How to install rtl-sdr on ubuntu

Today, we will learn on how to install rtl-sdr (software defined radio) on ubuntu. First, you will need the antenna hardware first. You can get from any online stores. For me, I got it here.

You can put into the usb once you got that device. See my device below.

and check if the usb antenna is detected.

 user@localhost:~$ lsusb   
 Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0bda:2838 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL2838 DVB-T  

Now, remove this device from usb port and add this into the modprobe blacklist.

 user@localhost:~$ tail -1 /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf   
 blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu  

then remove any existing module using this command or you can reboot pc.

 $ sudo rmmod dvb_usb_rtl28xxu   

Next install this packages, you can use apt-get for this.

• rtl-sdr
• librtlsdr-dev
• libusb-dev
• libusb-1.0-0-dev

Once install these packages, git clone dump1090 project. Then change to dump1090 directory and try to compile using make. If you encounter any library not found, just install it using command apt-get as shown above.

Once the codes are compile, you should be able to use this device using the command, 

 $ ./dump1090 --interactive --net   

and then check your browser on port localhost:8080 . Wait for a while, I hope it scan some planes over your head.