Well, this is not something you usually would to in an everyday scenario. But as I recently received my Steam Deck, I could not resist to check out its capabilities. It is meant for gaming. But… why not run a spectrum analyzer software on it?
Of course not just a gameboy-ish audio spectrum analyzer app, but one for grown-ups!
Installing the linux version of RTSA worked like a charm. For convinience reasons I started the installer from a SSH session and installed it into /opt/Aaronia and a few minutes later the full version of the spectrum analyzer software was running.
For appropriate power supply, I picked a random 65W USB C powerbank and powered the Spectran V6 using a proper USB-C cable. To connect the Spectran to the Steam Deck, I used another USB-C cable. voila. As you’d expect plug and play to work like.
As the steam deck now is my most powerful mobile device and also has an USB-C port, listening to various RF bands now is being lifted onto another level of experience. Put the power bank into one pocket, the spectran into another pocket and carry the steam deck in hands. Probably looking like an absolute nerd as left over from some recent Star Trek convention.
Just the antenna being a bit uncomfortable is annoying.
Hmm… maybe wear it on top of a hat like some kind of steampunk accessoire as some of the cooler youtubers do?
Or simply trace a dipole onto my body using some copper tape?
This feels like the good old wardriving times back then, when you sniped some D-Link WiFi cards on ebay and used a patched orinoco driver to sniff the WiFi networks nearby in order to brute force the WPA key. Of course only with a pringles “cantenna” for the extra mile.
I will keep you updated on this ;)