Tagged: cable TV

Exploring Russian and International Analog TV From Leaky Cable TV Networks via the Airspy Server Network

Thank you to RTL-SDR.COM reader Micha for submitting a story about how he has been able to use SDR# and the Airspy Server Network to explore cable TV stations across the globe via cable TV signal interference.

If you were unaware, the SDR# software from Airspy.com has access to the Airspy Server Network, which is a collection of public Airspy SDRs available all over the world that can be accessed freely over the internet. To access these SDRs simply select "Airspy Server Network" as the source in SDR#, and click on the "..." button next to the server address entry. A map will pop up where you can select from SDRs all over the world.

Using Airspy SDRs in Russia, and in other countries (Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Indonesia, Vietnam, Micha found that there were several analog TV signals found at frequencies that should not have terrestrial TV signals there. Upon further investigation, he realized that these are actually cable TV signals that are leaking and causing interference across the RF bands. Micha notes that he's also observed how the leaking signals often change in frequency and intensity too, making it difficult to keep track of them.

Combined with the TVSharp SDR# plugin, Micha was able to recover some (very rough) images from these interfering signals. Micha has provided several images shown below that demonstrate Russian cable leakage, as well as for Mexico and Argentina.

Probing a Cable Internet + TV Line with RTL-SDR USB

Thank you to Adam from Double A Labs for submitting his latest YouTube video where he uses his RTL-SDR to probe the coaxial cable that provides his broadband internet and cable TV. In the video Adam explains how hybrid fiber-coaxial internet and TV broadband networks (such as Comcast/Xfinity) work, and how the Specktrum software can be used with an RTL-SDR to explore the spectrum on these cables. Adam writes:

What I found was pretty interesting, including a few unmodulated analog TV carriers on the line producing a black screen on my TV. I also explain how coaxial broadband networks work (bi-directional amplifiers, upstream/downstream splits, etc.) and how internet service providers are upgrading them.

How Broadband Cable Networks (Xfinity etc.) Work and Probing One with a Spectrum Analyzer (RTL-SDR)