[Hackrf-dev] Low signal on my HackRF One with ANT500

[Sohil Shah]

Hi,

I am having a similar problem as mentioned by Matt. I have fired up the
HackRF in Windows and on Pentoo both in a VM as well as Bare Metal. I cant
seem to get a proper FM signal in any case. I am able to hear some very
noisy FM signal. I have not updated the firmware as I am still waiting for
the latest version of Pentoo to do that.

This post made me wonder if this could be an issue with my antenna. I am
hoping this is just some software issue. I did most of the normal
troubleshooting steps mentioned below.

Checked the Antenna Short as mentioned in one of the posts.
Changed the USB port, re-installed drivers etc. It still does not seem to
get a decent FM signal. By contrast I have a RTL_Dongle which is working
perfectly in the same location and the sound quality is very good on it. It
is also being able to decode the RDS info all with the low quality Antenna
it ships with.

My ANT500 seems to have some play(The place where the bottom half of the
Antenna screws onto the top half there seems to be some movement in the
antenna) The screw seems to be fitted as tightly as possible but the top
half of the antenna seems to sway ever so slightly even when fully
collapsed. The other thing is when fully extended the top segment of the
antenna seems to be curving ever so slightly away from the base. I used to
be a gemologist so I am used to dealing with microscopic flaws, though I
understand that, I should probably not be looking too close over here.

I am sure given that Mike sent the Antenna's back for rework that the ones
actually mailed out to customers would be in impeccable condition. I just
want to confirm if this behavior is normal for the ANT500 and that based on
the info provided above I'd like to rule out any ANT500 based issue.

I'd be happy to run further tests before drawing any conclusions about the
same.

Thank you for your time.



> Hi,
>
> I've fired up my new HackRF One with Pentoo Linux but am struggling to get
> good results using the FM radio example on the getting started page.
>


> I'm not able to receive any of the local FM radio stations that I normally
> listen to, when I tune to them I just hear static. I have an old Nokia N900
> with an FM transmitter that I've fired up on 95.0MHz. I'm able to receive
> the transmission from that but the sound output from my speakers sounds
> like a typical very bad FM reception.
>
> A little battery FM radio I have tunes into it perfectly.
>
> A picture of the FFT Plot from the example FM radio file is here:
> http://imgur.com/Da4TMFv I've not made any changes except for clicking the
> 'Average' checkbox on the FFT trace options. The HackRF One is sat right
> next to my FM radio transmitter.
>
> I get the same effect on two computers - a laptop and a desktop, both using
> Pentoo Linux from a USB stick.
>
> Where should I go from here to try and work out what's happening?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Matt
>
> http://nine.pairlist.net/pipermail/hackrf-dev/2014-August/000412.html
>
> Doug
>
> --

Sohil Shah.

Nothing is Impossible, Never Undermine the Potential of the Human Spirit =
My Life's Motto!!
Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish - Steve Jobs
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