From the garage to the masses — the story of an invention.
Recently, wiretapping the radio intercepts of the police and firefighters has become not so easy. Previously, it was enough to purchase a scanner, adjust the frequencies, and you could enjoy the process. However, with the development of technologies such as trunking radio and digital modulation, more and more sophisticated equipment was required, and the cost of which can be very high.
Refusing to accept the inflated prices, the enthusiast, known under the pseudonym Top DNG, independently created a digital scanner with trunking support, minimizing costs. As the basis for his device, he used an RTL-SDR USB tuner and a Raspberry Pi 5 mini-computer configured in headless mode to work with the sdrtrunk program. This configuration provides monitoring of control and frequency channels of trunked radio systems, as well as the ability to decode digital P25 modulation, provided that there is no encryption.
In addition, the receiver is equipped with a small HDMI touch screen and can be powered via USB, making it portable. The best part is that all the components can be purchased for about $ 250, which is significantly cheaper than the cost of specialized digital scanners, which can have a price tag of up to $ 600.
The second video contains full information and a step-by-step description of the build from start to finish. In addition to saving money, the creator of the project emphasizes the need to use a heat sink and fan to cool the Raspberry Pi, since the sdrtrunk program intensively uses the resources of a mini-computer. It is also recommended to get a high-quality antenna to improve reception, especially if you are in an area with a dense location of radio towers, such as in Los Angeles.
Recently, wiretapping the radio intercepts of the police and firefighters has become not so easy. Previously, it was enough to purchase a scanner, adjust the frequencies, and you could enjoy the process. However, with the development of technologies such as trunking radio and digital modulation, more and more sophisticated equipment was required, and the cost of which can be very high.
Refusing to accept the inflated prices, the enthusiast, known under the pseudonym Top DNG, independently created a digital scanner with trunking support, minimizing costs. As the basis for his device, he used an RTL-SDR USB tuner and a Raspberry Pi 5 mini-computer configured in headless mode to work with the sdrtrunk program. This configuration provides monitoring of control and frequency channels of trunked radio systems, as well as the ability to decode digital P25 modulation, provided that there is no encryption.
In addition, the receiver is equipped with a small HDMI touch screen and can be powered via USB, making it portable. The best part is that all the components can be purchased for about $ 250, which is significantly cheaper than the cost of specialized digital scanners, which can have a price tag of up to $ 600.
The second video contains full information and a step-by-step description of the build from start to finish. In addition to saving money, the creator of the project emphasizes the need to use a heat sink and fan to cool the Raspberry Pi, since the sdrtrunk program intensively uses the resources of a mini-computer. It is also recommended to get a high-quality antenna to improve reception, especially if you are in an area with a dense location of radio towers, such as in Los Angeles.
