https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mossmann/hackrf-an-open-source-sdr-platform/posts/818898

Grand Total Incl. TaxUS$320.90 (I had to pick up an SMA cable since I really only use BNC.)

Any links to more detailed technical info?  I all I see is promo and sales type stuff.

ETA:  I think I found what there is so far.
https://github.com/mossmann/hackrf/wiki

Hak5 has them too

https://hakshop.myshopify.com/products/hackrf

I am trying to save for a kx3 and new motorcycle

Have a hard time justifying $300 when he managed to raise over $600,000.

Seems a bit high to me as well

Wish it went below 10 Mhz.

So what do you think the price should be?


I think $300 is reasonable, where else can you get a vhf/uhf transceiver for that price? Not just a dual band mobile but an all mode transceiver.

We all would like to see it come in around $200 and maybe in the future it will come down but as of right now who has anything that will compete with it? Ettus research?

Get a $50 upconverter and problem solved. This project wasn't made for hams to chat about hip problems, the target audience was rf security researchers working in ISMm wifi, Bluetooth etc.

Since it has no PA nor filtering stage it's little more than a SDR dongle with an exciter stage.

It should be under $100

So where is a $100 substitute?


The filtering is in the amp anyway and for our application hardly an issue. Like I have said before i hope SDR and embedded computers become the Heathkits of my generation.

http://www.taylorkillian.com/2013/08/sdr-showdown-hackrf-vs-bladerf-vs-usrp.html

For anyone on the fence: Imagine a panadapter that covers most (if not all) of the HF spectrum.

It'd be awesome with a tuned fan dipole for propagation reporting on the high bands. I'm planning on using mine for that. :D

15 dBm =32 mW  

Not much power.  Bring that up to 5W or 37 dBM and you have something, otherwise its pretty much a receiver unless propagation is really cooperating

1/32 of a watt?  Heck I have trouble with 5w.


ETA/ table didn't copy and paste well:  http://www.cpcstech.com/dbm-to-watt-conversion-information.htm

That doesn't mean you can't add amps!

5w for $70

20w for $75

30w for $250

and some type of filtering ~$50

Of course you could spend about the same for a flex 1500 and there are pros and cons of each.

I am one of the backers but not a PROTOTYPE backer so I guess I'm still going to have to wait a bit.

When I talk to people about this I don't think they understand what it really is.

The creator Mike Ossmann is a security consultant. He hacks stuff for people. He previously released the Ubertooth one which was a SDR that allowed you to test bluetooth security. It was a pretty big success. WiFi makes up a ton of the airwaves around the country. It also happens to be a point in which companies often have penetration test ran. There are other services too like cell phones that are just as vulnerable as WiFi but due to hardware have been out of reach of your weekend hacker.

Cell phones have been on the receiving end of some late night MTN Dew filled attacks. A few years ago it was released in Vegas that while using a Ettus USRP (<$1000) you could create your own micro cell site and pass calls through and listen in and monitor all activity such as web traffic, phone calls, text messages and emails. Still an expensive option though.

Last year the same thing was demonstrated by a group using a Verizon micro cell site that retails for $200 and is used to give people cell coverage by routing calls (encrypted) over the internet. The group where able to bypass some geeky stuff and do the same as the Ettus guys. They didn't publish a how-to, instead they told Verizon how they did it so that Verizon could fix it. That is called responsible disclosure and is a huge part of the "hacker" community.

Hackers (hence the name HackRF) are the driving force behind the HackRF. To them it is so much more than chasing a DX square or talking about hips and weather. There is a good chance that in the future, technology you use everyday (like cell phones) will improve directly because of the HackRF. Just like the Ettus USRP was able to demonstrate there are ways to exploit vulnerabilities if you have the money and the smarts. Smarts is not the main issue, usually it is the money. This puts a new level of technology in the hands of smart individuals that could not have afforded the capabilities in the past.

As hams we hear a "new cheap SDR" we think it has to work for us. It will not be a turn key radio like you can purchase form the big 3, but then again that is not what it was intended for. If you attach an up-converter to it you will be capable to view almost the entire bandwidth of HF. So 40m to 10m or 80m to 15m. Think about how that can help with DX spotting or propagation reporting!

There is also the whole other side to it where it is "open source". All the blue prints, plans, specs everything is available to you (for free). If you wanted you could download the plans and build one yourself. This is a huge help to the people writing the software because now they know the best way to interact with the hardware. Look at the RTL SDR, a couple years ago it was just a cool trick, now it is a genuine SDR that has a ton of applications. And think that is with a $20 TV tuner, what do you think that community will do with the HackRF?

I just typed all this on my IBM Model M and I think I am about to drive my wife crazy with clickity clackiting. Don't write off the HackRF because it is low power or geared to VHF/UHF it will be a great tool for the RF community and in the future you will really see it grow.

Those are all  HF amps (as least as far as I could tell) and the HackRF only goes down to 30 MHz.
Plus they all require more drive than the Hack RF puts out

The HackRF itself only goes down to 30MHz but you can always add a converter. I am pretty sure the HackRF will drive the HF packer 5w amp fine. Like I said before, it isn't a turn key solution like a Flex. It is more like Heathkit for the millennial  generation.

Model M FTMFW! My mom threw mine out a long time ago, and I can't bring myself to spend what they're going for on eBay.

I can't wait for my HackRF. I didn't have the cash at the time to be a backer, so this opening it up really was a blessing for me.

I fully intend on using it for hacking first, then ham radio next. :D

The HF packer 5w amp (that is really a pre stage) requires 1 watt for 5 W out
(It would still require a filter stage and a method of switching them in and out for the bands)
Even for receive Only you need some filtering

Now lets think about this 1w = 1000 mw

The Hack RF only puts out at best 35 mw but the HF packer 5w amp requited 1000 Mw
That is no where near the required drive to take it to 5 watts


a Converter would really need to be a Transverter (Basically Two converters)



I

The k5bco 20W amp will work nicely.

Anyone looked at this stuff?

http://www.dl8rds.de/index.php/GNURadio_and_USRP2#Transmit_a_SSB_signal
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IzxZKL2uUE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1FEq6h7Z1c[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Jt9f7LSYc[/youtube]

Hrm... Can't get the videos to work inline.


Anyway, this has me tempted to just use the hackrf as one hell of a rig with gnuradio.

http://www.dl8rds.de/index.php/GNURadio_and_USRP2#Transmit_a_SSB_signal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IzxZKL2uUE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1FEq6h7Z1c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Jt9f7LSYc

Be careful because gnuradio was just updated to 3.7. I found this out over the weekend trying to get osmocon sources into gnu radio.