Luke Berndt posted on the HackRF-dev forum: “I built a Scanner app so I could use my HackRF to listen to my local fire department. It should work for any Moto SmartNet trunking systems that uses P25 CAI for the voice channels. It is based off the gr-smartnet code and uses DSD to decode the […]
Category Archives: SDR
RTL-SDR spectrum analyzer for BeagleBone Black using ViewRF software
Stephen Ong previously released this video demonstrating the use of RTL-SDR dongle with the BeagleBone dev board to function as a spectrum analyzer. The software making this possible is known as ViewRF and Stephen has now released the instructions and code links for this project.
HP laptop security flaw discovered using RTL-SDR
Cronek reports discovering a security flaw in the microphone on certain HP laptops. Using his RTL-SDR dongle and SDR# he observed unusual signals around 24 MHz. He discovered that his HP EliteBook 8460p laptop computer was continuously and unintentionally transmitting the audio from the built in microphone at 24 MHz in FM modulation anytime the […]
DSD block for GNU Radio
Luke Berndt from the HackRF-dev forums has posted his work to make the functionality of DSD available to GNU Radio users in the form of a GRC block. “I have been playing around a bit and found an easy way to receive and playback digital LMR. More and more of the radio systems are going […]
44CON to include HackRF presentation
We understand that Michael Ossmann will deliver a talk entitled ” Reverse Engineering with HackRF” at the 44CON conference. This talk will consist of one long demonstration of how to use HackRF to reverse engineer a proprietary radio system. 44CON is an annual Information Security Conference and Training event taking place in London. Designed to […]
HackRF and POCSAG decoding
BinaryRF has posted a detailed tutorial on using the HackRF SDR to decode POCSAG pager traffic. He starts with the HackRF hardware connected to his Ubuntu Linux box. The basic procedure involves using gqrx, then pipingthe audio output to multimon decoding software using the pavucontrol program.
REDHAWK SDR software
If you’re into SDR then you have probably heard of GNURadio, gqrx, SDR# and other software tools for controlling RF hardware. With the growing popularity of the HackRF platform and RTL-SDR dongle a new software tool has entered the scene: REDHAWK. As explained by its developers, “REDHAWK is a software-defined radio (SDR) framework designed to […]
Tracking low earth satellites using RTL-SDR
Travis Goodspeed has been experimenting with remote satellite tracking over the internet. His setup uses a satellite dish originally used with a mobile earth station on maritime vessels. Movement of the dish is accomplished with servos and an EiBotBoard” wired into a BeagleBone. Travis describes further, “My initial build using an RTL-SDR dongle. Data processing […]
HackRF Jawbreaker PortaPack
Jared Boone, who along with Michael Ossmann developed the HackRF Jawbreaker SDR has designed a LCD/control/audio “shield” PortPack for the HackRF Jawbreaker. He’s displaying the gadget at this month’s BlackHat and DEFCON conferences.
HackRF Kickstarter
Michael Ossmann has announced that the HackRF SDR is now being offered on Kickstarter! He notes, “This is my first announcement, so you’ll get the first chance at the early-bird reward.”
RDS reception using RTL-SDR dongle
If you have a RTL-SDR dongle and Windows machine you might want to try out this simple project. It’s a proof of concept using an Ubuntu machine with GNU Radio Companion to obtain the RDS signal from the FM broadcast. Then the data is sent over TCP to a Windows 7 machine, running a .NET […]
GNU Radio 3.7 released
The GNU Radio team has announced the release of version 3.7. “This is a major new release of GNU Radio, culminating a year and a half of side-by-side development with the new features added to the GNU Radio 3.6 API. With the significant restructuring that was occurring as part of the 3.7 development, at times […]
Video: HackRF Jawbreaker SDR antenna mod
If you were fortunate enough to score one of the HackRF Jawbreaker SDR boards from Michael Ossmann, you may have noticed the board has an SMA antenna connector as well as a built-in PCB antenna (intended for operation near 900 MHz). Ossmann recommends that you disable the on-board PCB antenna if you intend to use […]
Hacking wireless radiator valves with GNU Radio
In an effort to better proportion the heating system in his house, Mike Stirling decided to use Conrad FHT8V wireless thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to control heat distribution in zones. He decided to analyze the valve’s 868 MHz control signals using his RTL-SDR dongle and GNU Radio. After discovering that the protocol uses simple on-off […]
Live DVD includes Ubuntu + GNU Radio
Per our friends at RTL-SDR.com, there is now a live DVD downloadable which includes Ubuntu Linux 12.04 along with GNU Radio and other pre-installed SDR related programs. The necessary libraries for OsmoSDR, RTL-SDR and HackRF hardware are also included. The Live DVD is only available for 64-bit CPUs. Check out the release notes for more […]
Announcing PyBOMBS GNU Radio installation tool
The GNU Radio development team announces their new Python Build Overlay Managed Bundle System (PyBOMBS). If you’ve ever tried to install GNU Radio for use with the RTL-SDR or other software defined radio, you know it can be a hit or miss proposition. Depending on your OS and distro, it an be either flawless or […]
Open Zigbee sniffer
Lubomir Mraz and his fellow Wislab crew members have released the documentation on their open multi-platform, multi-band wireless sensor network analyzer. Known as the Open Zigbee Sniffer, the RF device interfaces with your PC via the Ethernet interface. It includes protocol dissectors for IEEE 802.15.4, Zigbee, 6LoWPAN and Atmel LightWeight Mesh, covering the 2.4GHz and […]
HackRF based radio spectrum analyzer
Jared Boone displayed this project at the recent Maker Faire. This project is built around the HackRF, a software-defined radio transceiver. I programmed it to sample 20MHz of radio spectrum from an antenna, do a frequency analysis on the data, and display the results on a Noritake vacuum fluorescent display. I added the tuning wheel […]
Tutorial: Kali Linux with GNU Radio, GQRX and RTL-SDR dongle
If you’ve tried to install GNU Radio from binaries without success, this video from NeedSec is for you. He demonstrates how to intall GNU Radio on Kali Linux from source, and confirms operation of the RTL-SDR dongle using GQRX radio receiver software.
Free Virtual Audio Cable alternative
RTL-SDR enthusiasts who use Windows are familiar with the need for a virtual audio device to connect the SDR output to decoder programs such as dsd. The hangup is that you need to purchase Virtual Audio Cable software to the tune of $25 (more than the cost of the SDR dongle itself.) Now there’s a […]