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horiz0n, 02/19/2016 10:51 PM

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[[PageOutline]]
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= rtl-sdr =
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DVB-T dongles based on the Realtek RTL2832U can be used as a cheap SDR, since the chip allows transferring the raw I/Q samples to the host, which is officially used for DAB/DAB+/FM demodulation. The possibility of this has been discovered by the V4L/DVB kernel developer [http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.video-input-infrastructure/44461/focus=44461 Antti Palosaari].
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== Specifications ==
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The RTL2832U outputs 8-bit I/Q-samples, and the highest theoretically possible sample-rate is 3.2 MS/s, however, the highest sample-rate without lost samples that has been tested so far is 2.8 MS/s. The frequency range is highly dependent of the used tuner, '''dongles that use the Elonics E4000 offer the widest possible range (64 - 1700 MHz with a gap from approx. 1100 - 1250 MHz)'''. When used out-of-spec, a tuning range of approx. 50 MHz - 2.2 GHz is possible (with gap).
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== Supported Hardware ==
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The following devices are known to work fine with RTLSDR software:
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||'''VID'''||'''PID'''||'''tuner'''||'''device name'''||
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||0x0bda||0x2832||all of them||Generic RTL2832U (e.g. hama nano)||
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||0x0bda||0x2838||E4000||ezcap USB 2.0 DVB-T/DAB/FM dongle||
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||0x0ccd||0x00a9||FC0012||Terratec Cinergy T Stick Black (rev 1)||
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||0x0ccd||0x00b3||FC0013||Terratec NOXON DAB/DAB+ USB dongle (rev 1)||
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||0x0ccd||0x00d3||E4000||Terratec Cinergy T Stick RC (Rev.3)||
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||0x0ccd||0x00e0||E4000||Terratec NOXON DAB/DAB+ USB dongle (rev 2)||
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||0x185b||0x0620||E4000||Compro Videomate U620F||
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||0x185b||0x0650||E4000||Compro Videomate U650F||
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||0x1f4d||0xb803||FC0012||GTek T803||
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||0x1f4d||0xc803||FC0012||Lifeview LV5TDeluxe||
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||0x1b80||0xd3a4||FC0013||Twintech UT-40||
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||0x1d19||0x1101||FC2580||Dexatek DK DVB-T Dongle (Logilink VG0002A)||
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||0x1d19||0x1102||?||Dexatek DK DVB-T Dongle (MSI DigiVox mini II V3.0)||
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||0x1d19||0x1103||FC2580||Dexatek Technology Ltd. DK 5217 DVB-T Dongle||
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||0x0458||0x707f||?||Genius TVGo DVB-T03 USB dongle (Ver. B)||
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||0x1b80||0xd393||FC0012||GIGABYTE GT-U7300||
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||0x1b80||0xd394||?||DIKOM USB-DVBT HD||
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||0x1b80||0xd395||FC0012||Peak 102569AGPK||
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||0x1b80||0xd39d||FC0012||SVEON STV20 DVB-T USB & FM||
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If you don't know where to buy one or if you are just looking for a trustworthy source, try http://shop.sysmocom.de/products/eztv668-bulk
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People over at reddit [http://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/comments/s6ddo/rtlsdr_compatibility_list_v2_work_in_progress/ are collecting a list (v2)] of other devices that are compatible.
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Other dongles based on the RTL2832U might be added in the future as well.
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This is the PCB of the ezcap-stick:[[br]][[br]]
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[[Image(ezcap_top.jpg,50%)]][[br]]
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More pictures can be found [http://www.steve-m.de/pictures/rtl-sdr/ here].
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== Software ==
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rtl-sdr is a commandline tool that can initialize the RTL2832, tune to a given frequency, and record the I/Q-samples to a file.
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The code can be checked out with:
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{{{
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git clone git://git.osmocom.org/rtl-sdr.git
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}}}
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It can also be browsed on http://cgit.osmocom.org/cgit/rtl-sdr/
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If you are going to "fork it on github" and enhance it, please contribute back and submit your patches to: osmocom-sdr at lists.osmocom.org
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A [http://cgit.osmocom.org/cgit/gr-osmosdr/ GNU Radio source block] for [http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/ OsmoSDR] '''and rtlsdr''' is available. '''Please install a recent gnuradio (>= v3.5.3) in order to be able to use it.''' 
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=== Building the software ===
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==== rtlsdr library & capture tool ====
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'''You have to install development packages for libusb1.0''' and can either use cmake or autotools to build the software.
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Please note: prior pulling a new version from git and compiling it, please do a "make uninstall" first to properly remove the previous version.
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Building with cmake:
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{{{
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cd rtl-sdr/
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mkdir build
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cd build
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cmake ../
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make
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sudo make install
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}}}
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Building with autotools:
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{{{
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cd rtl-sdr/
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autoreconf -i
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./configure
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make
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sudo make install
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}}}
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The build executables (rtl_sdr, rtl_tcp and rtl_test) can be found in rtl-sdr/src/.
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[attachment:RelWithDebInfo.zip pre-built Windows version] using libusb 1.0.9 and pthreads-win32 cvs
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==== Gnuradio Source ====
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'''The gnuradio source requires the rtl-sdr package and a recent gnuradio (>= v3.5.3) to be installed.'''
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The source supports direct device operation as well as a tcp client mode when using the rtl_tcp utility as a spectrum server.
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Please note: prior pulling a new version from git and compiling it, please do a "make uninstall" first to properly remove the previous version.
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Please note: you always should build & '''install the latest version of the dependencies (librtlsdr in this case)''' before trying to build the gr source.
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Building with cmake:
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{{{
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git clone git://git.osmocom.org/gr-osmosdr
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cd gr-osmosdr/
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mkdir build
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cd build/
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cmake ../ -Wno-dev
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make
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sudo make install
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sudo ldconfig
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}}}
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NOTE: The source block will appear under 'OsmoSDR' category in GRC menu.
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For initial tests we recommend the multimode receiver gnuradio companion flowgraph (see "Known Apps" table below).
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==== Automated installation ====
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Marcus D. Leech has kindly integrated the forementioned build steps into his gnuradio installation script at [http://www.sbrac.org/files/build-gnuradio]. This is the most user-friendly option so far.
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=== Usage ===
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==== rtl_sdr ====
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Example: To tune to 392.0 MHz, and set the sample-rate to 1.8 MS/s, use:
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{{{
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./rtl_sdr /tmp/capture.bin -s 1.8e6 -f 392e6
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}}}
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to record samples to a file or to forward the data to a fifo.
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If the device can't be opened, make sure you have the appropriate rights to access the device (install udev-rules from the repository, or run it as root).
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==== rtl_tcp ====
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Example:
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{{{
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rtl_tcp -a 10.0.0.2 [-p listen port (default: 1234)]
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Found 1 device(s).
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Found Elonics E4000 tuner
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Using Generic RTL2832U (e.g. hama nano)
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Tuned to 100000000 Hz.
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listening...
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Use the device argument 'rtl_tcp=10.0.0.2:1234' in OsmoSDR (gr-osmosdr) source
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to receive samples in GRC and control rtl_tcp parameters (frequency, gain, ...).
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}}}
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use the rtl_tcp=... device argument in gr-osmosdr source to receive the samples in GRC and control the rtl settings remotely.
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This application has been successfully crosscompiled for ARM and MIPS devices and is providing IQ data in a networked ADS-B setup at a rate of 2.4MSps. The gr-osmosdr source is being used together with an optimized gr-air-modes version.
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You can find a Makefile for OpenWRT [http://steve-m.de/projects/rtl-sdr/Makefile here].
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==== rtl_test ====
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To check the possible tuning range (may heavily vary by some MHz depending on device and temperature), call
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{{{
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rtl_test -t
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}}}
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To check the maximum samplerate possible on your machine, type (change the rate down until no sample loss occurs):
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{{{
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rtl_test -s 3.2e6
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}}}
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A samplerate of 2.4e6 is known to work even over tcp connections (see rtl_tcp above). A sample rate of 2.88e6 may work without lost samples but this may depend on your PC/Laptop's host interface.
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== Using the data ==
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To convert the data to a standard cfile, following GNU Radio Block can be used:[[br]]
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[[br]][[Image(rtl2832-cfile.png)]][[br]][[br]]
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The GNU Radio Companion flowgraph (rtl2832-cfile.grc) is attached to this page. It is based on the FM demodulation flowgraph posted by Alistair Buxton [http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.video-input-infrastructure/44461/focus=44525 on this thread].
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Please note: for realtime operation you may use fifos (mkfifo) to forward the iq data from the capture utility to the GRC flowgraph.
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What has been successfully tested so far is the reception of [https://www.cgran.org/browser/projects/multimode/trunk Broadcast FM and air traffic AM] radio, [http://tetra.osmocom.org/ TETRA], [http://gmr.osmocom.org/ GMR], [http://svn.berlin.ccc.de/projects/airprobe/ GSM], [https://www.cgran.org/wiki/gr-air-modes ADS-B] and [https://github.com/smunaut/osmo-pocsag POCSAG].
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Tell us your success story with other wireless protocols in ##rtlsdr channel on freenode IRC network.
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== Known Apps ==
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The following 3rd party applications and libraries are successfully using either librtlsdr directly or the corresponding gnuradio source (gr-osmosdr):
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||'''Name'''||'''Type'''||'''Author'''||'''URL'''||
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||gr-pocsag||GRC Flowgraph||Marcus Leech||[https://www.cgran.org/browser/projects/gr-pocsag/trunk]||
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||multimode RX||GRC Flowgraph||Marcus Leech||[https://www.cgran.org/browser/projects/multimode/trunk]||
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||simple_fm_rvc||GRC Flowgraph||Marcus Leech||[https://www.cgran.org/browser/projects/simple_fm_rcv/trunk]||
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||python-librtlsdr||Python Wrapper||David Basden||[https://github.com/dbasden/python-librtlsdr]||
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||pyrtlsdr||Python Wrapper||Roger||[https://github.com/roger-/pyrtlsdr]||
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||rtlsdr-waterfall||Python FFT GUI||Kyle Keen||[https://github.com/keenerd/rtlsdr-waterfall]||
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||Wireless Temp. Sensor RX||Gnuradio App||Kevin Mehall||[https://github.com/kevinmehall/rtlsdr-433m-sensor]||
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||!QtRadio||SDR GUI||Andrea Montefusco et al.||[http://napan.ca/ghpsdr3/index.php/RTL-SDR]||
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||gqrx (fork)||SDR GUI||Alexandru Csete||[https://github.com/mathisschmieder/gqrx]||
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||rtl_fm '''(NEW)'''||SDR CLI||Kyle Keen||[https://github.com/keenerd/rtl-sdr]||
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||SDR# '''(NEW)'''||SDR GUI||Youssef||[http://sdrsharp.com/]||
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||gr-air-modes (fork) '''(NEW)'''||SDR CLI/server||Nick Foster||[https://github.com/steve-m/gr-air-modes]||
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||tetra_demod_fft '''(NEW)'''||SDR GUI||osmocom team||[http://cgit.osmocom.org/cgit/osmo-tetra/tree/src/demod/python/osmosdr-tetra_demod_fft.py osmosdr-tetra_demod_fft.py] and the [http://tetra.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/osmo-tetra#Quickexample HOWTO] ||
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||gqrx (original) '''(NEW)'''||SDR GUI||Alexandru Csete||[https://github.com/csete/gqrx/tree/osmosdr]||
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[[br]]
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Using our lib? Tell us! Don't? Tell us why! :)
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[[br]][[br]][[br]]
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[[Image(rtl-sdr-gmr.png)]][[br]]
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Multiple GMR-carriers can be seen in a spectrum view with the full 3.2 MHz bandwidth (at 3.2 MS/s).
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