greatscottgadgets/hackrf

RF Scanning on HackRF One

greghains opened this issue · 5 comments

What would you like to know?

Hi.
First up, I trust this is the right place to ask such a question. Apologies in advance if I have messed up.
I am trying to wade through tons of information when looking for RF scanning software for my HackRF One - much of it not always helpful - so I thought I'd come to the "source".
I prefer to use MacOS or Linux, but I can do Windows under a VM. Whilst I am no stranger to CLI tools, I would rather have a GUI before me that will allow me to scan newbie-style.
What software do people use please?
Thankyou in advance.
Greg

Referring to the following 2 links will provide you with the mass of available 3rd party software:

https://hackrf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/software_support.html
Chapters 23/ 24(more so 24 in this case): https://hackrf.readthedocs.io/_/downloads/en/latest/pdf/

Some commandline tools can be found here and on page 67 of the pdf- which are found in the above links.

Some other 3rd party integration with the HackRF that I didn't see mentioned in those official locations relate to mobile apps- I've played around with some(Android ) - though not as robust/ feature rich as you'd get on your PC, still provide some nice results...
...just search "hackrf" in either or app store and you will be presented with many options...

A particularly good spectrum analyzer app for Android that i've used is RF Analyzer for Android. As of May 15th, 2024- can't locate it on official Play store and even developer's links to app store are broken... a version of the most updated app can be downloaded as its APK file through F-Droid(F-Droid page and direct link for RF Analyzer Version 1.13 APK file(don't use the f-droid downloader, just scroll down a bit to download the APK file directly) and other details on the GitHub

SDR Touch is another Android app I used with satisfaction.... didn't get the Pro version- but, comments have possitive things to say regarding paying extra for the full featured version. Link to SDR Touch website and to download SDR Touch from the Play Store. This is the 1 I mentioned required additional drivers....found here.

Some items to consider with mobile/ even on PC really... if the desired results aren't met:

  • make sure a good quality OTG cable is being used(both power & data)
  • if a hub is being utilized and the HackRF isn't showing up, try a hub that is USB2... same goes with cable...
  • in a couple occasions I had to also instal the driver app which you'll know once connected... more than likely it will be a secondary app by the same original app creator.
  • speaking of drivers, may as well add this, though for PC- if you are struggling with driver issues or your PC can't see your HackRF: 1) check cable is OTG/ maybe try USB2/ try a USB2 hub 2) download & instal a couple SDR software & pay attention during the process if prompted to instal any additional/ or updated drivers... ( SDR # & Universal Radio Hacker were the1s that did it for me)... 3) restart your PC after those instals

Hi Hard2Borrow

My apologies for the delayed response.
Thankyou for this information. :)

Greg

Closing issue as it looks to be resolved. Will re-open if original poster indicates otherwise.