Is Kali for me? Asking for an SDR distro opinion...
I know you tech-heads are tired of hearing questions like this so I will start with what I am looking for, and then go a little deeper about it. I need tech-head opinions so I can save time fishing for a distro that will give me the most solid base for my project.
I love SDR and when I was a kid, I dreamed of a day when DSP's could emulate hardware in audio, and software could rule tuning and demodulating of signals on specific frequencies! Now that we are there, I am somewhat ashamed that my needs are only that of Digital FM broadcasts. I will expand later, but for now, this is what I want to do. I am hoping Kali is the distro I can build on to make this happen.
I need to be able to write C++ (or other languages, Perl, Python, Java even) that can control a USB dongle. NooElec TV28T v2 USB DVB-T & RTL-SDR Receiver, RTL2832U & R820T Tuner to be precise. I need my code to be able to tune to a frequency, and record the output. Since this is a Digital FM project, recording the audio is fine. I can figure out how to encode it to MP3 later on. I would love to control this process via daemon if possible.
I don't need to know HOW to do it, I can handle that. I just want to know if it is possible. Too many times I have traveled down deep, dark, rabbit holes only to find out at the end that I can't do what I want. Knowing that it is possible is enough to push on and do it! =)
I am hoping I can do this with a Beaglebone Black. I am at the stage where I have a BBB, the mentioned RTL2832U (R820T is what I really care about), powered USB HUB, USB hard drive, 8gb flash card, and ready to pick a distro that works with ARMHF.
I am already doing what I want in Windows XP using the dongle, Sound Forge 10, and SDR#. But I have to interact with each day's recording event and I want to fully automate it. In LINUX.
I have a little experience with embedded linux rigs (Raspberry Pi) and booting from a portable hard drive. I see it is possible with the BBB also. Just need to pick a distro and hopefully get any advice I can about CLI controlling the dongle.
Thank you so very much for your time!
Oh, this is for personal use and not a commercial venture at all. I feel that if you can buy it, you can build it better, and code it even better than that. This is all me for my home and family. I hope I came to the right place for info. Kali seems to be the choice of SDR enthusiasts.
