The Realtek RTL2832U, a.k.a.:
RTLSDR

and SDR in general.

by Alex Page

What is RTLSDR?

- Linux driver developers discovered it freq range (about 20MHz-2GHz), etc.

- typical cost $10-20

- maybe brief comparison to HackRF, FUNcube, USRP, etc.

Software: GNU Radio Companion

GNU Radio (and Companion)

Good instructions for getting started with GRC can be found at http://gnuradio.org/redmine/projects/gnuradio/wiki/GNURadioCompanion and http://www.csun.edu/~skatz/katzpage/sdr_project/sdrproject.html

Multimode

Software: Gqrx

Software: SDR#

Made for Windows, but OK in Linux.

See http://pastebin.com/tgYwRBQt and/orhttp://rtlsdr.org/softwarelinux for build instructions.

Android Software: SDR Touch

Not just for WFM radio

other apps too (e.g. Wavesink)

CLI Software

rtl_fm example: rtl_fm -f 98.9e6 -W - | aplay -r 32k -f S16_LE

Other stuff, untested

- QUISK: http://james.ahlstrom.name/quisk/ - Simulink-RTL-SDR: http://www.cel.kit.edu/simulink_rtl_sdr.php and https://github.com/kit-cel/simulink-rtl-sdr - ShinySDR: https://github.com/kpreid/shinysdr - Linrad: http://www.sm5bsz.com/linuxdsp/linrad.htm - Android App: ADS-B on USB SDR RTL

Projects

- voice: FM, HAM/ISS, scanner, etc. - my key fob, maybe garage doors, possible $3 transmitter project, see http://www.burningimage.net/rke/ - restaurant/other pagers, RF-controlled signs (e.g. bus/train sked), weather sensors, etc. - need for better antennas + adapters... esp. for astronomy

Image sources:http://adamsblog.aperturelabs.com/2013/03/you-can-ring-my-bell-adventures-in-sub.htmlhttp://www.britastro.org/radio/projects/Low_Cost_H_Line_Telescope.pdfhttp://rishi-patel.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/summary-of-horn-antenna-project.html

More Projects

- planes (dump1090+gmaps demo?) + ships (AIS) - weather satellites/balloons, other voice/data weather sources - security: leaked data signals, GSM, TPMS, etc. - GPS receiver? Spectrum analyzer?

Image sources:https://www.cgran.org/wiki/gr-air-modeshttp://sdrformariners.blogspot.co.nz/p/weather-satellites-software.htmlhttp://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-analyzing-gsm-with-airprobe-and-wireshark/http://www.multilateration.com/images/stories/mlat/ADS-B-and-MLAT.jpg

Recent-ish Talks

DEF CON 21: Melissa Elliott https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N1C3WB8c0o (LCD, microphone, keyboard, signature pad in a checkout aisle, ) and NYC E-ZPass http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/09/12/e-zpasses-get-read-all-over-new-york-not-just-at-toll-booths/ (no RTLSDR, but could use one. other RFID/NFC apps?)

ToorCon 15: TPMS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKqiq2Y43Wg

Blackhat 2010: GSM cracking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hjn-BP8nro doesn't use RTL-SDR, because it's newer than that

Conclusions

Pros/cons: cheap/cheap, everything in software / everything in software, wide range / not 2.4GHz, etc. Con: no xmitPro: educational prequel to USRP

Cheap: {use a different one for every project, use several at once for scanning, etc.} vs. {poor default antenna, low sample rate, etc.}

Image source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/double-edged-sword/6517/

Some Resources

http://rtlsdr.org/start: general info about hardware, software, possible projects, history, and links to other references

http://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/wiki/index: more detailed info about hardware and software options, links to guides, news and projects, and of course the actual subreddit/forum

http://www.rtl-sdr.com/: active blog with posts about projects, tutorials, new hardware and software, etc.

http://www.kb9ukd.com/digital/: categorized audio samples for comparison against unknown signals (not RTLSDR-specific)

http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr: the same general info as many of the other sites, but with more details about software and installation

Questions?

http://doge.noodlytime.com/create-doge.php