HackRF One

Jia-YinAbout 2 min

Introduction to HackRF One

HackRF One is a Software Defined Radio (SDR) device widely used for wireless communication education, research, and security testing purposes.

HackRF One has the following key hardware features:

Frequency Range: Capable of processing signals from 1 MHz to 6 GHz, covering almost all commercial wireless frequencies.
Wide Bandwidth: Supports bandwidth from 2 MHz to 20 MHz, allowing users to receive a wide range of signal types.
Transmit and Receive Signals: With half-duplex transmission and reception capabilities, it can transmit and receive signals.
High Resolution: 8-bit resolution provides enough detail to analyze complex signal structures.
Open Source Design: Open Source software and hardware design, allowing users to conduct in-depth research and exploration.

The applications of HackRF One are extremely diverse, including:

Education and Research: In universities and research institutions, HackRF One is commonly used for teaching and research in wireless communication technology.
Wireless Security Analysis: Security researchers use HackRF One to study and test the security of wireless networks and communication protocols.
Amateur Radio Enthusiasts: Radio enthusiasts use HackRF One to explore and experiment with various wireless signals and technologies.

Common Software

HackRF One can be used with a variety of open-source and commercial software, providing functions for signal recording, analysis, and processing. Common compatible software includes:

GNU Radio: A free software development toolkit that allows simulation and real-time processing of various wireless communication systems.
Gqrx: A receiver designed using GNU Radio and the Qt graphical framework, used for receiving and analyzing wireless signals.
SDR# (SDRSharp): A popular SDR application on the Windows platform used for receiving and analyzing wireless signals.
Osmocom: Provides a wide range of practical wireless communication tools designed for SDR hardware, including HackRF.

Learning Resources

HackRFopen in new window Official website of HackRF, with many documents and resources.
GitHubopen in new window Contains many documents and source code.
Softwareopen in new window HackRF-related software tools.

Connecting the Device

Connect the HackRF to a USB slot on the computer, observe the changes in the indicator lights, and refer to the following instructions:

3V3: This light should remain on when the HackRF One is powered on, indicating that the device is receiving the correct power supply.
1V8: This light will illuminate when the internal 1.8V power is normal.
RF: Indicates that the firmware is running and the additional internal power is on.
USB: This light will illuminate when the device is successfully connected to the computer via USB and communicating.
TX: Transmission operation is in progress.
RX: Reception operation is in progress.

Exercise 1

Connect your HackRF One device and use the hackrf_info command to check the status of the device. What information did you get? Look up what this information means on the internet.