High-performance, open-source Software Defined Radio platform.
The first product in the lineup is the HydraSDR RFOne — a professional-grade SDR receiver offering 10 MHz instantaneous bandwidth and continuous frequency coverage from 24 MHz to 1.8 GHz. Designed in France, manufactured in the USA.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Frequency Range | 24 MHz – 1.8 GHz continuous |
| Bandwidth | 10 MHz instantaneous (9 MHz alias/image-free) |
| ADC | 12-bit @ 20 MSPS |
| Dynamic Range | Up to 80 dB (64 dB SNR, 10.4 ENOB) |
| Noise Figure | ~3.5 dB (42–1002 MHz typical) |
| IIP3 | Up to +35 dBm |
| Tuner | Rafael Micro R828D |
| MCU | NXP LPC4370 (Cortex-M4F + 2× M0, 204 MHz) |
| Interface | USB-C (USB 2.0) |
| Antenna | SMA female connector |
| Enclosure | 7075 aluminum, black anodized |
| Expansion | 2× U.FL (reserved), 18-pin GPIO header |
| Clock Outputs | 2× configurable up to 160 MHz |
| Multi-Unit Sync | Up to 3 boards in a single enclosure |
- Fully open-source firmware, host tools, shared libraries, and DLLs
- Cross-platform support: Windows, GNU/Linux, macOS, Android
- High-quality RF front-end with low-noise design
- Compact, robust, modular hardware in a CNC-machined aluminum enclosure
- USB-powered with filtering via included ferrite choke cable
| Repository | Description |
|---|---|
| hydrasdr-host | Host tools, shared libraries, and DLLs for Windows/Linux/macOS — includes build instructions for Visual Studio 2019, CMake, and cross-platform development |
| rfone_fw | Open-source firmware for HydraSDR RFOne |
| Application | Description |
|---|---|
| SDR++ fork (nightly) | HydraSDR fork of the popular cross-platform SDR++ application with native RFOne support. Also supported in official SDR++ nightly since Sept 5, 2025 |
| RFAnalyzer | Android app for real-time spectrum analysis — live FFT, waterfall, demodulation, and recording. HydraSDR RFOne support since Oct 6, 2025 |
| GNU Radio gr-osmosdr fork | Native RFOne support via the gr-osmosdr source block for GNU Radio Companion (GRC) flowgraphs. See also: HydraSDR GRC graph files |
| SoapyHydraSDR | SoapySDR module for RFOne — enables integration with GQRX, CubicSDR, and any Soapy-compatible application |
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| hydrasdr_433 (nightly) | Wideband ISM data receiver based on rtl_433. Decodes 290+ protocols on 433.92/868/315/345/915 MHz ISM bands. Features native CF32 pipeline, polyphase filter bank channelizer, wideband scanning, runtime SIMD dispatch (SSE2/AVX2/AVX-512/NEON/SVE), and cross-channel deduplication |
| kalibrate-hydrasdr | GSM-based frequency calibration — scans GSM base stations to measure and correct TCXO frequency offset with PPM/PPB precision |
| SatDump fork | Satellite signal decoding with nightly build support |
| URH fork | Universal Radio Hacker — wireless protocol investigation with native RFOne support |
| LuaRadio fork | Lightweight, embeddable SDR framework with RFOne support |
| AIS-catcher fork | Multi-platform AIS receiver with native RFOne support |
| SDRTrunk fork | Cross-platform trunked radio decoder/monitor/recorder with native RFOne support |
| ka9q-radio | Multichannel SDR based on fast convolution and IP multicasting |
| nfc-laboratory | NFC signal sniffer and protocol decoder — NFC-A/B/F/V up to 424 Kbps in real-time (v3.3.0+) |
| GNSS-SDRLIB-PVT | GNSS receiver with built-in least squares solver and native RFOne support |
| GNSS-SDR | Open-source GNSS receiver for GPS/Galileo/GLONASS |
| SatNOGS | SatNOGS Client 2.1 docker container with gr-satellites 5.8 and RFOne support |
| Platform | Description |
|---|---|
| PentHertz RF-Swift | Docker-based RF toolbox — deploys containerized SDR tools in seconds across x86_64, ARM64, and RISC-V. Available in sdr_light and sdr_full configurations. Documentation |
| DragonOS | Ready-to-use Lubuntu-based Linux distribution for SDR. HydraSDR RFOne supported in Noble R5+ (24.04 LTS) |
| Platform | Minimum Version |
|---|---|
| Windows | 8.1 or later |
| GNU/Linux | Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+ |
| macOS | 10.14+ |
| Android | 9+ with OpenGL 2.1+ |
You also need a USB 2.0+ port and an antenna with an SMA male connector.
-
Connect the RFOne to your computer using the included USB-C to USB-A cable.
For Android, use an OTG adapter that supports USB 2.0 High Speed and provides power.
-
Attach your antenna to the ANT port (SMA female on device).
-
Install SDR++ — download the HydraSDR SDR++ fork for your OS.
-
Launch and configure — select HydraSDR RFOne as the device, set your sample rate and gain.
Tip: A gain setting of Linear 12 is a good starting point.
| Review | Date |
|---|---|
| Radio Bunker — "THE NEW HIGH-PERFORMANCE SDR RECEIVER" — in-depth signal quality, processing power, and field performance analysis | Oct 26, 2025 |
| Penthertz — Setup & testing using RF Swift (SDR++, URH, GNU Radio, OsmoSDR, LuaRadio) | Aug 14, 2025 |
| Ham Radio DX — "Is This the Future of SDR's?" — open-source flexibility and full spectrum visibility | Aug 4, 2025 |
| Tech Minds — Hands-on review covering specs, unboxing, PCB examination, firmware updating, and real-world testing | July 23, 2025 |
| Geerling Engineering — 21-minute SDR exploration featuring RTL-SDR v3/v4, HackRF One, and HydraSDR RFOne comparisons | June 28, 2025 |
| Article | Date |
|---|---|
| Zero Retries 0209 — Amateur radio perspective on 24–1800 MHz coverage, multi-board phase-coherent capability, and open-source ecosystem | July 4, 2025 |
| RTL-SDR Blog — Comparison with Airspy R2 covering RF shielding, internal spurs, and performance testing | July 2, 2025 |
HydraSDR is an open platform — contributions, patches, documentation improvements, and feedback are welcome.
- Use GitHub Issues for bug reports, questions, and feature requests
- Code is cross-platform and CMake-friendly
- Firmware built with GCC-based toolchains
- See each repository for specific contribution guidelines
| Status | In Stock |
| Price | Under $190 USD |
| Shipping | Worldwide |
| Order | DigiKey Product Page |
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Datasheet & Specs | hydrasdr.com/hydrasdr-rfone |
| SDK & Tools | github.com/hydrasdr |
| Community Discussions | hydrasdr/discussions |
| Host Tools Issues | hydrasdr-host/issues |
| Firmware Issues | rfone_fw/issues |
| SDR++ Fork Issues | SDRPlusPlus/issues |
HydraSDR — Open-source radio done right.