Possible fixes for new versions of SDR# crashing with RTL-SDRs

SDR# (SDRSharp) is our recommend software for RTL-SDRs due to it's high popularity in the community, relatively simple to learn and use interface, and host of features and third party plugins available.

Recently we're starting to see a lot of Facebook and forum posts about a new bug introduced in SDR# 1911 - 1913 so we thought we'd make a global post. This new bug has introduced a problem which causes a crash when attempting to change frequencies with RTL-SDR dongles (of any make or brand). It appears to be an issue stemming from libusb, but the exact issue is still unknown. The SDR# author is aware of the issue, but as RTL-SDR dongles are supported in SDR# for free with no guarantee, it may be several weeks until he has the time to investigate the issue fully. In the meantime we want to note some some partial fixes that we have found.

The first fix is to use our "rtl-sdr-blog" drivers instead of the default osmocom drivers. Our Quickstart guide now shows how to download these drivers and install them into SDR#, so if you want to try this solution, please see the guide. We're not exactly sure why this driver helps, but it may be due to our version being compiled against a newer version of libusb. However, this fix is only partial. While it no longer crashes on every frequency change, it will still crash approximately 5% of the time on a frequency change, which can add up when surfing through the spectrum rapidly, or when using frequency scanners.

We have also found a second fix that almost completely eliminates the crash, but it appears that it only works on some PCs. This fix is to use our rtl-sdr-blog drivers, and at the same time use Zadig to install the "libusb-win32" version of libusb, instead of the WinUSB version. However, the libusb-win32 is old, and it only appears to work on some PCs. On others it causes SDR# to crash as soon as the RTL-SDR is loaded.

Alternatively you can simply use a legacy version of SDR# by clicking the "Latest dotnet x.x build" links on the SDR# downloads page.

The final alternative would be to use another program like SDR++, which is very similar to SDR#, but without a large amount of plugins available yet. We have also added a SDR++ installation guide to our quickstart guide.

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Testing DAB Decoders: SDRAngel versus Welle.io

Thank you to the team from DXing.org for submitting their video where they compare the DAB decoding performance of SDRAngel and Welle.io using an RTL-SDR Blog V3 dongle.

Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) is a digital replacement for analog broadcast FM. It provides high quality digital audio at the expense of higher cost receivers, and possibly greater difficulty with reception in weak or challenging RF environments. DAB is mostly only used in Europe and Asia Pacific regions, and is not found in the USA. SDRAngel and Welle.io are both RTL-SDR compatible programs with DAB decoding capabilities. Both can run on Android, PC, MacOS and Linux devices.

In their tests they find that the Welle.io DAB decoder works perfectly without issues, however the SDRAngel DAB decoder struggles and has difficulty with decoding. Given that Welle.io is a dedicated DAB decoder, and SDRAngel is a multipurpose tool this could be expected. But we are unsure what is wrong with the DAB implementation in SDRAngel.

The team note that the test was carried out in Sofia, Bulgaria, Europe, using a Serbian DAB+ signal from Yastrebac, with a distance of 175km.

Test android apps with DAB+ signal Welle.io vs. SDRangel, receiver rtl-sdr v.3

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OpenWebRX+ Updates: HFDL, ISM Band, FLEX, SELCALL decoders added

Back in March of this year we posted about an OpenWebRX fork called OpenWebRX+, which adds multiple built-in and ready to use decoders such as SSTV, AIS, CW and RTTY. OpenWebRX+ is a fork of the OpenWebRX project which is now officially maintained by DD5JFK.

Since our last post OpenWebRX+ has progressed in development further, and now includes a HFDL decoder via dumphfdl, various ISM band equipment decoders via rtl_433,  FLEX pager decoding via multimon-ng, and a SELCALL decoder has also been added. Many other improvements and changes to the software have also been added, and the full changelog can be viewed here.

OpenWebRX+ is software for Linux. If you want to install OpenWebRX+, an easy path is to use the ready to use Raspberry Pi 4 image available on the releases page, or to use their PPA.

SSTV Image received by the luarvique fork of OpenWebRX. Credit: Neil Howard
SSTV Image received by the luarvique fork of OpenWebRX. Credit: Neil Howard
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Airspy 2023 Summer Sale: 15% Off All Airspy Products

Airspy is currently holding their annual summer sale which gives 15% off their line of products until June 25. The sale brings the price of the popular Airspy receiver products down to the following in US dollars (note that actual pricing may vary across local resellers):

  • Airspy R2: $169.00 $143.65
  • Airspy Mini: $99.00 $84.15 
  • Airspy HF+ Discovery: $169.00 $143.65
  • Airspy SpyVerter R2: $49.00 $41.65
  • YouLoop Antenna: $39.95 $33.95

The sale is active at all participating resellers, which includes our own store where we have the YouLoop on sale for US$33.95 including free shipping to most countries in the world. Please note that due to new EU VAT collection laws, EU customers must purchase the discounted YouLoop from our eBay or Aliexpress stores. 

Some good reviews of the YouLoop include the YouTube videos done by Frugal Radio where he reviews HF reception and VLF & LF reception with an Airspy HF+, and later tests it with an RTL-SDR Blog V3 using direct sampling. Techminds also has an excellent review on his YouTube channel. 

 

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Video showing Flipper Zero Smoking a Smart Meter may be Fake

A few days ago we posted a YouTube video by Peter Fairlie which shows him using a Flipper Zero to turn a smart meter on and off, eventually causing the smart meter to destroy itself by releasing the magic smoke.

The video has rightly gone viral as this could have serious implications for the security of the residential electricity infrastructure in America. However there has however been some skepticism from smart meter hacking expert "Hash", and over on his YouTube channel RECESSIM he has talked about his suspicions in his latest Reverse Engineering News episode.

In Peters video the description reads "Flipper Zero's attack on a new meter location results in the sudden destruction of the Smart Meter. Something clearly overloaded and caused the meter to self destruct. This might have been caused by switching the meter off and on under a heavy load.", and so it appears he is talking about Flipper Zero directly controlling a smart meter service disconnect feature wirelessly via some sort of RF interface.

However, Hash is an expert in hacking smart meters having done many experiments and videos on his channel about the topic. He raises suspicion on this video with the biggest point being that the Ameren meter brand and model number featured in the video actually does not have any ability to be switched on and off wirelessly. Hash instead believes that the smart meter may instead be connected to a custom wireless relay system created by Peter which is not shown in the video.

Secondly, Hash was able to track down Peters address via GPS coordinates Peter accidentally released in another video. This shows him in Ontario, Canada, outside of the Ameren meter service area, which is for Illinois and Missouri only. Hash speculates that the Ameren meter was purchased on eBay for his experiments.

So while the meter breaking and smoking may be real, other Ameren meters should be safe as the only reason it was able to be controlled wirelessly and insecurely was due to it being connected to a custom wireless relay system. 

It's not clear if Peter set out to purposely mislead to gain notoriety, or if its simply an experiment that he did not explain very well. Peters YouTube channel is full of other legitimate looking Flipper Zero and RF hacking videos so it's possible that it's just a case of Peter not explaining the full experiment that he was doing correctly.

(In the video below Hash talks about the Flipper Zero Meter story at timestamp 4:31)

Flipper Zero Kills Smart Meter?? - Reverse Engineering News - June 13th 2023

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CrowdFunding for the uSDR has started: A $299 M.2 TX/RX 300-3700 MHz, 30.72 MSPS SDR

Back in May we posted about pre-release news of the uSDR, a duplex TX & RX capable software defined radio, with a frequency range of 300-3700 MHz, and up to 30.72 MSPS of sampling rate. It also has an interesting defining feature in that it can be controlled via a web browser and that it connect via an M.2 slot (with a USB adapter available too).

The uSDR recently started it's crowd funding phase on CrowdSupply a few hours ago. It is priced at $299 for the uSDR board, with various adapters and antennas also available for purchase.

The CrowdSupply page has been updated and includes full details about the SDR, noting it's use of the LMS6002 SDR chip from Lime Microsystems and a Xilinx Artix 7 XC7A35T FPGA.

They also show screenshots of their web software which is looking pretty slick. It appears that you can instantiate various apps from the web interface. The apps include a 2G cellular network, FM receiver, IQ generator, IQ playback, frequency spectrum monitor, device sharing, signal analyzer, signal inspector and spectrogram.

uSDR. A Tiny M.2 single component SDR controlled from a Web browser

uSDR. Cellular network in a browser

 

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TechMinds: Detecting Meteors With Software Defined Radio

In his latest video Matt from the TechMinds YouTube channel has shown how it's possible to detect the RF echoes of meteors falling in the earths atmosphere which a software defined radio.

The concept is relatively straightforward. Meteors falling in the atmosphere generate an RF reflective ionized trail, which is highly reflective to RF. In the UK where Matt lives, the Sherwood Observatory of the Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society (MSAS) have set up a meteor detection beacon "GB3MBA" which transmits an 80W CW signal at 50.408 MHz.

When tuned to this frequency with an SDRplay RSPdx SDR, Matt shows how the shifted reflections of meteors can be seen as blips around the beacon's carrier frequency. What is also seen are reflections from aircraft which show up as longer doppler shifted lines. Matt notes that if you live within 200km of the beacon a simple dipole antenna is sufficient, however any further might require an antenna system with more gain like a Moxon or Yagi.

We note that in Europe a similar beacon called the GRAVES space radar in France which operates at 143.050 MHz can be used.

Detecting Meteors With Software Defined Radio

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DragonOS: KrakenSDR and DF Aggregator Connected via a 1km WiFi Link

DragonOS is a ready to use Ubuntu Linux image that comes preinstalled with multiple SDR software packages including a tool called DF Aggregator, which can be used for radio direction finding with a device like our KrakenSDR.

In his latest video, Aaron, creator of DragonOS tests out a long range one kilometer WiFi link between a KrakenSDR, and his base station running DF Aggregator. The WiFi link is achieved by using a ALFA Network 802.11ah (900 MHz US) adapter. The remote KrakenSDR is running on a 'DragonDeck', which is a SteamDeck gaming console with DragonOS installed on it.

In the video Aaron shows that when he transmits with his handheld radio, the remote KrakenSDR is able to provide an accurate bearing towards the transmitter. At the end Aaron also briefly tests out automatic speech transcribing via WhisperCPP.

Aarons tests were run together with @VibesGoon who shows a few great pictures of his KrakenSDR setup on his Twitter Feed.

DragonOS FocalX 1km Remote Connect to KrakenSDR/SDR4Space w/ 802.11ah (hackRF, Halow-U, SteamDeck)

Aaron also shows another picture on his Twitter feed, which also shows the SteamDeck.

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