- What You Need
An RTL-SDR USB dongle (e.g., RTL2832U with R820T2)
A Windows, Linux, macOS, or Android device
An antenna (usually included)
Software (like SDR# or Universal Radio Hacker)
SDRSharp
- Signal Analysis (for reverse engineering)
Use Universal Radio Hacker (URH):
Record raw signals from 2.4GHz toy remote (if within range)
Analyze bit patterns, timing, modulation
Use Audacity to visualize audio-like modulated signals.
- On Android (Optional)
Use SDR Touch with an OTG cable and RTL-SDR dongle.
Works well for listening to FM, air band, etc.
What You Can Do With RTL-SDR
- Listen to FM radio, air traffic, police, weather stations
- Track airplanes (ADS-B)
- Capture RF from garage remotes, key fobs, toy RC
- Reverse engineer simple RF protocols
Alternative: Use an SDR to Sniff Raw RF
To analyze the actual RF signal, you need a Software Defined Radio (SDR) like:
HackRF, LimeSDR, or USRP
Record the 2.4GHz spectrum
Analyze bursts from the remote
Use Universal Radio Hacker (URH) or GNU Radio to decode the signal