Home

About RTL-SDR

Quick Start Guide

Featured Articles

Software

Signal ID Wiki

Forum

RTL-SDR Store

Guide Book

Submit

Tagged: hdsdr
June 10, 2015

New ExtIO for the HackRF and HDSDR

Weve received a note from RTL-SDR.com reader Tim about a new ExtIO module available
for the HackRF and HDSDR. ExtIO stands for External IO, and is a special DLL file that
allows HDSDR and other software to access hardware like the HackRF.
To use it, simply copy the HackRF ExtIO dll file into the HDSDR directory, and select it
when opening HDSDR. The module currently supports 2, 4, 8, 10, 12.5, 16 and 20 MSPS
sample rates. We tested it briefly on our own HackRF and it ran just fine at all sample rates.
The module is available on GitHub and its current binary release can be downloaded here.

The HackRF
running in HDSDR with the new ExtIO Module.
Written by admin 1 Comment Posted in HackRF Tagged with hackrf, hdsdr April 9, 2015

How to Setup CWSkimmer with an RTLSDR and HDSDR

Over on YouTube user Brent Crier has uploaded a tutorial video showing how to set up
CWSkimmer with an RTL-SDR and HDSDR. CWSkimmer is regarded as one of the best
pieces of software that can be used to decode CW a.k.a Morse code.
Morse code is a communications technique still used widely by the amateur radio community
in the HF bands. The RTL-SDR can receive HF frequencies and Morse code with an
upconverter or direct sampling modification.
In the video Brent goes over the installation of HDSDR, Virtual Audio Cable, and a program
called Virtual Serial Port (VSP) manager as well as the needed settings for each program. The
set up he shows allows CWSkimmer to automatically change the frequency in HDSDR when
tuning in CWSkimmer.
How to setup a CWSkimmer with a RTL SDR and HDSDR
Written by admin No comments Posted in Amateur Radio, Applications, HF, RTL-SDR
Tagged with CW, cwskimmer, hdsdr, morse code, rtl-sdr, rtl2832, rtl2832u August 6, 2014

Hak5: Exploring With The PortaPack and

HDSDR
In this Hak5 episode Darren discusses the HackRF PortaPack which is a portable LCD screen
device that connects to a HackRF SDR and allows portable frequency spectrum visualization.

The PortaPack is currently under development and in the future it will allow demodulation of
multiple audio modes and possibly digital demodulation and recording capabilities as well.
Later in the episode Shannon presents a tutorial on HDSDR, an SDR GUI alternative to
SDR#. She shows how to install and use the HDSDR program.
Exploring With The PortaPack and HDSDR; Then Relaxing In A HotTub, Hak5 1624
Written by admin 2 Comments Posted in RTL-SDR Tagged with hackrf, hak5, hdsdr,
portapack, rtl-sdr, rtl2832, rtl2832u February 11, 2014

The BIG List of RTL-SDR Supported

Software
There are now dozens of software defined radio packages that support the ultra cheap RTLSDR. On this page we will attempt to list, categorize and provide a brief overview of each
software program. We categorize the programs into general purpose software, single purpose
software, research software and software compatible with audio piping.
If you know of a program that is missing please leave a comment in the comments section at
the bottom of the page.
13/02/2014 Added Sodira, gr-wmbus, rtlsdr-waterfall, QTRadio, multimon, sdrangelove,
lte-scanner, rtl_tcp, rtl_sdr_FS20_decoder.
17/02/2014 Updated the Linrad description.
28/04/2014 Added Modesdeco and Trunk88.
30/05/2014 Added RTL Panorama, RTL SDR Panoramic Spectrum Analyzer, Chrome Radio
Receiver, SeeDeR, DAB Player, RTL SDR Installer, PD/Max Wrapper, SDRWeather, LTR
Analyzer, softEOT/softDPU and ScanEyes.
26/07/2014 Added PiAware, OOK-Decoder, rtl_fm_python, rtl_power heatmap viewer, RTL
Bridge, threejs-spectrum, CANFI Software, PNAIS, FLARM Decoder, Xastir, RTLSDRAirband, SDRTrunk.
13/11/2014 Added Touchstone, RFAnalyzer, RTL1090 XHSI Interface, Parus Decoder,
PlotRTL1090, LRPT Decoder.
05/02/2015 Added rtl_tool_kit, CubicSDR, OregonWeather, FreqWatch.
15/04/2015 Added ADSBox, YouSDR, FlightAware Flight Feeder, Frequensea, Track your
flight EUROPE, QSpectrumAnalyzer, Doppler & Demod, Redsea, rtl_heatmap, gr-gsm,
driveby, SDRecord.

General Purpose RTL-SDR

Software

We define general purpose SDR software as programs that allow the RTL-SDR to work like a
normal wideband radio receiver.

SDR# (Windows) (Free)

SDR#
SDR# (pronounced SDR Sharp) is the most popular free RTL-SDR compatible software in
use at the moment. It is relatively simple to use compared to other SDR software and has a
simple set up procedure. We have a full overview of the installation procedure on our Quick
Start Page.
SDR# is a simple to use program that also has some advanced features. It has a useful
modular plugin type architecture, and many plugins have already been developed by third
party developers. The basic SDR# download without any third party plugins includes a
standard FFT display and waterfall, a frequency manager, recording plugin and a digital noise
reduction plugin. SDR# also decodes RDS signals from broadcast FM.

HDSDR (Windows) (Free)

HDSDR
HDSDR is based on the old WinRAD SDR program. HDSDR supports the RTL-SDR through
use of an ExtIO.dll module. To install HDSDR, download the program from the link on the
main HDSDR page, then to use the RTL-SDR you will need to download the
ExtIO_RTL2832.dll file an place it into the HDSDR folder. When opening HDSDR, select the
newly copied ExtIO_RTL2832.dll. The other dlls that come with HDSDR will not work with
the RTL-SDR, even though they have RTL-SDR in their filename. The official installation
instructions can be found here.
Along with a FFT display and waterfall, HDSDR has some extra advanced features. Users
will also find an Audio FFT and waterfall display on the bottom of the screen. The output
audio can also be bandpass filtered by dragging the filter borders on the display. Bandpass
filtering the audio can really help clean up a noisy signal. The audio processing also supports
placing of notch filters either manually or automatically. There are also noise reduction and
noise blanker features and an automatic frequency centering algorithm which will
automatically center the signal, so you dont need to click exactly in the center of a signal.
Traditional ham radio users will also enjoy the S-units signal strength meter and the built in
frequency manager.

SDR-RADIO.COM V2 (Windows) (Free)

SDRRADIO.COM V2
SDR-RADIO.COM V2 is a popular SDR program with many advanced features. As such is it
a fair amount more difficult to learn and use compared to SDR# and HDSDR. Be sure you
install version 2 and not V1.5 as only V2 has RTL-SDR support.
Once sdr-radio is installed, to get it working with the RTL-SDR you will need to compile or
download three .dll files (SDRSourceRTL2832U.dll, rtlsdr.dll and libusb-1.0.dll) and place
them into the sdr-radio folder. To compile your own dlls see the instructions here, otherwise
download the dlls directly from the bottom of this link. If the dlls were placed in the correct
folder you will be able to add your RTL-SDR as a receiver by clicking on the +Definitions
button, and then finding and adding the RTL SDR (USB) option under the search drop down
menu.
Like HDSDR, not only does sdr-radio have a RF FFT signal and waterfall display, but also an
optional audio spectrum FFT and waterfall display. Built in are also several DSP features like
a noise blanker, noise reduction filter, notch filter and squelch options. The EMNS noise
reduction filter is particularly good at automatically cleaning up and clarifying voice signals.
To add to the feature list, sdr-radio also has built in PSK, RTTY and RDS decoders, and also
comes with a satellite tracker. Furthermore, sdr-radio has an excellent remote server which
will allow you to easily set up and connect to a remote RTL-SDR server over a network or the
internet. Finally, sdr-radio is capable of listening to up to 6 signals in the same chunk of
visible spectrum at a time.

Continue reading

Written by admin 53 Comments Posted in Featured Article, Other, RTL-SDR Tagged with
adsb, AIS, cuSDR, hdsdr, linrad, NOAA, powersdr, rtl-sdr, rtl2832, rtl2832u, sdr touch, sdr#,
SDR-J, sdr-radio, shinysdr, software defined rado, studio1. gqrx, wavesink, webradio
February 10, 2014

Receiving 10m RTTY with the RTL-SDR

YouTube user ukasz Kosson has uploaded a video showing how he was able to decode
RTTY signals on 10m (28 MHz). RTTY is an acronym for Radio Teletype, and is a method
used to transmit text. To decode RTTY he used HDSDR and piped the audio output to fldigi.
10m RTTY using RTL-SDR
Written by admin 1 Comment Posted in Amateur Radio, Digital Signals, RTL-SDR Tagged
with hdsdr, radio teletype, rtl-sdr, rtl2832, rtl2832u, RTTY November 4, 2013

HDSDR Updated to Version 2.70. Now with

Autocorrelation Feature for Signal
Identification
HDSDR, a popular SDR program used with the RTL-SDR dongle has been updated to version
2.70. The new features include
- better CPU utilization
added Automatic Notch Filter
added AFC for AM and FM. AFC can be deactivated in ECSS mode
smoothed S-Meter display
enhanced parameters for SDR on IF output
new keyboard shortcuts for Lo/HiCut and WAV files
spectrum switchable to Autocorrelation/Cepstrum display (Click on Spectrum label)
TX-Button for HRD(DDE) / CAT to HDSDR
added Double Size option in Frequency Input Dialog
Frequency Manager now provides 5 User Banks
The new autocorrelation feature is particularly useful for signal identification. The authors of
HDSDR have created a webpage showing what the autocorrelation feature can be used for,
and how to use it.

HDSD
R Autocorrelation Feature
Written by admin No comments Posted in Applications, News, RTL-SDR Tagged with
autocorrelation, hdsdr, rtl sdr, rtl2832u, signal identification August 29, 2013

RTL-SDR and RDS Spy with HDSDR

On YouTube user pe1etr shows us a video where he uses his RTL-SDR combined with
HDSDR, Virtual Audio Cable and RDS Spy to decode a distant RDS signal. RDS Spy is a
free advanced software program capable of decoding weak RDS signals contained in many
broadcast FM radio stations.
RDS stands for Radio Data System and is a digital signal embedded into broadcast FM
signals. It is used by radio stations to display the name of the radio station and current song
playing on an LCD screen.
HDSDR & RDS Spy side by side
Written by admin 1 Comment Posted in Applications, Broadcast Radio, Digital Signals, RTLSDR Tagged with hdsdr, radio data service, RDS, rds spy, rtl-sdr, rtl2832u June 17, 2013

CW (Morse Code) with RTL-SDR

YouTube user Wolfgang Bleher shows in this video his reception and decoding of Morse code
using an R820T RTL-SDR stick, HDSDR and CWSkimmer. He used a 2m Yagi as the
antenna.
HDSDR with SDR Stick R820T and CWSkimmer
Written by admin No comments Posted in Amateur Radio, Applications, HF, RTL-SDR
Tagged with cwskimmer, hdsdr, morse code, rtl-sdr, rtl2832u

Home

About RTL-SDR

Quick Start Guide

Featured Articles

Software

Signal ID Wiki

Forum

RTL-SDR Store

Guide Book

Submit

About RTL-SDR
What is RTL-SDR?
RTL-SDR is a very cheap software defined radio that uses a DVB-T TV tuner dongle based
on the RTL2832U chipset. With the combined efforts of Antti Palosaari, Eric Fry
and Osmocom it was found that the signal I/Q data could be accessed directly, which allowed
the DVB-T TV tuner to be converted into a wideband software defined radio via a new
software driver.
Essentially, this means that a cheap $20 TV tuner USB dongle with the RTL2832U chip can
be used as a computer based radio scanner. This sort of scanner capability would have cost
hundreds or even thousands of dollars just a few years ago. The RTL-SDR is also often
referred to as RTL2832U, DVB-T SDR, RTL dongle or the $20 Software Defined Radio.

There are many other software defined radios similar to the RTL-SDR, but they all come at a
much higher price. The FunCube PRO+ is a good receiver similar to the RTL-SDR, priced at
around $190 USD. There is now also the Airspy ($200) and SDRPlay ($300). Then there are
the HackRF ($300USD) and BladeRF SDRs ($420 and $650), which can both transmit and
receive.

What is Software Defined Radio?

Radio components such as modulators, demodulators and amplifiers are traditionally
implemented in hardware components. The advent of modern computing allows most of these
traditionally hardware based components to be implemented into software instead. Hence, the
software defined radio. This enables easy signal processing and thus cheap wide band scanner
radios to be produced.

What are some RTL-SDR Radio Scanner Applications?

The RTL-SDR can be used as a wide band radio scanner. Applications include:

Listening to unencrypted Police/Ambulance/Fire/EMS conversations.

Listening to aircraft traffic control conversations.

Tracking aircraft positions like a radar with ADSB decoding.

Decoding aircraft ACARS short messages.

Scanning trunking radio conversations.

Decoding unencrypted digital voice transmissions.

Tracking maritime boat positions like a radar with AIS decoding.

Decoding POCSAG/FLEX pager traffic.

Scanning for cordless phones and baby monitors.

Tracking and receiving meteorological agency launched weather balloon data.

Tracking your own self launched high altitude balloon for payload recovery.

Receiving wireless temperature sensors and wireless power meter sensors.

Listening to VHF amateur radio.

Decoding ham radio APRS packets.

Watching analogue broadcast TV.

Sniffing GSM signals.

Using rtl-sdr on your Android device as a portable radio scanner.

Receiving GPS signals and decoding them.

Using rtl-sdr as a spectrum analyzer.

Receiving NOAA weather satellite images.

Listening to satellites and the ISS.

Radio astronomy.

Monitoring meteor scatter.

Listening to FM radio, and decoding RDS information.

Listening to DAB broadcast radio.

Use rtl-sdr as a panadapter for your traditional hardware radio.

Decoding taxi mobile data terminal signals.

Use rtl-sdr as a high quality entropy source for random number generation.

Use rtl-sdr as a noise figure indicator.

Reverse engineering unknown protocols.

Triangulating the source of a signal.

Searching for RF noise sources.

Characterizing RF filters and measuring antenna SWR.

Furthermore, with an upconverter or direct sampling mod to receive HF signals the

applications are expanded to:

Listening to amateur radio hams on SSB with LSB/USB modulation.

Decoding digital amateur radio ham communications such as CW/PSK/RTTY/SSTV.

Receiving HF weatherfax.

Receiving digital radio monodial shortwave radio (DRM).

Listening to international shortwave radio.

Looking for RADAR signals like over the horizon (OTH) radar, and HAARP signals.

Note that not all the applications listed may be legal in your country. Please be responsible.

What is the RTL-SDR frequency range?

This is dependant on the particular tuner variant used in the dongle.
Tuner

Frequency range

Elonics E4000

52 2200 MHz with a gap from 1100 MHz to 1250 MHz (varies)

Rafael Micro
R820T

24 1766 MHz (Can be improved to ~13 1864 MHz with

experimental drivers)

Fitipower FC0013 22 1100 MHz

Fitipower FC0012 22 948.6 MHz
FCI FC2580

146 308 MHz and 438 924 MHz (gap in between)

Table Source: Osmocom

As you can see from the table, the Elonics E4000 and Rafael Micro R820T dongles have the
greatest frequency range.

What is the RTL-SDRs sample rate?

The maximum sample rate is 3.2 MS/s (mega samples per second). However, the RTL-SDR is
unstable at this rate and may drop samples. The maximum sample rate that does not drop
samples is 2.4 MS/s, however some people have had luck with 2.8MS/s and 3.2 MS/s working
well on some USB 3.0 ports.

What is the RTL-SDRs ADC resolution?

The native resolution is 8 bits, but the Effective Number of Bits (ENOB) is estimated at ~7.
Decimation in software may raise this value.

What is the RTL-SDR input impedance?

Since these dongles are intended for TV, all dongles will have an input impedance of about 75
Ohms. However, the mismatch loss when using 50 Ohm cabling will be very minimal at
around 0.177 dB.
The 75 Ohm impedance for the R820T can be checked on the datasheet which can be
downloaded here.