Talking Sasquach Reviews the uConsole and RTL-SDR Antenna Board Expansion
The uConsole is a portable computer system based on the Raspberry Pi CM5 module. It adds a screen, battery, and complete hardware keyboard with a mouse trackball to the CM5, while allowing for various expansion boards.
One such expansion board of interest to us is the RTL-SDR AIO V2 module, which adds an RTL-SDR, as well as adding capabilities such as LoRa, GPS, RTC, USB Hub, USB 3.0, and RJ45 Ethernet. We currently have one on order for our own review, but it is currently in pre-order status, and the V1 module has been out of stock for a long time.
Over on YouTube, Talking Sasquatch has managed to get his hands on one and has created a video about it. In the video, he shows the assembly of the uConsole and RTL-SDR AIO and how to flash the DragonOS Linux distribution, which contains many pre-installed RTL-SDR programs.
He goes on to show the system running SDR++ and receiving an FM station, as well as showing how it can connect with a Flipper Zero.
At the end it is “yet another SDR radio”. And an expensive one.
For the same money you can buy a low-spec laptop and a HackRF One or Pluto+ clone, install Kali Linux on the laptop, add some SDR tools and suddenly you have a much more powerful “hacking tool”.
And note: even with Kali Linux, you either know what you are doing (in which case Kali Linux is just a “nicer”/”quicker” way of doing things or you won’t achieve anything useful. Anyway can get you in legal trouble, though.
Want to “learn hacking”? Get yourself a laptop and an RTL dongle, a HackRF or an ADALM Pluto (or its clones) and learn how to use GNU Radio. Start by learning to use the Blocks and assemble a flow graph file.
Want to learn more? Learn how to make your own blocks in Python.
Still wanting more? Learn how to make your own blocks in C++.
Once you reached this level, you can call yourself a hacker.