Software defined radio

Wiki ▸ Software defined radio

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📝 WORK IN PROGRESS: This is a drafting pad, simply notes at the moment. I'm learning a lot about this specific technology and don't know enough to teach, so I'm currently just compiling my own research (in public). Please don't consider this recommendations of "good" educational material, especially if you're coming from the much-more polished InfoSec page(s).

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"Learn from…"

📝 Editor's note: This list is not quite ordered but does attempt to provide a "from top to bottom/from start to finish" sorting for the complete beginner.

• Software Defined Radio - An Introduction

  An introductory overview of Software Defined Radio (SDR) is given by Schuyler St. Leger at Desert Code Camp at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. The hour-long talk covers what SDR is and how it differs from hardware radio, SDR hardware available today, software tools to use with SDR hardware, and live demonstrations of how to use SDR.

• Hak5 playlist: Software Defined Radio

  The male co-host of this show, Darren Kitchen, behaves like a classic techbro prick and his explanations aren't great but there is some decent beginner-level information here in a playlist that is sorted sensibly (from basic to advanced). The real value is in paying attention to the female co-host's (Shannon Morse's) learning process, which seems like it begins to carve a learning path for newbies like me.

• Basics of IQ Signals and IQ modulation & demodulation - A tutorial

  This video presents an introductory tutorial on IQ signals - their definition, and some of the ways that they are used to both create / generate modulated RF signals, and demodulate / analyze RF signals. IQ signals are most often used in the transmit and receive paths of Software Define Radios (SDR). A PDF of the drawings.

• Software Defined Radio (SDR) Tutorials, by Michael Ossmann

  This ongoing video series will be a complete course in Software Defined Radio (SDR). In this course, you'll build flexible SDR applications using GNU Radio through exercises that will help you learn the fundamentals of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) needed to master SDR. For the over-the-air exercises, you'll need a HackRF One or other SDR peripheral, such as an inexpensive RTL-SDR. (See #hardware.)

• GNU Radio Tutorials: Labs 1–5, by Balint Seeber

  Slide deck that contains some very important information regarding GNURadio. This has exercises and lessons so that participants can try them at their own pace.

• Michael Ossmann: Simple RF Circuit Design

  This workshop on Simple RF Circuit Design was presented by Michael Ossmann at the 2015 Hackaday Superconference. It sold out almost immediately and for good reason. He has designed numerous popular tools like the the HackRF One and YARD Stick One. Michael's depth of knowledge and experience make him a leader in a field that is often called a dark art. There is no reason to fear RF design. Follow his recommendations and remove some of the mystery from the topic. (Read the accompanying Hackaday article.)

• Technician Ham Radio License, by David Casler

  The ARRL is a licensing body that administers examinations and awards credentials for legal compliance in operating radio transmitters (it is generally safe and legal to passively receive radio signals, i.e., to listen to electro-magnetic spectrum radiation, but it is not legal to transmit, i.e., to speak using the same mechanism, i.e., EM/radio). This video series is a "teach-to-the-test" free course by a long-time licensed ham radio operator that for the most basic of these licenses, the "Tech" exam. The next exam is the "General" license and finally the "Amateur Extra" license.

Awesome List (DRAFT)

Hardware

• RTL-SDR - Inexpensive (~$20), common peripheral based on the R820T2 chipset, which has a frequency range of 24 – 1766 MHz. (Also available from HakShop, AdaFruit, and NooElec.)
• HackRF - Open source hardware platform that can be used as a USB peripheral capable of transmission or reception of radio signals from 1 MHz to 6 GHz.
• BladeRF - SDR transciever capable of full-duplex, very wide spectrum analysis and transmission with an integrated field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

Software

Cross-platform

• GQRX - Open source SDR receiver available for GNU/Linux and macOS.
• rtl_fm - Simple FM demodulator for RTL2832 based DVB-T receivers.
• GNU Radio - Free and open-source toolkit for software radio.
• GrOsmoSDR - Versatile library providing a GNURadio Companion block for numerous SDR devices as well as standalone apps, such as the osmocom_fft spectrum browser.
• Linrad - Free software, cross-platform radio spectrum viewer and digital signal processing (DSP) program.
• baudline - Powerful signal analyzer designed for scientific visualization.
• Universal Radio Hacker (URH) - Software for investigating unknown wireless protocols.
• GammaRF - Radio signal collection, storage, and analysis system based on inexpensive distributed nodes and a central server.

Windows

• SDR# - Freeware, proprietary SDR receiver package for the Windows operating system.
• HDSDR - Freeware, proprietary SDR spectrum analyzer for the Windows operating system.

Android

• SDR Touch - Freeware radio spectrum viewer app for Android.
• SDRoid - Free software radio spectrum viewer app for Android.
• RFAnalyzer - Free software radio frequency spectrum analyzer for Android.

Online communities

• /r/RTLSDR - Low-cost software defined radio (RTL2832 SDR) community.

UNCATEGORIZED (FOR NOW)

• FCC.io - Simple search and URL shortener for FCC ID queries.
• RadioReference Frequency Database - World's largest freely accessible radio frequency lookup database.
• Signal Identification Guide - Crowdsourced database of signal recordings to help identify radio signals through example sounds and waterfall images.
• ADSB Receiver - Android app providing an all-in-one ADSB decoder. (A limited tool, but a fun demo.)
• ADSB Receiver Project - Zero-hardware-required software package that creates a self-hosted Web-based ADSB portal site on a Debian system. (Not SDR specific but fun to know about.)
• Antenna-Theory.com - Website for learning about and understanding antennas, written by a practicing antenna engineer.
• Parts.IO - Distributor-independent searchable database for finding electronic components from various manufacturers.
• DigiKey - World's largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment; search for "RF filter."
• Telco Antenna - Australia-based retailer of carrier-grade antenna equipment who also publish a number of useful guides, such as a Guide to Antenna Cables and Connectors.
• Wireless Networking in the Developing World - Free book about designing, implementing, and maintaining low-cost wireless networks.
• How Does Radio Encryption Work? - A basic overview of the most common types of radio encryption.
• Radio Encryption Protocols - A slightly more in-depth look at radio encryption protocols.
• Over-The-Air-Rekeying - On OTAR, which is the common name for the method of transmitting, or remotely transferring, changing, or updating, data signal encryption "code" keys in telecommunication, control, navigation, or other secure information systems by conveying the keys via encrypted electronic communication channels (“over the air”). It is also referred to as Over-the-Air Transfer (OTAT), or Over-the-Air-Distribution (OTAD) depending on type.
• Basic Radio Etiquette for Beginners

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See also:

• related pages: Favorite conference talks has several videos dealing with "wireless" and "radio" hacking, worth watching, and Glossary for the definition and direct links to many obscure radio terms and jargon.