> Which the author of this software failed to include in their README, > and while maybe it is known to those using these SDR's..
To be fair, SDR on PCs is still a field in its infancy. We have only had affordable devices that can do SDR for a couple of years now, which is only just opening up the field to increasing numbers of people. This has been barely enough time to write the first generation of software, let alone extensive documentation. Going back to your complaint about companies no longer publishing databooks, this field is so young that the "databooks" are only just being written now, as people figure things out by experimentation. Michael Ossmann is doing a great job of this, and his tutorials while only having been out for a few weeks, are receiving a lot of good feedback: http://greatscottgadgets.com/sdr/1/ If you're after detailed guides and chip-level specifications, you're much too early - this won't come for another few years at least. On the other hand, if you want to get involved in a very new field, this is a great opportunity but it will involve doing a lot of your own research and experimentation with not enough information available. And don't forget, almost all the people here who write this software all do it in their spare time. So you can forgive them for working on the most interesting bits first, and leaving the detailed documentation for later. As Oliver hinted, there's nothing stopping you from being the one to write the documentation! But if you're not interesting in being the one to write all the instructions then you can hardly blame the programmers for feeling the same way :-) Cheers, Adam.
