensure that WinUSB is selected in the box
after the arrow next to where it says Driver (this is the default selection). – Note that there has
been some confusion for a few people over this step. The goal is to install the WinUSB driver. So to be clear, the box to the left
of the arrow shows the currently installed driver, whereas the box to the right of the arrow shows the driver that will be installed
in the next step. The first time you open zadig the box on the left will show either ‘None’, or the default DVB-T drivers installed
by Windows (RTL2832UUSB), depending on your Windows configuration and version.

11. Click Replace Driver. On some PC’s you might get a warning that the publisher cannot
be verified, but just accept it by clicking on “Install this driver software anyway”. This will
install the drivers necessary to run the dongle as a software defined radio. Note that you
may need to run [Link] again if you move the dongle to another USB port, or want to
use two or more dongles together.
12. Open [Link] (note that the first time you do this you may get a smartscreen
message indicating that Windows has protected your PC, this is a false alarm. Simply
click on “more info” and then “run anyway”). Set the drop down box in the “Source” tab
on the top left to ‘RTL-SDR (USB)’.
13. Press the Play button (the right facing triangle). Your RTL-SDR software radio should
now be set up and ready to use! If everything has worked you should be able to start
tuning to frequencies.

14. Important! Don’t forget to also adjust the RF gain settings by pressing the Configure
button (looks like a cog) up the top next to the Play button. By default the RF gain is set
at zero. A gain of zero will probably receive nothing but very strong broadcast FM –
increase the gain until you start seeing other signals.
 Next Steps

After getting your RTL-SDR set up with SDR# we recommend investigating the following:

1. Check out all our featured articles on this blog for various RTL-SDR related projects and
tutorials.

2. Upgrade from the stock antenna. For optimal reception you should use an outdoor roof
mounted antenna. The optimal antenna will depend on the frequency and project you are
interested in, but for a general all purpose antenna we recommend a Discone or planar
disk antenna (pdf).

3. If you are using your RTL-SDR for HF with an upconverter such as the SpyVerter then
we recommended using SDR# with the special decimation drivers. This will allow you to
zoom in on the small bandwidth signals used on HF without loosing resolution.

4. Check out our store for various RF accessories such as filters, LNA’s and antennas.
Troubleshooting

 I get the error “No Device Selected” when trying to start the dongle in SDR#.
Make sure you have run the [Link] file, and that it has sucessfully downloaded
the [Link] file into the SDR# folder. If it is not downloaded, check that your folder is not
set to “read only” (this sometimes happens automatically if you install into Program Files,
so do not install into that folder). Another source of problems is if you have accidentally
installed the WinUSB drivers to Bulk Interface 1 instead of 0 with Zadig. If you have done
this, then SDR# will not recognise your dongle. TO fix it go into device manager or
Devices and Printers and uninstall the driver for Bulk Interface 1.
 I get the error “No compatible devices found” when trying to start the dongle in
SDR#
Long low quality USB extension cables can sometimes cause this error. Some USB 3.0
 ports are also incompatible with the dongle and cause this error. One user has had luck
with this error by installing zadig from safe mode. Finally, there is a small chance that the
dongle is actually faulty. If the dongle produces the same error on multiple computers the
dongle is probably faulty and should be refunded or replaced.
 Zadig just hangs when I try to install the driver
One user has reported that this can happen when a Windows Update has failed, and is
continuously running in the background without your knowledge. Another solution that
people usually have success with is using an alternative zadig tool available
at [Link]/UsbDriverTool. Use the tool to install the WinUSB driver.
 Zadig shows NONE in the driver install screen.
This is normal. The box on the left indicates the CURRENTLY installed driver. The box
on the right indicates the driver THAT WILL BE installed after clicking on the install
button.
 My dongle was working before but today it no longer works and displays an error
when I click on Play.
99% of the time this is because Windows automatic driver updates has automatically
removed the SDR drivers and installed DVB-T drivers in its place. Make sure Windows
automatic driver updates are turned off, and rerun zadig to reinstall the WinUSB driver.

 My dongle gets extremely hot and stops working, or doesn’t work at all. USB
current measures well above 0.3A.
There is a small number of RTL8232U chips that come from the factory faulty (we
measure this at less than 0.3%). They draw very high current, cause excessive heat and
eventually fail. Some units will work for a few minutes to hours before exhibiting issues,
and others will fail instantly. QC cannot check for those that do not fail instantly. If you
have a USB current meter you can check and see if the current draw is above 0.3A. If
higher then something is wrong with the RTL2832U. If you suspect a fault like this
contact the manufacturer of your dongle and ask for a refund or replacement.
 I get the error “1 compatible devices have been found but are all busy” or “libusb
Open error -12”
First check that another program is not using the RTL-SDR. To fix this it may be
necessary to reinstall the drivers via zadig and to try every USB port on the PC. You may
want to also try disconnecting all other USB devices connected to the PC. Also some
USB 3.0 ports are buggy, switch to a USB 2.0 port. Some users have also had success
with installing everything from Windows safe mode. Make sure you are not selecting the
“USB Receiver (Interface 0)” in zadig, and instead are selecting the Bulk in interface, or
one that may say RTL2838UHIDIR or something else prefixed with RTL. If you don’t see
this make sure that “Options->List All Devices” is checked and that “Ignore Hubs or
Composite Parents” is [Link] thing to try may be to disable Windows
automatic driver installation. Instructions for disabling this can be found here. This error
also sometimes occurs after the computer has been suspended – to fix it simply
disconnect and reconnect the dongle.
 I get the error “Unable to load DLL ‘rtlsdr’: the specified module could not be
found. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007007E)”
Usually installing the Visual C++ Runtime solves this problem. Most PCs have this
installed already, but if you are on a freshly installed version of Windows it may not have
been installed yet.
 There is a constant spike in the middle of the spectrum that won’t go away
This is normal and is a side effect of the design of most RTL-SDR dongles. It can be
removed algorithmically in the SDR# software by checking the “Correct IQ” box.
 Zadig takes a long time to install the driver, then fails
You have probably not run zadig in administrator mode. Make sure to right click zadig,
 and select “Run as Administrator”. If that fails to work try the alternative WinUSB installer
at [Link]/UsbDriverTool.
 I don’t see Bulk-In, Interface (Interface 0)
Ensure “Options->List All Devices” is checked. Sometimes you may also need to
uncheck “Ignore Hubs or Composite Parents”. Some people report seeing something
else other than the bulk in interface. It may also show up as the brand of your dongle or
something prefixed with “RTL”, e.g. RTL2832U or RTL2832UHIDR. Any of those options
should work too. In rare cases you may receive a faulty dongle that will not show up in
Zadig no matter what USB port or computer you try it on. You should ask for a
replacement in this case.
 I don’t see RTL-SDR/USB in SDRSharp
You may have downloaded a version without rtl-sdr support. Check that you have
downloaded the official version from the [Link] website.
 USB 3.0 ports don’t work
Unfortunately many USB 3.0 controllers are buggy and don’t work with some USB 2.0
devices. Generally, USB 3.0 works fine with the RTL-SDR, but there are some
controllers that will just not recognise the dongle. In this case use a USB 2.0 port instead.
 When running [Link] I get errors on the command line like “The system
cannot find the file specified” and the sdrsharp folder is not downloaded
This is probably because you did not unzip the files and you are trying to run install-
[Link] from within the zip file. Remember to extract the files first, before running them.
 When I run [Link] a CMD/DOS window flashes on the screen briefly then
disappears. Nothing is installed.
There seems to be a bug or misconfiguration with some versions of Windows where
batch files cannot be run. One way around this is to install the RTL-SDR drivers
manually. We have instructions for this here: [Link]/manual-installation-of-sdr. Some
antivirus solutions are also overly restrictive and do not allow .bat files to be run. In this
case either disable or install a better antivirus, or perform a manual driver install.
 Reception in SDR# seems very poor/receiver is insensitive
Make sure you have increased the RF gain slider which can be accessed by clicking on
the configure button. Also, in poor reception areas using the stock antenna indoors may
not be sufficient. First test with the antenna placed up high outside. In some cases with
the stock antenna the connection to the antenna can become disconnected in the
antenna base causing unexpectedly poor reception. In rare cases if you still cannot
receive any strong signals and another radio can, then you may have received a broken
dongle and should ask for a replacement.
 SDR# gives error “Application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click OK
to terminate.”
This might mean that you do not have the correct .NET Framework installed.
 SDR# gives error “Object reference not not to an instance of an object”
This may mean that you do not have an audio driver properly installed on your PC, or
that you do not have any output audio devices enabled. Enable them in the windows
Sound Playback properties.
 The dongle constantly disconnects from the USB port
First test to make sure that it is not the fault of a dodgy USB extension cable by plugging
the dongle directly into the PC. If it still disconnects often the dongle may be faulty and
you should ask for a replacement.
 The dongle won’t connect and the LED does not illuminate on models with an LED
The dongle is faulty and should be refunded or replaced.
 It seems that my PC is not powerful enough to run SDR# as it uses near 100% CPU
For graphical GUI SDR software like SDR#, at least a dual core processor is
recommended. If you have a borderline decent CPU and still experience high CPU
 usage, try reducing the sample rate to 1 MSPS or less, reducing the FFT display
resolution (or turning it off), turning off Correct IQ and reducing the filter order.
 I used zadig but it broke my keyboard/mouse/other device somehow
This is because you would have clicked the install button in Zadig after selecting the
wrong device in the drop down menu. Make sure you select the correct RTL-SDR device,
(Bulk-In Interface, Interface 0) first. Zadig overwrites previous drivers. To get the old
drivers back you should be able to do so in Windows device manager, update driver
software.
 My R820T2 RTL-SDR shows up as an R820T when I run the diagnostic tool rtl_test
The R820T2 and R820T are identical electronically except for some minor changes in
the maximum IF filter widths that occurred by accident from using higher quality silicon in
the R820T2. The accidentally different filters and higher quality silicon may be the reason
the R820T2 has generally better performance and less manufacturing variability. Thus a
R820T2 will show up as an R820T on the PC, since there is no distinction between them
in the digital part of the circuit. You can confirm that you have a R820T2 by checking the
markings on the chip.
 My antivirus shows SDR# as a virus.
This is almost 100% a false positive. SDR# is updated often and thus a new .zip file is
sometimes released almost daily. Poorly designed antivirus programs will sometimes
assume that any file that is not downloaded often is a virus. With SDR# being updated so
often it takes a while for many people to download the new version and build up trust
with the antivirus company.
 The Mode selection buttons in SDR# are graphically glitching and I cannot click on
them.
Some users have found that this bug is caused due to selection of a “custom scaling
level” or “custom sizing options” in Windows. Reset this option back to default in
Windows display settings to fix the bug.
 When closing SDR# I get an error like “An error occurred loading a configuration
file: Access to the path ‘C:\Program Files\SDR\[Link]’ is denied.
(C:\Program Files\SDR\[Link]) —>
[Link]: Access to the path ‘C:\Program
Files\SDR\[Link]’ is denied.”
This is usually because you have copied the SDR# files into a folder that is read only. In
Windows folders located in “C:\Program Files” are usually automatically read only. To fix,
install SDR# into a non read only folder that is not located in Program Files, for
example “C:\SDR”.
 My dongle came with a remote control. What is it for?
Some sellers opt to include the remote control that is used for changing TV channels. It
is only useful for when the dongle is used for its original purpose – as a DVB-T HDTV
receiver. The remote control has no purpose when the dongle is used as an SDR.
 I want to watch DVB-T with my dongle, how do I do it?
The original purpose of the dongle was for DVB-T TV, and it can still do this. But please
note that the DVB-T drivers and the SDR drivers are different, and they cannot both be
installed at the same time. You can download the DVB-T drivers here. We recommend
using Prog-DVB as the TV software.

 I bought the RTL-SDR V3 with whip antenna kit and I can’t get the telescopic whip
to thread on.
There is by default a small nut threaded onto the screw on the antenna base. You must
remove this nut first by turning it counter clockwise. Once the nut is removed the thread
will be exposed and then you can screw in the telescopic whip. Keep the nut as it’s
purpose is for clamping on a long wire antenna.
 If you continue to have issues please feel free to post in the troubleshooting section of
our Forums.
How to set the Gain

The gain can be adjusted in SDR# by clicking on the Configure button which looks like a
cog. When tuning the RF gain you are trying to get the signal as strong as possible,
whilst keeping the noise floor as low as possible. Start with a low gain setting, and slowly
increase the gain slider. Watch in the frequency spectrum as the signal strength
increases, but stop just before the point at which the noise floor starts to rise.

The noise floor is the part of the frequency spectrum where there are no signals.

SDRSharp Plugins

The official list of SDRSharp plugins can be found here and our unofficial list of plugins
can be found here.
SDRSharp Guide

A good guide to learning how to use SDRSharp and what all the options do can be found
here. Another great illustrated guide can be found here.
HDSDR Setup Guide (Tested on Win XP and above)

1. Purchase an RTL-SDR dongle. The cheapest and best for most applications is the
R820T/R820T2 dongle. Information on purchasing one can be found here.
2. Plug in your dongle and do not install any of the software that it came with, but ensure
you let plug and play finish trying to install it. If you’ve already installed the software
drivers it came with previously, uninstall them first.
3. Go to [Link] and download Zadig.
4. In Zadig, go to Options->List All Devices and make sure this option is checked.
5. Select “Bulk-In, Interface (Interface 0)” from the drop down list. Ensure that WinUSB is
selected in the box next to where it says Driver. (Note on some PCs you may see
something like RTL2832UHIDIR or RTL2832U instead of the bulk in interface. This is
also a valid selection). (Do not select “USB Receiver (Interface 0)” however).

6. Click Install Driver. You might get a warning that the publisher cannot be verified, but just
accept it by clicking on Install this driver software anyway. This will install the drivers
necessary to run the dongle as a software defined radio. Note that you may need to run
 [Link] again if you move the dongle to another USB port, or want to use two or more
dongles together.

7. Download HDSDR from [Link] using the download button at the bottom of the
page.
8. Use the installer you just downloaded to install HDSDR.
9. Go to [Link] and download the ExtIO_RTL2832U.dll dll file from
the table entry “RTLSDR (DVB-T/DAB with RTL2832) USB” (Direct Link).
10. Copy the ExtIO_RTL2832U.dll file into the HDSDR install folder which is by default set to
C:\Program Files (x86)\HDSDR.
11. Open HDSDR. You might be asked to select a .dll file. Choose the ExtIO_RTL2832U.dll
file you just copied over and then click Open. It is okay if you do not see this screen as
long as you have copied the ExtIO_RTL2832U.dll file over properly in the last step.

12. Choose your output sound card by clicking on the Soundcard button in the bottom left
corner, or alternatively by pressing F5. The only important setting here is the “RX Output
(to Speaker)” setting which you should set to your speakers, or desired audio piping
software.
13. Click on the Bandwidth button or alternatively press F6. Choose an output Sampling
Rate of 48000 Hz for general use.

14. Press Start or alternatively press F2. This will start the SDR.
15. To set the RTL-SDR sample rate, gain and frequency correction click on the ExtIO button
.
16. To tune to a station, change the Local Oscillator frequency to a frequency near the
frequency you are interested in. Then tune to the desired frequency either by clicking in
the RF spectrum, or using the Tune numbers.

17. You can zoom in and out of the spectrum by using the Zoom slider which is to the left of
the word zoom.

18. The mode can be altered by clicking on the mode buttons.

19. After clicking on the FM mode button, the FM bandwidth can be manually modified with
the FM-BW slider.

20. To listen to a typical wideband broadcast FM station, you will need to change the audio
sampling rate to 192000 Hz. Do this by clicking on the Bandwidth button or alternatively
by pressing F6 and then selecting the output sampling rate as 192000 Hz.
SDR-RADIO V2 Setup Up Guide (Tested on Win XP and above)

To install SDR-RADIO for the RTL-SDR follow the steps below

1. Purchase an RTL-SDR dongle. The cheapest and best for most applications is the
R820T/R820T2 dongle. Information on purchasing one can be found here.
2. Plug in your dongle and do not install any of the software that it came with, but ensure
you let plug and play finish trying to install it. If you’ve already installed the software
drivers it came with previously, uninstall them first.
3. Go to [Link] and download Zadig.
4. In Zadig, go to Options->List All Devices and make sure this option is checked.
5. Select “Bulk-In, Interface (Interface 0)” from the drop down list. Ensure that WinUSB is
selected in the box next to where it says Driver. (Note on some PCs you may see
something like RTL2832UHIDIR or RTL2832U instead of the bulk in interface. This is
also a valid selection). (Do not select “USB Receiver (Interface 0)” however).

6. Click Install Driver. You might get a warning that the publisher cannot be verified, but just
accept it by clicking on Install this driver software anyway. This will install the drivers
necessary to run the dongle as a software defined radio. Note that you may need to run
[Link] again if you move the dongle to another USB port, or want to use two or more
dongles together.

7. Download the SDR-RADIO installer from [Link]

8. Use the installer to install SDR-RADIO.
9. Download the RTL-SDR support package from the link
at [Link]
[Link] (MIRROR).
10. Extract the [Link], [Link] and [Link] files from the x64
folder into the C:\Program Files\[Link] folder. Or if you have a 32-bit PC
extract the files from the x32 folder into C:\Program Files (x86)\[Link]
folder.
11. Open SDR-RADIO. Upon opening it you will be greeted with the Select Radio screen and
a prompt saying “List is empty – add radio definition now?” Click Yes. If this prompt does
not display, click the + Definitions button.
12. In the new window open the Search drop down menu and select RTL SDR (USB). After
clicking it the RTL-SDR will be added to the Radio Definitions list. Click OK.

13. Click on the RTL-SDR click to select it, choose your desired sample rate then click Start.
14. Click on the Span button and adjust the span to the sample rate bandwidth you chose in
the last step. This will let you see the whole spectrum.

15. To change the receive mode use the left menu under the frequency tab. You can also
change the signal bandwidth here. NFM signals are typically around 12 kHz wide and
broadcast FM is typically around 192 kHz wide.
16. To adjust the frequency, use the VFO tuning box on the right side. If you don’t see it you
may need to click on the VFO tuning tab. Also if the screen is too small you may need to
expand it’s size to show it. You can also click on the waterfall to instantly tune to the
clicked frequency.

17. Be sure to adjust the gain settings using the RF gain button in the top which is under the
Home tab. By default it is set to automatic.

18. Also to adjust the waterfall colors so that signals are more clearly seen go to the Display
tab up the top and then click on the Automatic Calibration button on the very top right.

CubicSDR Set Up Guide (Tested on XP and above)

Warning: CubicSDR is software that is in alpha stages of development. That said, at the
moment it is fairly stable and quite easy to set up.
1. Purchase an RTL-SDR dongle. The cheapest and best for most applications is the
R820T/R820T2 dongle. Information on purchasing one can be found here.
2. Plug in your dongle and do not install any of the software that it came with, but ensure
you let plug and play finish trying to install it. If you’ve already installed the software
drivers it came with previously, uninstall them first.
3. Go to [Link] and download Zadig.
4. In Zadig, go to Options->List All Devices and make sure this option is checked.
5. Select “Bulk-In, Interface (Interface 0)” from the drop down list. Ensure that WinUSB is
selected in the box next to where it says Driver. (Note on some PCs you may see
something like RTL2832UHIDIR or RTL2832U instead of the bulk in interface. This is
also a valid selection). (Do not select “USB Receiver (Interface 0)” however).

6. Click Install Driver. You might get a warning that the publisher cannot be verified, but just
accept it by clicking on Install this driver software anyway. This will install the drivers
necessary to run the dongle as a software defined radio. Note that you may need to run
[Link] again if you move the dongle to another USB port, or want to use two or more
dongles together.

7. Go to [Link] and go to the downloads page. Find the download link for the latest
version. Download the version suitable for your particular version of Windows.
8. Run the CubicSDR installer.
9. Plug in your dongle and run CubicSDR from your start menu.
10. You will be greeted with a SDR Devices menu. Choose your RTL-SDR from the menu
and click on the “Use Selected” button.
11. CubicSDR will automatically start.
12. Click anywhere on the waterfall to start listening.
Other SDR Windows Software Compatible with RTL-SDR
See the Software Guide for a big list of other compatible RTL-SDR software.

GETTING STARTED ON LINUX

Linux instructions for installing the RTL-SDR libraries can be found
at [Link] Repeated below is the code:
sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev git cmake
git clone git://[Link]/[Link]
cd rtl-sdr/
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON
make
sudo make install
sudo cp ../[Link] /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo ldconfig
After installing the libraries you will likely need to unload the DVB-T drivers, which Linux
uses by default. To unload them temporarily type “sudo rmmod dvb_usb_rtl28xxu” into
terminal. This solution is only temporary as when you replug the dongle or restart the PC,
the DVB-T drivers will be reloaded. For a permanent solution, create a text file
“[Link]” in /etc/modprobe.d and add the line “blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu”. You can
use the one line command shown below to automatically write and create this file.

echo 'blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu' | sudo tee --append

/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-dvb_usb_rtl28xxu.conf
Now you can restart your device. After it boots up again run “rtl_test” at the terminal with
the RTL-SDR plugged in. It should start running.

After installing the libraries and black listing the DVB-T drivers we recommend starting off
with GQRX, a SDR program similar in operation to SDR#. It can be downloaded via the
package manager in your Linux distribution or from [Link] We can now
also recommend the multi-platform CubicSDR which can be downloaded
from [Link]
If you want to install GNU Radio we recommend using Marcus Leech’s script by typing
the following into terminal. This installs the RTL-SDR drivers as well.

wget [Link] && chmod a+x

./build-gnuradio && ./build-gnuradio
Note that if you want to run Linux in a virtual machine it has been reported that RTL-SDR
performance with VirtualBox is rather poor due to it’s slow USB connection. VMWare
Player on the other hand has good performance – just remember to set the USB
controller to use the USB 2.0 protocol as by default it is set to USB 1.1.

Another good Linux quick start guide written by Kenn Ranous can be found here (pdf).