Getting started
Overview
What SDRSowa for Android is, what you need to use it and what each page is for.
On this page
SDRSowa turns an RTL-SDR receiver into a radio on your phone. The app does the work on the phone: it shows the spectrum, plays the audio, scans bands and reads text signals.
These pages describe the app page by page. The names of buttons and settings are the ones you see on your phone. Use the menu to move around, or press / or Ctrl K to search.
What you need #
- Either a network receiver: an RTL-SDR that another computer shares with rtl_tcp, for example a PC running SDRSowa for Windows. No USB adapter is needed. See Network receiver and Find on network.
- Or an RTL-SDR stick on the phone: the stick, a USB-C (OTG) adapter and the separate SDR driver app from Google Play. The driver app opens the stick for SDRSowa. Without it, only a network receiver works. See RTL-SDR stick and the SDR driver app.
- An antenna. Stick and antenna are not part of the app.
The pages of the app #
The bottom bar has five pages (on a tablet or a phone turned sideways, the same pages are in a side menu).
| Page | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Home | Tune, listen, record. The spectrum and the waterfall, the receiver controls and the decoder cards. |
| Scan | Sweep ranges or your saved stations and stop where there is a signal or speech. |
| Library | Recordings, favourites, stations, reminders, history, muted and blocked channels. |
| More | Explore, DAB+, Bands and profiles, the full-screen Spectrum. |
| Settings | Receiver, correction, antenna location, appearance, privacy and notices. |
Where to read next #
- New to the app: First start.
- No sound or no stations: Troubleshooting.
- Text signals such as Morse, NAVTEX or weather fax: All decoders.
- Unknown words: the Glossary.