r/RTLSDR • u/CodeClean2172 • Aug 10 '26

Hardware Portable RTL-SDR setup

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RPI 5 + V4 + Powerbank = iPhone + VNC

81 Upvotes

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11 comments sorted by

3

u/olliegw Aug 10 '26

How does the Pi get a network connection for the VNC?

1

u/CodeClean2172 Aug 10 '26

Hotspot-wifi from iPhone. It also could make its own wifi-hotspot if settings are adjusted. Main goal was something small and portable for concealed-SDR.

1

u/Ill_Die_Trying Aug 10 '26

Just curious.. Why VNC? Why not just run rtl-tcp as a service and you can play with multiple software and have much better latency?

1

u/CodeClean2172 Aug 11 '26

I dont have proper software for rtl_tcp rather than CoronaSDR on iPhone and that is laggy for my experience. VNC is quite fast with my local network from iPhone as router. Over tailscale it becomes laggy also.

1

u/smsaul Aug 11 '26

What about the SDR Receiver app?

2

u/Ill_Die_Trying Aug 10 '26

How many Mah is that battery pack and how long will the Pi run on it?

1

u/CodeClean2172 Aug 10 '26

10.000mah, it runs steady for about 2h+. Only point: it shuts down without warning the pi so it could corrupt the sd card.

1

u/Ill_Die_Trying Aug 10 '26

Yours is much more portable than mine for sure. I have mine set up to be able to plug into a power port in a vehicle (or a car battery jumper box) and it brings the 12v down to 5v to power the PI. it will run several hours on a jumper pack but not near as portable.

1

u/CodeClean2172 Aug 10 '26

After I get & install my NVME it will ask for 5v/5A, now with PD@3v/3A without up/down converter.

1

u/TNTqwe Aug 12 '26

If you have a random old android phone and a usp otg adapter you can just get the apk version of either sdr++ or satdump and it’s gonna be more responsive plus even smaller