Recently Akos has uploaded three new posts on his RadioForEveryone blog. The first post is a review of the "Ham-It-Up Plus", which is a US$65 upconverter that allows you to listen to HF on RTL-SDR dongles without direct sampling. Compared to the non-plus Ham-It-Up, the plus version includes a TCXO and the noise source circuit is populated. In his post Akos reviews the history of the Ham It Up generations and discusses the connectors and power options. He also reviews the performance and finds that the Plus seems to have better SNR.
In the second post Akos has uploaded his collection of various images of different RTL-SDR dongle brands. The images include circuit board photos so you can easily compare the differences in design between brands.
Finally the third post is an experiment to determine the maximum USB cable length that can be used with RTL-SDRs. His results show that the maximum is 9 meters which is actually more than the USB2.0 spec which states 5m as the maximum. We note that longer than 9m cable runs can also be achieved by using active repeater USB cables or USB hubs.
FPV stands for 'First Person View', and is a term used to describe the hobby of flying remote controlled aircraft entirely via the view from a wireless camera that transmits live video to the pilots screen or video goggles.
Part of the FPV hobby is to not only enjoy flying, but also to tweak the wireless video equipment for maximum range and reliability. This involves measuring the SWR characteristics of FPV antennas. SWR is a metric that describes how well the impedance of an antenna is matched with the receiver at a certain frequency. Poor SWR results in additional signal loss on top of cable and connector loss. We note that SWR is only one antenna metric, and doesn't take into account radiation pattern and antenna gain which is often more important, but it is the easiest metric to measure and control, and should give you some idea as to if an antenna was designed and tuned properly.
As FPV hobbyists are often not hams or radio professionals, most don't have access to the equipment required to measure SWR. So over on his YouTube channel bonafidepirate shows how he's been using a cheap RTL-SDR, noise source and RF Bridge to measure the SWR of his FPV antennas. The process is similar to the one shown in our tutorial, but he uses the Spektrum software which allows you to measure SWR entirely within the software itself.
In the video bonafidepirate goes over the required hardware, software and the setup, and then demonstrates several SWR scans of different FPV antennas.
The uBITX is a US$129 HF SSB/CW QRP transceiver kit that works from 3 MHz to 30 MHz with up to 10W TX power. It's a fully analogue radio, but it can be combined with an RTL-SDR to create a panadapter display thanks to a tutorial released by KD8CEC.
The method requires that you use the custom CEC firmware, or modify other firmware, as this appears to change the output frequency at the tap point. The tap point is made accessible by soldering on an extra SMA connector for the RTL-SDR to connect to. The rest of the work is entirely performed in the uBITX software manager, Omni-Rig and SDR-Console V3.
Recently wired.com ran a story that explains how research hackers from KU Leuven university in Belgium have been able to clone a Tesla car key fob within seconds. With the cloned keyfob they are then able to open the Tesla's door, start the motors and drive away. The researchers believe this attack could also work on cars sold by McLaren and Karma, as well as Triumph motorcycles.
Like most automotive keyless entry systems, Tesla Model S key fobs send an encrypted code, based on a secret cryptographic key, to a car's radios to trigger it to unlock and disable its immobilizer, allowing the car's engine to start. After nine months of on-and-off reverse engineering work, the KU Leuven team discovered in the summer of 2017 that the Tesla Model S keyless entry system, built by a manufacturer called Pektron, used only a weak 40-bit cipher to encrypt those key fob codes.
The researchers found that once they gained two codes from any given key fob, they could simply try every possible cryptographic key until they found the one that unlocked the car. They then computed all the possible keys for any combination of code pairs to create a massive, 6-terabyte table of pre-computed keys. With that table and those two codes, the hackers say they can look up the correct cryptographic key to spoof any key fob in just 1.6 seconds.
The attack hardware consists of a Yardstick One dongle, a Proxmark RFID/NFC radio, and a Raspberry Pi connected to the 6TB hard drive containing the database of pre-computed keys. All together the cost of such a system is under $600.
The actual attack works by first bringing the RFID antenna and radio near the car and recording vehicles identifier code which is periodically transmitted by the car. Then the antenna is brought near to the owners keyfob and impersonates the car using the identifier code. This tricks the keyfob into sending out encrypted response codes which are then decrypted by the 6TB lookup table on the hard drive. The Yardstick One is then used to transmit the final unlock code at 433.92 MHz.
Tesla have since responded by noting that cars sold after June 2018 have improved encryption and aren't vulnerable to this attack, and that owners of cars manufactured earlier are able to enable an option that requires a PIN code to be entered. Owners could also take extra precautions such as using an RFID blocking pouch. Tesla vehicles also have built in GPS tracking which may deter thieves.
The video below shows the attack in action, and a short overview paper by the researchers can be found here.
The team at radarbox24.com recently wrote in and wanted to share some new developments including news about their recently released RadarBox XRange receiver, which is an RTL-SDR based ADS-B receiver. Radarbox24 are an ADS-B aggregation flight tracking website, similar to sites like flightaware.com and flightradar24.com.
The RadarBox XRange receiver costs $649.95 USD and is available on their store. The box appears to include a full computing unit as well as a custom RTL-SDR receiver, and a built in filter and LNA as well. It is sold as a set that includes receiver, power supply, antenna and cabling. Compared to setting up an ADS-B receiver on your own by purchasing an RTL-SDR, ADS-B LNA/Filter, Antenna and Raspberry Pi separately, the XRange is well over three times more expensive. But it may have some value as an easy to set up and ready to go ADS-B receive system. They write:
1- We have release the brand new RadarBox app for iOS and Android where data sharers are able to see what what their own stations receive using the MyStation feature.
2- We've released the brand new RadarBox XRange receiver, RTL SDR based whcih is being sold and placed all over the world to increase network coverage.
3- Our RadarBox24.com flight tracking portal reached 3 millions viewers per month and, together with our apps, is growing really fast by providing an easy way for Raspberry Pi owners or users with our XRange and Micro RadarBox receivers to share flight data with us and benefit from a free Business account.
More information: - Link to our Store where users can buy the XRange receiver and accessories below: https://www.radarbox24.com/store
- Link for users to install our software on their Raspberry Pi receivers and start sharing data with us (we get up to 5 new added units added to our network daily): https://www.radarbox24.com/raspberry-pi
Over on YouTube we've seen several reviews and installation videos of our SDRplay RSP1A metal enclosure + portable antenna set that we released for sale back in July of this year. The set comes with a metal enclosure, carry case, and a bonus 7m portable wire antenna spool and telescopic antenna. It costs US$29.95 including shipping and is available on our store or via Amazon.
The first review is by Tysonpower. His review is in German, but English subtitles are available on YouTube. In the review he notes that interference appears to be reduced with the metal case, and notes that the SDR is better protected against bumps.
[EN subs] RSP1A Metallgehäuse - ShortReview
We've also seen a review by Danny Shortwave And Radio DX which also shows the assembly process and shows how easy it is to transfer the PCB from the plastic case to the metal case.
Metal Case Upgrade for SDRPlay RSP1 and RSP1A from Amazon
Finally the third video by Koptervision also shows an unboxing, review and assembly timelapse.
SDRPlay Metal Case Upgrade - Unboxing and Assembly
KerberosSDR is our upcoming low cost 4-tuner coherent RTL-SDR. With four antenna inputs it can be used as a standard array of four individual RTL-SDRs, or in coherent applications such as direction finding, passive radar and beam forming. More information can be found on the KerberosSDR main post. Please remember to sign up to our KerberosSDR mailing list on the main post or at the end of this post, as subscribers will receive a discount coupon valid for the first 100 pre-order sales. The list also helps us determine interest levels and how many units to produce.
In this post we'll show KereberosSDR being used as a passive traffic radar. Passive radar works by using an already existing transmitter such as a FM, DAB, TV or GSM and listening to the reflections of those signals created by moving objects like aircraft, boats and cars. A simple passive radar consists of two directional antennas. One antenna points at the 'reference' transmitter (the transmitting tower), and the other towards the 'surveillance' area that you want to monitor. The result is a speed vs distance plot that shows all the moving objects.
For this test we parked our car to the side of a highway and pointed a cheap DVB-T Yagi antenna towards a DVB-T transmission tower, and another cheap Yagi down the road. The video shown below displays the results captured over a 5 minute period. The blips on the top half of the display indicate vehicles closing on our location (positive doppler shift), and the blips on the bottom half indicate objects moving away (negative doppler shift).
DVB-T Antennas In Car
The resolution of each individual vehicle is not great, but it is sufficient to see the overall speed of the highway and could be used to determine if a road is experiencing traffic slowdowns or not. When larger vehicles pass by it is also obvious on the display by the brighter blip that they show. The display also shows us that the highway direction coming towards us is much busier than the direction moving away.
In the future we'll be working on optimizing the code so that the display updates much faster and smoother. It may also be possible in the future to use the third and fourth tuners to obtain even greater object resolution.
Othernet (formerly known as Outernet) are a providers of a free data service broadcast from satellites. They hope to build a system and low cost satellite receiver products where people can easily stream free daily data such as news, videos, books, and live audio down to a computer or phone from anywhere in the world via a device called a Lantern. It is a one way download only service, but may be useful for those in areas with limited internet, disaster preppers, or people in countries with internet censorship. The describe their mission as:
Othernet's mission is to build a universal information service; a truly pervasive multi-media service that operates in the most remote places and functions even when nothing else does.
In the past they ran a trial service on L-band satellite frequencies and used RTL-SDR dongles as the receiver. They have since discontinued that service in favor of a new Ku-band LoRa based service which can provide much more data - up to 200MB a day. The update released today was sent to Lantern backers, which was the receiver they crowdfunded for in their Kickstarter back in 2014. The update notes that the final iteration of the Lantern is close to being ready.
Broadcasting Khan Academy 24/7
Hello Backers,
Yes, we are still here. It’s been a long while since the last update, but that does not mean we have stopped–or even slowed–working on Lantern. We have been making progress, though it has been much, much slower than what everyone wants. Fortunately, we are in the final stage of development.
The last update described the new network technology we had developed. Our original goal was to broadcast 20 MB of content per day, which is what we were doing with our previous network. The new system is operating at 10-times that speed, which is a little over 20kbps and 200 MB of content per day. Some of the work we’ve been doing over the past few months is related to tripling our current download speeds. Our target is 60kbps, which results in over 600 MB per day. The size of the device will be similar to a standard flashlight.
At our current download speed of 20kbps, we are broadcasting both data and a 24/7 audio stream. I know many of you were interested in the educational applications that were highlighted during the campaign, which is why I’m very pleased to share that we are currently broadcasting the entirety of Khan Academy as a 24/7 audio stream. The Khan Academy library consists of over 900 separate lectures, which we’ve turned into a giant audio playlist. Now we just need to get Lanterns into everyone’s hands.
The next update will include a picture of our final antenna design. The antenna that is currently included in our DIY kit is 2-inches/5-cm across and the shape of a cone. We are trying to flatten the cone and also increase the size to about 4-inches/10-cm, which is what allows for greater download speeds. Since we are operating at microwave frequencies (12 GHz), both the design of the antenna and the parts to convert the high frequency to a lower one are pretty tricky. Microwave engineering is widely considered black magic, which is the main reason for the long break since the last update. We are close to turning the corner and are targeting the end of the year for our initial production run.
Unrelated to our technical work is our recent name change. We had been fighting a trademark issue for the past four years. We recently decided that it made more financial sense to change our name, rather than continue spending legal fees to defend our position. We are now Othernet (http://othernet.is). This name change does not mean we are going away, nor does it mean we are not delivering Lanterns. It’s just a legal hiccup.
Thanks for your patience and support while we get through the final stage of building what you all backed several years ago. I know it’s been a long time and we are making every possible effort to deliver something that exceeds everyone’s original expectations. Although it’s taking three times longer to develop and ship the product, what we now have will be ten-times more useful.
![[EN subs] RSP1A Metallgehäuse - ShortReview](https://www.rtl-sdr.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FKWCtsBtWFPw%2F0.jpg)
