So you did your research and picked up a great SDR receiver or transceiver and are looking for a cool SDR project to get you started. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a collection of 10 killer projects to help you get more familiar with your software defined radio.
This post contains affiliate links used to support the development of our site. Thanks for your support!
Without further ado…
10 cool SDR projects to get you going
1. Tracking airplanes using ADS-B signals
ADS-B stands for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast and is used by commercial and private aircraft to periodically broadcast position an vector information. ADS-B transponders receive position, altitude, and location information from navigation satellites. You can use your software defined radio (SDR) to receive these ADS-B signals and ‘see’ what planes are in the air around you. There are many existing project files and forum pages for various SDR projects to get you up and running quickly.
2. SDR Project for Radio astronomy
Radio astronomy is a type of astronomy in which celestial objects are studied in the frequency domain, specifically looking for emitted RF energy from the cosmos. The most sophisticated radio astronomy telescopes are giant and expensive. Surprisingly, you can receive some pretty ‘stellar’ signals from space using an inexpensive SDR rig. The key here is all about the front-end of your radio… the antenna. Specifically you’ll need a large dish style reflector antenna with a wideband LNA for the best results. When connecting to an antenna that is far away from your radio, don’t forget to use high quality coax-cable.
3. Receiving weather data from NOAA satellites
This one is perfect for the amateur meteorologists out there. You can use your SDR to receive weather images from NOAA’s GOES satellites. Of course you’ll need special software to decode the RF signals into images. If this one really piques your interest, we recommend checking out SDR bundles that come with everything you need get up and running quickly.
4. Listening to air traffic controllers and an SDR
Here is another one for the aviation buffs. It’s possible to receive air traffic control chatter with your SDR because of the frequencies used. Air Traffic Control or ATC signal are broadcast using amplitude modulation or AM signals. This makes it an interesting place to start with your new software defined radios. Since the ATC chatter is AM, the signals also can travel a very long distance up to a hundred miles away.
5. Tracking ships using AIS and a software defined radio
This one works best for folks that live near a port city. You can use your SDR to receive AIS signals from transmitting ships… and with the correct software, you can display the ship information on a map. The antenna is also a critical element when trying to receive AIS signals is the antenna. It’s best to use a vertically polarized antenna a when trying to track ships using AIS signals.
6. SDR project to listen to broadcast radio
This is probably one of the most obvious SDR projects on this list. Of course you can use your SDR to tune into broadcast radio. AM and FM radio is broadcast on frequencies that most SDRs can receive. Additionally, you don’t need any crazy antennas or amplifiers for these signals, a simple dipole antenna will work wonder. These factors make tuning into broadcast radio a great choice for software defined radio newbies.
7. Create a GSM network using an SDR
This SDR project is not for the faint of heart, but it is possible (using a higher end SDR like the USRP transceiver) to build your own GSM network. GSM stands for Global Systems for Mobile communications and is the most popular wireless standard around the world. Building your own GSM network can be a great way to become more familiar with wireless networks, network management and the various protocols associated with GSM. To get you started, there are a few open source software projects out there. OpenBTS and OsmoBTS are a couple of the most popular.
8. Build a custom Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver
For this project, you’ll need a higher end SDR receiver, something like the HackRF One or USRP. Once you’ve got the right SDR rig, you’ll need a special software package called GNSS-SDR. This software tool allows you to receive GNSS signals, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. Using GNSS-SDR you can “pop the hood” on the GNSS processing and you’ll have ability to tweak many of the parameters. For example, GNSS-SDR “allows you to control all the process inside a GNSS receiver, from the raw bits at the output of an analog-to-digital converter to the computation of the navigation solution, that is, obtaining receiver’s position and time.”
9. Tune into broadcast TV using ATSC TV
Because of the frequencies used for TV broadcasts, it is possible to use your SDR to tune into DVB-T or ATSC TV signals. DVB-T stands for Digital Video Broadcast – Terrestrial and ATSC stands for Advanced Television Systems Committee. Many SDR dongles can receive these signals and like the other projects on the list, there are a good amount of open source software defined radio (SDR) projects to get you started quickly. For example, this tutorial walks through receiving TV broadcast using a SDRPlay radio and GNURadio software.
10. SDR project to tune in to amateur radio broadcasts
Now that you got a great SDR radio, you may be ready to go HAM… I’m talking about Amateur Radio of course. Even with the most inexpensive SDR radio dongles, you should be able to pick up HAM broadcasts. You could even broadcast yourself, if you have a rig that can transmit as well as receive (also known as an SDR transceiver). And of course there are some great software projects out there to help you go HAM in short order.
Looking for a great SDR receiver or transceiver?
