Rtl-Sdr on Pi Stack

Self-Hosted AIS Ship Tracking: AIS-catcher vs rtl-ais vs OpenCPN — Real-Time Vessel Monitoring with RTL-SDR

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a VHF-based tracking system used by ships and vessel traffic services worldwide. Every commercial vessel over 300 gross tons broadcasts its position, speed, heading, and identity via AIS transponders — and with a $25 RTL-SDR dongle and open source software, you can receive and visualize this data from your own server.

Self-Hosted Pager Message Monitoring: Pagermon vs multimon-ng vs Dire Wolf — Decoding POCSAG & FLEX with RTL-SDR

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Pager networks — once the backbone of emergency communications and hospital messaging — are still actively broadcasting across the world. Using POCSAG (Post Office Code Standardisation Advisory Group) and FLEX protocols, these networks transmit numeric and alphanumeric messages over VHF and UHF frequencies. While commercial paging services have declined, many hospitals, fire departments, and industrial facilities still operate private paging systems — and with a $25 RTL-SDR dongle and open source software, you can monitor these transmissions from your own server.

Self-Hosted Weather Balloon Tracking: radiosonde_auto_rx vs RS vs SondeHub — Decode Radiosondes with RTL-SDR

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Twice daily, hundreds of weather stations worldwide launch radiosondes — instrument packages carried aloft by weather balloons that transmit real-time temperature, humidity, pressure, and GPS position data back to ground stations. These transmissions, typically on 400-406 MHz, are unencrypted and receivable by anyone with an RTL-SDR dongle within a 300-500 km radius.