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Recording

The Recording feature allows you to capture raw IQ (In-phase/Quadrature) data directly from your SDR hardware. This data is saved in a file, which can later be replayed using the FileSource option in the Source tab or exported for analysis in other tools.

Recording Tab

Recording Tab

View Recordings

Press the View Recordings button to open a list of all saved recordings (see Recording List.

File Name

Use this text input to name your recording. You can enter or update the file name even while the recording is in progress. The name will only be applied when the recording is stopped.

Start/Stop Recording

This button toggles the recording process. When recording starts, raw IQ samples are written to a file. Press the button again to stop the recording. While active, the button displays a red recording indicator. The recording process is also indicated in the FFT display were the current file size is shown.

Recording Options

Channel Squelch

Toggle this switch to enable or disable recording based on signal strength. When enabled, recording will only capture data if the signal level at the currently tuned channel exceeds the squelch threshold.

Note that this option is only available, if the Squelch setting in the Demodulation Tab is enabled.

Recording based on squelch is especially useful to avoid storing long periods of silence.

Stop Recording After

This setting lets you define an automatic stop condition for the recording. You can choose one of the following limits:

  • Seconds
  • Minutes
  • Megabytes
  • Gigabytes
  • Disabled (default; manual stop required)

Once the selected condition is met, recording will stop automatically.

At the bottom of the tab, the app also displays how much device storage is currently used by recordings.

Warning

Keep an eye on available storage space. Raw IQ recordings can grow large quickly, especially at higher sample rates. Recordings can be deleted from the Recording List.

Recording List

View the recording list by pressing the View Recordings button in the Recording Tab (or in the Source Tab when Filesource is selected).

Filter and Delete All

In the top right corner of the recording list are two buttons:

  • Filter Favorites: When enabled, only recordings which are marked as favorite are displayed
  • Delete All: This button deletes all recordings.

The recording list shows all recordings as cards displaying the following information:

  • Recording Name (bold)
  • Tune (Center) Frequency (Hz)
  • Sample Rate (Sps)
  • File Format (RTLSDR vs. HACKRF)
  • Date and Time
  • File Size

Tap a recording card to reveal the following actions:

  • Replay Recording (via File Source)
  • Rename Recording
  • Delete Recording
  • Share Recording File
  • Download Recording File to Folder
  • Mark Recording as Favorite

The file format of the recordings is identical to the files created by the rtl_sdr and hackrf_transfer commands on PC.

Wrapping Up

Now you are familiar with most of RF Analyzer's features. What's left is the Settings Tab where you can tweak some parts of the app to your preferences and the About Tab where you find this manual and the option to purchase the full version of RF Analyzer.