Multisticks use

[Emmanuel SV1BTL]

I don't understand why we should be arguing instead of finding common ground. Everyone has the right to try their hand at creating something—whether on their own or with the help of Artificial Intelligence (as I have done)—and to offer a tool for public use that benefits end-users.
There are many noteworthy initiatives in this area, both old and new, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Hopefully, a team of developers will emerge capable of combining the best features from all the various SDR applications to present us with a unified tool—one that is easy to install and maintain, and that meets the needs of radio amateurs and SWLs alike.
I am here not to contribute technical expertise (I am a psychiatrist, not a programmer), but to encourage every new initiative.

P.S.
I would like to point out that those of us for whom English is not a native language may sometimes express ourselves incorrectly. I have experienced this myself many times and apologize for it. I wish I could express myself in English as well as I can in Greek — although, even when using my native language, it can happen that I think one thing, say another, and write something else entirely  . That is only human!

[DenBOZ]

Hi everyone,

I've been following the ongoing development across various WebSDR platforms (PhantomSDR, FernSDR, UberSDR, OpenWebRX, etc.) and wanted to share a perspective from my point of view.

Right now, a lot of development effort seems focused on hyper scalability (handling hundreds of concurrent users) and adding gadgets. But realistically, outside of a few mega-servers like WebSDR Twente, 99% of self hosted nodes are operated for personal use, local radioclubs, or small communities with fewer than 5–10 concurrent listeners.

What many operators actually need is a bridge between two worlds:

OpenWebRX(+) functionality: Unmatched multi device handling via SoapySDR (e.g., running 4x RTL SDRs + an SDRplay simultaneously across different VHF/UHF bands), rock solid stability, and built-in server side digital decoders (DMR, POCSAG, FT8, APRS). Modern WebGL UI (PhantomSDR / FernSDR): A clean, fluid 60 FPS waterfall and responsive user experience.

The Architectural Problem:
Most modern WebGL/Rust/C++ WebSDR projects are architected around a single wideband IQ stream (like an RX888mk2 or Red Pitaya on HF). As soon as you try to run multiple independent USB dongles each with its own clock drift, sample rate, and distinct frequency band these modern platforms fall short. On the flip side, OpenWebRX handles multi device configurations seamlessly, but its UI lags behind modern web capabilities.

What's missing:
Instead of chasing micro optimizations for 500 user benchmarks or adding  gimmicks, what would truly advance the ecosystem is decoupling the modern WebGL UI from the backend. Imagine a modular WebGL/WebGPU frontend sitting on top of a multi device SoapySDR/csdr style backend with native decoding pipelines.

That sweet spot OpenWebRX's multi-receiver versatility combined with PhantomSDR's visual experience is what would actually solve the daily trade off node operators currently face.  Additionally, the community doesn't really need yet another new web-based SDR project launched under a catchy name with high performance marketing claims. Continually splitting the ecosystem with new platforms that re invent the wheel doesn't move us forward. What would truly serve our hobby isn't another brand new name on GitHub, but building upon what already works and solving the real practical needs of node operators Anyway this is my personal feeling but i totally understand that everyone is claiming my software is the best.. But work together guys not against each other.. 73 Dennis

[magicint1337]

Hey Dennis, i get your point. But did u try FernSDR once? It wasn't made for speed only it was made for multi device and also is the first i made that has calibration for real smeter so u can use a reference signal to calibrate to. Also ppm correction and all of that. I just wanna know as i accept any feedback you just should test it and let me know. FernSDR is the most modular application that was the goal to let people even with the least knowledge add all the Features they need. Because i love u guys adding features.

The speed is more a side thing, but the install process was the most important for me so u dont need to always install 100 dependencies.

[DenBOZ]

To give a concrete example of my setup:
SDR 1 is running part of the 70cm band
SDR 2 is running the 2m band
SDR 3 is running civil airband
SDR 4 is dedicated to AIS decoding

That is 4 distinct dongles on 4 different antennas all operating at the same time. Does FernSDR allow configuring and serving multiple physical tuners concurrently on different frequencies, or is it multi device in the sense that a user can switch between available SDRs?

I appreciate that you are open to feedback and I am definitely willing to test it out if it supports this kind of multi-tuner setup!

[magicint1337]

Yes, that's exactly how it works: each dongle is its own band with its own frequency, sample rate and antenna, picked by serial number, and all of them run at the same time. Listeners choose the band at the top, and different people can be on different bands at once. Only bands on the same device take turns (that's the day/night feature).

The one thing I can't offer yet is AIS decoding: FT8 is the only decoder module so far, so SDR 4 would be listenable but not decoded. AIS and APRS are on the list, and your setup is a good reason to move them up.

I'd really appreciate it if you tested it, because a 4 dongle setup like yours hasn't been tested on real hardware yet. If anything breaks, open an issue and I'll fix it.

And u can control all of that via the admin panel, you dont need to run 4 instances of fernsdr for 4 sdrs. Just 1

[magicint1337]

And u can even enable history on the sdr that allows u to have up to 72 hours history of Waterfall. Also per band so each band has a history.

[DenBOZ]

going to free up a linux box and let you know asap
.

[magicint1337]

Good absolutely let me know on anything you face. U can install it via script or docker as you like. Just use the installer 🙂 any Feedback or feature requests or anything is appreciated. You can do it here or on github issues. I set up github issues so theres a form depending on what request. Really appreciate it. Also if you install it via installer then you will always be able to update over the admin panel. Once a new update releases it will give you the button to update with the changelog so its just 1 click.

[Alexander]

... FernSDR is the best in class you cant compare PhantomSDR+ modded with FernSDR what you do is start multiple Clients of phantomsdr just to have multi receiver... it is hacky and unpolished

What was wrong with NovaSDR? Why did you abandon it? NovaSDR works seamlessly with dozens of receivers.

[magicint1337]

... FernSDR is the best in class you cant compare PhantomSDR+ modded with FernSDR what you do is start multiple Clients of phantomsdr just to have multi receiver... it is hacky and unpolished

What was wrong with NovaSDR? Why did you abandon it? NovaSDR works seamlessly with dozens of receivers.

Hey, yes. It worked with multiple receivers but it went away from my plan i had. I would've rewrote most parts of NovaSDR to get there. Which made no sense. NovaSDR for non tech people was to hard to install and had to many dependencies. Also i wanted modules for sdr inputs and decoders so way more customizable. But its still a great software

[DenBOZ]

Hi

I am setting up PhantomSDR-Plus with rtl dongles and its using the stdin driver (name="stdin"), where the data is piped in via an external rtl sdr command.

I noticed that the gain setting isn't present in the config rtl.toml file. Since it runs via a piped stream, it seems fixed to whatever g flag is passed in the startup script.

Is there a way to configure or adjust the RTLSDR gain via the configuration file, or is modifying the startup script (rtl sdr -g <value>) the standard way to handle gain control in this setup?
Thanks for your help!

[Emmanuel SV1BTL]

Is there a way to configure or adjust the RTLSDR gain via the configuration file, or is modifying the startup script (rtl sdr -g <value>) the standard way to handle gain control in this setup?

Version 5.0.0
Yes, you can adjust the values, and I'll think how to make it as a command script for these adjustments. For now, I'll show you my inputs:


File: PhantomSDR-Plus/instances/vhf/instance.env

RX_ARGS="-f 145000000 -s 2400000 -g 29.7 -" (the receiving gain)


and File: PhantomSDR-Plus/instances/vhf/config.toml (for adjusting the analog and digital smeters - the adjustments made in my instance with a signal generator, keeping IARU settings for VHF S9 = 91 dbm, and with RTL gain 29.7)

[input]
sps=2400000 # Input Sample Rate — must match -s in instance.env
fft_size=131072 # FFT bins
brightness_offset=-15 # Waterfall brightness offset. Reduce to negative if you see black regions in the waterfall
frequency=144999630 # Baseband frequency: the stick tunes 145000000 (-f in instance.env); 370 Hz lower here corrects its crystal (measured on 144.300.000)
signal="iq" # real or iq
fft_threads=2
accelerator="none" # Accelerator: none, cuda, opencl
audio_sps=12000 # Audio Sample Rate
audio_compression="flac" # flac or opus
smeter_offset=-38            # digital bar: lower = more negative (was -2)
analog_smeter_offset=-55    # analog needle + dBm/dBµV figures: lower = more negative
waterfall_size=1024
waterfall_compression="zstd"


Restart ONLY VHF, using this:

cd ~/PhantomSDR-Plus
INSTANCE=vhf ./start-rtl.sh