Software Defined Radios SDR-RTL

[nooby]

Thanks I used to collect every text that I could find on antennas
and antenna tuners but I am even worse on such than on software.

[Mercedes350se]

I would still like to get my dongle working as a SDR so:

1. Decided to follow the method outlined here by superkuh.

2. Downloaded and made a LiveCd of Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS.

3. Everything went well until

Code: Select all

cmake ../

4. Complained about missing libUSB 1 0 Don't you just love Linux!

I am giving it a rest for a while - I am still finding my way around the OS. Will keep posting progress or lack of as the case may be.

[edoc]

3. Everything went well until

Code: Select all

cmake ../

4. Complained about missing libUSB 1 0 Don't you just love Linux!

It's usually not Linux that is the problem - it is manufacturers who refuse to write Linux drivers & who refuse to cooperate so that volunteers may write them - some due to unholy alliances with proprietary commercial OS's (Apple & MS), some due to paranoia about corporate espionage, some are simply dolts.

Now that the game behemoth STEAM has ported to Linux they'll have to be more cooperative or risk the loss of a huge number of high-end customers who are quick to dump hardware that doesn't meet their needs (including missing Linux drivers).

Things are changing ...

[Mercedes350se]

From my reading it appears to be something to do with the version of Ubuntu ...

I am in the process of building another machine and will do a full Ubuntu install on it.

In the meantime I have found this. Only 34 steps!

[Mercedes350se]

The new machine is up and running with dual boot - puppy 4.1.2 and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

I can finally report some progress. After downloading literally Gigabytes of stuff trying to get gqrx working without success or SDRSharp, also without success I decided, in the short term, to take the easy option and use rtl_fm on the command line and

I am listening to the local FM station as I type this

using about 30cm of wire, dangling out of the dongle, as the antenna.

[Smithy]

That's great that your perseverence paid off Mercedes 350 SE (love that model btw).
Does it do dab+tv as well?
Hopefully you could make a pet after all the hard work.

Third party hardware peripherals seem to be a bit hit and miss with Linux, and one of the reasons why folks stick with windows and apple.

[Adagio]

I have tried to get this going using Puppy.
GQRX works great in Lubuntu with the Elonics and Rafael (DabStick) dongles, and that will do me.
I got it to the stage of starting up in Puppy, but it needs configuration editing. Some other time.
Of all the SDR apps available, GQRX is the best one to perservere with.
It doesn't need the full GnuRadio, just some of it, and some of Osmo too.
Among other things, it has automatic software compensation for the hardware drift.
About the only thing it doesn't have is automatic seek/scan.
It is also supposed to work with the FunCube dongle.

rtl_fm just gives screen output for me, probably because I don't have a SOX server installed.

[Mercedes350se]

Does it do dab+tv as well?
Hopefully you could make a pet after all the hard work.

It did TV on the previous 4.1.2 install - I haven't copied the modules into this install yet.

A pet or something is my intention.

rtl_fm just gives screen output for me, probably because I don't have a SOX server installed.

Have a read through this. It uses play, which is in Ubuntu 12.04, to give audio output.

Edit 1: Sorry that link, while giving the command to use rtl_fm, is not the actual command that I used. I will see if I can find that link. This is the link which shows the command I used.

Edit 2: I copied the rtl files across to 4.1.2 and they, probably not surprisingly, do not work.

Edit 3: Given the reference to rtl_fm working on a Raspberry Pi ...

[Adagio]

Thanks for that. That worked, with Aplay.
That's a good quick-and-dirty way to get it happening.

[Mercedes350se]

GQRX works great in Lubuntu with the Elonics and Rafael (DabStick) dongles, and that will do me.

I have been trying for days, yes days, to get gqrx working on 12.04 but no joy.

As I type this I am trying yet again.

[Adagio]

Ah, I should have mentioned it is 13.04 I am using.

Just install it all from their repo and it is painless.

[Mercedes350se]

Success finally. Thank you Adagio

1. Dowloaded and installed lubuntu 13.04.

2. Followed the links to https://launchpad.net/~gqrx/+archive/releases

3. Added the PPA as instructed.

4. Updated the package manager.

5. Search "gqrx"

6. Mark the gqrx files and the dependencies.

7. Download and install.

8. I got an error message - something to do with pulseaudio. A lot of reading later and checking that libportaudio was installed I decided that I would copy both files to /usr/lib - not a simple drag and drop like it would be in puppy (what a wonderful OS it is!) but eventually got the file and the symlink done. There was another issue with a file with permission denied but in the ultimate that does not appear to affect anything.

8a. Did a sudo ldconfig.

9. Type "gqrx" and cancel the pop-up window and there was the gqrx window.

It has been a long couple of days so there may be omissions in the above ...

[Adagio]

I am happy for you.

I knew you could do it