BACK

SDR

(Software Defined Radio)

~ Summary ~

With A Good USB TV Dongle (For 10$ Or 30$) You Can Scan, Listen... Radio Frequencies !
FM, AM, NFM, GSM... | Satellites, Planes, Boats, Trains, Cars, Pagers, Taxis...

(USB Dongle It's One Thing, The Antennas Another)

(You Have Some Links And Quick Start Guides Below...)


Here, A Video To Show How To Use And Some Basic Uses (In 2014 / 2015):

(Sorry, In This Video, I Dont Use The "Squelch" Option In "SDR#")
(If You Want Avoid Undesirable Noises Between 2 Transmissions, Check/Adjust "Squelch")



Miscellaneous SDR Links :

(If URL [or webiste] Seems Down, Try The "WayBack Machine" => https://web.archive.org/)

("xdeco.org" Website Seems Down)



~ Quick Start Guide : A Fast Installation On Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) ~
  1. Buy A Compatible SDR USB Dongle (Based On The Realtek RTL2832U)
    [Compatible Tuners: E4000, R820T, R820T2, R828D, FC0013, FC0012, FC2580, ...]
    See Compatible Tuners/Dongles: https://osmocom.org/projects/rtl-sdr/wiki/Rtl-sdr

  2. Open A Shell And Install SDR Tools (Here Only "rtlsdr", "gqrx" And "cubicsdr") With This Commands :
    #> apt-get update
    #> apt-get install rtl-sdr librtlsdr-dev gqrx-sdr cubicsdr

  3. Blacklist Module(s) :
    - Edit The "/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf" File (Here With "Vim" But You Can Use Any Editor) :
    #> vim /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

    - Add At The End Of File This Lines (You Can Add Others If You Want) :
    blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu
    blacklist dvb_usb_v2
    blacklist rtl_2830
    blacklist rtl_2832
    blacklist r820t

    - Save And Close "/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf" File

    - Reboot PC

  4. After Reboot, (If Unplugged) Plug Your SDR USB Dongle
    To Watch Your SDR USB Dongle, enter command :
    #> lsusb | grep -i rtl
    [ OR ]
    #> dmesg
    [ OR ]
    #> dmesg | grep -i rtl

  5. And Just Start "gqrx" (From A Shell Or Menu)
    [If You Want Reset "gqrx" Configuration, Run This Command On A Shell "gqrx -r"]

  6. If You Prefer, Instead Of "gqrx", You Can Also Start "cubicsdr"...

  7. For More..., Install GNURadio:
    #> apt-get install gnuradio gnuradio-dev

~ Quick Start Guide : A Good Installation On Windows ~
  1. Buy A Compatible SDR USB Dongle (based on the Realtek RTL2832U)
    [Compatible Tuners: E4000, R820T, R820T2, R828D, FC0013, FC0012, FC2580, ...]
    See Compatible Tuners/Dongles: https://osmocom.org/projects/rtl-sdr/wiki/Rtl-sdr

  2. Download And Install Pre-Requires Windows Runtimes :
    - Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6 (Or Newer)
    - Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 (Or Newer)
    (You Can Install The 2015 64Bits Version But YOU MUST Also Install The 2015 32Bits Version)
    [To Be Calm, It's Very Recommended To Install All Others VC++ 32 And 64Bits Versions: 2008, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022, ...]

  3. Download And Install Pre-Require VB-CABLE Virtual Audio Device : https://www.vb-audio.com/Cable/
    - Then Go To Windows Soundcard Configurations (Control Panel > Sound)
    - Select "Recording" Tab (You Can Make Configurations On "Playback" Tab If You Want But It's Optional)
    - Select "CABLE Output" And Click On "Set Default" Button (On "Playback" Tab "CABLE Input" But Don't "Set Default")
    - Click On "Properties", Select "Listen" Tab And Check "Listen to this device" (Not Allow On "Playback" Tab)
    - Select "Levels" Tab And Set All Levels To "75" (On "Playback" Tab You Can Set To "75" Or "99")
    - Select "Advanced" Tab And Select On List "2 channel, 16 bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality)"
    - Click On "Apply" And "OK" Buttons (And Close All Others Windows)

  4. Download And Install SDR# (Here For v1.0.0.1732 Or Below): https://airspy.com/download/
    - Unzip "sdrsharp-x86.zip" File Were You Want (Here In "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\" Folder)
    - Execute "install-rtlsdr.bat" File (Here: "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\install-rtlsdr.bat") (Require Internet Connection) To Update "rtl_sdr" And "zadig"
    - Edit "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\SDRSharp.exe.Config" With NotePad (Or Other Editor)
    - And Change The Line "<add key="minOutputSampleRate" value="32000" />" By "<add key="minOutputSampleRate" value="48000" />"
    - Save The File (And Close)

  5. Install "Zadig" USB Dongle Driver : http://zadig.akeo.ie/
    - Plug Your SDR USB Dongle And Run "zadig.exe" File (Here: "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\zadig.exe")
    - Select "Options" Menu And "List All Devices"
    - Select On List "Bulk-In, Interface (Interface 0)" (If Entry Not Exists, Read Below *)
    - Click On "Install WCID Driver" Button (And Confirm The Installation) (If Failed, Read Below *)
    - You May Have A Good Installation Message Like "The driver was installed successfully." (If Not, Read Below *)
    * IF Installation Of "Zadig" Driver Failed :
    - You Can Try With Another (older) Version (For Me "Zadig v1.1.1.139" Works Fine On Windows 7...)

  6. [Optional] Download And Install "Frequency Manager Suite" (SDR# Plugin) : http://www.freqmgrsuite.com/
    [Depends On "Microsoft .NET Framework 4.6" (Or Newer)]
    To Install :
    - Extract / Run "FMSuiteSetup.exe" Set-Up File (From "FMSuite vX.X.XXXX.zip" File)
    - Click On "Next >" And "Next >" Buttons...
    - Enter "What folder contains SDR#?" Path (Here To "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\")
    - Enter "In what folder do you want to store FMSuite documentation?" Path (Here To "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\FMSuite\docs\" Or Others)
    - Enter "In What folder do you want to store FMSuite databases?" Path (Here To "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\FMSuite\dbs\" Or Others)
    - Click On "Next >" And "Finish" Buttons
    [After Install You Can Edit "C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\Plugins.xml" File With NotePad (Or Other Editor) To Watch Changes]

  7. Finally, (If Unplugged) Plug Your SDR USB Dongle And Start SDR# (Here: C:\SDR\sdrsharp-x86\SDRSharp.exe) :
    - On Top-Left Click On "Source" And Select "RTL-SDR (USB)" In List, Then Click Above On Icon (Wheel Cog) To Configure Source...
    - On Left Click/Expand "Audio" And Select In "Output" List : "[Windows DirectSound] CABLE Input (VB-Audio Virtual Cable)"
    (Or Other Output Sound Card...)
    - Make All Others Parameters You Want, And Click On Start Icon (On Top-Left)

~ Get Your SDR USB Dongle "Frequency Correction (ppm)" (2 Methods) ~

(Every SDR USB Dongle Has It's Own "Frequency Correction (ppm)" Value)
  1. Follow A "Quick Start Guide" To Setup Your Dongle/Software... (Depends Of Your OS, See Before)
    [And (If Unplugged) Plug Your SDR USB Dongle]

  2. Method 1: With "rtl-sdr":
    - If You Are On Windows, You Can Download From This Link (Download The Latest Version 32 Or 64 Bits):
    https://downloads.osmocom.org/binaries/windows/rtl-sdr/
    (And Unzip Anywhere)

    - If You Are On Linux (Debian/Ubuntu), Just Install Package With Shell Command :
    #> apt-get install rtl-sdr

    - Now Open A Shell (Or "cmd.exe" For Windows, And Go To Unzipped Binaries Folder) And Enter This Command :
    #> rtl_test -p

    - Wait Some Minutes (At Least 5 Or 10 Minutes) And Watch Results (You Can Stop With "CTRL+C") :
    On Results You Have Some "cumulative PPM: XX" Values (XX Is A Number, And Can Be A Negative Number)
    To Find Your SDR USB Dongle "Frequency Correction (ppm)":
    Keep Most Frequently "cumulative PPM: XX" Value (Or Make An Average Of Last "cumulative PPM: XX" Values)

    - In The Example Below, After A Few Minutes, I Decide To Keep The Frequency Correction (ppm) => "51":

  3. Method 2: With A Software (Maybe More Or Less Precise):
    - If You Are On Windows Start "SDR#", But If You Are On Linux Start "gqrx"

    - Put The "Frequency Correction (ppm)" To "0" On Your Software (Search On Software Parameters...)
    [On Windows And "SDR#", Click On "Gear" Icon On Top Named "Configure Source", You Have "Frequency correction (ppm)"]
    [On Linux And "gqrx", Select "Input controls" Tab On Right, You Have "Freq. correction"]

    - Enter A Precise And Fixed Frequency That You Know (A Fixed Frequency From : FM Radio, Narrow FM, AM...)
    [If You Don't Know A Precise Fixed Frequency, Make An Internet Search To Find One]

    - Now Adjust The "Frequency Correction (ppm)" From Your Software Parameters, To Center On The Fixed Signal
    [And Find Your SDR USB Dongle "Frequency Correction (ppm)"]

~ Listen FM Radio (From A Linux Shell) (2 Methods) ~

  1. (If Unplugged) Plug Your SDR USB Dongle

  2. (If Not Installed), Install Packages:
    [ "rtl-sdr" For "rtl_fm" command, "sox" For "play" command, "alsa-utils" For "aplay" command ]
    #> apt-get install rtl-sdr sox alsa-utils

  3. Method 1: Run Command (Output Audio With "play"):
    [ Replace "-f 99.6M" By A FM Radio Frequency, And "-p 51" By Your PPM Correction ]
    #> rtl_fm -f 99.6M -M wbfm -s 200000 -r 44100 -p 51 | play -t raw -r 44100 -es -b 16 -c 1 -V1 -

  4. Method 2: Run Command (Output Audio With "aplay"):
    [ Replace "-f 99.6M" By A FM Radio Frequency, And "-p 51" By Your PPM Correction ]
    #> rtl_fm -f 99.6M -M wbfm -s 200000 -r 44100 -p 51 | aplay -r 44100 -f S16_LE -t raw -c 1