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Difference between revisions of "Software-defined radio"
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There are also many SDR's such as the HackRF, USRP, FunCube, etc.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software-defined_radios List of SDRs] When you buy an SDR, you get what you pay for. More expensive SDR's are purpose built for receiving, and can handle things such as GSM spoofing, where an unencrypted GSM tower can be simulated to capture SMS in a cleartext fashion. | There are also many SDR's such as the HackRF, USRP, FunCube, etc.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software-defined_radios List of SDRs] When you buy an SDR, you get what you pay for. More expensive SDR's are purpose built for receiving, and can handle things such as GSM spoofing, where an unencrypted GSM tower can be simulated to capture SMS in a cleartext fashion. | ||
=== RTLSDR === | === RTLSDR === | ||
| + | [[File:SDRs.png|320px|thumb|right|Two common types of RTLSDRs]] | ||
A great beginner SDR is the RTL-SDR It features a receive frequency range of 25-1700MHz, 2.048MHz bandwidth and is priced low enough that beginners can see whether radio is a hobby they want to get into(R820T model). | A great beginner SDR is the RTL-SDR It features a receive frequency range of 25-1700MHz, 2.048MHz bandwidth and is priced low enough that beginners can see whether radio is a hobby they want to get into(R820T model). | ||
Revision as of 04:52, 28 January 2014
This article is written for beginners, higher level material can be found on using the links below
Software defined radio is the means of listening to radio waves using the combination of low level hardware, and software processing. While non-SDR techniques use physical hardware to demodulate FM and AM, In SDR raw data from the receiver gets sent into the USB port, and software is used to control the modulation. The only drawbacks of SDR are bandwidth constraints and processing. Since uncompressed unmodulated data is coming through a PC interface (USB mostly), a high speed connection and a computer with decent specs is required. A Single RTL-SDR May use up to 3.4MB, CPU usage varies on the tuner software you use. Using software defined radio opposed to regular radio gives you the ability to see signals you would normally only hear. Your eyes can cover a very wide bandwidth of signals on a computer screen, while your ears can only comprehend a single spoken conversation at a time.
SDR models
SDRs come in many shapes in sizes, from the $8 RTL-SDR to $2000 USRP(with daughterboards) There are also many SDR's such as the HackRF, USRP, FunCube, etc.List of SDRs When you buy an SDR, you get what you pay for. More expensive SDR's are purpose built for receiving, and can handle things such as GSM spoofing, where an unencrypted GSM tower can be simulated to capture SMS in a cleartext fashion.
RTLSDR
A great beginner SDR is the RTL-SDR It features a receive frequency range of 25-1700MHz, 2.048MHz bandwidth and is priced low enough that beginners can see whether radio is a hobby they want to get into(R820T model).
RTL-SDRs come with various tuner chips, the most widely used tuner is the R820T, with the E4000 coming in a close second. The E4000 is a discontinued model and is usually priced higher than R820T models. R820T tuners are generally better for reception of trunked radio systems (digital police radio).
The RTLSDR began its life as a DVB-T OTA TV tuner (a tv tuner for europe). China began bulk manufacturing these TV tuners for the european market. It was later found that a hacked driver could be installed that let the user use the dongle as an SDR.
Currently R820T RTLSDRs can be bought for as low as $8 on eBay with free shipping R820Ts on eBay
HackRF
The HackRF is a DARPA funded project, it aims to provide innovation and research in the SDR field. It's much more powerful than the RTL-SDR, much more sensitive, covers a greater frequency range. The HackRF starts at $300, has both RX and TX functionality from 30 MHz to 6 GHz, bandwidth of 20MHz. During DARPA funding, beta units, the HackRF Jawbreaker were given to hundreds of testers for free. The production version was funded through KickStarter. The campaign was successfully funded on September 4th 2013 and will be available to the public after donators get their HackRF's. KickStarter Page
- Transmitting
- TX functionality on the HackRF is limited in power because RF theory says you must have an antenna length that corresponds to the wavelength you are sending. For example sending 5Watts over the wrong size antenna will cause a buildup of standing waves, and may fry the transmitter. To prevent this, the antenna build into the breadboard of the HackRF is only designed for ultra low power, good enough for experimentation, but not for serious broadcasting.
Possibilities
SDR's have endless possibilities. Because all demodulation is done in software, no new hardware is needed to decode, for example, a new digital voice mode. All the programmer has to do is write code to convert the raw samples from USB to the correct format data.
Software
Software is available for Windows GNU/Linux and OSX.
SDR Software (The stuff you listen with)
| Software | Supported Modes | OS | Cost/License | Features/Limitations |
| SDR Touch | AM, WFM, NFM, SSB, DSB, CW | Android | Freemium, Closed | supports RTL_TCP and USB OTG, FFT times out after 30 seconds on free version |
| glSDR | AM, WFM, NFM, SSB, DSB, CW, DIG(?), SPEC(?), SAM(?), DRM | Android | Free, GNU/GPL | UI for ghpsdr servers |
| SDR-Radio | Windows | Free, Closed | Feature packed, harder to get set up | |
| SDR-Radio v2 | Windows | Free possibly paid out of beta, Closed | Beta, Feature packed, supports RTL_TCP | |
| SDR# | Windows | Free, MS-RSL/MIT | Most popular and easiest to use | |
| HD-SDR | Windows | Free, Closed | ||
| PowerSDR | Windows | Free, GNU/GPL | Does not support RTL-SDR | |
| GQRX | AM, WFM, NFM, SSB, CW, AFSK1200 | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, GNU/GPL | Runs on GNU Radio |
| GNU Radio | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, GNU/GPL | Tools to build your own receiver. Versatile, larger learning curve. | |
| Linrad | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, OSS | ||
| Studio1 | Paid,Closed Source | Formerly WRPLUS |
Plugins for SDR#
| Purpose | Software | Cost/License |
| Scan and log various frequencies | Frequency Manager + Scanner plugin | Free, OSS |
| Tune SDR# to the approprate voice channel | Trunking plugin for SDR# | Free, OSS |
HF decoders (shortwave 0-30MHz)
| Purpose | Mode | Software | OS | Cost/License | Common Frequency |
| Digital decoding on HF | CW, Domino, Hell, MFSK, PSK, OLIVIA, RTTY, Throb, Thor, WWV | Fldigi | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, GNU/GPL | 0-30MHz AM |
| HF amateur radio codec | FreeDV, Codec2 | FreeDV | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, GNU/GPL | 0-30MHz AM |
| Digital broadcast shortwave | DRM | Dream | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, GNU/GPL | 0-30MHz AM |
| Sending images over HF, commonly QSLs | Robot, AVT, Scottie, Martin | MMSSTV | Windows | Free, OSS | 0-30MHz AM |
ADS-B Airplane tracking software
| Purpose | Mode | Software | OS | Cost/License | Frequency |
| Plane-spotting, decoding ADS-B | ADS-B | ADSB# | Windows | Free, MIT | 1090MHz AM |
| Decodes ADSB# data + Plot planes on a map | AVR-BEAST | VirtualRadar Server | Windows | Free, OSS | 1090MHz AM |
| Alternative to ADS-B# | ADS-B | RTL1090 | Windows | Free, Closed | 1090MHz AM |
APRS (like GPS, hams use it)
| Purpose | Mode | Software | OS | Cost/License | Frequency |
| Amateur packet radio incl. GPS location | AX.25, AFSK, APRS | AFSK1200 | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, GNU/GPL | 144-145MHz FM, Varies |
Trunked Radio (police fire and EMS in urban areas)
| Purpose | Mode | Software | OS | Cost/License | Frequency |
| Decode control channel data | P25, EDACS48, EDACS96, Motorola, MPT1327 | Unitrunker | Windows | Free, Closed | Usually 400MHz, 760,860,933MHz FM |
| Decode digital voice | P25p1, ProVoice, X2-TDMA, DMR/MOTOTRBO, NXDN | DSD | Win,Lin,Mac | Free, BSD | Usually 400MHz, 760,860,933MHz FM |
| Decode LTR data | LTR | LTR Analyzer | Windows | Free, Unknown | ~400-500MHz |
NOAA weather satellite
| Purpose | Mode | Software | OS | Cost/License | Frequency | Other |
| Decode NOAA WX images | APT, WEFAX | WxtoIMG | Win,Lin,Mac | Freemium, Closed | ~137MHz FM | Track Live |
Television (non digital kind)
| Purpose | Mode | Software | OS | Cost/License | Frequency |
| Analog television decoder, no sound | NTSC, PAL | TVSharp | Windows | Free, OSS | Any AM (including ISM security cameras) |
Pagers
| Purpose | Mode | Software | OS | Cost/License | Frequency |
| Decode various pager formats | POCSAG, FLEX | PDW | Windows | Free, GNU/GPL | 35-45MHz, 152-160MHz, 455-463MHz, 928-932MHz FM |
Other SDR resources
Scanner centric SDR discussion forums on RadioReference
FCC website, every RF transmitter registered registered with the FCC resides in this database
An online SDR receiver that covers the HF band (shortwave, worldwide transmissions)
