rtl_sdr(1)

📦
version 2.0.3 · 2 versions
, in ubuntu stonking

💖 rtl_sdr(1) — bestie edition 💖

okay so you found the manual for rtl_sdr, and honestly? iconic. this is the section-1 user-command page, so grab a snack and let's get into it 🍓

✨ NAME ✨

rtl-sdr — an I/Q recorder for RTL2832 based DVB-T receivers. that's it, that's the whole vibe 🎀

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

So here's the tea: this thing takes a re-purposed DVB-T receiver and uses it as a software defined radio to receive signals in I/Q data form. no cap. it was written for and incorporated in the osmocom rtl-sdr project, so it's got lore 💅

In-Phase and Quadrature Phase data can faithfully represent all of the information in a band of frequencies centered on a carrier signal frequency. like, all of it. the whole band. queen behavior 👑

There's so much software available for the RTL2832. Most of the user-level packages rely on the librtlsdr library, which comes as part of the rtl-sdr codebase. And that codebase contains both the library itself and a bunch of command line tools — rtl_test, rtl_sdr, rtl_tcp, and rtl_fm. these tools use the library to test for the existence of RTL2832 devices and to perform basic data transfer functions to and from the device. teamwork fr fr 🫶

And because most of the RTL2832 devices are connected using USB, the librtlsdr library depends on the libusb library to communicate with the device. wired, not wireless, iykyk 🔌

🌈 USAGE 🌈

This program captures information from a band of frequencies and outputs the data in a form useful to other software radio programs. it's giving middleman, but the good kind ✨

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

rtl_sdr [-f freq] [OPTIONS] [output file]

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -f frequency_to_tune_to [Hz] — tell it what frequency to tune to, in hertz. the main character of the whole operation 💖
  • -s samplerate — set the samplerate (default: 2048000 Hz). yes bestie, 2048000. she comes pre-set 🎀
  • -d device_index — pick which device you're talking to (default: 0).
  • -g gain — set the gain (default: 0 for auto). leave it at 0 and she'll figure it out herself, so independent 💅
  • -p ppm_error — ppm error (default: 0).
  • -b output_block_size — output block size (default: 16 * 16384). and yes, that's literally written as 16 * 16384, do the math yourself, it's cute 🌸
  • -n number of samples to read — how many samples to read (default: 0, infinite). 0 means she never stops. main character energy, no off switch 😭
  • -S — force sync output (default: async). specifying this flips you from async over to sync ✨
  • tfilename — that's your filename, boo. (a '-' dumps samples to stdout 👀)

💜 EXAMPLES 💜

Example: to tune to 392.0 MHz, and set the sample-rate to 1.8 MS/s, use:

./rtl_sdr /tmp/capture.bin -s 1.8e6 -f 392e6

to record samples to a file or to forward the data to a fifo. both are valid, pick your fighter 🎀

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). like, permissions check first, we do NOT just start yelling 💀

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

rtl_adsb(1), rtl_eeprom(1), rtl_fm(1), rtl_power(1), rtl_tcp(1), rtl_test(1)

the whole friend group 🫶

👑 AUTHOR 👑

This manual page was written by Maitland Bottoms for the Debian project (but may be used by others). shoutout to Maitland, carrying the docs so we don't have to 🌸

Copyright (c) 2013 A. Maitland Bottoms <bottoms@debian.org>

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

⚠️ read that again bestie: without any warranty, no implied merchantability, no fitness for a particular purpose. she's free, she's open, and she is NOT liable. periodt.

and that's the whole page!! 💖 this was RTL-SDR version 0.5.0 — yes, the rtl_sdr(1) manual, section 1, user commands. mwah, slay, go record some I/Q data 🦋✨

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