been using my $25 rtl-sdr v3 for about two years now mostly monitoring local pd and fd stuff around 450-470 mhz range with a discone and its been pretty solid. finally decided to get a hackrf one thinking it would be better since it costs way more and can tx too

but honestly the hackrf seems way less sensitive than the rtlsdr, like i can barely hear the same signals that come through crystal clear on the dongle. tried messing with the LNA and VGA settings in sdr# for hours but cant seem to get it working as well. friend has one too and same issue

am i missing something obvious here or is the hackrf just not meant for regular scanning? the frequency coverage is nice but if i cant actually hear anything what good is it

hackrf really isnt designed for scanner use, thats why its called hack-rf and not scan-rf lol. its more of an analysis tool or for rf experimentation. the rtl dongles are actually pretty decent receivers especially in uhf range

hackrf shines when you need the wide frequency coverage or want to do transmit experiments but for basic monitoring your rtl is probably better. try using it with gnu radio or something like that instead of sdr#, sometimes makes a difference

yeah i had the same disappointment when i got mine. the hackrf lacks front end filtering and has pretty low power output too. if youre just scanning stick with the rtl-sdr or maybe look at an airspy or sdrplay

hackrf is cool if you want to play with signal analysis or need that 6ghz coverage but for everyday monitoring it kinda sucks compared to dedicated receivers