2014-11-5
RTLSDR usage
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+ RTLSDR usage +
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+ INDEX +
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1. Setup rtlsdr
1.1. Get sources
1.2. Drivers
1.3. Check if works
2. Collection of tools
2.1. FM
2.2. Spectrum diagram
2.3. ADSB
2.4. AFSK1200
3. Projects where rtlsdr used
3.1. WebSDR
4. Problems
4.1. Sync errors
5. Links
6. Changelog
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+ 1.Setup rtlsdr +
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By rtlsdr usually call RTL2832U chip based tv-tunners which
can be used for not just recievin DVB-T frequencies but much more
and yes price is ~$10 it mean that anyone can just buy and try
without "loosing" money.
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1.1.Get sources
Main development repository is on http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr
on github you can find more repos with experminental
features (https://github.com/keenerd/rtl-sdr).
Getting sources from git:
git clone git://git.osmocom.org/rtl-sdr.git
I prefer using plain binaries without any kind of installation. Just
compile and use binary without any troubles.
Build:
cmake .
make
All binaries is in src dir
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1.2.Drivers
Linux kernel have some drivers for rtlsdr stick and DVB-T. When you will plug
rtlsdr then kernel probably will load DVB-T drivers and you will not able
to use you rtlsdr for sdr. Way yo fix is it add some drivers to black list and
next time when you will plug rtlsdr this drivers will not be loaded.
Check if rtlsdr related drivers is loaded:
lsmod | grep rtl28
If there is some drivers then balcklist driver by creating file
in /etc/modprobe.d/ with content:
blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu
Next thing that could appear is permissions on rtlsdr usage when its pluged in.
To allow everyone to use create file in /etc/udev/rules.d/ with content:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2838", \
GROUP="adm", MODE="0666", SYMLINK+="rtl_sdr"
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1.3.Check if works
How to test if rtlsdr works? Run one of commands:
rtl_test
I like to run rtl_adsb as you can see there that something is recieved and
you see that everything "works":
rtl_adsb
There should be line by line showing up some "hex" lines. If some data is showen
then adsb data from plains is recieved.
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+ 2.Collection of tools +
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2.1.FM
Get some sound trancmited from FM radio stations.
rtl_fm -f 96.3e6 -M wbfm -s 200000 -r 48000 - | aplay -r 48k -f S16_LE
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2.2.Spectrum diagram
Scan spectrum to find some activities on different frequencies.
Good link with all description is http://kmkeen.com/rtl-power/ .
Main usage of rtl_power is :
rtl_power -f 76M:108M:125k -i 1 fm_stations.csv
and then draw image :
heatmap.py fm_stations.csv fm_stations.png
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2.3.ADSB
ADS-B ( Automatic dependent surveillance broadcast ) in simple words airplain
geoposition, speed, height and flight number broadcasting. You can recieve
this data and see how many plains is around and sometimes flight number.
rtlsdr have default one rtl_adsb programm but it shows only recieved data,
without any decoding. Here is dump1090 specifically for rtlsdr and nothing
more:
https://github.com/antirez/dump1090
description howto install could be found also here
http://www.satsignal.eu/raspberry-pi/dump1090.html
Using in interactive mode with height in metrs:
dump1090 --interactive --metric
Output:
Hex Flight Altitude Speed Lat Lon Track Messages Seen .
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71be01 10052 1009 36.434 33.544 45 9 1 sec
424913 SDM6329 10966 711 36.440 33.405 221 65 0 sec
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2.4.AFSK1200
Gqrx is graphical SDR software where you can travel across frequencies
and in real time search for some transmission.
http://gqrx.dk/
It have builtin AFSK1200 demodulator or in simple words ham radio packets.
And you could try to see what people sending in tex around the world.
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+ 3.Projects where rtlsdr used +
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3.1.WebSDR
WebSDR probably best site where you can go and click on some radio reciever
and liste what happends in some particular country. WebSDR site contains
about 80 radio recievers around the world that can be accessed trought web
interface.
http://websdr.org/
If you whant setup your own radio reciever read FAQ, prepare mail and send mail
after that you could recieve precompiled websdr software with is easy
to setup with rtlsdr stick.
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+ 4.Problems +
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4.1.Sync errors
Once there was sync error when was trying to use rtl_test or rtl_adsb.
To fix that changes for better quality usb cable.
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+ 5.Links +
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[1] http://kmkeen.com/rtl-demod-guide/
[2] http://kmkeen.com/rtl-power/
[3] http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr
[4] http://www.rtl-sdr.com/
[5] https://github.com/antirez/dump1090
[6] http://gqrx.dk
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+ 6.Changelog +
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24aug2014 just initial writeup
5nov2014 prerealese