gqrx contains support for the bladeRF

[Antti]

gqrx/snapshot now contains support for the Nuand bladerf transceiver board.

http://gqrx.dk/blog/analog-bandwidth-na ... -ui-tweaks

[schrambo]

Yep, straight out of the box this worked fine for me.
I just had to follow the PPA installation guide https://launchpad.net/~gqrx/+archive/releases
Load the FPGA "# bladeRF-cli -l /path/to/fpga"
Start GQRX, Click File > I/O Devices. bladeRF was automatically detected. (i left the default settings).
Then click File > Start DSP.

System: Linux Mint 15 x86_64. (Ubuntu 13.04) Intel i7 Q 740 @ 1.73GHz, 8GB DDR, USB3.0.



My peers tell me my noise floor is very high (we have a whole lot of RF equipment and signals around the office) and using a paperclip for the TX isn't exactly "ideal" but it is a start at least.
Just now have to find something somewhat interesting to scan and monitor and have a play / learn.

[Montezuma]

Yep, straight out of the box this worked fine for me.
I just had to follow the PPA installation guide https://launchpad.net/~gqrx/+archive/releases
Load the FPGA "# bladeRF-cli -l /path/to/fpga"
Start GQRX, Click File > I/O Devices. bladeRF was automatically detected. (i left the default settings).
Then click File > Start DSP.

System: Linux Mint 15 x86_64. (Ubuntu 13.04) Intel i7 Q 740 @ 1.73GHz, 8GB DDR, USB3.0.



My peers tell me my noise floor is very high (we have a whole lot of RF equipment and signals around the office) and using a paperclip for the TX isn't exactly "ideal" but it is a start at least.
Just now have to find something somewhat interesting to scan and monitor and have a play / learn.

As a general rule, and not a warning due to any issues with the bladeRF(there are none, to my knowledge), one shouldn't apply power to a transmit-capable RF board without an antenna(or multiple antennas, if required) attached. While damage isn't likely, it is a good idea to run the risk when such problems are relatively easy to avoid.

[dk5ras]

Hi,

This had been implemented months ago, works just fine. It comes handy when the fpga content is flashed to the SPI FLASH with "bladeRF-cli -L /somewhere/fpga-file". Then a few seconds after powering up the bladeRF the FPGA gets automagically loaded.

Ralph.

[rowan.doherty]

Is there a special method for getting GQRX to work with BladeRF?
I noticed that the GQRX website recommends using its repository for installing GNU Radio due to compatibility issues, but after installing GQRX, BladeRF and GNU Radio (in that order), I get the following issue when I attempt the BladeRF test command:

Code: Select all

rowan@ubuntu:~$ osmocom_fft -a bladerf=0,fpga=hostedx115.rbf -s 8000000 -f 446000000
linux; GNU C++ version 4.8.1; Boost_105300; UHD_003.005.003-0-unknown

gr-osmosdr v0.1.x-xxx-xunknown (0.1.1git) gnuradio v3.7.x-xxx-xunknown
built-in source types: file osmosdr fcd rtl rtl_tcp uhd hackrf 

FATAL: Failed to open HackRF device (-5) HACKRF_ERROR_NOT_FOUND

Trying to fill up 1 missing channel(s) with null source(s).
This is being done to prevent the application from crashing
due to a gnuradio bug. The maintainers have been informed.

Source has no sample rates (wrong device arguments?).

It looks like BladeRF isn't supported by my gr-osmosdr, but how can I add that? Reinstall GNU Radio as per the BladeRF guide and risk GQRX compatibility issues? Install as per GQRX recommendations but in a different order? Something else?

[Montezuma]

Is there a special method for getting GQRX to work with BladeRF?
I noticed that the GQRX website recommends using its repository for installing GNU Radio due to compatibility issues, but after installing GQRX, BladeRF and GNU Radio (in that order), I get the following issue when I attempt the BladeRF test command:

Code: Select all

rowan@ubuntu:~$ osmocom_fft -a bladerf=0,fpga=hostedx115.rbf -s 8000000 -f 446000000
linux; GNU C++ version 4.8.1; Boost_105300; UHD_003.005.003-0-unknown

gr-osmosdr v0.1.x-xxx-xunknown (0.1.1git) gnuradio v3.7.x-xxx-xunknown
built-in source types: file osmosdr fcd rtl rtl_tcp uhd hackrf 

FATAL: Failed to open HackRF device (-5) HACKRF_ERROR_NOT_FOUND

Trying to fill up 1 missing channel(s) with null source(s).
This is being done to prevent the application from crashing
due to a gnuradio bug. The maintainers have been informed.

Source has no sample rates (wrong device arguments?).

It looks like BladeRF isn't supported by my gr-osmosdr, but how can I add that? Reinstall GNU Radio as per the BladeRF guide and risk GQRX compatibility issues? Install as per GQRX recommendations but in a different order? Something else?

There is supposed to be a repository for GQRX that provides support for bladeRF, but I've never found it. I also haven't attempted to find it for a while, as I'm working on a bunch of OSX task and have been trying to get my bladeRF working on this platform(though, I haven't put any real effort into it). There is always the option of building GQRX from the source, and adding in the necessary bladeRF files during the build/make. Other than that, I wouldn't be surprised if someone already has access to what you are looking for.

[jynik]

gr-osmosdr v0.1.x-xxx-xunknown (0.1.1git) gnuradio v3.7.x-xxx-xunknown
built-in source types: file osmosdr fcd rtl rtl_tcp uhd hackrf

As you noted, the gr-osmodsr version you have was not built with bladerf support (-DENABLE_BLADERF=ON). This isn't unexpected, as the package was probably put together before gr-osmosdr had bladeRF support.

I'd recommend uninstalling the gr-osmosdr (just gr-osmosdr...not all of GNU Radio) package you currently have, and build and install gr-osmosdr from source. With the latest in gr-osmosdr, I'm able to build and run GQRX with bladeRF support.

To build the latest and greatest gr-osmosdr, check out master:

Code: Select all

git clone git://git.osmocom.org/gr-osmosdr

and then follow the rest on the instructions on the wiki. You'll probably want to use PKG_CONFIG_PATH to point the build to wherever the GNU Radio .pc's live, and then choose an appropriate CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX.

[rowan.doherty]

I installed all the GQRX software via its PPA.
I tried removing gr-osmosdr ("sudp apt-get remove --purge libosmosdr") which seemed to work since I could no longer use osmocom_fft, but when I cloned and tried to build gr-osmosdr it told me I didn't have a lot of GNU Radio libraries (I assume the PPA only selects certain ones).

I guess I'm going to have uninstall all of the GQRX software and reinstall it piece by piece so that I have everything that is required.