so ive been using an RTL-SDR v3 for about two years now, mostly scanning local repeaters, some aircraft stuff with dump1090, and just poking around HF with the direct sampling mod. its been fine for what it is but im starting to feel the limits of it especially on the lower HF bands where everything just kind of sounds muddy and the noise floor is pretty rough.

been looking at upgrading and kind of torn between the SDRplay RSPdx and a HackRF One. i know they're pretty different tools but hear me out — i mostly want better HF receive, maybe some light transmit experimentation if i ever get around to it, but receive is the priority. the RSPdx seems like the obvious choice for pure rx given the specs and the 14bit ADC but the HackRF does tx which is tempting even if its only at like -10 to 0 dBm or whatever.

anyone actually used both or switched from one to the other? im running SDR++ most of the time now, moved off SDRuno because it kept crashing on my linux box. wondering if the RSPdx driver situation on linux is decent these days too because i remember it being kind of a pain a while back.

had both at the same time for a while actually. the RSPdx wipes the floor with the HackRF for receive, its not even close. the HackRF ADC is only 8 bit and you really feel that on crowded bands, the dynamic range just isnt there. if youre near any strong broadcast stations you'll get spurs everywhere. the RSPdx with its preselection filters handles that way better.

linux driver situation for SDRplay has gotten a lot better, their API v3 stuff works fine and SDR++ has good support for it now. i wouldnt go back to SDRuno either honestly, SDR++ just feels snappier. if pure HF receive is your goal get the RSPdx and dont look back. save the HackRF curiosity for later if you really want to mess with tx, but as a daily driver receiver its frustrating compared to something purpose built for rx.

yeah the hackrf tx is kind of a novelty more than anything useful at those power levels, youre not working anyone with it lol. i mean its neat for testing filters or feeding a signal into something but dont go in expecting to actually transmit on the air with it in any meaningful way without a PA and even then its a whole thing.

one thing nobody mentions — the RSPdx also does pretty well on MW and LW which is a rabbit hole if youre into that. i started just wanting better 40m reception and now i stay up too late listening to NDB beacons. so fair warning i guess.