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Nesdr Installation Manual For Ubuntu

Sdr installation manual for ubuntu

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26 views

Nesdr Installation Manual For Ubuntu

Sdr installation manual for ubuntu

Uploaded by

work2099
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TINJAW

Using NooElec NESDR SMArt on


Ubuntu 17.04

NOOELEC NESDR SMART

In this HowTo, I will show you how to get started using a NooElec NESDR SMArt on a
computer running Ubuntu 17.04.

The first thing to do after you have your NESDR SMArt plugged into your Ubuntu computer
1)
is to run the command lsusb . This will list all of the USB devices attached to the computer.
If things are working as they should be, you will see the NESDR SMArt listed as: Realtek
Semiconductor Corp. RTL2838 DVB-T . The DVB-T is the telling part. It means that the
operating system has recognized the device and loaded, what it believes to be, the correct
driver, since the default use of the device is to receive television broadcasts.

Click on images to see a larger version


LSUSB SHOWS THAT THE DONGLE IS SEEN

This can be further seen by using the command: lsmod | grep dvb , which lists the loaded
modules (drivers) and filters them to just show the ones that have the letters dvb in them.
You will see they are loaded.

LSMOD SHOWS THAT THE DVB DRIVER IS INSTALLED


AND LOADED

What we need to do now is remove those modules (drivers) and load the ones dedicated to
using the device as an SDR.

We start by “blacklisting” the default drivers. This is done by editing the file
2)
/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-dvb.conf .

EDIT THE FILE

Add the following to the file: blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu , save, and close it.
CONTENTS OF FILE

What that does is disallow the default module (driver) to load. Now we need to tell it to load
the driver we want. But first, we need to download it onto the computer.

NOW INSTALL THE RTL-SDR DRIVER AND RELATED


SOFTWARE

sudo apt-get install rtl-sdr will install the package we need. This will have the drivers
and utilities related to using a SDR.

IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE WHAT WE WANT.


IT IS NOW INSTALLED.

If you don’t have an antenna hooked up yet, now is the time to do so.

Now come the real test. Let’s see if the SDR works at the lowest level we care about; which
is tuning on a particular frequency and seeing if we hear anything. We do this by executing
rtl_test .

RESULTS OF RTL-TEST. YOU WANT IT TO STOP HERE


AND NOT PRINT ANY MORE LINES.

The first part of the test will test the parameters of the SDR and then it will attempt to tune
in to a frequency. It is at this point you want the test to stop printing to the screen; because
anything more is an error that occurred.

At this point you have “the guts” installed. You have the modules and libraries loaded that are
needed to run the dongle as a software defined radio. The next step is to put a pretty
frontend on this to make it easier to use, as well as add functionality — like a waterfall
display.

With Ubuntu, the easiest way to do that is with Gqrx. It is available in the Ubuntu Software
store, and therefore, easy to install.
With Gqrx installed, start it up and it is going to ask you what you want to use as the source.

You want to change the Device to your dongle.


For more information on Gqrx SDR, I suggest starting with this article on the Gqrx SDR
website.

References
1. ↑ 5 Ways To Open A Terminal Console Window Using Ubuntu.

2. ↑ A Beginners Guide To The Nano Editor

Version 1.0.0

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