The most obvious difference between a conventional communications receiver and a software defined radio (SDR) receiver is the tuning method. With a conventional receiver, tuning is usually by a combination of hand-ear coordination where you spin the tuning knob and recognise the sound of different signals as you sweep across them. Experienced operators can recognise a wide range of signals just from their sound as they tune the bands. However, the tuning method for SDR receivers is entirely different and while it is possible to manually tune using the simulated tuning knob, this method is generally a bit clunky and you will often encounter a short delay between rotating the knob and hearing the resulting sound. By far the best method of tuning an SDR receiver is to make use of the waterfall and spectrum displays to click-tune.
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