Category: News

SDRplay RSPdx-R2 Released

SDRplay has announced the release of their latest product, the SDRplay RSPdx-R2. The RSPdx-R2 is advertised as an enhanced version of their RSPdx software-defined radio. The press release from SDRplay reads:

Jon Hudson, SDRplay Sales and Marketing Director said “Global supply chain support issues have prompted some redesign of existing products to ensure continued supply for our UK manufacturing partners. With each new member of the RSP family, SDRplay tries to include improvements. This has given us the opportunity to offer performance enhancements at the same time as assuring supply”.

  • The RSPdx-R2 provides up to 10MHz spectrum visibility anywhere from 1kHZ to 2GHz with no gaps. It features:
  • Improvements to the RSPdx for MF frequencies and below:
    • Improved noise performance below 1MHz
    • Improved dynamic range below 2MHz both in tuner mode and HDR mode
  • 3 Software selectable inputs, including a BNC input for up to 200MHz
  • A 500kHz LPF for LF/VLF
  • HDR mode for enhanced performance under 2MHz
  • Notch filters on all inputs
  • A rugged steel case

More details on https://www.sdrplay.com/rspdxR2/

The suggested retail price is £188.00 GBP (excluding VAT), $235.00 USD (excluding tax) or €225.60 EUR (excluding tax).

SDRplay recently launched their free multiplatform SDRconnect software which as well as running on Windows, will also run on MacOS and Linux/Raspberry Pi. As with their SDRuno windows software, the emphasis is on “plug and play” making the SDRplay receivers an easy-to-use and low-cost way to discover (or rediscover) the radio hobby for anyone who already uses a computer.

SDRplay has also provided the datasheet of the RSPdx-R2 which can be downloaded here.

The new RSPdx-R2
The new RSPdx-R2
Introducing the SDRplay RSPdxR2

DeepRad: Upcoming Modular RTL-SDR System to be CrowdFunded

The company "DeepSea Developments" have recently released news about their upcoming crowdfunding campaign for their 'DeepRad' modular RTL-SDR system. The goal of DeepRad appears to be a modular RTL-SDR that can easily be used as a module on a 'motherboard' PCB of your own design.

DeepRad is currently in the 'Coming Soon' stage on CrowdSupply, and will probably be released for crowdfunding in the next few months.

DeepRad is a modular version of the RTL-SDR, a product beloved by radio enthusiasts. However, DeepRad offers distinct advantages. Its modularity makes integration far simpler, side-stepping the complexities of designing an RTL-SDR from scratch (such as RF considerations and chip stocking issues). DeepRad is a versatile option for integrating many different radio functions into whatever projects you’re working on today.

We want the community to create their own "motherboards" with 1, 3, or as many as 20 DeepRad modules to bring new applications to life. There are three versions of DeepRad we’ll be focusing on for this campaign:

  • DeepRad Module: The bare DeepRad module (no motherboard). The user has to develop a board to use it.
  • DeepRad Single: A single DeepRad module with a motherboard. It has USB Type-C and an antenna connection. It can be used as your regular RTL-SDR with USB.
  • DeepRad Quad: A motherboard with 4 DeepRad modules integrated via a USB hub with a USB Type-A connector.
The DeepRad Quad Motherboard with Four DeepRad Modules

Flipper Zero Starts a Petition To Fight Canada Ban

Back in early February we reported about how the Canadian government is making plans to completely ban the Flipper Zero, and popular pentesting tool. The wording from Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's Minister of Public Safety, also implies that software defined radio devices could also be banned.

The reason for the ban is because the Canadian government claims that Flipper Zero and 'consumer hacking devices' are commonly being used as tools for high tech vehicle theft. However, as mentioned in the previous post, this has been debunked.

The team behind Flipper Zero have recently started a petition on change.org to stop the ban. At the time of this post the petition has already reached over 8,000 signature. The team have also penned a comprehensive "Response to the Canadian government" blog post, explaining why the ban makes no sense. In the post they debunk the myth of Flipper Zero being used for car theft, and show the real way high tech car theft is being done.

Meteor M2-4 has not failed – it is still in the testing phase

Thank you to Robin OK9UWU who wanted to point out that the recently launched Russian Meteor M2-4 weather satellite has not failed. There have recently been rumors and videos being spread online claiming that the satellite has already failed as the LRPT and HRPT signals are currently offline.

However, the satellite is still in a testing phase and was only briefly transmitting images for a few days after launch. It is difficult to find official updates from Roskosmos, the Russian space agency, but Robin explains his thoughts on what is happening:

The satellite in question, Meteor-M N°2-4 did not fail. The reason for both the LRPT and HRPT transmitters to be off is that the primary instrument (MSU-MR) is currently undergoing a routine cleaning process to get the IR channels up and running correctly.

It's completely normal.

Other reason why it's off could be that they are testing the MeteoSAR instrument (2-4 is the first sat of this series to have this), hence why unnecessary radios might have been taken offline.

It's important to understand that these satellites are being used to do actual science, weather forecasting etc. They require careful testing and calibration which might take some time. It's not just for "cool imagery".

For example, it took months to get the VIIRS instrument running onboard of the NOAA-21 satellite.

Keep calm and nerdy!

spaceintel101.com's infographic about the Meteor M2-4 Launch
spaceintel101.com's infographic about the Meteor M2-4 Launch

Great Scott Gadgets URTI: Phase Two Progress Report

Over on their GitHub, Great Scott Gadgets, creators of the popular HackRF SDR, have created a phase two progress report for their upcoming URTI product. URTI (Universal Radio Test Instrument) is their next generation software defined radio which will work not only as a full-duplex SDR transceiver, but also as a vector network analyzer, spectrum analyzer and more.

In the phase two update they note that they have completed fabrication of an initial prototype board and have confirmed that all components on the board are functional. They note that much of phase four was already completed in parallel, which means the firmware and gateware development is also close to completion. So hopefully we will see more updates soon.

More information about URTI can be found at greatscottgadgets.com/urti.

URTI (Universal Radio Test Instrument) First Prototype Board

KiwiSDR 2 Now Available For Purchase

Back in August 2023 we posted about the pre-announcement of the KiwiSDR 2, an upgraded version of the original KiwiSDR. Most of the upgrades are minor or due to some chips becoming EOL. The main upgrades are an enhanced RF front end and the addition of a digital attenuator. One change is also the manufacturing country. Instead of being manufactured in China, the KiwiSDR 2 is now manufactured in New Zealand.

The new KiwiSDR 2 can be purchased from kiwisdr.nz. Pricing is $648 NZD ($395 USD) for the full KiwiSDR 2 cape + Beaglebone and enclosure set. The cape by itself is also available for $484 NZD ($295 USD). Currently the second production run is selling, and a third production run is in progress. 

Previously the original KiwiSDR sold for $299 USD. Considering inflation, component changes and additions, and the change to a more expensive country to manufacture in, the price increase seems reasonable. 

KiwiSDR is a 14-bit wideband RX only HF software defined radio created by John Seamons (ZL/KF6VO). The KiwiSDR has up to 32 MHz of bandwidth, so it can receive the entire 10 kHz - 30 MHz VLF/LF/MW/HF spectrum all at once. Other than the specifications, the main interesting feature about the KiwiSDR is that it is designed to be operated entirely as an online web based SDR which is accessed over a network connection. Owners can optionally share their KiwiSDRs online with anyone who wants to access it, which also allows for interesting distributed applications, such as TDoA direction finding, which allows users to pinpoint the location of unknown HF transmissions such as numbers stations.

KiwiSDR 2 with BeagleBone and Enclosure Set

Meteor M2-4 Successfully Deployed to Orbit and now Transmitting Weather Images

The long awaited Russian Meteor M2-4 satellite was successfully launched on February 29, 2024 and is now in orbit, and is already transmitting images. If you are unfamiliar with them, Meteor M satellites are a class of Russian weather satellites that can be easily received with an RTL-SDR and appropriate satellite antenna. The easiest transmission to receive is around 137 MHz, and to receive this signal a simple V-Dipole or more advanced QFH antenna can be used. It also transmits in the L-band, and a small 60cm+ dish can be used to receive it with motorized or hand tracking.

The video below is an archived live stream of the launch.

LIVE: Roscosmos Meteor-M 2-4 and others Mission Launch | Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M

Prior Meteor M class satellites have typically been plagued with various issues, but so far the launch and deployment of M2-4 appears to have gone very smoothly. Reports are that the signal strength is excellent (much better than M2-3 with it's suspected antenna deployment fault) and images have been received clearly on both VHF and L-band.

TLE's and SatDump have been updated to support Meteor M2-4, so if you want to receive the satellite be sure to update to the latest code on Github.

Over on X, Scott Tilley has posted an image he received recently on both bands.

Canada Moves to Ban Flipper Zero and Possibly Software Defined Radios

Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's Minister of Public safety has recently declared that they plan to ban devices "used to steal vehicles by copying the wireless signals for remote keyless entry, such as the Flipper Zero". The text specifically calls out the Flipper Zero, however the wording appears to imply that any device that can copy a signal will be banned. This means the ban could extend to RX/TX SDRs like the HackRF and possibly even RX only SDRs like RTL-SDRs.

The Flipper Zero is an affordable handheld RF device for pentesters and hackers. It is not based on SDR technology, however it uses a CC1101 chip, a digitally controlled RX/TX radio that is capable of demodulating and modulating many common digital modulations such as OOK/ASK/FSK/GFSK/MSK at frequencies below 1 GHz. There are many CC1101 devices on the market, but the Flipper Zero has gained huge popularity on social media because of it's excellent software support, as well as its cute marketing tactic. In the past it was even featured on the popular Linus Tech Tips YouTube channel.

Flipper Zero has had a long line of setbacks including PayPal freezing 1.3M of its cash, and US customs temporarily seizing its shipments, then passing a $70,000 bill on to them for storage fees and Amazon banning the product on their marketplace.

In our opinion, we believe that the ban appears to be misguided. The Flipper Zero is a basic device that can only perform a simple replay attack, which is to record a signal, and replay it at a later time. These sorts of attacks do not work on vehicles built after the 90's which now use rolling codes or more sophisticated security measures. To defeat rolling code security, a more sophisticated attack called Rolljam can be used. A Rolljam device can be built for $30 out of an Arduino and two cheap transceiver modules.

However, according to arstechnica the biggest cause for concern in terms of car theft is a different sort of attack called "signal amplification relay".

The most prevalent form of electronics-assisted car theft these days, for instance, uses what are known as signal amplification relay devices against keyless ignition and entry systems. This form of hack works by holding one device near a key fob and a second device near the vehicle the fob works with. In the most typical scenario, the fob is located on a shelf near a locked front door, and the car is several dozen feet away in a driveway. By placing one device near the front door and another one next to the car, the hack beams the radio signals necessary to unlock and start the device.

This sort of attack is a lot less sophisticated in many ways as all you are doing is amplifying a signal, and no clever hardware like the Flipper Zero or a software defined radio is even required. The X video below demonstrates such a hack where a criminal holds up a loop antenna to a house. The loop antenna is connected to a signal amplifier which amplifies the keyfob signal, tricking the car into thinking the keyfob is nearby, and allowing the door to be unlocked by touching the handle, and then turned on with the push to start button.

Flipper zero note that they have not been consulted about the ban, and replied on X stating that they are not aware of the Flipper Zero being used for car theft.