Listening to HD Radio on an RTL-SDR unlocks another hidden world of listening with these multi-purpose devices. These digital stations deliver crystal clear audio without the static of an analog station with multiplexing.
My previous post concerning RTL-SDR was about how and why you should get started listening to terrestrial radio on your computer. This article will expand further on that and introduce you to HD Radio. You may have heard your radio station's jingle, "You're listening to KKKK on 100.1 FM HD-1 Anytown". It's time to unlock the doors and find out about the "HD-1" part.
What is HD Radio?
HD Radio is a proprietary digital radio modulation primarily used in North America. It makes FM radio sound like CD quality, and it makes AM radio go up to FM quality. There can be many other secondary channels broadcasting on one station called multiplexing, similar to how digital TV operates with HD-1, HD-2, HD-3…
Inspiration for this blog post was given to me by watching the HD Radio video from Antenna Man on YouTube. He describes what it is and how to listen to it in the video below. I also suggest you check out his channel to learn more about cutting the cord, terrestrial radio, and TV updates, including the conversion to ATSC3.
Where do I find HD Radio stations?
Now that we know what it is, where can we find them? You can check out HD Radio's station finder to see what's in your area. Another method is by using your RTL-SDR device and radio software like GQRX, SDR#, or CubicSDR to locate them. You'll easily see them on the chart by the 2 sidebands surrounding a radio station as shown in the image below under the yellow arrows. This is one of the poorer examples (these stations are weak for me) and one of the sidebands seem to either be interfering with a neighbor station or it had to be weakened because of the neighbor station.
What software do I need to listen to HD Radio stations with my RTL-SDR device?
NRSC5
Remember how I said HD Radio is proprietary? Luckily, someone reversed engineered the radio signal and made software to decode it using an RTL-SDR. The project is called nrsc5 and can be found on GitHub. The instructions to build it from source is listed on the GitHub page, and as long as you follow them, it's really easy to build without failures. You need to get this program working first before moving on to the GUI (Graphical User Interface) applications as this is the base program that other application run on.
This will easily build on Linux; however, if you plan on using it with Windows, be prepared to either find a Linux computer or install Windows Subsystem for Linux.
NRSC5-GUI
Nrsc5-gui is a nice program that allows you to bookmark your stations, view weather and traffic maps, and display information about the station you're listening to. I recommend that you download the files from the Releases page to make sure it will operate correctly. Since it is completely made from Python, you will not have to build anything from source. You will need a number of Python-related dependencies fulfilled.
HDFM
HDFM is another nice GUI program for HD Radio. It is also written entirely in Python, so there is no need to build from source code. Despite the warning about it will only work on iHeartRadio stations, the audio will work from any HD Radio station, but you will have a lot of blank screens. As I understand it, only iHeartMedia displays weather and traffic info from HD Radio stations. Unlike NRSC5-GUI, you cannot change radio stations on the fly within the GUI. You must close the application and reenter the station and settings you want within the Terminal. You cannot bookmark the stations either.
I do not have any iHeartRadio stations in my area that broadcast using HD Radio, so I cannot test out how the weather and traffic features work on either program. The stations I get also do not broadcast song information either, just the call letters.
I do get crystal clear reception from the two stations I can receive. This can vary though as I have an excellent antenna and the weak stations are about 40 miles away. That leads the segue into…
Is HD Radio dead?
While it's not dead, it's not as equally successful compared to its international, non-proprietary rival, DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting). Some of the problems associated with HD Radio are due to its proprietary nature. These include high costs for already struggling radio stations, high startup costs for an audience who has to pay no less than $50 on a dedicated receiver, low transmission power and lack of coverage compared to equivalent analog stations, and lack of exclusive programming as most of the channels already exist on analog.
Summary
I hope this encourages you to check out HD Radio for yourself, especially if you live in an urban area. I wasn't able to get the best experience because of my location, but there are plenty of great stations that fit nearly every niche in places like the DFW Metroplex, to the beaches of Southern California, and the damp cañadas of Cascadia. Nothing like listening to a crisp digital station instead of a static analog one.
HD stations don't suffer from audio compression like streaming and satellite radio can. This was the first time Alexis had experienced HD Radio. She also noted the impressive sound difference; HD Radio stations had fuller sound with better bass. HD Radio provides a lot more onscreen info than conventional radio does.
The maximum sample rate that does not drop samples is 2.56 MS/s, however some people have had luck with 2.8MS/s and 3.2 MS/s working well on some USB 3.0 ports.
The RTL-SDR can be used as a wide band radio scanner. Applications include: Use as a police radio scanner. Listening to EMS/Ambulance/Fire communications.
HD Radio broadcasts are completely subscription-free, it's your local AM & FM stations. The only requirement to listen on a HD Radio receiver, but after that, it's cost free for the life of the receiver.
Receiver manufacturers who include HD Radio pay a royalty, which is the main reason it failed to be fully-adopted as a standard feature. If the HD receiver loses the primary digital signal (HD‑1), it reverts to the analog signal, thereby providing seamless operation between the newer and older transmission methods.
HD Radio is a digital radio broadcast technology that allows AM and FM stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal alongside their analog signals. The digital signal provides improved sound quality and additional features such as multicast channels, interactive displays and song information.
I bought rtl-sdr before I purchased the rsp1a and this is better when used with HDSDR. I can listen to this all day long without fatigue. Sdrplay is tiring with snaps, crackles, pops all over the place. If that is due to increased sensitive I haven't heard any stations I cant hear with the rtd-sdr.
Currently we recommend the SpyVerter as the upconverter of choice. Although it was designed to be used with the Airspy, it works perfectly with the RTL-SDR. It uses a 120 MHz oscillator, has excellent filtering and can be powered via USB cable or via the bias-tee on our RTL-SDR Blog dongles.
Find an SDR receiver that covers 1–2 gHz or whatever the phone frequency is in your country using… You'll hear the transmissions but you won't be able to decode them. They are sent digitally and the data is encrypted. That's done to stop people listening in on private conversations.
To get the most enjoyment out of RTL-SDR you will need a decent antenna. Our packages that come with the dipole antenna set are a great start. Be sure to get them up high and outside (during good weather only) for best results.
Get a plastic box or at last cut the top of a 0.5-1 L plastic bottle of Cola and use it upside-down. Both cables exit from bottom, so they won't drip inside. Wrap everything in Al foil, to reflect the Sun heat.
In order to tune in, a vehicle must have a compatible head unit. Today, most if not all automobiles are compatible with HD Radio, but older vehicles can't listen to these signals unless they upgrade using aftermarket components.
Portable radios: It's best to fully extend the whip antenna. Then rotate it around for best reception (try it both horizontally and vertically), or try moving the radio to a different location in the room. You may want to try collapsing the antenna if you have a strong signal but lots of local noise.
HD Radio technology is an integral part of the number one source for in-car entertainment and currently reaches 400 million people, with over 4,700 channels of programming across the United States, Mexico and Canada which makes HD Radio the most widely deployed digital AM and FM radio system in the world.
The HD Radio sound quality delivers deeper bass, higher treble, more stereo separation, and a greater dynamic range (the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds) than FM or AM signals. At its best, HD Radio pushes FM sound quality closer to that of CDs and makes AM broadcasts resemble those of analog FM.
In either case, you can only access the digital signals via special HD Radio tuners that are built into some head units. Since iBiquity's method involves broadcasting both analog and digital signals on the same old frequencies, you don't need a special antenna to receive HD Radio.
Xperi says HD Radio now comes standard in 58% of new vehicles built for the North American market, compared to 52% three years ago. It issued that update while releasing financial results for the first quarter of the year.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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