rtl_sdr Command Examples

Raw data recorder for RTL-SDR receivers. Data is encoded using I/Q sampling (aka quadrature sampling). More information: https://osmocom.org/projects/rtl-sdr/wiki/Rtl-sdr.

• Save RAW data from a frequency (specified in Hz) to a file:

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} {{path/to/file}}

• Pipe data to another program:

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} - | {{aplay}}

• Read a specified number of samples:

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} -n {{20}} -

• Specify the sample rate in Hz (ranges 225001-300000 and 900001-3200000):

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} -s {{2400000}} -

• Specify the device by its index:

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} -d {{0}} -

• Specify the gain:

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} -g {{20}} -

• Specify the output block size:

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} -b {{9999999}} -

• Use synchronous output:

rtl_sdr -f {{100000000}} -S -