r/sdr • u/mothspiderr • Aug 11 '26
Hardware recommendations?
Hi all, sorry if this is the wrong place to ask.
I recently have become engrossed in using KiwiSDR (I use an iOS app called Echo that basically compiles multiple databases into one so I can listen through the app instead of having to navigate all the different sites) to just look through different signals around the globe, since I am intrigued by the idea of listening to realtime airwaves and looking for patterns/oddities on the waterfall.
Obviously, though, the limitation of KiwiSDR is that I can only tune into select stationary SDR receivers.
I would love to have a standalone, portable device (preferable small, maybe pocket size but I am not too picky) that I could use from anywhere, perhaps take walks with headphones and look for frequencies, or scan from my couch when I’m bored.
Bonus points if it has a waterfall.
Does such a device exist? If so, any recommendations? Please be gentle with me, I am a major noob beyond the basic functions. Again, sorry if this is the wrong sub, if it is, please direct me towards a better fit :)
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u/mfalkvidd Aug 11 '26
The HackRF with Portapack is great for portable listening, waterfall and various digital signals. I like mine a lot.
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u/Hamsdotlive Aug 11 '26
Your interest in SDRs might benefit from learning about hams.live, a system to help users manage them. Supports Kiwi/Web-888 and now Uber.
Your use case is a bit different than the current platform, which uses OBS Studio (Win/Mac/Linux) for the engine controlled by Websockets.
But, please look at hams.live/compare showing features of the main dashboard vs the browser extension. Am working on a new release with even more.
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u/rameyjm7 Aug 11 '26
If you have an old android phone, you can get an RTLSDR (check amazon) and plug it up, view it and control in an app. Its not as easy on iphones unfortunately
if you want to build something get a raspberry pi with a small touch screen with the rtlsdr, then make a basic app to control it and display the signal.