[Hackrf-dev] Shielding and distance from the PC makes a difference!

[Philip Hahn]

I concur on the NooElec shield. I have a laptop that I know is very RF
noisy (Setting an AM radio on the laptop would blank out reception of local
stations. Couldn't tune anything in the AM band with the HackRF and saw
lots of noise elsewhere. Got the NooElec shield and I can tune them all
with my HackRF right next to my computer. Well worth the $9.

On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 11:04 AM, Peter Jones <peter.jones at versiontwo.ca>
wrote:

> Well it all depends if you are have issues with RF noise/leakage in what
> you are using Hack RF for.
>
> I just wrapped the plastic case of mine with aluminum foil. If you have
> some copper and can solder it into a box shape to fit snugly around most
> sides of the plastic case, it will probably be better since by soldering
> you will eliminate rf currents leaking around breaks in the shield.
>
> For a solid shield all around, virtually any conductive metal will work as
> long as you take to take care to make sure there are no gaps/longs slits in
> the shield where pieces of metal join.
>
> But according to Luis, the NooElec shield
> http://www.nooelec.com/store/sdr/sdr-accessories/hackrf-rf-shield.html
> does a good job, presumably shielding the entire RF section which is all
> that really matters and would be a much more professional solution (and
> only cost $10 or so).
>
> I just ordered one so I should know how well it works for me in a week or
> so.
>
>
> On 4/4/2016 11:55 AM, Iluta V wrote:
>
> Copper shielding probably is the best. I have some extra copper, would you
> suggest to make such a shield?
>
> Wiki - RF shielding enclosures filter a range of frequencies for specific
> conditions. Copper is used for radio frequency (RF) shielding
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_in_architecture#Radio_frequency_shielding>
> because it absorbs radio <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_wave> and magnetic
> waves <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_wave>. Properly designed
> and constructed copper RF shielding
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_in_architecture#Radio_frequency_shielding>
> enclosures satisfy most RF shielding needs.
>
> On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 6:51 PM, n0p [Luis Bernal] <lbernal at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Once you solder the shields, there's not much difference on using a
>> metallic enclosure or not
>> I've tried it around all sorts of RF noise sources with all four
>> combinations of shields/enclosure.
>> The aluminium enclosure is pretty nice and it protects the HackRF if you
>> keep it in your backpack like me, but it doesn't do much for RF shielding
>> once you have the shields.
>>
>>
>> 2016-04-04 17:18 GMT+02:00 Peter Jones < <peter.jones at versiontwo.ca>
>> peter.jones at versiontwo.ca>:
>>
>>> A few notes to anyone else having issues with noise and instability:
>>>
>>> After playing with Hack RF for about a week, I have found that
>>>
>>> 1) Placing the HackRF unit on top of a computer adds so much noise it
>>> cant receive much of anything. Place the HackRF unit as far from the
>>> computer as the USB cable permits. For about a day I couldn't figure out
>>> why I could not receive FM stations with gnuradio-companion even though
>>> everything  seemed fine.
>>>
>>> 2) Particularly in the GHz bands, even simple shielding makes a huge
>>> difference. I covered my unit with aluminum foil (which I clipped to one of
>>> the clock SMA connector to ground it) and performance improved
>>> dramatically. I am going to try the NooElec enclosure kit and RF Shield and
>>> how well they work.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> HackRF-dev mailing list
>>> HackRF-dev at greatscottgadgets.com
>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/hackrf-dev
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
>
> Peter Jones PhD. PEng.www.versiontwo.ca
> Tel  (613) 663-3004 x223
> Cell (613) 451-4322
>
>
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>
>
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