Airliners broadcast their position, height and speed on 1090 MHz, so you can watch one on your own map before it lands. Photo: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0 au, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)

New to radio? Start here

A software-defined radio is a USB stick and free software that turn your computer into a receiver for almost anything. The first lesson explains what it does, sets it up on Windows, Mac or Linux, and tunes in FM and digital radio.

In the first lesson

Then pick a weekend

Start with the basics All 12 weekend projects

Learn

Lessons in the order we’d read them.

What is a software-defined radio? →What SDR really does, how to set it up on Windows, Mac or Linux, and why the aerial’s length matters. With FM, DAB+, remote controls and TV as examples. The radio spectrum, from DC to daylight →Your power point, AM radio, your phone, Wi-Fi and sunlight are the same thing at different speeds. Every band, with its Australian uses and the facts on safety. 12 weekend projects for one USB radio stick →Your own flight radar, ships in the harbour, the weather station next door, a satellite photo and shortwave. Frequencies, aerial lengths and free software for each. Free-to-air TV on your laptop →The radio stick started life as a TV tuner. Plug in your TV antenna and watch live ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine and 10, with no app and no account.

Look it up

Reference pages for when you need a number or a plug.

Radio frequencies in Australia →Sydney and NSW first, then every capital: CB and repeaters, marine, ham, FM, AM, DAB+, TV, aviation and emergency services. Each table sourced and dated. Aerial and coax plugs →BNC, antenna, SMA, RP-SMA, N-type, UHF (PL-259) and MCX, with diagrams and photos side by side, in our connector reference.

Tools and a game

Morse code translator →Text to Morse and back as you type. Hear it, watch it flash, save a WAV, or tap it out yourself. Dead Air: Coolabah Crossing →Our free browser game. Scavenge an abandoned outback town for radio parts and get the old relay transmitter back on air.

The gear we use

Only what we use ourselves. Each one links to our write-up, where you can see what it does and what to know before you buy.

Nooelec NESDR SMArt v5 bundle

The USB radio stick every lesson here is written around. It receives from 100 kHz to 1.75 GHz and can’t transmit. In the box: the dongle in an aluminium case, a magnetic aerial base on a 2 m cable, and three whip aerials.

What it can and can’t do Getting set up The shopping list

Nooelec RF adapter cable kit, set of 8

Short leads that join the dongle’s SMA socket to other plugs. We use the SMA-to-PAL one to connect an ordinary Australian TV lead, which is how we watch live TV day to day.

What we use it for SMA or RP-SMA?

There are no paid links in this block. The lessons it points to include Amazon links, each marked “(paid link)”.

Radio: lessons, frequencies and weekend projects