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https://github.com/xmikos/qspectrumanalyzer

Spectrum analyzer for multiple SDR platforms (PyQtGraph based GUI for soapy_power, hackrf_sweep, rtl_power, rx_power and other backends)
https://github.com/xmikos/qspectrumanalyzer

airspy fft hackrf limesdr python qt radio rtl-sdr sdr software-defined-radio spectrum-analyzer visualization

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Spectrum analyzer for multiple SDR platforms (PyQtGraph based GUI for soapy_power, hackrf_sweep, rtl_power, rx_power and other backends)

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README 

        
QSpectrumAnalyzer

=================



Spectrum analyzer for multiple SDR platforms (PyQtGraph based GUI for soapy_power,

hackrf_sweep, rtl_power, rx_power and other backends)



Screenshots

-----------



.. image:: https://xmikos.github.io/qspectrumanalyzer/qspectrumanalyzer_screenshot.png



.. image:: https://xmikos.github.io/qspectrumanalyzer/qspectrumanalyzer_screenshot2.png



Requirements

------------



- Python >= 3.3

- PyQt4 / PyQt5 / PySide / PySide2

- Qt.py (https://github.com/mottosso/Qt.py)

- PyQtGraph (http://www.pyqtgraph.org)

- soapy_power (https://github.com/xmikos/soapy_power)

- Optional: hackrf / rtl-sdr / rtl_power_fftw / rx_tools



Backends

--------



Default backend

***************



- **soapy_power** (https://github.com/xmikos/soapy_power)



``soapy_power`` is the default and recommended universal SDR backend in QSpectrumAnalyzer.

It is based on `SoapySDR `_ and supports

nearly all SDR platforms (RTL-SDR, HackRF, Airspy, SDRplay, LimeSDR, bladeRF,

USRP and some other SDR devices). It is highly configurable (see additional parameters

help in *Settings* menu) and supports short acquisition time for

near real-time continuous measurement.



Other backends

**************



- **hackrf_sweep** (https://github.com/mossmann/hackrf)



``hackrf_sweep`` backend enables wideband spectrum monitoring by rapidly retuning the radio

without requiring individual tuning requests from the host computer. This allows unprecedented

sweep rate of 8 GHz per second. Only HackRF is supported.



- **rtl_power_fftw** (https://github.com/AD-Vega/rtl-power-fftw)



``rtl_power_fftw`` is alternative backend for RTL-SDR devices and has various

benefits over ``rtl_power``. E.g. better FFT performance (thanks to

use of ``fftw`` library) and possibility to use short acquisition time

for near real-time continuous measurement (minimum interval in original

``rtl_power`` is 1 second).



- **rtl_power** (https://github.com/keenerd/rtl-sdr)



``rtl_power`` is original backend for RTL-SDR devices. There are better alternatives now, but

if you want to use it, you should use `Keenerds fork of rtl-sdr `_

(latest Git revision), because ``rtl_power`` in original rtl-sdr package (from osmocom.org)

is broken (especially when used with cropping).



- **rx_power** (https://github.com/rxseger/rx_tools) *[unsupported]*



``rx_power`` (part of ``rx_tools``) is also based on SoapySDR (like default ``soapy_power`` backend)

and therefore supports nearly all SDR platforms. But it is much slower than soapy_power, doesn't support

near real-time continuous measurement (minimum interval is 1 second, same as ``rtl_power``)

and is buggy. Backend is currently unsupported, if you want to fix it, patches are welcome.



Usage

-----



Start QSpectrumAnalyzer by running ``qspectrumanalyzer``.



You can choose which backend you want to use in *File* -> *Settings*

(or *Application menu* -> *Preferences* on Mac OS X), default is

``soapy_power``. Device, sample rate, bandwidth, LNB LO, path to backend executable

and additional backend parameters can be also manually specified there. You can

also set waterfall plot history size. Default is 100 lines, be aware that

really large sweeps (with a lot of bins) would require a lot of system

memory, so don't make this number too big.



Controls should be intuitive, but if you want consistent results, you should

turn off automatic gain control (set gain to some fixed number) and also set

crop to 20% or more. For finding out ppm correction factor for your rtl-sdr

stick, use `kalibrate-rtl `_.



You can move and zoom plot with mouse, change plot settings or export plots

from right-click menu. Waterfall plot black/white levels and color lookup

table can be changed in mini-histogram widget (on *Levels* tab).



Installation

------------



Arch Linux:

***********



Stable version:

::



    git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/qspectrumanalyzer.git

    cd qspectrumanalyzer

    makepkg -sri



Git master branch:

::



    git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/qspectrumanalyzer-git.git

    cd qspectrumanalyzer-git

    makepkg -sri



Or simply use `pacaur `_ (or any other AUR helper)

which will also automatically install all QSpectrumAnalyzer dependencies:

::



    pacaur -S qspectrumanalyzer

    pacaur -S qspectrumanalyzer-git



Ubuntu:

*******

::



    # Add SoapySDR PPA to your system

    sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:myriadrf/drivers



    # Update list of packages

    sudo apt-get update



    # Install basic dependencies

    sudo apt-get install python3-pip python3-pyqt5 python3-numpy python3-scipy soapysdr python3-soapysdr



    # Install SoapySDR drivers for your hardware (e.g. RTL-SDR, Airspy, HackRF, LimeSDR, etc.)

    sudo apt-get install soapysdr-module-rtlsdr soapysdr-module-airspy soapysdr-module-hackrf soapysdr-module-lms7



    # Install QSpectrumAnalyzer locally for your current user

    pip3 install --user qspectrumanalyzer



``qspectrumanalyzer`` and ``soapy_power`` executables will be then placed in

``~/.local/bin`` directory, you can add it to your PATH in ``~/.bashrc``.



If you want to install QSpectrumAnalyzer directly from Git master branch, you can use this procedure:

::



    git clone https://github.com/xmikos/qspectrumanalyzer.git

    cd qspectrumanalyzer

    pip3 install --user .



Windows:

********



*Only 64-bit Windows are supported (there are no public 32-bit builds of SoapySDR

libraries and drivers).*



1. install `SoapySDR `_ libraries and drivers

   (bundled as part of Pothos SDR installer: `download `_).

   This bundle also includes other great SDR apps like `CubicSDR `_, `GQRX `_,

   `GNU Radio Companion `_, `Pothos GUI `_,

   `Lime Suite `_ and `Zadig `_.

   Utilities like ``hackrf_sweep`` and ``rtl_power`` are also included.

2. download QSpectrumAnalyzer installer or portable zip archive from GitHub

   `releases `_ page

3. after you connect your SDR device, you have to run `Zadig `_ to install USB drivers



You can also install QSpectrumAnalyzer manually from `PyPI `_:



1. install Python 3.6.x (64-bit) from `python.org `_ and add Python to PATH

2. install `SoapySDR `_ libraries and drivers

   (bundled as part of Pothos SDR installer: `download `_)

3. Open ``cmd.exe`` and run::



        pip install PyQt5

        pip install QSpectrumAnalyzer



You should then be able to run it with ``qspectrumanalyzer`` (or ``python -m qspectrumanalyzer``

if it doesn't work for you).



Todo:

-----



- save FFT history (allow big waterfall plot saved to file)

- automatic peak detection / highlighting

- display average noise level

- frequency markers / bookmarks with notes (even importing and exporting .csv file with

  predefined channels, etc.)