ONE HOMEMADE BOARD THAT CAN LISTEN TO ALMOST EVERY RADIO SIGNAL IN THE AIR AROUND YOU
One board, one USB cable, and you can tune into aircraft transponders, weather satellites, pagers and garage remotes without changing a single component.
by Great Scott Gadgets (Michael Ossmann and team)
Open-hardwareScience
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- a weekend-plus
- license
- GPL-2.0
- repo
- repo ACTIVE8,019 stars
●●●●○ · a weekend-plus · GPL-2.0 · 8,019 stars · repo ACTIVE
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- 3D printer + filament — printable parts — files are in the repo
- Electronic parts — full list with part numbers in the repo BOM
- Dev board / microcontroller — runs the project firmware
Partner
COMPAREE VERDICT
HackRF One is not a weekend kit you solder at the kitchen table — it is a reference design for a professional-grade software defined radio that you either order pre-assembled or have fabricated commercially. The repository gives you everything to do that: Altium and KiCad files, a full BOM down to part numbers, firmware source, and an injection-moulded enclosure you can 3D print instead. The span it covers, roughly 1 MHz to 6 GHz, takes in most of what fills the air in an ordinary street, and because there is no fixed tuning, the same board becomes a completely different receiver depending on which program you run. The hardest part is not the hardware — it is learning how software defined radio actually works, which signals are legal to receive in your country, and which ones you are absolutely not allowed to transmit on. Great Scott Gadgets publishes a full free course for that. The most likely mistake is buying this thinking you will build a working radio in a weekend without prior RF experience — you will not. If you have that experience, or you are willing to spend the time learning, this is one of the most capable open hardware radios ever published. If you just want to listen to weather satellites, buy the finished unit or start with something narrower.
IN THE REPO
NOT IN THE REPO
- —Full Altium board files, KiCad exports, Bill of Materials and firmware source are in the repository under GPLv2.
- —Enclosure STLs and STEP files are published separately, also GPLv2.
- —No assembly instructions for the PCB — this is a board you order fabricated and assembled, or buy ready-made.
- —Great Scott Gadgets sells the finished unit; the repository is for those who want to modify the design or build derivative hardware.
- —Comprehensive usage tutorials are hosted at greatscottgadgets.com/sdr, not in the repo.
- —GPLv2 allows commercial use but requires derivative hardware to remain open and attributed.
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
Partner · KickstarterHeyGears G1: 10M+ colors and transparent parts in one print, plus UV printing on flat objects. Figures, parts and labels — no painting.
Gallery
Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Read the repository README and the hardware documentation (Tells you what the hardware can and cannot do, and where the design files are)
- 2.Decide whether you are ordering a board, buying the finished unit, or modifying the design(If you have never worked with SDR before, the finished unit or an assembled board is the correct choice)
- 3.Work through the Software Defined Radio course(Hosted at greatscottgadgets.com/sdr — covers the theory and practice you need before touching the transmit side)
- 4.Check transmit regulations in your country(Licensed bands, power limits and permitted uses vary. Receiving is almost always legal; transmitting almost always is not without a license.)
Resources
Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.
KNOWN ISSUES
- Ordering the wrong board revision or using obsolete Gerbers — the active design is HackRF One; earlier revisions (Jawbreaker, Jellybean) are obsolete.
- Assuming you can hand-solder this as a first RF project — the 0.5 mm pitch QFN packages and RF layout requirements make this an expert-level self-build.
- Not checking local transmit regulations before powering the TX path — in most countries transmitting without a license on certain bands is illegal, and the penalties are not hypothetical.
- Expecting plug-and-play receive: SDR software setup on Windows especially can be fragile, and you will spend time on driver installation and sample-rate tuning before you see a clean waterfall.
- Buying this to receive one specific thing when a cheaper, narrower receiver would do the job — if all you want is ADS-B or weather satellite images, a purpose-built dongle is faster and easier.
- Transmitting on the wrong frequency, at the wrong power level, or into the wrong antenna impedance — all three can damage the RF front-end permanently.
Can I actually build this from the files in the repository?
Yes, but 'build' here means ordering PCB fabrication and assembly from a commercial house, or buying a bare board and placing over a hundred components under a microscope. The Altium and KiCad files, BOM and Gerbers are complete. What is not in the repository is a step-by-step assembly tutorial, because almost no one hand-builds these.
What is the difference between this and a cheap RTL-SDR dongle?
HackRF can transmit, covers a vastly wider range (1 MHz to 6 GHz versus ~24 MHz to 1766 MHz for most RTL dongles), and has a much higher sample rate. The tradeoff is cost, complexity, and the fact that transmitting legally requires knowledge and often a license. For receive-only, an RTL dongle is easier and cheaper.
Is it legal to use this?
Receiving is legal almost everywhere. Transmitting is not, unless you have the appropriate license for the band and mode, stay within power limits, and follow your country's rules. The repository is explicit: having transmit capability does not grant permission to use it.
Do I need to 3D print the case?
No. The board works without an enclosure. The STLs are there if you want one and do not want to buy the injection-moulded version.
Can I modify this and sell it?
Yes, the GPLv2 license allows that, but you must publish your modifications, attribute the original, and license your derivative under GPLv2 as well. Several commercial variants exist.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
8,012 stars, GPLv2, and transmit-capable up to 6 GHz — but almost no one hand-assembles one. Did you order yours pre-built, have it fabricated, or actually place all those 0402s yourself?
Great Scott Gadgets (Michael Ossmann and team)
Michael Ossmann designed HackRF One as an open platform for software defined radio research and education, filling the gap between cheap receive-only dongles and five-figure lab equipment. Great Scott Gadgets manufactures and sells the finished hardware while keeping every part of the design open.
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DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM13d ago
Practical notes from our verification: the repository is actively maintained as of August 2026, with the most recent hardware revision clearly marked. There is no official YouTube channel — the video content is embedded in the SDR course hosted separately. The single most common mistake we see is people buying this to receive one specific signal (usually weather satellites or ADS-B) when a $30 RTL dongle would do the job faster and easier. HackRF's strength is breadth and transmit capability, but both come with learning curves most weekend projects do not have. The BOM is complete, the Gerbers export cleanly, and the firmware builds without modification on Linux. The enclosure STLs are in a separate folder and print without supports. If you have never touched RF before, start with the free SDR course before you order anything.