SDR (Software Defined Radio) Based RF Monitoring and Measurement

Abstract

A sensor network for measuring radio frequency power is presented, based on a software-defined radio equipment and the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. These two form secondary measurement nodes connected to a primary node that acts as a server. The collected data is transmitted to the server, which is responsible for processing it, storing it in a database and presenting it through a web page for analysis in real time and in the form of a history. The developed software also offers the possibility of configuring filters and alerts based on pre-established levels. The sensor network is linked to the web with an encrypted virtual tunnel or virtual private network. It allows power to be measured from approximately 50MHz to 2GHz. The results of the measurements and their evaluation in various frequency bands, schedules and daily intervals are presented. A scheme for validating the measurements based on the available equipment is integrated into the work. In the developed configuration, a relationship is established between the power measured by the SDR (dBm), and the power density (mW/
cm2) captured by its antenna.