Can I use HackRF One to debug wireless communication

[sairfan1]

I'm working on some module to wireless communicate at this time I'm working on nRF24L01 family I need to debug my application and want to see if module did really transmit the data. If it did, then is it transmitting actuall data which I was expecting?

I have no experience debugging this kind of applications, even not sure if this much is possible.  I know spectrum analyzers are used normally to debug this kind of applications but they are too expensive.  While searching around the options I came across HackRF One (SDR) its open source and has a software with lots of options.

I want to know if I buy something like device in the below link, what kind of help I can get from this for my project, is there anything else I can use within the budget of $400


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000247041639.html?mp=1

[ataradov]

A typical way to approach this is to use one of the modules and turn it into a sniffer. Configure it to capture all the frames and just dump the data into a serial port. It will be far cheaper and you will see exactly what other radios of the same type see.

[radiolistener]

yes, you can use it to detect transmission. But it looks like overkill to pay 100 USD just to see if there is 2.4 GHz transmission... 

And if you decide to buy hackrf, I suggest to buy USB version to use it with PC or notebook.
The one from your link has limited functionality.

[RFDx]

RTLSDR dongle + Universal Radio Hacker (URH).

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/rf-microwave/checking-ask-modulation-on-868mhz-remote/msg5287648/#msg5287648

[radiolistener]

RTLSDR dongle

it don't cover 2.4 GHz band, max frequency for RTLSDR is 1.7 GHz

[sairfan1]

I also found this guy https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004710422207.html

yes, you can use it to detect transmission. But it looks like overkill to pay 100 USD just to see if there is 2.4 GHz transmission...

I also expect that it can demodulate the signal and show me the data, can it?

A typical way to approach this is to use one of the modules and turn it into a sniffer. Configure it to capture all the frames and just dump the data into a serial port. It will be far cheaper and you will see exactly what other radios of the same type see.

I like the approach but still to develop such tool we need something to debug, my understanding is by spending some money on buying tools helps a lot on time saving. It does not mean I do not agree with your approach that sounds good.

[sairfan1]

And if you decide to buy hackrf, I suggest to buy USB version to use it with PC or notebook.
The one from your link has limited functionality.

Does this version looks good
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32949698456.html

I saw those are also available on Amazon, digikey and mouser but way more expensive.  anyone has experience using this Chinese version? wanted to save some if I could.

[bte]

And if you decide to buy hackrf, I suggest to buy USB version to use it with PC or notebook.
The one from your link has limited functionality.

Does this version looks good
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32949698456.html

I saw those are also available on Amazon, digikey and mouser but way more expensive.  anyone has experience using this Chinese version? wanted to save some if I could.

The first item you linked could also be connected to a PC if desired according to this link:

https://www.reddit.com/r/hackrf/comments/168jggb/using_portapack_h2_as_wired_device/

From what I understand, portapack addon just allows the HackRF unit to be used without a PC. It doesn't hinder connection to a PC/laptop if so desired.

Note that I don't have either version so I can't help with the experience part. If you decide to buy, I would just suggest that you go through the seller's inventory to find all similar listings for HackRF and portapack module and then scrape the comments. Most are useless but some of them are worth taking into account. For example, seller has some units with acrylic case and it is indicated as such. This unit comes with a metal case but it is not explicitly stated. I just learnt it from one of the comments. The same comment also included details about the touch screen and the SD card slot.

[radiolistener]

yes, you can use it to detect transmission. But it looks like overkill to pay 100 USD just to see if there is 2.4 GHz transmission...

I also expect that it can demodulate the signal and show me the data, can it?

technically it can, but you're needs software which can demodulate signals that you want.
I don't know software which allows to do that just out of the box.
Usually such task requires to write your own demodulator, or use GNU Radio blocks.

You can also try URH software mentioned above, it looks like it do exactly what you want, but I didn't tried this software.

I saw those are also available on Amazon, digikey and mouser but way more expensive.  anyone has experience using this Chinese version? wanted to save some if I could.

I didn't tried this shop, but at a glance looks good, the seller has good reputation and good comments.