RTL-SDR Weather Station Radio setup

Owned by Mike Tango Bravo
Last updated: Aug 24, 2024
4 min read

Installing RTL-SDR from source

$ sudo apt install libusb-1.0.0-dev git cmake $ sudo apt install pkg-config Then clone the rtl-sdr repo $ git clone https://github.com/osmocom/rtl-sdr.git Once it is cloned, make a build directory, build it and install it: $ cd rtl-sdr $ mkdir build $ cd build $ cmake ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON $ make $ sudo make install $ sudo cp ../rtl-sdr.rules /etc/udev/rules.d $ sudo ldconfig

Creating permissions for non-root users

Next, you need to add some udev rules to make the dongle available for the non-root users.

Find the vendor id and product id for your dongle.

mtb@netrabrick:~$ lsusb Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 004 Device 005: ID 1d6b:0104 Linux Foundation Multifunction Composite Gadget Bus 004 Device 004: ID 05e3:0610 Genesys Logic, Inc. Hub Bus 004 Device 003: ID 8087:0029 Intel Corp. AX200 Bluetooth Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0bda:2838 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL2838 DVB-T Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub Bus 002 Device 002: ID 04b4:0003 Cypress Semiconductor Corp. USB-UART LP Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub lsusb

The important line was the Realtek dongle:

Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0bda:2838 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL2838 DVB-T

The important parts are "0bda" (the vendor id) and "2838" (the product id).

Create a new file as root named /etc/udev/rules.d/20.rtlsdr.rules that contains the following line:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2838", GROUP="adm", MODE="0666", SYMLINK+="rtl_sdr"

With the vendor and product ids for your particular dongle. This should make the dongle accessible to any user in the adm group. and add a /dev/rtl_sdr symlink when the dongle is attached.

When finished, run

Blacklisting the Default Kernel Driver

The default kernel might automatically load drivers for the RTL-SDR, which can prevent SDR applications from accessing the dongle. You need to blacklist it.

  1. Create a blacklist.conf file

    sudo vi /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

  2. Add the following lines at the end of the file:

    blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu

  3. Unload the conflicting kernel module:

    sudo rmmod dvb_usb_rtl28xxu

  4. Reboot the system to apply changes:

    sudo reboot

Testing SDR

If the SDR radio receiver can be found, you should see similar output:

rtl_433

rtl_433 is an open-source software tool used with RTL-SDR (Software Defined Radio) dongles. It is specifically designed for decoding and demodulating signals from various low-cost ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band devices that operate around the 433 MHz frequency range. These devices often include sensors such as:

  • Weather stations

  • Tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS)

  • Remote temperature and humidity sensors

  • Power consumption meters (e.g., smart meters)

  • Doorbells and remote control devices

Installing rtl_433

Connecting to weather relayer

mtb@netrabrick:~/Aleph_hackathon/oviwox$ weather_relay.py