RF fun with a SDR

So this post will be the first of a series on fun “hacking” hardware that I own.

I just received my RTL-SDR to play with radio frequencies.

This one is based on a RTL2832U chipset and a R820T tuner. My choice was in part influenced by this review. Note that this kind of device isa receiver, so it will not be able to transmit anything.

Keedox RTL-SDR (RTL2832U with R820T tuner)

This model has the advantage of being really small, but maybe at the costing of heating. I noticed the USB connector becomes painfully hot during long sessions. Nothing serious, but a negative point though.

Of course, it is fully compatible with Linux and Gqrx even maintain a package for Ubuntu, so getting it to work consists simply in one apt-get command.

Gqrx

Gqrx

I already intercepted a few conversations on the AM 430Hz range, and a lot of weird signals (many are probably car or parking doors) all over that I recorded and will look at later.

Well, it is fun! Thanks to @virtualabs for bringing it up to my interest.