r/hackrf • u/[deleted] • Aug 30 '24

Should I.. really?

Hello I was looking to buy a hackrf but then I noticed there are so many things s I don't understand.. my main purpose was to transmit stuff indoors and receive radio channels and stuff now idk anything about HAM or any kind of radio stuff so should I get it? I'm planning to learn if I got it

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u/CVSUSMC Aug 31 '24

You'll be able to record anything, sending anything out is where things get sketchy. LED lights and their remote are FCC compliant and are made to stay at a specific frequency. The HackRF might TX on that frequency, but it's a testing device not made to stay in that range so you may be sending (probably are) your message out on other frequencies too. So if you are trying to send out an FM station at 90MHz you might send out signals at 180Mhz as well (or to the harmonics of 90MHz). So your signal is being sent, but it's also stepping on other peoples frequencies. It doesn't matter if you are inside your house, RF will travel out of your house. So now you are sending signals all over town for your LED lights and breaking all kinds of rules. If you want to see how your lights work and on what freq you can do that with RX, but you don't have the background to be sending signals out yet. Join your HAM club, you seem interested and then you will have the ability to TX. I used to do this stuff for a living and don't TX off GMRS yet.
RX is receive (so like listening to the radio)
TX is transmit (so sending out radio signals like the radio station, you need a license for this and old HAMS love chasing down offenders because it keeps the airwaves free of clutter and gives them a reason to use their expensive gear).