Thank you to Patricio (LU5AKF) for sharing with us the release of HamRadioWeb.com's new FT8 WSJTx JTDX remote control Android app. Previously, we posted about HamRadioWeb's browser-based remote FT8 and FT4 receiver, and this Android app seems like a natural continuation of their software.
Patricio writes:
The app allows amateur radio operators to remotely control their JTDX or WSJT-X station from any Android phone or PC — no VPN, no port forwarding required.
What operators can do with it:
Monitor real-time FT8/FT4 decodes and band activity, just like sitting in front of JTDX or WSJT-X
Respond to CQ calls and transmit CQ remotely
Check where your signal is being heard via PSKReporter
Explore a worldwide activity map and a public DX spot page
Keep a contact log — auto-detected or manually added/imported
Follow community rankings and chat with other operators
The station connection is handled by a free Windows companion app (HamRadioWeb Companion) that links JTDX or WSJT-X to the user's account.
No radio at hand? The app opens in demo mode with simulated data so anyone can explore before creating an account.
Screenshots from the HamRadioWeb.com FT8 Remote Control App.
Thank you to wonderingStars for writing in and sharing updates to his FoxSDR software program. FoxSDR is a new AI-coded software that supports all common protocols and SDRs.
The first update that wonderingStars notes is the addition of a node canvas where you can wire radios, decoders, speakers, and displays together. It can run up to five SDRs at the same time, each with its own decoders. This is now FoxSDR's main screen.
The second update is a map that can accept multiple inputs from multiple decoders, allowing users to plot various data streams such as ADS-B, AIS, amateur high-altitude balloons, and more on a single map.
The third update is that Linux x64 builds are now published, although they are noted to still be in development. An Android arm64 build has also been released in alpha form. To access this, users will need to sign up to test.
The final update adds a new radar sweep feature, which locates the positions of air-traffic radars around you by listening to 1090 MHz. The author explains:
Secondary surveillance radars rotate and interrogate aircraft transponders as their beam passes. Aircraft that broadcast ADS-B also report their own position, so every reply they give reveals where a radar was pointing at that moment. Radar Sweep collects these replies over hours and works out each radar's location, rotation speed and direction on its own. It then draws bearing lines towards aircraft that answer the radar but broadcast no position, and marks a position where two radars' lines cross.
It is the same idea as PlanePlotter's Beamfinder, except that Radar Sweep finds the radar sites itself instead of being given them. It is not affiliated with PlanePlotter or its authors.
In testing on a 12.8-hour recording, it confirmed two radars, each within about 5 km of a published airfield position. Bearings to held-out aircraft had a median error of 0.3°.
You need a 1090 MHz antenna, an SDR running at 2 MS/s or more, and a few hours of traffic. Radar Sweep remembers the radars it finds and never reveals your location.
It is available free to FoxSDR users in the United States.
The author also wanted to share an upcoming feature, which is the GUI builder, which will allow you to customize your own GUI.
FoxSDR: New Node Canvas + Radar Sweep
AI Disclaimer: wonderingStars describes their company as a human-gated AI company, and FoxSDR is AI coded.
Thank you to Christian from ebcTech.eu for writing in and sharing with us the release of his new Android app called "RTL-SDR Pager" (Google Play Store link). The app is designed to work with an RTL-SDR dongle connected to the Android device. It is capable of decoding POCSAG and FLEX messages. However, Christian notes that he hasn't been able to test FLEX decoding so far because there are no FLEX channels in his area, so he would be interested in any feedback on this.
The app also provides push alerts, allowing you to monitor for a specific RIC or keyword and allows you to save channel lists.
The app offers a free demo that allows up to 50 messages. Upgrading to unlimited messages costs $3.99.
All the way back in 2014, we posted about Avare ADS-B Receiver, which back then was a simple RTL-SDR ADS-B receiver and map for Android devices. The author of this app, TFL, recently wrote in and shared that the app is now a modern, fully featured ADS-B app, having added many new features such as UAT decoding with aviation weather products and NEXRAD weather radar/lightning strikes shown on the map, aircraft pictures, better SDR support, traffic filters, and audio alerts.
ADSB Receiver lets you collect live air traffic data directly on your Android device using any RTL-SDR (RTL2832U) dongle and an OTG cable. No cloud. No fees. Just raw RF decoded in real time.
Dual-band reception — 1090 MHz Extended Squitter (ES) for worldwide traffic, and 978 MHz UAT for US general aviation traffic plus integrated weather products (METAR, TAF, PIREP, SIGMET, AIRMET, WINDS, NOTAM)
Live aircraft details — tap any target on the map to pull a live photo alongside aircraft type and registered operator
NEXRAD weather imagery — receive official NEXRAD radar images over UAT 978 MHz
Network send/receive —
Forward all received data to any GDL90-capable EFB app (AvareX, ForeFlight, iFlyGPS, DroidEFB, and others)
Stream dump1090/dump978 frames to any SDR tool on your network, or ingest from an external source
Bias Tee and Gain support — power an external LNA or active antenna, adjust Gain as needed
Proximity alerts — configurable range-based traffic warnings with optional callsign filtering; useful for drone pilots monitoring airspace
Thank you to Cees for writing in and sharing his Android app, "Carshepherd," which is currently in the pre-release stage. Carshepherd works with a connected RTL-SDR and TETRA antenna to give drivers early awareness of nearby emergency-service activity (such as police, ambulance, fire) by detecting the TETRA uplink signal.
Cees notes that this is essentially the same as what hardware devices like 'Target Blu Eye' do to detect emergency services. Laser/radar detectors are illegal in most European countries, and while not advertised as such for legal reasons, Carshepherd could be a legal alternative for detecting laser/radar speed traps, detecting ProViDa video-based pacing vehicles, or just for general awareness.
The app works by continuously sweeping the TETRA bands, looking for the signature of a TETRA carrier. Once it detects a confirmed uplink carrier, it estimates proximity, which then triggers a readout and audible alert. The TETRA uplink is not always active, but emergency service vehicles often send bursts of uplink data every few seconds with GPS position updates, and, of course, during voice PTT.
The algorithm is based on a large labeled dataset from dozens of real-world test drives. The dataset trains an AI classifier that can even tell you whether an emergency unit is keeping pace with you (e.g., traveling down the same stretch of motorway as you) or whether you are approaching a stationary unit.
Carshepherd currently only works in countries whose emergency services use the TETRA communications protocol, which includes most of Europe and various other countries, but notably not the USA. However, Cees notes that they are working on a US version that will listen to the P25 network.
While Carshepherd has not yet been released, the pricing is indicated as €3.99 per month. You can sign up for the waitlist at www.carshepherd.nl.
Thank you to Richard (9G5AR) for writing in and sharing with us the release of his open source Android app called 9GRadio. Richard writes that 9GRadio is an app designed for spectrum monitoring/analysis and the decoding of analog/ham/aviation and marine radio traffic.
In terms of demodulation it supports AM, FM, NFM, WFM, WFM Stereo, USB, LSB, CW, CWR, DSB and RAW IQ modes.
For digital decoding, it supports APRS, digital voice modes such as DMR, D-STAR, YSF, dPMR, NXDN, and aircraft, marine, and datalink modes such as ADS-B, AIS, ACARS, RDS, and multilateration.
Richard also notes that 9GRadio includes a full multilateration stack for locating transmitters, which works with 2+ networked 9GRadio receivers. Interestingly, the multilateration stack is noted to be protocol-agnostic, meaning it should work not only with ADS-B, but also with any mode that provides a digital identity for a transmission, such as AIS, ACARS, RDS, and digital voice modes.
The app is not available on the Google Play Store, but the APK is available for sideloading on the project's GitHub Releases page, along with the open source code.
Over on her YouTube channel SignalsEverywhere, Sarah has uploaded an interesting video showing her doing a wardrive for DECT devices, with an Android device connected to a HackRF, running her own Android version of DECT toolkit. In the past, we also covered her DeDECTive software, which is a fully DECT scanner and voice decoder for Linux and the HackRF.
DECT is a digital wireless protocol operating at around 1.9 GHz, which is typically used by modern cordless home phones, baby monitors, headsets, intercoms, and more. If you are unfamiliar with the term wardriving, this is when someone drives around in a vehicle and looks for interesting signals around the area. Wardriving is typically associated with mapping out the local WiFi environment and looking for security flaws, but it can apply to any signal.
During her wardrive, Sarah finds mostly VTech cordless phones, but a few other models like 'Binatone' and 'RTX' pop up, which she suspects are headsets, one possibly from a local McDonald's. She notes that only one active call was found, although the video has voice decoding stripped out for privacy reasons. She also notes that no encryption was found to be enabled on any device, despite DECT supporting it. The Android App also records the GPS position of any found DECT devices on a map.
Thank you to RTL-SDR.COM reader Ladislav for submitting information about the release of a new Android app by Alexsxxx called "SwR - Shortwave Radio". This is an Android-only app that lets users easily listen to KiwiSDR and Web-888 receivers. The app appears to be free, with no in-app purchases.
SwR is a client for the worldwide network of public shortwave receivers. Tune in to live shortwave radio from hundreds of volunteer-run receivers around the globe — right from your phone.
Features: • Connect to any public receiver • Live spectrum and scrolling waterfall display • Drag the spectrum to tune; drag the waterfall to pan the band • Nixie-tube style frequency display with per-digit tuning • AM, LSB, USB, CW and FM demodulation • Zoom from the full band down to a narrow window • World map of receivers — tap one to start listening • Volume and mute controls
