Category: Mobile

April 30, 2015

New ADS-B Android App for North America

Previously we posted about Android programmer Tosis Nikolaos’s last app which was called “Track your flight Europe”. The app allows you to view aircraft tracked via ADS-B received by an RTL-SDR on an offline map.

Now Nikos has written into us once again to let us know about his new app called “Track your flight North America“. It is the same as his previous app, but this one has high resolution offline maps for North America. He also writes that his Europe app has also been updated to support high resolution offline maps. The app costs 5.09 Euros + VAT. To run it you will need an Android device and an RTL-SDR with OTG cable.

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April 21, 2015

Remote RTL_UDP: RTL-SDR Remote Control Android App

Over the past few weeks programmer MichelinoK has been working on an Android app that allows the RTL-SDR to be listened to and controlled remotely. The app is called “Remote RTL_UDP” and allows you to control the parameters such as frequency, modulation type and gain settings on a remote rtl_udp server. It also allows you to store frequencies in a database and import frequencies from a SDR# database. The server can be run on a Raspberry Pi, Linux PC or any Linux device that is capable of running rtl_fm.

The post contains a full tutorial on the set up which involves the installation of ezstream and icecast for streaming audio as well as instructions for the installation of the modified version of rtl_fm called rtl_udp which allows remote control of the parameters via udp.

April 21, 2015

AISRec for Android: New AIS Decoder

Back in December last year we posted about Jane feverlay’s work on his software called AISRec, which was a Windows AIS decoder for the RTL-SDR that he had developed.

AIS is an acronym for Automatic Identification System and is a system used by ships to broadcast position and vessel information. By monitoring AIS transmissions with the RTL-SDR we can build a boat radar system. We have a tutorial on this here.

Now from YouTube it looks as though Jane has developed a new Android version of AISRec which he describes as a high performance dual-channel AIS receiver for use with a single RTL-SDR dongle. The features of AISRec include:

1. Functions include AIS and GPS NMEA I/O, from/to USB devices and serial ports (special android devices with serial ports).
2. It supports TCP server and UDP forwarding jointly or independently for AIS and GPS.
3. It supports steaming in WIFI in AP or station modes and Ethernet.
4. It supports auto run on boot for especially rooted devices.

He also writes that AISRec also has companion implementations for Windows desktop and metro, Linux on Raspberry Pi 2 and the Radxa pro.

Unfortunately, at the moment there does not seem to be a link available to download the software and the video may only be a preview. The video does link to his Taobao shop at http://shop114459024.taobao.com/ (in Chinese use Google Translate), which is where he might release the software when it is ready.

Watch this video on YouTube

April 7, 2015

New ADS-B Mapping and Decoder App for Android from FlightAware

Flightaware.com is a web based online radar service for aircraft. The plane position data is obtained from contributors running ADS-B decoding hardware, such as a special ADS-B receiver box or simply an RTL-SDR dongle.

To increase the number of contributors, the team at FlightAware have released a new RTL-SDR compatible ADS-B decoder app for Android devices. The App is totally free and is also ad free. It can be downloaded from the Google Play store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flightaware.android.flightfeeder. The intention of the app is to target users who may have an old Android device lying around, which can be put to good use in contributing data to FlightAware. More information about running the app can be found on their webpage.

When sharing data with FlightAware you are then eligible for a free enterprise account valued at $89.95 a month which allows you to access several advanced flight tracking features.

To use the app you’ll need an Android device, a USB OTG cable (ideally with external power port) and an RTL-SDR dongle. The USB OTG cable should ideally have an external power port and be powered from the mains with a power adapter as the battery can drain fast.

March 13, 2015

New ADS-B Android App for Europe

Android app programmer Nikos recently wrote in to let us know about his new app called “Track your flight Europe”. His app can be used together with an RTL-SDR and USB OTG cable to track aircraft via ADS-B. The difference between Nikos’ app and other similar ADS-B apps is that his app is specifically designed for tracking the aircraft you are flying in by providing an offline map which does not require an internet connection to display.

As the app is currently in the alpha stages of development, Nikos is looking for people to help test it out. The alpha can be downloaded for free on the Android Google play store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.qtproject.example.Android_Application_ADSB_final.

January 23, 2015

RTL-SDR Cell Phone IMSI, TMSI and Key Sniffer

Over on YouTube user Kali Gsm has uploaded a video showing off a new software program he has written that allows an RTL-SDR to be used to gather IMSI, TMSI and Key information from a cell phone connected to a PC.

The IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) is a number that uniquely identifies a cell phone. Because IMSI’s are unique, they can be used to track a cell phone so they are rarely broadcast and instead a TMSI (Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity) number is used to identify a cell phone instead. The TMSI is changed depending on geographic location or changed by the network randomly. The key is a number that is used to decrypt the GSM data sent to your phone.

Kali Gsm’s software is called rtl_tool_kit and is planned to be released soon on it’s GitHub page. It uses the gr-gsm software to sniff the GSM downlink with an RTL-SDR dongle and also interfaces to a connected mobile phone. The author writes that the following is possible with the software:

You can get imsi tmsi and key of the device connected to your pc.

You can send silent/flash sms

You can connect/match tmsi to a mobile number if target is on the same BTS and in GSM900/2G mode.

Update 25/01/2015: All YouTube videos appear to have been removed – though the uploader reports in the comments that the videos will be back online soon.
Update 29/01/2015: Videos are back online.

Watch this video on YouTube

Watch this video on YouTube

October 20, 2014

RF Analyzer Android App for the HackRF

Earlier this month we posted about a new port of the HackRF software defined radio Linux library for Android. Now the author of the Android port has created a new app called RF Analyzer. The app is basically a real time spectrum viewer that includes a waterfall display. The app can be downloaded from Github at https://github.com/demantz/RFAnalyzer.

The app currently supports the following features.

Browse the spectrum by scrolling horizontally

Zoom in and out, both horizontally and vertically

Adjust the sample rate and center frequency to match the current view of the screen by double tapping

Auto scale the vertical axis

Jump directly to a frequency

Adjust the gain settings of the HackRF

Select a pre-recorded file as source instead of a real HackRF

Change the FFT size

Setting the frame rate either to a fixed value or to automatic control

Activate logging and showing the log file

In the future the author intends to support the RTL-SDR and implement demodulation for basic modes such as AM, FM and SSB.

To use the app you’ll need an USB OTG (on-the-go) cable to connect your Android device to the HackRF.

RF Analyzer demonstration - Showing a FFT plot by using an Android device and the HackRF

Watch this video on YouTube

September 5, 2014

SDR Touch Updated to Version 2.0

SDR Touch, the popular Android based software defined radio software for the RTL-SDR has been updated to version 2.0. This new version is a complete rewrite with many optimizations listed below.

100% rewritten from scratch
Improved reception sensitivity and quality
Optimized engine
GUI overhaul (Landscape mode, more flexible)
16 bit audio
FIR filtering

The author also writes that the rewrite allows for new features coming out in the future such as adjustable bandwidth, FFT size, plugins and a separate GUI for in-car use. SDR Touch is available from the Android Play store.