Chapter 03 · Typical hobby uses

What you can listen to and decode

One of the joys of SDR is variety. With the right receiver and antenna, a hobby listener can explore an enormous range of signals — here are some of the most popular:

  • Broadcast radiolong, medium and shortwave stations from around the world
  • Amateur (ham) signalsvoice, CW and digital conversations across the bands
  • Ship-to-shore communicationsmaritime voice and data
  • Aircraft ADS-Bdecode and map aircraft positions overhead
  • FT8 & FT4 decodingthe hugely popular weak-signal digital modes
  • Other digital modesa whole world of data signals to decode
  • Weather datafacts and imagery from weather services and satellites
  • Amateur satelliteslisten to signals from orbiting amateur payloads
  • Televisionexperiment with broadcast signal reception
  • Slow Scan TV (SSTV)decode pictures sent over the air
  • CW & Morse codethe timeless art of the dits and dahs

Each of these is a rabbit hole in its own right. Many listeners start with broadcast and amateur signals, then discover the addictive fun of decoding — watching aircraft appear on a map, or FT8 contacts roll in from across an ocean on a tiny signal you can barely hear.