Skip to content

HARDWARE.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
256 lines (184 loc) · 6.53 KB

HARDWARE.md

File metadata and controls

256 lines (184 loc) · 6.53 KB

Hardware & Advanced Setup

Supported SDR Hardware

Hardware Frequency Range Price Notes
RTL-SDR 24 - 1766 MHz ~$25-35 Recommended for beginners
LimeSDR 0.1 - 3800 MHz ~$300 Wide range, requires SoapySDR
HackRF 1 - 6000 MHz ~$300 Ultra-wide range, requires SoapySDR

INTERCEPT automatically detects connected devices.

Quick Install

macOS (Homebrew)

# Install Homebrew if needed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Core tools (required)
brew install python@3.11 librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 ffmpeg

# ADS-B aircraft tracking
brew install dump1090-mutability

# WiFi tools (optional)
brew install aircrack-ng

# LimeSDR support (optional)
brew install soapysdr limesuite soapylms7

# HackRF support (optional)
brew install hackrf soapyhackrf

Debian / Ubuntu / Raspberry Pi OS

# Update package lists
sudo apt update

# Core tools (required)
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv python3-skyfield
sudo apt install -y rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 ffmpeg

# ADS-B aircraft tracking
sudo apt install -y dump1090-mutability
# Alternative: dump1090-fa (FlightAware version)

# WiFi tools (optional)
sudo apt install -y aircrack-ng

# Bluetooth tools (optional)
sudo apt install -y bluez bluetooth

# LimeSDR support (optional)
sudo apt install -y soapysdr-tools limesuite soapysdr-module-lms7

# HackRF support (optional)
sudo apt install -y hackrf soapysdr-module-hackrf

RTL-SDR Setup (Linux)

Add udev rules

If your RTL-SDR isn't detected, create udev rules:

sudo bash -c 'cat > /etc/udev/rules.d/20-rtlsdr.rules << EOF
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2838", MODE="0666"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2832", MODE="0666"
EOF'

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Then unplug and replug your RTL-SDR.

Blacklist DVB-T driver

The default DVB-T driver conflicts with rtl-sdr:

echo "blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-rtl.conf
sudo modprobe -r dvb_usb_rtl28xxu

Verify Installation

Check dependencies

python3 intercept.py --check-deps

Test SDR detection

# RTL-SDR
rtl_test

# LimeSDR/HackRF (via SoapySDR)
SoapySDRUtil --find

Python Environment

Using setup.sh (Recommended)

./setup.sh

This automatically:

  • Detects your OS
  • Creates a virtual environment if needed (for PEP 668 systems)
  • Installs Python dependencies
  • Checks for required tools

Manual setup

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Running INTERCEPT

After installation:

sudo -E venv/bin/python intercept.py

# Custom port
INTERCEPT_PORT=8080 sudo -E venv/bin/python intercept.py

Open http://localhost:5050 in your browser.

Complete Tool Reference

Tool Package (Debian) Package (macOS) Required For
rtl_fm rtl-sdr librtlsdr Pager, Listening Post
rtl_test rtl-sdr librtlsdr SDR detection
multimon-ng multimon-ng multimon-ng Pager decoding
rtl_433 rtl-433 rtl_433 433MHz sensors
dump1090 dump1090-mutability dump1090-mutability ADS-B tracking
ffmpeg ffmpeg ffmpeg Listening Post audio
airmon-ng aircrack-ng aircrack-ng WiFi monitor mode
airodump-ng aircrack-ng aircrack-ng WiFi scanning
aireplay-ng aircrack-ng aircrack-ng WiFi deauth (optional)
hcitool bluez N/A Bluetooth scanning
bluetoothctl bluez N/A Bluetooth control
hciconfig bluez N/A Bluetooth config

Optional tools:

Tool Package (Debian) Package (macOS) Purpose
ffmpeg ffmpeg ffmpeg Alternative audio encoder
SoapySDRUtil soapysdr-tools soapysdr LimeSDR/HackRF support
LimeUtil limesuite limesuite LimeSDR native tools
hackrf_info hackrf hackrf HackRF native tools

Python dependencies (requirements.txt):

Package Purpose
flask Web server
skyfield Satellite tracking
bleak BLE scanning with manufacturer data (TSCM)

dump1090 Notes

Package names vary by distribution:

  • dump1090-mutability - Most common
  • dump1090-fa - FlightAware version (recommended)
  • dump1090 - Generic

Not in repositories (Debian Trixie)?

Install FlightAware's version: https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/install

Or build from source: https://github.com/flightaware/dump1090

TSCM Mode Requirements

TSCM (Technical Surveillance Countermeasures) mode requires specific hardware for full functionality:

BLE Scanning (Tracker Detection)

  • Any Bluetooth adapter supported by your OS
  • bleak Python library for manufacturer data detection
  • Detects: AirTags, Tile, SmartTags, ESP32/ESP8266 devices
# Install bleak
pip install bleak>=0.21.0

# Or via apt (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install python3-bleak

RF Spectrum Analysis

  • RTL-SDR dongle (required for RF sweeps)
  • rtl_power command from rtl-sdr package

Frequency bands scanned:

Band Frequency Purpose
FM Broadcast 88-108 MHz FM bugs
315 MHz ISM 315 MHz US wireless devices
433 MHz ISM 433-434 MHz EU wireless devices
868 MHz ISM 868-869 MHz EU IoT devices
915 MHz ISM 902-928 MHz US IoT devices
1.2 GHz 1200-1300 MHz Video transmitters
2.4 GHz ISM 2400-2500 MHz WiFi/BT/Video 
# Linux
sudo apt install rtl-sdr

# macOS
brew install librtlsdr

WiFi Scanning

  • Standard WiFi adapter (managed mode for basic scanning)
  • Monitor mode capable adapter for advanced features
  • aircrack-ng suite for monitor mode management

Notes

  • Bluetooth on macOS: Uses bleak library (CoreBluetooth backend), bluez tools not needed
  • WiFi on macOS: Monitor mode has limited support, full functionality on Linux
  • System tools: iw, iwconfig, rfkill, ip are pre-installed on most Linux systems
  • TSCM on macOS: BLE and WiFi scanning work; RF spectrum requires RTL-SDR