Nooelec Lana - Ultra Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) Module for RF & Software Defined Radio (SDR) with Enclosure & Accessories. Wideband 20MHz-4000MHz Frequency Capability with Bias Tee & USB Power Options

I own several small radios and SDR dongles that have always been just OK. What a difference one little amp can to to their performance! I was pulling in stations on bands that looked dead but had dozens of signals with this on! I really appreciate the T-power capability as my new Malahit DSP2 has the ability to power this amp directly through the antenna port. Simply enabling it on the radio's menu brings it to life and instantly signals appear! Performance for the price can't be beat! The metal case is sturdy and shiels the internal circuitry from nearby interference. I highly recommend this - I think you'll be impressed!

The bad and the ugly, I can not power this from a RSP1a SDR because it needs more current than is available. This makes it rough to install it closer to the antenna and power it through the coax, unless you use a separate coax base bias-t. It does work great powered through the USB connection or if I use it on an SDR/RTL V3 or Blog V4. The new V3 LNA (This one) will not feed power back into your receiver.Tech support is great, however the new specifications for this unit had not been published at the time of my purchase. I think they need to update because it is worth bragging about.Gain vs. noise is comparable to the commercial units of yesteryear, in other words, this is not a unit to sneeze at and would have fit the needs of business and emergency personnel in their line of work.These are not even comparable to the 3 or 4 pin chips used in the $5-$6 range of LNA, if you're tech-savvy, look up the cost of a decent RF amplifying integrated circuit (if you have a strong heart that is).Was it worth the cost? With this unit I would say yes, however you still require a signal of some strength for any amplifier to work.

Unit seemed to work well. However, the status/ON light seemed to have stopped working after a few weeks. Seemed to still work though. Returned it for that reason.

I'm using a RTL-SDR to do ADS-B flight tracking and this increased the range I can track aircraft by an average of about 30 miles.

Like other Nooelec products that I have purchased, this LANA amplifier is well made and works as stated.You do have to filter out any other interference, like 14.5kW Radio Amor 100.3 FM, or you will end up amplifying interference as well as your signal. However, using the Nooelec broadcast FM filter, I am able to get many more signals in the 1-2GHz range. I use this amp with an SDR Play 1A and I use its bias-T to power the amp. Powering it this way, I do not need to put a DC block in line with the receiver. If you power the amp through the micro USB, you should get the Nooelec DC block or another brands DC block. The amplification range is from 20MHz to 4GHz, so it does nothing for HF signals. I found the amp to be low noise and have low insertion loss. The 85mA low power consumption makes it ideal for the SDR Play. Some reviews said that the amp does not work, but keep in mind that the LED power light should be facing your receiver or you will only see noise and think the LANA does work. This is a well made, general purpose RF amp. I like Nooelec and their well made, high value products with cool names. Get one, it's fun to play with.

Works well in the military aviation band. I'm going to move it to the antenna and send power up the coax and see if that makes things even better

I can tell a difference in signal strength.Using a 4 port USB adapter, I can power the low noise amplifier and the RTL-SDR dongle both.That leaves the other USB port free for a Laptop fan to keep the Laptop cool.Signals are almost double in strength.A white led tells you it's powered, and working.Wayne

I hooked this up to a scanner and also a spectrum analyzer. The resulting signals were worse than without the pre-amp. The pre-amp just raised the noise floor which degraded the actual signal.Stay away from this product.