intercept/docs/HARDWARE.md

Hardware & Advanced Setup

Supported SDR Hardware

Hardware	Frequency Range	Price	Notes
RTL-SDR	24 - 1766 MHz	~$25-35	Recommended for beginners
LimeSDR	0.1 - 3800 MHz	~$300	Wide range, requires SoapySDR
HackRF	1 - 6000 MHz	~$300	Ultra-wide range, requires SoapySDR

INTERCEPT automatically detects connected devices.

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Quick Install

macOS (Homebrew)

# Install Homebrew if needed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Core tools (required)
brew install python@3.11 librtlsdr multimon-ng rtl_433 ffmpeg

# ADS-B aircraft tracking
brew install dump1090-mutability

# WiFi tools (optional)
brew install aircrack-ng

# LimeSDR support (optional)
brew install soapysdr limesuite soapylms7

# HackRF support (optional)
brew install hackrf soapyhackrf

Debian / Ubuntu / Raspberry Pi OS

# Update package lists
sudo apt update

# Core tools (required)
sudo apt install -y python3 python3-pip python3-venv
sudo apt install -y rtl-sdr multimon-ng rtl-433 ffmpeg

# ADS-B aircraft tracking
sudo apt install -y dump1090-mutability
# Alternative: dump1090-fa (FlightAware version)

# WiFi tools (optional)
sudo apt install -y aircrack-ng

# Bluetooth tools (optional)
sudo apt install -y bluez bluetooth

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

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

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RTL-SDR Setup (Linux)

Add udev rules

If your RTL-SDR isn't detected, create 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 RTL-SDR.

Blacklist DVB-T driver

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

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Verify Installation

Check dependencies

python3 intercept.py --check-deps

Test SDR detection

# RTL-SDR
rtl_test

# LimeSDR/HackRF (via SoapySDR)
SoapySDRUtil --find

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Python Environment

Using setup.sh (Recommended)

./setup.sh

This automatically:

• Detects your OS
• Creates a virtual environment if needed (for PEP 668 systems)
• Installs Python dependencies
• Checks for required tools

Manual setup

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

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Running INTERCEPT

After installation:

# Standard
sudo python3 intercept.py

# With virtual environment
sudo venv/bin/python intercept.py

# Custom port
INTERCEPT_PORT=8080 sudo python3 intercept.py

Open http://localhost:5050 in your browser.

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Complete Tool Reference

Tool	Package (Debian)	Package (macOS)	Required For
rtl_fm	rtl-sdr	librtlsdr	Pager, Listening Post
rtl_test	rtl-sdr	librtlsdr	SDR detection
multimon-ng	multimon-ng	multimon-ng	Pager decoding
rtl_433	rtl-433	rtl_433	433MHz sensors
dump1090	dump1090-mutability	dump1090-mutability	ADS-B tracking
ffmpeg	ffmpeg	ffmpeg	Listening Post audio
airmon-ng	aircrack-ng	aircrack-ng	WiFi monitor mode
airodump-ng	aircrack-ng	aircrack-ng	WiFi scanning
aireplay-ng	aircrack-ng	aircrack-ng	WiFi deauth (optional)
hcitool	bluez	N/A	Bluetooth scanning
bluetoothctl	bluez	N/A	Bluetooth control
hciconfig	bluez	N/A	Bluetooth config

Optional tools:

Tool	Package (Debian)	Package (macOS)	Purpose
ffmpeg	ffmpeg	ffmpeg	Alternative audio encoder
SoapySDRUtil	soapysdr-tools	soapysdr	LimeSDR/HackRF support
LimeUtil	limesuite	limesuite	LimeSDR native tools
hackrf_info	hackrf	hackrf	HackRF native tools

Python dependencies (requirements.txt):

Package	Purpose
flask	Web server
skyfield	Satellite tracking (optional)
pyserial	USB GPS dongle support (optional)

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dump1090 Notes

Package names vary by distribution:

• dump1090-mutability - Most common
• dump1090-fa - FlightAware version (recommended)
• dump1090 - Generic

Not in repositories (Debian Trixie)?

Install FlightAware's version: https://flightaware.com/adsb/piaware/install

Or build from source: https://github.com/flightaware/dump1090

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Notes

• Bluetooth on macOS: Uses native CoreBluetooth, bluez tools not needed
• WiFi on macOS: Monitor mode has limited support, full functionality on Linux
• System tools: iw, iwconfig, rfkill, ip are pre-installed on most Linux systems