Category: Applications

DSDPlus Public Release Updated & Fast Lane Changes

The team behind DSDPlus has recently uploaded a new public release version 2.547. The last public release was version 1.101, released several years ago. Up until now, only DSD+ Fastlane customers have had access to the new version.

The new version adds new programs like FMP, which can be used to receive the FM signal from an RTL-SDR, Airspy or SDRplay SDR and transfer it to DSD+ over TCP. Previously, a program like SDR#, or SDR++ would have to be used along with audio piping software like VB Cable. 

Also introduced are numerous enhancements, including a single-receiver trunk-tracking mode that eliminates the need for dual SDR setups, a site loader GUI for rapid tuning and system selection, significantly expanded digital protocol support such as full P25 Phase II TDMA voice following, encryption algorithm and key ID detection, and GPS/AVL location and mapping capabilities. Hardware integration has also improved with features like bias-tee control for RTL-SDR Blog dongles, serial-targeted device selection, and smoother TCP-linked operation between DSD+ and FMP components.

The full list of changes can be found in the "Notes.txt" file in the DSDPlus zip file. The Radio Reference Wiki also has a summarized changelog.

The team also notes that they are now closing new signups to the DSD Fastlane program. FastLane was a program that allowed users to pay a small fee to receive the latest updates. They note that the program will remain active for users who have already signed up.

DSD Plus V2 Public Release with FMP24
DSD Plus V2 Public Release with FMP24

rtl_haos: An rtl_433 to Home Assistant Bridge

Thank you to Jaron McDaniel for writing in and sharing with us the release of his open source software called "rtl_haos". rtl_haos is a 'drop-in' bridge that turns one or more RTL-SDR dongles into Home Assistant friendly sensors via rtl_433 and MQTT. Jaron writes:

I just finished a tool that that bridges data received from rtl_433 into Home Assistant friendly entities. Basically allowing you to integrate anything rtl_433 can see into Home Assistant.

Basically you clone the git to a Rasberry PI, configure it for your MQTT server, plug in a RTL-SDR or two and you'll see entities with icons and units automatically assigned to whatever rtl_433 discovers.

This tool allows you to connect older and cheap non-Wi-Fi connected sensors to Home Assistant, which typically communicate to a base station via wireless ISM band signals. Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform that integrates and controls household devices such as lights, sensors, and actuators.

rtl_haos Overview
rtl_haos Overview

Using the Don’t Look Up Tool to Eavesdrop on Insecure Private Satellite Communications

Over on YouTube, Rob VK8FOES has uploaded a video showing how to install and use the "dontlookup" open-source Linux Python research tool for evaluating satellite IP link security. Back in October, we posted about a new Wired article that discussed how many geostationary satellites are broadcasting sensitive, unencrypted data in the clear and how a cheap DVB-S2 receiver and satellite dish can be used to eavesdrop on them.

In the video, Rob discusses the new dontlookup tool, which is an excellent one-stop shop open-source tool for parsing IP data from these satellites. He goes on to show the full steps on how to install and use the tool in Linux. The end result is private internet satellite data being visible in Wireshark (blurred in the video for legal reasons). In the video description, Rob writes:

I thought I would make a video showcasing this new open-source Python tool for Linux. 'Don't look up' is the result of a research campaign conducted by a group of cyber security researchers from the USA for decoding DVB-S2 satellite data transponders.

Geostationary communications satellites are somewhat of a 'perfect target' to malicious threat actors, due to their downlink signals covering large portions of earth surface. This gives attackers are large attack surface to intercept IP traffic being transmitted from space. To most peoples surprise, little-to-no security, such as encryption, are being used on these data transponders!

This is all old news to myself, and the fans of my YouTube channel that have been following my TV-satellite hobby for the past couple of years. Most of this was already possible with consumer-grade satellite equipment and a Python application called GSExtract. However, the scope of GSExtract was a lot more narrower than that of DontLookUp, with the developers claiming to have achieved an exponential packet recovery rate compared to GSExtract.

Join me in this video today where I will be showing my users how to patch and build the TBS5927 USB satellite receiver drivers for RAW data capturing. I'll also be showcasing the software application called 'DVBV5-Zap' which interfaces with our satellite receiver to capture RAW data from a satellite. And finally, I will finish-off the video by demonstrating the actual usage of DontLookUp itself. To make the tutorial as accessible as possible, I'm doing the entire process inside a Linux virtual machine!

This tutorial will probably only work in DragonOS FocalX R37 Linux by the wonderful @cemaxecuter. You are welcome to try on other Linux distributions, but your mileage will vary! Also, due to the TBS5927 using something called a 'Isochronous Endpoint', it's only possible to use this satellite receiver via USB Passthrough in VMWare versions 17.5 and above. VirtualBox does not support Isochronous USB Endpoints in any version. It's always best to run Linux on 'bare-metal' by installing it directly to your PC's internal SSD, or running it from a bootable USB thumb drive.

Please understand that if you own an internal PCI-E satellite receiver card from TBS, it is not possible to 'pass it through' to Linux running inside in a Type-2 Hypervisor (VMware, VirtualBox etc.) Installing Linux on bare-metal is the only hope for PCI-E card owners. Thanks very much for watching!

HARDWARE:
TBS5927 USB Satellite Receiver
90cm 'Foxtel' Satellite Dish
Golden Media GM202+ LNB
Hills RG-6 Coaxial Cable (F-Type Connectors, 75 Ohm)

SOFTWARE:
VMWare Workstation 17.6.2
DragonOS FocalX R37 Linux
TBS 'Linux_Media' Drivers
'RAW Data Handling' Patch
DVBV5-Zap
DontLookUp

If you're interested in this topic, Rob's YouTube channel has many videos on this topic that are worth checking out.

Don't Look Up (No, Not The Movie): A New Research Tool To Evaluate Satellite IP Link Security!

Receiving DAB and FM Signals with an RTL-SDR and Engima2 on OpenPLi 9.0

Thank you to "Radioto bg" from DXing.org for writing in and sharing with us his latest YouTube video showing how to receive DAB and FM signals with an RTL-SDR and the Enigma2 application running on OpenPLi. OpenPLi is an open-source Linux distribution for TV set-top boxes and Engima2 is a TV reception application used within the distribution.

RADIOTO shows how an RTL-SDR can be added to the system, allowing it to also receive DAB+ and FM radio.  In a previous post RADIOTO also showed how the RTL-SDR could be used as a DVB-T receive in Enigma2 and OpenPLi.

Turn Your Enigma2 Receiver into a DAB+ & FM Radio with RTL-SDR v.3! 🔥 Full Tutorial with OpenPli 9.0

SDR-Hub: A New RTL-SDR Scanner and Audio Recorder with Web Interface

Over on GitHub, user shajen has recently released a new open source program called "sdr-hub," which combines his two prior programs, called rtl-sdr-scanner-cpp and sdr-monitor, into one easy-to-launch project. The result is a powerful RTL-SDR scanner and audio recorder, with a web interface. In the past, we posted about rtl-sdr-scanner-cpp when Tech Minds made a video on it.

The scanner feature allows users to scan for active frequencies across a wide spectrum by rapidly retuning the RTL-SDR. If the transmissions are all within the same instantaneous bandwidth, the user can also record the audio.

The web interface then allows users to easily browse any created spectrum graphs and play back any audio recordings.

The software is available as a Docker image, making it easy to install and run.

SDR-Hub: RTL-SDR Scanner, Recorder and Web UI all in one.
SDR-Hub: RTL-SDR Scanner, Recorder and Web UI all in one.

Glide Path: ADS-B Visualization Software

Thank you to Kazuya for submitting an aircraft tracking app that he's created for use with RTL-SDR dongles and dump1090. The program currently exists only as Visual C++ code and is documented in Japanese, so it may be somewhat niche and intended for advanced users to try out. Kazuya writes:

I live near Tokyo Bay, so I enjoy watching the takeoffs and landings at Haneda Airport.

The unique feature of this app is that it visualizes the descent angle, which is difficult to see on a flat map.

This app has not been available for distribution. If you are an intermediate Visual C++ user, you may be able to rebuild or modify the app.

Topographical and landmark information is in text files, allowing you to customize area information in more detail for your airport.

----

(3) Glide_Path
Can be built independently.

Execution Environment
Copy the folder (ADS_GLIDE_PATH) to C:.

・When using an ADS antenna
Install the ADSB antenna and driver software on your PC.
(As a mid-way test, you will be able to listen to radio broadcasts on your PC.)
Launch dump1090_with_StdinAPL1.bat to ensure that tmp_ADS_B-0000****.txt is continually generated in C:\ADS_GLIDE_PATH\tmpDataFolder.

- Without an ADSB antenna
You can use the data in DemoData (approximately 30 minutes, 6,000 entries) to check the software's operation.
(Procedure) Launch Glide_Path.exe and, on the parameter change screen, set [S001] Demo Mode to 1.
Exit Glide_Path.exe and restart it. The Start Demo button will appear; press it.

(4) Stdin_Apl1
Can be built independently.
This is an auxiliary program when using the ADS antenna described above in (3). Stdin_Apl1.exe
This program parses the standard output of dump1090.exe, provided by the ADS antenna manufacturer, into a text file and processes the data so that it can be read by Glide_Path.exe.

Kazuya's ADS-B Visualization Software
Kazuya's ADS-B Visualization Software

SignalsEverywhere Software and Video Updates: Benshi Dash, AI Vibe Coding SDR Apps, Android NTSC Receiver, NOAA SAME Encoder

Thank you to SignalsEverywhere, aka Sarah Rose, for writing in and sharing some updates on what she's been working on recently.

First, Sarah provides an updated video that shows off her Benshi Dash Android application (GithHub, Name-Your-Price Store Download) for VR N76, UV Pro, and other similar handheld radios with Bluetooth connectivity. 

Benshi Dash | The Ultimate Radio Dashboard for VR-N76 UV-PRO Etc

Next, she notes that she uploaded a video showing the power of Google's Gemini AI, and how she was able to use it to vibe code a HackRF TV transmitter program on Linux in just a few minutes.

Vibe Coding a TV Transmitter on Linux with a HackRF

Next, she mentions that she also built an RTL-SDR NTSC Receiver for Android, based on the TVSharp decoder. It is available on GitHub and via her name-your-price store, with a $0.00 minimum spend. 

RTL-TV. An NTSC video decoder for Android and RTL-SDR.
RTL-TV. An NTSC video decoder for Android and RTL-SDR.

Finally, Sarah writes that she has also created a NOAA SAME weather encoder for use with a HackRF on Linux or Android. This allows users to transmit NOAA SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) alerts, which are weather alerts typically transmitted on the NOAA Weather Radio frequency, transmitted around 162 MHz. The software is available via GitHub, or via her store for $10 (Linux edition / Android edition).

NOAA SAME Transmitter
NOAA SAME Transmitter

Creating a Spectrum Analyzer with Zoom Capability with an RTL-SDR in GNU Radio

Thank you to Paul Maine "The SDR Guy" for submitting his latest video showing how to create a simple spectrum analyzer with zoom capability, using an RTL-SDR and GNU Radio. Paul writes:

Zoom capabilities are discussed in the 3rd edition of Richard G Lyons “Understanding Digital Signal Processing” book. This is a novel approach when compared to other YouTube videos about creating a Simple Spectrum Analyzer with an RTL-SDR.

Additionally, in the video, Paul explains what a spectrum analyzer is and what it's used for, as well as explaining the use of attenuators and discone antennas. In the video, Paul uses an RTL-SDR Blog V4, but has mentioned that an RTL-SDR Blog V3 would work well too.

E19 Create a Spectrum Analyzer with Zoom Capabilities