{"slug": "gnu-radio", "name": "GNU Radio", "category": "dev-libs", "category_name": "Libraries and frameworks", "description": "", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 7, "warners": 0, "score": 5.105, "rising": 0.69, "first": "2025-12-24", "latest": "2026-10-04", "why": "It's pretty cool to build a signal flow graph, then have it just work, with output to your speakers", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 1, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "It's pretty cool to build a signal flow graph, then have it just work, with output to your speakers", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "gnuradio.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.gnuradio.org", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["GNU Radio"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 799346608, "item_id": 49959163, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49959163", "by": "zbrozek", "date": "2026-10-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I used gnuradio with an SDR to see what the remotes were sending", "excerpt": "I did exactly the same thing for a different brand of DIP-switch-addressable remote-control fan back in 2016. It's been wonderful. It wasn't that hard; I used gnuradio with an SDR to see what the remotes were sending and just pressed buttons and flipped switches until I figured out what all the bits were. There was no encryption whatsoever.", "context": "", "use_case": "reverse engineering remote signals", "switched_from": "", "story": "What is going on with ceiling fans"}, {"id": 794227536, "item_id": 49639221, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49639221", "by": "mikewarot", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "That's certainly handy", "excerpt": "That's certainly handy... here's a simple audio frequency shifter I threw together[1]. First it takes the audio from your microphone. It then feeds it through a Hilbert transform to convert incoming audio into an IQ (complex) format. The advantage of an IQ signal format is that when you multiply it by another signal, the frequencies add or subtract, without getting extra image frequencies. This is why it's worth doin", "context": "", "use_case": "Signal processing in browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "GNU Radio in the browser"}, {"id": 783798496, "item_id": 48987406, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48987406", "by": "teleforce", "date": "2026-07-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "There are even GNU Radio experiments course available that you can try alongside the book.", "excerpt": "If you're familiar with HAM, perhaps Software Defined Radio (SDR) approach is better for you. There's another relatively unknown wireless communication book by Qasim Chaudhari namely Wireless Communications From the Ground Up: An SDR Perspective, also in the 2nd edition. There are even GNU Radio experiments course available that you can try alongside the book. According to the author, the course also covers the funda", "context": "", "use_case": "SDR experiments", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fundamentals of Wireless Communication"}, {"id": 746942848, "item_id": 46683928, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46683928", "by": "rm30", "date": "2026-01-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend studying GNU Radio and SDR++", "excerpt": "I'm glad you find it interesting. I developed the theory at university, studying how ASK and FSK modems work. To build this, you\u2019ll need to understand the Shannon-Hartley theorem, band-pass filtering, Fourier transforms, and convolution. For the practical 'how-to,' I recommend studying GNU Radio and SDR++; they show how to process IQ data or raw audio streams directly, and for sure there are other libraries. On the '", "context": "", "use_case": "signal processing learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "A decentralized peer-to-peer messaging application that operates over Bluetooth"}, {"id": 746305232, "item_id": 46644077, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46644077", "by": "mikewarot", "date": "2026-01-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's pretty cool to build a signal flow graph, then have it just work, with output to your speakers", "excerpt": "Have you tried using it with GNU Radio? It's pretty cool to build a signal flow graph, then have it just work, with output to your speakers", "context": "", "use_case": "building signal flow graphs with SDR", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100?"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["reverse engineering remote signals", "signal processing in browser", "signal processing, sdr", "sdr experiments", "radio astronomy processing", "signal processing learning"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49628576", "title": "GNU Radio in the browser", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49917536", "title": "What is going on with ceiling fans", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48901454", "title": "Fundamentals of Wireless Communication", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48160914", "title": "How an Australian Teen Team Is Making Radio Astronomy Affordable for Schools", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46675853", "title": "A decentralized peer-to-peer messaging application that operates over Bluetooth", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46638331", "title": "Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100?", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 799346608, "item_id": 49959163, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49959163", "by": "zbrozek", "date": "2026-10-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I used gnuradio with an SDR to see what the remotes were sending", "excerpt": "I did exactly the same thing for a different brand of DIP-switch-addressable remote-control fan back in 2016. It's been wonderful. It wasn't that hard; I used gnuradio with an SDR to see what the remotes were sending and just pressed buttons and flipped switches until I figured out what all the bits were. There was no encryption whatsoever.", "context": "", "use_case": "reverse engineering remote signals", "switched_from": "", "story": "What is going on with ceiling fans"}, {"id": 794227536, "item_id": 49639221, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49639221", "by": "mikewarot", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "That's certainly handy", "excerpt": "That's certainly handy... here's a simple audio frequency shifter I threw together[1]. First it takes the audio from your microphone. It then feeds it through a Hilbert transform to convert incoming audio into an IQ (complex) format. The advantage of an IQ signal format is that when you multiply it by another signal, the frequencies add or subtract, without getting extra image frequencies. This is why it's worth doin", "context": "", "use_case": "Signal processing in browser", "switched_from": "", "story": "GNU Radio in the browser"}, {"id": 794079472, "item_id": 49629967, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49629967", "by": "vmilner", "date": "2026-09-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "New textbook may help", "excerpt": "New textbook may help https://www.gnuradio.org/news/2025-01-29-gnuradio-textbook/", "context": "", "use_case": "signal processing, SDR", "switched_from": "", "story": "GNU Radio in the browser"}, {"id": 783798496, "item_id": 48987406, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48987406", "by": "teleforce", "date": "2026-07-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "There are even GNU Radio experiments course available that you can try alongside the book.", "excerpt": "If you're familiar with HAM, perhaps Software Defined Radio (SDR) approach is better for you. There's another relatively unknown wireless communication book by Qasim Chaudhari namely Wireless Communications From the Ground Up: An SDR Perspective, also in the 2nd edition. There are even GNU Radio experiments course available that you can try alongside the book. According to the author, the course also covers the funda", "context": "", "use_case": "SDR experiments", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fundamentals of Wireless Communication"}, {"id": 770594272, "item_id": 48162142, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48162142", "by": "superkuh", "date": "2026-05-16", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Examples using GNU Radio https://github.com/ccera-astro", "excerpt": "edit: It looks like NASA is back selling Radio JOVE kits again. So this might be your only turnkey choice. It uses 2x large wire dipoles for 20.1 MHz for receiving Jupiter/Io radio bursts which you just view in a spectrogram on a computers (includes SDR receiver): https://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/kits/ I think the SETI \"Horn of Plenty\" design is a pretty good way to get started with kids. The antenna itself uses metal", "context": "", "use_case": "radio astronomy processing", "switched_from": "", "story": "How an Australian Teen Team Is Making Radio Astronomy Affordable for Schools"}, {"id": 746942848, "item_id": 46683928, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46683928", "by": "rm30", "date": "2026-01-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend studying GNU Radio and SDR++", "excerpt": "I'm glad you find it interesting. I developed the theory at university, studying how ASK and FSK modems work. To build this, you\u2019ll need to understand the Shannon-Hartley theorem, band-pass filtering, Fourier transforms, and convolution. For the practical 'how-to,' I recommend studying GNU Radio and SDR++; they show how to process IQ data or raw audio streams directly, and for sure there are other libraries. On the '", "context": "", "use_case": "signal processing learning", "switched_from": "", "story": "A decentralized peer-to-peer messaging application that operates over Bluetooth"}, {"id": 746305232, "item_id": 46644077, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46644077", "by": "mikewarot", "date": "2026-01-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It's pretty cool to build a signal flow graph, then have it just work, with output to your speakers", "excerpt": "Have you tried using it with GNU Radio? It's pretty cool to build a signal flow graph, then have it just work, with output to your speakers", "context": "", "use_case": "building signal flow graphs with SDR", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are your best purchases under $100?"}, {"id": 742006336, "item_id": 46375396, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46375396", "by": "hasley", "date": "2025-12-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there may be applications where frameworks are beneficial (e.g. GNU Radio)", "excerpt": "In case \"framework\" is understood as something that calls my code and that forces me to write my code in a certain way, I totally agree. And I think twice before I use a framework. Frameworks enforce a certain way of programming which you can never be sure to match the problems you will have to solve in the future. Libraries don't do this - at least not to the extent of a framework. Libraries are composable building ", "context": "", "use_case": "Signal processing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Avoid Mini-Frameworks"}]}