rtlsdr-radio

Some pretty big UI adjustments!

The design is now more like a music app, which should be more intuitive and capable of future features—also some other minor improvements.

Improvements

• Redesigned UI!!
  • More inspired by Apple Music and Spotify layout
  • New sidebar to change SDR functions
• New SDR selector allows you to choose from multiple SDRs on your system
  • Constantly checks for and updates connected SDRs
• You can now switch between SDR functions without the current one stopping
• Improve RBDS performance by switching to Tauri Channels

Fixes

• Fixed bug where airplanes on ADS-B map point 45º away from the correct heading
• Prevent completely collapsing map or sidebar in ADS-B view
• Fix ADS-B state not getting reset when starting again

See the assets to download this version and install.

Here is a relatively small, but major release!

After ~1.5 months, RTL-SDR Radio finally has official Windows support! All future releases (should) now come with a downloadable, pre-built Windows application!

Improvements

• Windows support!!!
  • Switched to CMake for building dependencies (better for cross-platform)
  • New "virtual stereo" capability to output mono audio to stereo speakers (fixes bug on Windows)
• Switched to yarn for using Tauri (quicker builds)
• LibUSB is now statically built (less likely to cause a crash)
• Upgrade Tauri to the latest RC release

See the assets to download this version and install.

This new release is the first time an entirely new type of radio capability has been added to RTL-SDR Radio! I have spent the last 2 weeks hard at work to add the ability to decode messages from ✈️ airplanes!!! I am very excited about this!

This update adds support for decoding ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) messages sent at 1090MHz in the Mode S format! There is a new map that will display the real-time location of aircraft! You can also see other data about the planes such as their callsign, model, engine type, and registration information!

I have also added a lot of other improvements as well. From new media controls to UI improvements, there is something for everyone to enjoy!

Improvements

• Add support for decoding Mode S messages at 1090MHz (heavily inspired by dump1090)
  • Decoding ICAO Address of aircraft
  • Decoding ADS-B information (custom implementation based on the 1090 MHz Riddle)
• Added new tab/view for ADS-B capabilities
  • A new large map to display heading and location of aircraft
    • You can hover or click on aircraft on the map to see more details
  • A resizable sidebar for displaying all aircraft and their information
    • You can click on an aircraft in this sidebar to see all the ADS-B data that RTL-SDR Radio decodes
  • Looking up aircraft against APIs adsbdb.com and arla.njf.dev to display a lot of extra information.
  • If available, an image of the exact aircraft you are receiving signals from will appear
• Upgrade to Tauri V2 RC
• Switched from Next.js to Vite
  • Better performance
  • Better support for new features
• There is now a light/dark mode that adjusts automatically based on your OS theme
• It is now faster to switch between saved radio stations (almost instantly)
• Integration with OS Media Controls
  • You can now stop/play the radio stream using your OS's media controls
  • The RadioText from RDBS capable stations will display in the media controls on your OS
• Add the ability to change radio frequency and volume in real-time
• You can now see how long you have listened to the radio

Fixes

• Reorganized/refactored a lot of code
• Fixes bug that would crash ADS-B if unable to decode altitude
• Prevent getting stuck if viewing aircraft when it disappears
• Fix building errors

See the assets to download this version and install.

There is a lot of new stuff in this release. While no new "big features", there are many smaller improvements and features. From looking up information about aircraft to new media controls, and UI improvements, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Improvements

• ADS-B
  • If you have an internet connection, RTL-SDR Radio will perform a lookup of the aircraft and display extra information
    • Aircraft Information
      • Model
      • Number of Seats
      • Number of Engines
      • Aircraft weight class
      • Type of Engines
      • Engine Thrust/Horsepower
    • Aircraft registration information
    • Registrant name
    • Registrant address
    • Date of certification, expiration, and airworthiness test
    • An image of the aircraft (not just the model, but the exact aircraft)
    • The airline of the aircraft
  • Switch from Pigeon Maps to React Map GL
    • More features
    • Better support for satellite imagery
  • Switch from OpenStreetMap to Google Maps satellite imagery
  • Improve the visibility of aircraft on the map
  • Clicking on an aircraft's icon or details will start a smooth animation to the location of the aircraft
  • You can now see how long it has been since a message was last received from an airplane
  • Aircraft last seen over 60 seconds ago will now disappear (to prevent clutter on the map)
  • A new message to show how many aircraft are displayed on the map
  • Improved performance of decoding ADS-B data
  • Relocation of the "Start Decoding" button to the sidebar
• Upgrade to Tauri V2 RC
• Switched from Next.js to Vite
  • Better performance
  • Better support for new features
• There is now a light/dark mode that adjusts automatically based on your OS theme
• It is now faster to switch between saved radio stations (almost instantly)
• Integration with OS Media Controls
  • You can now stop/play the radio stream using your OS's media controls
  • The RadioText from RDBS capable stations will display in the media controls on your OS
• Add the ability to change radio frequency and volume in real-time
• You can now see how long you have listened to the radio

Fixes

• Fixes bug that would crash ADS-B if unable to decode altitude
• Prevent getting stuck if viewing aircraft when it disappears
• Fix building errors

See the assets to download this version and install.

This new beta release is the first time an entirely new type of radio capabilities has been added to RTL-SDR Radio! I have spent the last week hard at work to add the ability to decode messages from ✈️ airplanes!!! I am very excited about this!

This update adds support for decoding ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast) messages sent at 1090MHz in the Mode S format! There is a new map that will display the location of aircraft live! You can also see other data about the planes such as their callsign!

There is still a lot more to add (and other fixes/improvements) before a full release, so enjoy this beta version for now.

Improvements

• Add support for decoding Mode S messages at 1090MHz (heavily inspired by dump1090)
  • Decoding ICAO Address of aircraft
  • Decoding ADS-B information (custom implementation based on the 1090 MHz Riddle)
    • Ground Speed
    • Vertical Velocity
    • Heading
    • Altitude
    • Latitude and Longitude
    • Callsign
    • Wake Vortex Category
• Added new tab/view for ADS-B capabilities
  • A new large map to display heading and location of aircraft (using Pigeon Maps)
    • You can hover or click on aircraft on the map to see more details
  • A resizable sidebar for displaying all aircraft and their information
    • You can click on an aircraft in this sidebar to see all the ADS-B data that RTL-SDR Radio decodes

Fixes

• Reorganized/refactored a lot of code

See the assets to download this version and install.

This is the biggest release yet!!! I have been working hard the last 2 weeks to make RTL-SDR Radio even more awesome!

Improvements

• Add Support for AM Radio
• Add Support for decoding RBDS (Radio Broadcast Data System) encoded within FM Radio stations.
  • Decoding RadioText, Program Type, Program Identification Code, Radio Type, Decoder Identification Info, and Traffic Announcments
  • Error correction for up to 5 bit burst errors
  • This is a completely custom implementation (made by njfdev) based off of the RDS 1998 spec and the RBDS 2011 spec
• Added Updater
  • RTL-SDR Radio will automatically check for updates on startup and will let you automatically install them
• All dependencies are now bundled!
  • This means RTL-SDR Radio will just run without needing to install dependencies first
• The last used radio station frequency will now be saved

Fixes

• When installing deb package, RTL-SDR Radio can now be called from the command rtlsdr_radio, rather than app
• Spacing and other UI tweaks

See the assets to download this version and install.

Improvements

• New improvements to RBDS decoding for FM radio stations
  • Decoding RadioText
  • Decoding Program Service Name
  • Decoding Program Identification Code
  • Decoding Radio Type
  • Decoding Station Decoder Identification Info
  • Detecting if station has traffic announcements
  • Added Error Correction to fix up to 5 bit burst errors
• Make RBDS UI look better and easier to understand
• Migrate to Tauri V2
• Add Updater
  • When opening RTL-SDR Radio, it will automatically check for updates and let you install them automatically
• Bundle all dependencies within the app
  • This means RTL-SDR Radio will just run without needing to install dependencies first
• The last used frequency for a radio station will be saved and remembered
• AM and FM Radio settings are now saved independently of each other

Fixes

• When installing deb package, RTL-SDR Radio can now be called from the command rtlsdr_radio, rather than app
• UI spacing and other tweaks

See the assets to download this version and install.

• Support for listening to AM Radio
• Ability to See "Program Type" of FM Radio Stations
  • This is enabled by a lot of new backend code to decode RBDS data from FM stations
  • Only works on FM stations with a strong signal (error correction is not yet implemented)

See the assets to download this version and install.

This release fixes a bug with unintended scrollbars and your cursor jumping while editing station titles.

See the assets to download this version and install.

This version adds support for renaming saved stations to whatever you like!

See the assets to download this version and install.

This release now adds support for listening to any FM radio station! You can save your favorite stations and directly play them from the new "Saved Stations" sidebar.

This release also fixes our building scripts so the MacOS and Linux files should be good to go! However, HD Radio is now only enabled when compiling locally due to some trouble building required libraries/executables on GitHub.

See the assets to download this version and install.

This is the first official version of RTL-SDR Radio!

Right now, all you can do is listen to HD Radio channels with nrsc5.

See the assets to download this version and install.