PLUTO SDR very poor receive

Maker, DIY
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1

Hi,
I recently purchased a Pluto SDR and am trying to test it on a local FM radio station (104.7MHz).
I’ve changed the config of the SDR so it now operates from 70MHz to 6GHz, so it’s in range.
When I try and view the radio station in SDRAngel and Matlab on a spectrum analyser, I find the received signal strength is barely above the noise floor, compared to an RTL-SDR I have (using the same antenna) which shows the same radio station booming in.
I’m not convinced that the Pluto is at fault, because I’ve hear/read that the initial setup of the Pluto is not that simple (i.e. doesn’t work straight out of the box).
Can anyone help me in clarifying if my Pluto is faulty or if there are settings I’ve missed doing that will allow me to collect the FM signal I’m expecting.
Thank you,
KISA

2

From what I could find on Analog Devices website the Pluto antennas are not designed for FM and are unlikely to pick up an FM signal ADALM-PLUTO Antennas [Analog Devices Wiki] . I did find another ADI post from a user that was able to pick up FM successfully by using a different broadband antenna https://ez.analog.com/adieducation/university-program/f/q-a/77794/plutosdr-hardware-test---please-share-your-results . I do not have experience with the Pluto and FM but suspect the antenna may possibly be the issue. Best Regards, Scott

3

Thanks for the reply Scott and for looking into it to help out. I’ll look into the antenna idea suggested in the link.
That being said, I have tried a number of antenna types including different size rabbit ears and none worked.
Also, the RTL-SDR I have received the FM stations very well with all the antennas including the ones that come with the Pluto.
So from that, I expect there is probably another issue at play here.
Regards,
Markus

4

Not sure if this will help but I also found link PlutoSDR FMRadio - GNU Radio which has info on PlutoSDR source parameters for tuning an FM station. Regards, Scott

5

Hi Scott,
That has kind of worked thought the reception is still very bad and stuttery. I’ll keep looking into it and thank again for your help and suggestions.
Regards,
Markus