Introduction to Software Defined Radio
24 Feb 2017 | | Technology

making waves on the Eisbach
Below is a list of the most popular radio families. You can buy all of these radios online. If you are new, buy a basic RTL-SDR for $20 from somewhere like Amazon. For a complete list of radios, check out the List of Software-Defined Radios on Wikipedia.
Radio Family | Cost | RX/TX | Manufacturer's Link |
RTL-SDR | $$ | RX | Multiple manufacturers with slightly differnet features. |
HackRF | $$$ | RX/TX | https://greatscottgadgets.com/hackrf/ |
Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) | $$$$ | RX/TX | https://www.ettus.com |
You will also need an antenna which may or may not come included with your radio. You can also build your own antennas. Antennas are optmized for different frequencies.
To Do (Software)- Listen to the Radio - AM, FM, Amateur Radio, Air Traffic Control
- Find Interesting Frequencies: Radio Reference Database
- Understand Different Signals: Signal Identification Guide
- Command Line Tools: librtlsdr
- Max OS X App: Gqrx
- Locate Airplanes (Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B))
- Live Websites (You don't even need a radio!)
- Software
- Tutorials
- Download Images from Weather Satellites: http://mattg.co.uk/words/noaa_sdr/
- Signal Processing: GNU Radio
- Hack Like a Boss: Universal Radio Hacker
- https://www.youtube.com
- DEF CON 23 - Samy Kamkar - Drive it like you Hacked it: New Attacks and Tools to Wireles
- Episode 51 Part 1: Intro to GNU Radio (Part One) from the DCC
- http://www.rtl-sdr.com
- Reverse Engineering Wireless Mobile traffic Lights with an RTL-SDR
- Reverse Engineering Bus Telemetry Data with an RTL-SDR
- https://rtlsdr.org
- https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/
- https://hackaday.com/tag/rtl-sdr/
Reply to this article.