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Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Configuring SDR Radio v2 with Climax Digital DTV300 USB Dongle

Note: New software versions have been released since this article was written and so the following may not be 100% applicable if you use newer software versions than those mentioned below.

Please note that some of the links have changed or are no longer used. I do not plan to update this article. "This is an ex-article. It has ceased to be", as the great Monty Python might have said.


I have been asked to detail the installation procedure of my Climax Digital DTV300 USB dongle and the SDR-Radio v2 software. My own experiences may be different to other people's, but this is the way I got it to work, after a lot of trial and error.

My knowledge of driver installation could be written on the back of a postage stamp, so if there is anything amiss with my explanation below, my apologies - I would appreciate feedback or corrections if so.Some of this is from memory but I have checked through each step as much as I can.

The SDR Radio software has been designed to operate several makes of dongle and so needs to be pointed in the direction of the appropriate drivers. In my case, I needed the "RTL USB" drivers for my Climax Digital DTV300. Detailed instructions can be found here, though this did not work for me to begin with. These instructions told me to copy three dll files (page) into the SDR Radio directory in Windows. I did this but it was unsuccessful. I hadn't realised initially that Windows was unable to install the drivers by itself.

The solution was to obtain a programme called "Zadig", an alternative driver installer to the one used within Windows. Zadig uses Gzip compression and so needs to be expanded to your computer. I believe most decompression tools are capable of expanding .gz files, but if you don't have one, use the 7zip software as I did.

Unfortunately for me, the necessary "zadig.exe" file was not present in the folder once extracted. I found this file by accident when trying to install SDR# software. Step-by-step instructions on how to install SDR# with the RTL USB drivers can be found here. So, the whole procedure for me was as follows:

    Download and install SDR Radio software. I used Preview 6 (build 1279)

    Copy these three files (page):
  • libusb-1.0.dll
  • rtlsdr.dll
  • SDRSourceRTL2832U.dll
    into the "SDR-RADIO-PRO" directory (Windows 7 "Programme Files" directory)

    Plug in the Climax Digital DTV3000 USB stick, but do not act on any prompts yet.also make sure
    you do not run the software which came with the DTV300. Uninstall it and restart Windows if
    you already have. 


The next part involved me downloading SDR# software so I could obtain the Zadig software with which to install the RTL USB drivers.

    Download the SDR# "sdr-install" test file here (page)
    Extract the file and look within the "sdr-install" directory
    Run the "install" batch file. This can take a minute or two and appeared to stall

    The file "zadig.exe" will appear in the folder. Run it and follow the instructions here.

    Run SDR Radio Console v2 and in the "Home" menu (top left) press the bue play button. In the
    "Select Radio" window you should see the PROlectrix driver. Select this and click "Start"

With any luck you should now be able to access your DTV300 via the SDR Radio software.

I wouldn't be surprised if you come across a discrepancy or two above, depending on your computer's software, etc. Remember, what worked for me might not work for you, but hopefully there will be something useful in the above. Maybe it might just work first time!

Good luck!

8 comments:

  1. excellent instructions.

    I recieved my climaxdigital usb tv card today and within 5 minutes i was up and running.

    it would appear a decent antenna is needed to recieve signals though.

    I will get a discone antenna next month and play further.

    Thanks again for your detailed instructions

    Regards
    Rich

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  2. Thanks Rich. Really glad my 'directions' worked for you. I don't understand why the driver installation isn't simpler than this. I'm afraid most of us (including myself) need that little bit of extra help when it comes to something non-standard like this.

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  3. Hi John ! What about the antenna connector ? It looks like it's not a SMA-type as on the FCD ? It requires an adapter I guess.

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  4. That's right. A 'standard' Belling Lee type socket on mine, but then this isn't designed for DXers such as you and I. Luckily I have a large collection of adapters. I collect all kinds of sockets and plugs for things like this. I must get out more ;O)

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  5. You're welcome Andrew. Things have changed a little since I wrote this article but it generally holds up. Must check the links again as some keep changing.

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  6. Hello Anon.

    Indeed the links are probably bad after such a long time.

    I just added a new header to explain this. Many of the above instructions probably do not apply anymore as the technology has moved on.

    Thank you.

    John

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