Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a very high value item--what it can do for the price is tough to beat. It definitely performs as advertised, but be aware that you will have to read online user guides, since no documentation comes with the unit. The website printed on the module is a great resource. For those wondering about HF reception--I can confirm that when using the Q-channel direct sampling setting, this will tune down to 500 kHz as advertised. I have successfully received AM broadcast and shortwave broadcast on the 49m, 31m and 25m bands. I haven't had as much luck with the ham bands, but that's mainly due to the fact that the included antenna is mostly inadequate for that. Given that I can receive AM and SW bands, I don't see why it wouldn't also work on the ham bands with a proper antenna arrangement. VHF/UHF works great. Weather, public safety, FM broadcast are effortless with the included antennas. I've even had limited success decoding P25 Phase 1 using DSD+ software with virtual audio device software. There's tons of Windows software available to use this module, and it is straightforward to get running using the quick start guide at rtl-sdr.com. Unfortunately, I wanted to use my Mac. There are a few Mac applications, but they are not as full-featured as the Windows applications. However, I can also confirm that it is possible to get the module to work on a Mac with the HDSDR and SDR# Windows apps (these tend to be the most popular) when you use Wine and install the correct drivers (thanks to Homebrew). This process is not for the novice, but if you know macOS, Wine and Homebrew, you should be able to figure it out. Let's just say I learned a lot in the process. Bottom line, if you even have the slightest interest in trying out SDR, you would be doing yourself a disservice to pass up a piece of hardware this cheap. It works, no question about it. UPDATE: I strung up a random wire antenna in the backyard and can now report a great deal of success receiving HF amateur activity down to the 160m band. With the right software, I can decode CW, SSB and a multitude of digital modes. Using DSD+ software, I'm decoding Project 25 and DMR on the UHF public safety bands, too. I still can't believe this is all possible with a $20 dongle!