A Demonstration of the RTL-SDR Receiving WiFi and 2.4 GHz ISM with a Modded SUP-2400 Downconverter
Back in April we posted about how KD0CQ found that he could receive signals up to 4.5 GHz with an RTL-SDR by using a $5 downconverter for DirecTV called the SUP-2400. The RTL-SDR can only receive up to a maximum frequency of about 1.7 GHz, but the SUP-2400 downconverter can be modified to convert frequencies at around 2.4 GHz down into a range receivable by the RTL-SDR.
When we first posted the story the instructions for modifying the SUP-2400 to use as a downconverter weren’t uploaded yet, but they are now. The modification requires decent soldering skills as it involves desoldering a few small SMD components and bridging some points with wires.
Over on YouTube user T3CHNOTURK has uploaded a video showing the downconverter in action. With the SUP-2400 downconverter and RTL-SDR he is able to receive some WiFi at 2.447 GHz as well as signals from a wireless keyboard at 2.465 GHz
I mean the MMDS downconverter
Can I use MMDS instead? If I would , am I going to need a power injector?
I see that the Outernet receiver uses the RTL-SDR.com dongle. Is this a V.3 dongle?
Thanks.
For some they’ve used E4000 dongles, and for others they’ve used our V3. So yes they are V3 dongles.
Thanks.
Airspy only supports 5 MHz of usable bandwidth. Wi-Fi is at least 20 MHz wide, and 40 MHz or 80 MHz is now getting common. Is it possible for SDR# or GNURadio to rapidly hop between 4 frequency ranges to get a picture of what 20 MHz looks like? I realize that the performance drops since the samples are split 4 ways, maybe split 16 ways if we’re trying to look at an 80 MHz wide signal.
Airspy have a program called SpectrumSpy which is included with the SDR# download, and this does what you describe.
Not to mention 2.4 GHz also has the 13cm ham band, right below WiFi. I believe a couple of amateur satellites have downlinks in this range. For example FunCube2 (whenever its activated for amateur use).