intercept/docs/HARDWARE.md

Hardware & Installation

Supported SDR Hardware

Hardware	Frequency Range	Gain Range	TX	Price	Notes
RTL-SDR	24 - 1766 MHz	0 - 50 dB	No	~$25	Most common, budget-friendly
LimeSDR	0.1 - 3800 MHz	0 - 73 dB	Yes	~$300	Wide range, requires SoapySDR
HackRF	1 - 6000 MHz	0 - 62 dB	Yes	~$300	Ultra-wide range, requires SoapySDR

INTERCEPT automatically detects connected devices and shows hardware-specific capabilities in the UI.

Requirements

Hardware

• SDR Device - RTL-SDR, LimeSDR, or HackRF
• WiFi adapter capable of monitor mode (for WiFi features)
• Bluetooth adapter (for Bluetooth features)
• GPS dongle (optional, for precise location)

Software

• Python 3.9+ required
• External tools (see installation below)

Tool Installation

Core SDR Tools

Tool	macOS	Ubuntu/Debian	Purpose
rtl-sdr	brew install librtlsdr	sudo apt install rtl-sdr	RTL-SDR support
multimon-ng	brew install multimon-ng	sudo apt install multimon-ng	Pager decoding
rtl_433	brew install rtl_433	sudo apt install rtl-433	433MHz sensors
dump1090	brew install dump1090-mutability	sudo apt install dump1090-mutability	ADS-B aircraft
aircrack-ng	brew install aircrack-ng	sudo apt install aircrack-ng	WiFi reconnaissance
bluez	Built-in (limited)	sudo apt install bluez bluetooth	Bluetooth scanning

LimeSDR / HackRF Support (Optional)

Tool	macOS	Ubuntu/Debian	Purpose
SoapySDR	brew install soapysdr	sudo apt install soapysdr-tools	Universal SDR abstraction
LimeSDR	brew install limesuite soapylms7	sudo apt install limesuite soapysdr-module-lms7	LimeSDR support
HackRF	brew install hackrf soapyhackrf	sudo apt install hackrf soapysdr-module-hackrf	HackRF support
readsb	Build from source	Build from source	ADS-B with SoapySDR

Note: RTL-SDR works out of the box. LimeSDR and HackRF require SoapySDR plus the hardware-specific driver.

Quick Install Commands

Ubuntu/Debian

# Core tools
sudo apt update
sudo apt install rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 dump1090-mutability aircrack-ng bluez bluetooth

# LimeSDR (optional)
sudo apt install soapysdr-tools limesuite soapysdr-module-lms7

# HackRF (optional)
sudo apt install hackrf soapysdr-module-hackrf

macOS (Homebrew)

# Core tools
brew install librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 dump1090-mutability aircrack-ng

# LimeSDR (optional)
brew install soapysdr limesuite soapylms7

# HackRF (optional)
brew install hackrf soapyhackrf

Arch Linux

# Core tools
sudo pacman -S rtl-sdr multimon-ng
yay -S rtl_433 dump1090

# LimeSDR/HackRF (optional)
sudo pacman -S soapysdr limesuite hackrf

Linux udev Rules

If your SDR isn't detected, add udev rules:

sudo bash -c 'cat > /etc/udev/rules.d/20-rtlsdr.rules << EOF
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2838", MODE="0666"
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0bda", ATTRS{idProduct}=="2832", MODE="0666"
EOF'

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Then unplug and replug your device.

Blacklist DVB-T Driver (Linux)

The default DVB-T driver conflicts with rtl-sdr:

echo "blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-rtl.conf
sudo modprobe -r dvb_usb_rtl28xxu

Verify Installation

Check what's installed:

python3 intercept.py --check-deps

Test SDR detection:

# RTL-SDR
rtl_test

# LimeSDR/HackRF
SoapySDRUtil --find

Python Dependencies

Option 1: setup.sh (Recommended)

./setup.sh

This creates a virtual environment and installs dependencies automatically.

Option 2: pip

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Option 3: uv (Fast alternative)

uv is a fast Python package installer.

# Install uv (if not already installed)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Create venv and install deps
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
uv sync

# Or just install deps in existing environment
uv pip install -r requirements.txt

Option 4: pip with pyproject.toml

pip install .           # Install as package
pip install -e .        # Install in editable mode (for development)
pip install -e ".[dev]" # Include dev dependencies