Tagged: hackrf

Micheal Ossmann’s First Look at the Rad1o Badge

Last month we posted about the Rad1o badge, a HackRF inspired software defined radio that is being given out for free to participants of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) camp conference in Germany. The Rad1o has an operating frequency range of 50 MHz – 4000 MHz, an ARM Cortex M4 CPU, a color LCD screen, a 2.5 GHz ISM band PCB antenna, an audio connector for headphone and microphone connections and an on board battery for portable use. It is also fully compatible with HackRF software. It is not for sale at the moment and only available to conference participants.

Micheal Ossmann, creator of the original HackRF was able to get a Rad1o from a CCC member who helped in the design. He has posted his first impressions of the radio on his blog. Micheal writes how the Rad1o is a variation on the HackRF and how it is kind of similar to a HackRF plus Portapack on a single PCB. He also mentions how he noticed some peculiar component choices on the Rad1o, which is due to the fact that they had to use several components freely obtained from sponsors, in order to be able to afford give them away for free to conference antendees.

The Rad1o Prototype
The Rad1o Prototype

Using a HackRF to convert ADS-B packets into Bluetooth packets for reception on your Smartphone/Tablet

HackRF experimenter Jiao Xianjun has recently posted about his new firmware which allows a single HackRF to receive an ADS-B data packet at 1090 MHz, and then retransmit it as a Bluetooth low energy (BTLE) packet at 2.4 GHz. A smartphone or tablet can then be used to view the ADS-B data. It appears that the system works by broadcasting several fake Bluetooth peripheral names as the received flight data, so there is no way to currently view the data on a map.

The firmware needs to be flashed into the HackRF RAM or ROM, and he provides instructions for this over on his post. The video below shows the HackRF and software in action on an iPad.

ADS-B to BTLE HackRF Relay
ADS-B to BTLE HackRF Relay
Air relay ADS-B to BTLE via single HACKRF in realtime

A new HackRF Compatible SDR: Rad1o

Every four years the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) in Germany organizes a special hacker themed camp. For this years upcoming September camp they have announced that all participants will be receiving a special software defined radio called the “Rad1o”. 

The Rad1o is inspired by the HackRF, but seems to have several additional features. It has an operating frequency range of 50 MHz – 4000 MHz, an ARM Cortex M4 CPU, a color LCD screen, a 2.5 GHz ISM band PCB antenna, an audio connector for headphone and microphone connections and an on board battery for portable use. It is also fully compatible with HackRF software.

They write that the Rad1o is not for sale at the moment, and that the only way to get one right now is to attend the camp. If there is enough interest after the camp they will consider producing a second manufacturing run. Despite that, all hardware design files appear to be open source and available at https://github.com/rad1o. More information about the Rad1o can be found here.

The Rad1o, a HackRF compatible software defined radio.
The Rad1o, a HackRF compatible software defined radio.

HackRF Portapack Now Shipping to Kickstarter Backers

The HackRF PortaPack is a portable LCD screen with control interface and processor that connects to a HackRF software defined radio. The PortaPack’s goal is to allow for portable RF spectrum visualization, tuning and eventually demodulation of many modes. It has been in development from around the time of the August 2013 HackRF kickstarter and is now almost ready to be shipped out to the initial backers. For more information about the PortaPack see this Hak5 segment that we previously posted about where Jared Boone the inventor of the PortaPack is interviewed.

In his post Jared writes:

Getting the PortaPack H1 ready for shipping was a long slog. And as is my way, I took a lot of detours along the way. I incorporated a lightweight operating system (ChibiOS) into the firmware. I built a simple UI framework that would support arrow-key navigation, with touch as an option where appropriate. I developed a sophisticated test jig (based on this) to ensure the units I ship work correctly. I designed a milled aluminum case that I’ll offer as an option. And I finished and tested all the units myself, including doing failure analysis on a bunch of PortaPacks. I learned a great deal, and hope that my next product development cycle will be much easier and faster.

Because of all the manufacturing effort, work on the firmware hasn’t advanced very far. At this point, the PortaPack is mostly useful as a basic narrowband AM/FM receiver. But there’s still a lot of capability to be tapped in the HackRF ARM processors! I’m eager to get back to firmware, and implement more signal analysis and capture functionality, along with some digital modes demodulation and decoding support.

The HackRF Portapack
The HackRF Portapack

Transmitting DATV DVB-S Video with the HackRF Blue

Simon (G0FCU) has been using his HackRF Blue to transmit DVB-S video captured from his video camcorder. In the ham radio hobby there is something called digital amateur television (DATV) in which amateurs transmit digital video over radio to repeaters. Simon writes that in the UK DATV is usually transmitted at above 1.2 GHz and in the DVB-S format, which is the same format used by some satellite TV services.

Although there are dedicated DATV radios, Simon decided that he wanted to use the HackRF Blue as the radio for transmitting his own DATV signals. To do this he uses the software dvgrab to grab the video stream from the camera, then passes it to ffmpeg to compress the raw video into MPEG-2 and then uses a GNU Radio program called gr-dvbs to use the HackRF to transmit the DVB-S stream at 1000 MHz.

To test that his signal was transmitting correctly, Simon then used a standard DVB-S satellite TV with the LNB bypassed. 

Previously we also posted about using a BladeRF for transmitting DATV DVB-T signals.

What the DVB-S output signal looks like on another HackRF.
What the DATV DVB-S output signal looks like on another HackRF.

New ExtIO for the HackRF and HDSDR

We’ve received a note from RTL-SDR.com reader Tim about a new ExtIO module available for the HackRF and HDSDR. ExtIO stands for External IO, and is a special DLL file that allows HDSDR and other software to access hardware like the HackRF.

To use it, simply copy the HackRF ExtIO dll file into the HDSDR directory, and select it when opening HDSDR. The module currently supports 2, 4, 8, 10, 12.5, 16 and 20 MSPS sample rates. We tested it briefly on our own HackRF and it ran just fine at all sample rates.

The module is available on GitHub and it’s current binary release can be downloaded here.

The HackRF running in HDSDR.
The HackRF running in HDSDR with the new ExtIO Module.

Installing and Testing the Optional RF Shield on the HackRF

Over on YouTube user Cameron Conover has uploaded a video where he tests the effectiveness of the optional HackRF RF shield and also shows how to install it. The shield solders on to the RF front end of the HackRF and is intended to block signals from entering the device other than through the antenna.

To test the effectiveness of the shield Cameron uses a signal generator to transmit a test signal at 406 MHz. He shows that without the shield in place the HackRF with a 50 Ohm terminator on the antenna input strongly picks up the test signal. After soldering in the shield and testing again, the test signal can no longer be picked up.

HackRF One optional RF shield Installation

HackRF Blue Shipped and HackRF One Updates

Back in December of last year we posted about the Indiegogo campaign for the HackRF Blue, a lower cost clone of the HackRF One software defined radio. They were able to achieve a lower cost by better component sourcing and manufacturing choices, thus reducing the cost from $299 to $200. The HackRF Blue Indiegogo campaign was successful and most of the HackRF Blue’s have now been shipped and delivered to backers. If you need help getting started with the HackRF Blue see http://hackrfblue.com/getting-started/. To get started on Windows, simply use Zadig like with the RTL-SDR, and use SDR# which has built in HackRF support.

The specs of the official HackRF One (and by extension the HackRF Blue) have also recently been changed. They now officially acknowledge that the HackRF One is capable of operating at a frequency down to about 1 MHz. They write:

Now that we’ve seen consistent low frequency performance across multiple manufacturing runs, we’re comfortable changing the official specification: HackRF One operates from 1 MHz to 6 GHz. Try attaching a long wire antenna to listen to shortwave radio!

Recently some people have been considering which mid priced SDR to upgrade to from their RTL-SDR. Our opinion is this: The HackRF has pretty poor RX performance, probably the same as, or even worse than the RTL-SDR, so we suggest you buy it only if you want TX capabilities or need operation above 1.7 – 2 GHz. If you only need RX then we suggest you choose the Airspy or SDRPlay as they have much better RX performance. See our list of SDRs for more possible options. 

The HackRF Blue.
The HackRF Blue.