Omnimaga
General Discussion => Technology and Development => Other => Topic started by: compu on August 30, 2013, 02:30:16 pm
-
So, do you guys know about RTL-SDR?
Basically it turns cheap DVB-T-Sticks into a Software Defined Radio with a frequency range of 52-2200 MHz / 24-1766 MHz (depending on tuner).
You can do some cool stuff with it, like getting images from weather satellites (http://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-receiving-noaa-weather-satellite-images/) or listening to unencrypted voice transmissions (e.g. pilots talking to ground stations etc.)
A compatible DVB-T-Stick costs $10-$20, so it is really cheap for what you can do with it.
You can find more information (and more possible use cases) on rtl-sdr.com (http://www.rtl-sdr.com/about-rtl-sdr/).
I attached a screenshot showing the position, speed, altitude, etc. of nearby aircrafts by receiving ADS-B signals (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_dependent_surveillance-broadcast) at 1090 MHz using my Terratec T-Stick Plus (with E4000 tuner). I can receive transmissions from planes that are up to 120km away from me using the supplied antenna.
-
That is pretty cool to be able to watch air traffic from your living room :D
-
Yup, I have one such stick as well, also from Terratec and based on an E4000 chip, and once in a while, I do listen to unencrypted voice transmissions (among other things) as well :)
But the ADS-B signals I receive are usually pure garbage (or so says the decoder program I'm using).
-
Ah !
I do also have a DVB-T stick, although a cheap model I found, not a Terratec one.
I'll try that (if my dongle is compatible...) , it seems very cool :D
-
Looks like a cool little device to have, especially the pilots talking to ground stations part :)
-
Interesting. Just be careful to not get caught accidentally accessing top secret govt/police info or something. :P
-
Ha, that is kinda cool! ^^
-
Is that legal? It seems pretty interesting!
-
I didn't notice until now that that was germany x.x
-
The dongles, and RTL-SDR, work in every country :)
-
The dongles, and RTL-SDR, work in every country :)
I thought that, but then again you are supposed to notice your own country you live in :P
-
Is that legal? It seems pretty interesting!
I guess receiving ADS-B is legal, otherwise websites like flightradar24 (http://www.flightradar24.com/) wouldn't be possible, right?
Also I got a free premium account for feeding my ADS-B data to them ;)
Interesting. Just be careful to not get caught accidentally accessing top secret govt/police info or something. :P
Well, I can only receive, transmitting is not possible. So I'm not leaving any traces :P
But the ADS-B signals I receive are usually pure garbage (or so says the decoder program I'm using).
I can receive ADS-B pretty well. Currently I have 1300 frames/min :)