📡 Hardware & RF Security

RF & SDR Vault

Offline reference for Software Defined Radio, hardware hacking tools, common frequencies, and RF security operations. Works 100% offline — no CDN, no calls.

📡HackRF One

Great Scott Gadgets SDR transceiver — one of the most popular open-source RF hacking platforms. Can both receive and transmit.

Freq Range1 MHz – 6 GHz
Sample Rateup to 20 Msps
Resolution8-bit
Half/Full DuplexHalf-duplex
TX Powerup to +10 dBm
InterfaceUSB 2.0
Driverlibhackrf / hackrf-tools
Best forReplay, jamming, spectrum survey
🔵BladeRF 2.0 micro

Nuand BladeRF — high-performance full-duplex SDR with FPGA. More expensive but better performance than HackRF.

Freq Range47 MHz – 6 GHz
Sample Rateup to 61.44 Msps
Resolution12-bit ADC
DuplexFull-duplex (2T2R)
FPGAIntel Cyclone V
InterfaceUSB 3.0
DriverlibbladeRF / bladeRF-cli
Best forLTE IMSI, full-duplex ops
📻RTL-SDR (RTL2832U)

Cheap DVB-T dongle repurposed as receive-only SDR. Best starting point — $20–30, massive community, receive only.

Freq Range500 kHz – 1.75 GHz
Sample Rateup to 3.2 Msps
Resolution8-bit
DuplexReceive only (RX)
InterfaceUSB 2.0
Driverrtl-sdr (osmocom)
Best forADS-B, ACARS, FM, ATC, weather
📶ALFA Network AWUS036ACH

High-power 802.11ac USB Wi-Fi adapter. Industry standard for Wi-Fi pentesting — supports monitor mode and packet injection.

ChipsetRTL8812AU
Standards802.11a/b/g/n/ac (dual-band)
Freq2.4 GHz & 5 GHz
TX Power30 dBm
Monitor ModeYes
Packet InjectYes
Driverrtl8812au (aircrack-ng fork)
Best forWPA2 capture, deauth, evil twin
🃏Flipper Zero

Portable multi-tool for RF, NFC, RFID, infrared, and GPIO — the Swiss Army knife of hardware hacking. Runs marauder firmware for Wi-Fi attacks.

Sub-GHz300–928 MHz (CC1101)
NFC13.56 MHz (ST25R3916)
RFID125 kHz (EM4100, HID, etc.)
IR850–950 nm (38 kHz)
iButtonDS1990A / Dallas 1-Wire
GPIO8-pin, 3.3V / 5V
FirmwareOfficial / Unleashed / Xtreme
🔑Proxmark 3 RDV4

Professional RFID research tool — the gold standard for card cloning, emulation, and sniffing. Supports LF and HF RFID.

LF Range125 kHz (EM, HID, AWID, Indala)
HF Range13.56 MHz (Mifare, DESFire, iClass)
ModesRead, write, clone, emulate, sniff
OSProxmark3 / iceman fork
Best forHotel cards, access control, parking
Frequency Band Protocol / Service Notes Use Case
🌊GNU Radio

Open-source signal processing framework — build RF signal processing pipelines using Python or graphical flowgraph editor (gnuradio-companion). Industry standard.

Installapt install gnuradio
GUIgnuradio-companion
LanguagePython / C++ blocks
SupportsHackRF, RTL-SDR, BladeRF, USRP
📊GQRX

Open-source SDR receiver based on GNU Radio — excellent spectrum analyzer and audio demodulator with a clean GUI. Great for initial spectrum survey.

Installapt install gqrx-sdr
DemodulatorsAM, FM, WFM, LSB, USB, CW
Best forSpectrum survey, FM/AM decode
🗺SDR# (SDRSharp)

Windows SDR application — feature-rich, plugin-based receiver. Most popular on Windows. Supports RTL-SDR, AirSpy, HackRF via plugins.

PlatformWindows only
PluginsDigital decoders, trunking, APT
Best forGeneral reception on Windows
🔓Universal Radio Hacker

URH — open-source tool for investigating unknown wireless protocols. Records, analyzes, decodes, and generates RF signals. Key for reversing proprietary protocols.

Installpip install urh
SupportsHackRF, RTL-SDR, BladeRF, USRP
Best forProtocol reversing, replay attacks
🛡Kismet

Wireless network sniffer and IDS — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, 802.15.4. Passive detection of wireless networks and devices.

Installapt install kismet
OutputPCAP, JSON, SQLite
Best forWar driving, passive recon
✈️dump1090 (ADS-B)

Decode ADS-B aircraft transponder signals with RTL-SDR. Shows live flight data — position, altitude, speed, ICAO ID.

Installapt install dump1090-mutability
Frequency1090 MHz
Launchdump1090 --interactive
📡rtl_433

Decode 433/868/315/915 MHz devices — door sensors, weather stations, tire pressure monitors, smart meters, keyfobs.

Installapt install rtl-433
Protocols250+ supported devices
OutputJSON, CSV, MQTT
🔐Aircrack-ng Suite

Complete Wi-Fi security auditing suite — monitor mode, capture handshakes, deauth, WEP/WPA cracking.

Installapt install aircrack-ng
Key toolsairmon-ng, airodump-ng, aireplay-ng
Best forWPA2 handshake capture & crack