Wireless Attackssdrradioreceivergnu-radiortl-sdrhackrfairspy

Gqrx SDR

Gqrx is a software defined radio receiver that works with hardware like RTL-SDR, HackRF, and Airspy. It supports AM/FM/SSB reception with audio output, FFT visualization, and AFSK1200 AX.25 decoding.

Description

Gqrx is a GUI application for software defined radio (SDR) receivers, powered by GNU Radio and Qt. It interfaces with gr-osmosdr supported hardware including Funcube Dongle, RTL-SDR, Airspy, HackRF, BladeRF, RFSpace, USRP, and SoapySDR. The tool operates as an AM/FM/SSB receiver with audio output or as an FFT-only spectrum instrument, displaying FFT plots and spectrum waterfalls.

Use cases include Wideband FM reception in mono, stereo, and RDS modes, as well as AFSK1200 decoding for AX.25 packets. It provides hooks for external applications via network sockets. Gqrx supports multiple configurations for different devices or settings, loadable via GUI or command line.

On first run, it auto-discovers connected devices. Troubleshooting for undetected devices involves checking drivers, udev rules, or kernel access, testable with tools like rtl_test or hackrf_transfer. Running volk_profile beforehand optimizes performance with processor-specific settings.

How It Works

Gqrx uses GNU Radio for signal processing and Qt for the GUI. It leverages gr-osmosdr to interface with SDR hardware, handling input from devices like RTL-SDR or HackRF. Supports modulation modes AM/FM/SSB with audio via PulseAudio, FFT spectrum analysis, waterfall displays, and AFSK1200 demodulation for AX.25. Configurations manage device settings, and network sockets enable external integration. VOLK library provides optimized vector operations.

Installation

bash

sudo apt install gqrx-sdr

Flags

-h, --helpDisplay the help page

-s, --style styleUse the given style (fusion, windows)

-l, --listList existing configurations

-c, --conf fileStart with a specific configuration file

-e, --editEdit the configuration file before using it

-r, --resetReset the configuration file

Examples

Start Gqrx, opens device configuration dialog on first run to select auto-discovered SDR hardware

gqrx

Run before gqrx to detect and enable processor-specific optimizations for performance boost

volk_profile

Display the help page with all command line options

gqrx --help

List existing configurations for multiple devices or settings

gqrx -l

Start Gqrx with a specific configuration file

gqrx -c /path/to/config.conf

Edit the configuration file before starting Gqrx

gqrx -e -c /path/to/config.conf

Reset the configuration file to defaults

gqrx -r

Start Gqrx using the fusion style for the Qt GUI

gqrx --style fusion

Updated 2026-04-16kali.org ↗