Hans13,
I own both models of the TinySA, 3 models of SDRPlay, An RFExplorer, and an Antunio.? They were perched to do transmitter purity analysis.? The TinySA is the best at this, in my opinion.? There is still one test that the SDRPlay is better, though it does take manual calculation.? That is measuring IMD.
If you want a general receiver AND a spectrum analyzer, then the SDRPlay can work.? The weakness is in measuring harmonics.? I found that accuracy over larger frequency spans can be an issue for the SDRPlay with the Spectrum-Analyzer program.? ?The close-in analysis is best in the SDRPlay (RSP1a with 14-bit DAC).? The TinySA Ultra is needed to do two-tone audio measurements of RF power amplifiers.
The TinySA ultra is about the same price as the SDRPlay RSP1a, so it comes down to what you want to do with the device.? ?If you want the SDR software capability, the RSP1a might be the best choice.? Consider that your harmonic measurements may be 4db or so off when trying to check 20 meters or higher in frequency.? The measurement process will be slower as you must verify levels and set things manually.? There are automated features in even the basic TinySA to do that analysis.
The TinySA rev 1 is 1/2 the price of the ultra and performs very well for most analyses.
The above are my experiences.? Others may have different experiences and different conclusions.
73
Evan
AC9TU
