Running SDRs on ARM-Powered Windows PCs: What to Expect

All the six PCs I use for my SDRs are Intel-based. And they are all, for practical reasons, desktop PCs. The PC I use when relaxing in my recliner was a Dell Latitude laptop which was recently replaced with a Microsoft Surface Laptop. Instead of an Intel CPU, the processor is a Snapdragon. This new (for Windows) ARM64 architecture is said to have some compatibility issues with older software and hardware. It's my first Surface for around 10 years.

2 x USB-C, 1 USB-A, 13.8". And such a wow-feeling compared to my old Latitude.

So what about SDRs and SDR software? They obviously were developed long before Snapdragon became a PC thing. So, I decided to do a test. After all, "Test" is my middle name.

What we do know at this stage is this: As per the user manual, ARM is not supported by the Perseus22. We also know that the Winradio G31DDC does support ARM, by their latest software update late 2024.

For SDRPlay, we know that Linux ARM64 and macOS ARM64 are supported. No details on Windows.

The laptop I bought runs on Windows 11-Pro, 64-bit. The SDRs I'm testing are the legacy Perseus, Perseus22, Winradio G31DDC and SDRPlay RSPdx.

So, first off: SDRPlay! I downloaded the install file, and this was what met me when I tried to proceed:

Not a good start!!

Next (at a random sequence): SDR Console! I installed v3.4 (a beta), which went well, and opened a Jaguar file for playback. Cigar!

Next: Winradio G31DDC, v1.73 which is ARM-prepared. And....does it work? Yes! And I was able to record an IQ file, and play it back. I then opened Definitions in SDR Console, added the G31DDC and it played beautifully. Result!

Perseus22 - stated in the manual as incompatible with ARM64. And yes - during installation I was notified that the WestBridge driver which should be installed (and later replaced), was unaccessible. Theoretically one can build one. I don't feel tempted.

Perseus! Will a 17 year old SDR play game? "Unknown unit" - "Remove this unit". Right....

So. Out of four SDRs tested, only one, the Winradio G31DDC worked. 

Apart from SDR Console, I also use Jaguar, HDSDR and WavViewDX for playback of IQ files. So, they needed to be tested. After all, it's not likely that I will be using this laptop for live DX-ing.

Old - but good? Let's see how HDSDR fares! Installs fine, loads fine, plays back Jaguar files fine!

New - but better? Jaguar! Yes, it starts without any problems, and plays back IQ files. All that I could ask for.

Newer - and another excellent software: WavViewDX! Oh no! Another error message!

So then. Definitely mixed results. Out of four SDRs, Perseus, Perseus22, SDRPlay RSPdx (likely all of the SDRPlay range), failed to install. Only the Winradio, with recent software update to comply with ARM64, worked.

Out of four "playback" softwares, SDR Console, HDSDR and Jaguar seem to work well, WavViewDX did not. I suspect though, that a software update may steer WVDX into the right path.

What can we learn from this? Don't buy a Windows PC running on Snapdragon if you want to use it for DX-ing. Unless you have Winradio SDRs of course.