Home » Radio » Software Defined Radio » Best OpenWebRX Remote Receivers

Best OpenWebRX Remote Receivers

best openwebrx remote receivers

Only a few of the many remote receivers on SDR.HU have great performance (low noise). Check out my list of best OpenWebRX Remote Receivers.

I enjoy using the many remote KiwiSDR receivers available at SDR.HU. Almost 500 are available most days. But the quality of these stations varies considerably.

So, which do I think are the best OpenWebRX remote receivers? This fall, I have been building a list of the top 25. My criteria are pretty simple. Low radio frequency interference and sufficient antenna sensitivity to produce decent SNR on ham and digital signals.

First, RFI is the biggest challenge for most OpenWebRX sites. I find that most have a lot of local interference throughout all of HF. Very few are clean. Too bad. While most sites provide good signal-to-noise performance on medium wave, you will find RFI across HF quite limiting.

Second, are the antennas sensitive enough for weaker signal reception on HF? I used the recent CQ Worldwide CW contest to compare performance on 160, 80, 40 and 20 meters both day and night.

OpenWebRX stations use a combination of loop, wire and mini-whip antennas. My selection for the best OpenWebRX remote receivers use loops, followed by wires and special setups such as beverage, four square and active dipoles. I did not find any mini-whip sites with decent performance on HF.

Best OpenWebRX Remote Receivers – Europe

Most days, my top European performer is the HB9EHO Remote Ham Station in Switzerland. When not used for ham events, an Optibeam OB15-7 is connected to the KiwiSDR through a 9 dB attenuator. Great receive performance on all bands, 160 meters and up.

A close second is the G8JNJ Southwest UK station featuring a unique Loop-on-Ground antenna. I find it hard to believe that a 30 foot loop lying on the ground performs this well, but it does. Located in Wessex, Martin also has a great blog with lots of antenna information.

Meanwhile, back in Switzerland, Fernando Duarte (Fenu-Radio) uses a now discontinued Datong AD370 Active Dipole connected to his KiwiSDR. Low noise and lots of good signals for broadcast and ham listening.

I will publish more of my list of best OpenWebRX Remote Receivers over the weeks ahead. Happy listening.

One comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.