Freq Show: Raspberry Pi RTL-SDR

Scanner
Created by Tony DiCola

https://learn.adafruit.com/freq-show-raspberry-pi-rtl-sdr-scanner

Last updated on 2021-11-15 06:19:12 PM EST

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 Table of Contents

Overview 3

Hardware 4

Installation 5
• Dependencies 5
• Installation 6

Usage 6

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 Overview
Have you ever wondered what's in the radio waves zipping invisibly around you every
day?  Software-defined radio (SDR) (https://adafru.it/e1Y) is a great tool to explore
radio signals using a computer and inexpensive radio tuner.  With SDR you can
examime many radio signals such as FM radio (https://adafru.it/e1Z), television (https:/
/adafru.it/e20), emergency & weather radio (https://adafru.it/e21), citizen band (CB) (ht
tps://adafru.it/e22), and much more (https://adafru.it/e23).  

Although dedicated SDR hardware like the HackRF (https://adafru.it/e24) allow you to

tune an immense range of the radio spectrum, you can easily get started with SDR
using a Raspberry Pi and inexpensive RTL-SDR tuner (https://adafru.it/e25).  Inspired
by the HackRF PortaPack (https://adafru.it/e26), this project will show you how to
build a small portable SDR scanner using a Raspberry Pi, PiTFT (https://adafru.it/e27),
and RTL-SDR (https://adafru.it/e25) radio dongle.  With the Raspberry Pi Freq Show
RTL-SDR scanner you can visualize the invisible world of radio!

Before you get started it will help to familiarize yourself with a few other guides for
more background information:

• Circuit Playground: F Is For Frequency (https://adafru.it/oBt)

• Getting Started With RTL-SDR and SDR# (https://adafru.it/oBu)
• FFT: Fun with Fourier Transforms (https://adafru.it/oBv)
• PiTFT 3.5" Touch Screen For Raspberry Pi (https://adafru.it/jse)
• Raspberry Pi: Using SSH (https://adafru.it/jsE)

Also for some inspiration on what you can do with SDR, check out these excellent
presentations from previous DEF CON conferences (https://adafru.it/e2c):

• All Your RFz Are Belong To Me: Hacking The Wireless World With Software-
Defined Radio (https://adafru.it/e2d)
• Noise Floor: Exploring Unintentional Radio Emissions (https://adafru.it/e2e)
• Hacker + Airplane = No Good Can Come Of This (https://adafru.it/e2f) 

Before using SDR and scanning tools be sure to check the laws for your country.
In some countries, like the US, there are frequencies for cell phones and other
communication that you cannot legally tune: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Scanner_(radio)#Legislation

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 Hardware

To build this project you'll need the following hardware:

• Raspberry Pi, the model B+ (http://adafru.it/1914), model B (http://adafru.it/998),

or model A will work.
• RTL-SDR (http://adafru.it/1497) software radio USB dongle

◦ Note that you can use any tuner supported by the RTL-SDR library (https://
adafru.it/e2g).

• 3.5" PiTFT display (https://adafru.it/jse)

◦ Right now the software is optimized to run on the 480x320 3.5" PiTFT
display.  If you want to get your hands dirty in the code it should be
possible to port it to smaller displays like the 320x240 2.8" PiTFT by
changing font sizes and other dimensions.

You might also consider some extra parts to extend the project:

• MCX jack to BNC (http://adafru.it/1531) or SMA  (http://adafru.it/1532)adapters to

plug in an external antenna.
• Powerboost charger (https://adafru.it/dDF) and rechargeable battery (http://
adafru.it/328), or a big portable phone charger (http://adafru.it/1565) to power
the project on the go.

Once you have the parts assembling the project is very easy. 

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 Follow the 3.5" PiTFT guide (https://adafru.it/jse) to learn how to install and use the
PiTFT.  Make sure to start with the easy install PiTFT image (https://adafru.it/nZA) so
you can get up and running as quickly as possible.  Don't go forward until you have
the PiTFT working with the Raspberry Pi!

Finally plug in the RTL-SDR dongle to a USB port on the Raspberry Pi.  

That's it, your hardware is ready to go!  Continue on to learn how to install the
software for this project.

Installation
Dependencies
Before you can install the software you'll need to install a few depdendencies.  Make
sure you're running the Raspbian operating system and it has been configured to
work with the PiTFT.  You will also need to make sure the Pi has access to the internet
through a wired or wireless networking connection.

Connect to a terminal on the Pi and execute the following commands to install the
dependencies:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install cmake build-essential python-pip libusb-1.0-0-dev python-numpy
git pandoc

Don't worry if you see error messages that certain packages are already installed, you
can ignore those and move on.

Next download, compile, and install the RTL-SDR library (https://adafru.it/e2g) by

executing:

cd ~
git clone git://git.osmocom.org/rtl-sdr.git
cd rtl-sdr
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON -DDETACH_KERNEL_DRIVER=ON
make
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

Finally install the RTL-SDR Python wrapper (https://adafru.it/e2i) by executing:

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 sudo pip install pyrtlsdr

At this point all the dependencies should be installed and you're ready to download
and install the project software.

Raspbian Jessie Warning!! If you're using Raspbian Jessie (which if you're using
the current PiTFT easy install images then yes you're likely using Jessie) you
MUST follow the steps below to make the touchscreen work.

If you're using Raspbian Jessie there's one more critical step to follow to fix an issue
with incompatibilities between the SDL library and touchscreen support.  See the FAQ
page here for a script to create and run so that an older SDL library can be installed (h
ttps://adafru.it/l6e).  You must run this script to make sure FreqShow works on
Raspbian Jessie (if you don't run it then mouse/touchscreen input will be erratic and
not work at all).

Installation
Installing the software for this project is as easy as downloading its Python source
code (https://adafru.it/e2j).  At a terminal on the Pi run the following commands to
download the source:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/adafruit/FreqShow.git
cd FreqShow

That's it, at this point the software should be downloaded and ready to run!  Continue
on to the next page to learn how to run the software.

Usage
To start the program connect to a terminal session on the Raspberry Pi and navigate
to the FreqShow folder (if you aren't there already), then run:

sudo python freqshow.py

After a few moments a splash screen should display on the PiTFT as the program
loads:

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 If the program fails to load go back to the installation steps (https://adafru.it/oBw) and
carefully check all the dependencies are installed, then try again.

Note that if you see an error like "Kernel driver is active, or device is claimed by
second instance..." it could mean the TV tuner driver is still loaded by the kernel.
 Normally when the RTL-SDR code is compiled with the steps in this guide it should
automatically unload the conflicting kernel driver, but if that fails you can manually
stop the conflicting module from loading.  See the "Avoid the Raspberry Pi to load a
kernel module" step from this blog post (https://adafru.it/fIS) to see what kernel
modules should be added to the /etc/modprobe.d/raspi-blacklist.conf file (make sure
to reboot the Pi after editing that file).

Once the program loads it will start by displaying an animated frequncy graph, and
menu of options.  The graph displays the intensity of radio signals (measured in deci
bels (https://adafru.it/cM0)) across a range of frequencies.  The taller a peak on the
graph, the higher the intensity of the signal at that frequency.

Below is an overview of the important parts of the graph:

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 To the left of the graph the minimum and maximum intensity values are displayed in
decibels.  The top value is the maximum intensity, in this case 50 dB, which means a
point at the very top of the graph has an intensity of 50 dB.  Similarly the bottom
value is the minimum intensity, -3 dB, so points at the bottom of the graph have an
intensity of -3 dB.  Points between the top and bottom of the graph have an intensity
in between the minimum and maximum, so for example a point in the middle of the
graph would have an intensity around 26-27 dB.

At the bottom of the graph the range of frequencies are displayed.  The minimum
frequency is displayed at the bottom left, the center frequency in the middle, and the
maximum frequency at the bottom right.  In the image above you can see a total
range of about 2 MHz of frequencies centered at 90.3 MHz.

The frequency 90.3 MHz actually corresponds to an FM radio station (KEXP (https://

adafru.it/e2l) in Seattle, WA).  It's interesting to see the spikes of intensity near the
center frequency--the graph is visualizing what an FM radio plays as audio!

Be aware FreqShow only displays the spectrum and does not currently turn the
radio data into audio.

You can change the center frequency and other settings by pressing the CONFIG
button in the upper left corner.  A list of settings such as the following should appear:

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 Press the CENTER FREQ button at the top to bring up a dialog to change the center
frequency:

You can change the center frequency just like inputting numbers in a calculator.  Press
the CLEAR button to completely erase the current frequency value, enter new digits
by pressing numbers (or the decimal point), and delete the last digit by pressing DEL
ETE.  

Once you've entered a new value you can press ACCEPT to accept it and change the
center frequency.  If you don't want to change the frequency press CANCEL to
dismiss the dialog without changing the value.

Try changing the center frequency to that of an FM radio station in your area.  FM
radio in the US is broadcast over 88 to 108 Mhz so pick a value within that range.

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  After accepting a new center frequency you should be returned to the settings list.
 Press BACK in the lower left to return to the frequency graph.  Notice how the graph
changes to show the intensity of the signal at the new center frequency.

Another useful way to visualize radio frequency data is with a spectrogram that shows
the intensity of the signal over time.  In the main graph view press the SWITCH MODE
button at the top of the screen.  You should see the graph change to start building a
waterfall plot that scrolls up from the bottom to the top of the screen.  

For example this is a waterfall plot that has entirely filled the screen:

The waterfall plot displays intensity over time.  Each row of the plot represents a point
in time, and each pixel color in a row represents the intensity of the signal at that
frequency.  Pure blue pixels are the minimum intensity, pure red pixels are the
maximum intensities, and a gradient of blue-cyan-yellow-red represents in between
intensities.

Notice in the picture above the highest intensity frequencies in the center are red,
while the lowest intensity frequencies at the edges are blue.  Smaller peaks are cyan
and yellow.

About once a second the graph will scroll up and a new measurement row will be
added at the bottom.  Over time the waterfall plot will fill the screen, with the most
recent measurements at the bottom and oldest at the top.  By looking at how the
color of the watefall plot changes, you can see how the intensity of a radio signal
changes over time.

See the image below for the full range of intensity colors:

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 To switch back to the instantaneous frequency graph press the SWITCH MODE button
at the top of the screen again.  You can press SWITCH MODE to swap between
instantaneous and waterfall plot modes.

Another useful feature of the graph is a full screen view.  Press anywhere on the
graph image itself, like the middle of the screen.  You should see the graph maximize
itself in a full screen view with no buttons or labels.  For example this is a full screen
of the instantaneous mode:

The fullscreen view is great if you want to more clearly see the graph.  You can switch
back to the normal view by pressing the middle of the graph again.

Now go back to the settings menu by pressing the CONFIG button.  Here's a quick
overview of each setting:

• Center Frequency

◦ This is the center frequency of the tuner and must be a value in

megahertz.  The exact range of allowed values will depend on the radio
tuner, but for the RTL-SDR in the store the range is about 24 Mhz to 1,850
Mhz.  Note that it can be illegal to tune certain frequencies so check the la
ws in your country (https://adafru.it/e2m)!

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 • Sample Rate

◦ This controls how wide the range of frequencies are that will be displayed
in the graph.  The tuner doesn't support a large range of sample rates so
your best bet is to stick with the default of 2.4 Mhz.

• Gain

◦ The internal gain of the tuner can be adjusted with this setting.  By
increasing the gain you can remove noise and make a weak signal more
easily visible.  The tuner has a limited range of gains from about 1 to 50 dB
and will try to use a value as close to the configured gain as possible.  You
can also choose AUTO as a gain option to have the tuner automatically
adjust the gain for the best signal reception.  I recommend sticking with
auto gain for simplicity.

• Min and Max

◦ These values at the bottom of the setting list control the minimum and
maximum intensity values of the graph.  Like gain they can be set to AUTO,
in which case they will adjust themselves based on the lowest or highest
intensity values ever seen.  However if you want to restrict the graph to a
certain range of values you can set explicit intensity values in decibels.
 I've found a range of -3 dB to 50 dB is a good general range to set when
using automatic gain.

Finally if you want to exit the tool, in the main graph view press the QUIT button in the
upper right.  A confirmation dialog will show which you can accept to exit, or cancel to
return back to the tool.

That's all there is to using the Freq Show Raspberry Pi RTL-SDR scanner tool!  If you
run into issues with the tool or wish to contribute to it, check out the tool's home on
GitHub (https://adafru.it/e2j).

Have fun exploring the world of radio waves around you!

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