SIGpi: The automated way to install SIGINT

 

If you are interested in signal interception (SIGINT) and the convergence of amateur radio with non-amateur radio wireless interests,  SIGpi might be worth a look.

What makes SIGpi different than DragonOS is that you can control what gets installed versus just running an image. The benefit of DragonOS is a much faster time from download to actual use compared to SIGpi, but that is ok.

Both projects have one thing in common, which is making it easier to enjoy the world of software defined radio and focusing on things not just on specific spectrum or applications.

How easy is this?

In the case of SIGpi, it is optimized to run on a Raspberry Pi and will compile all the correct dependencies to allow popular applications like SDRangel to run along with pre-configurations needed for different hardware SDR like the HackRF or Lime SDR among others.

Getting Started

As long as you are running a Raspberry Pi 4 and a fresh install of the latest Raspberry Pi OS or Ubuntu RPI,  here is all you need to do:

• Login as Pi (or ubuntu)
• Create a directory in your home called source and switch into it
• Clone the SIGpi repo
• Run SIGpi_installer.sh
• Follow script instructions.

To make things more clear, here are the steps you can simply copy and paste.

1. sudo apt-get install -y build-essential git
2. mkdir ~/source && cd ~/source
3. git clone https://github.com/joecupano/SIGpi.git
4. cd SIGpi
5. ./SIGpi_installer.sh

How long did you say this takes?

Even on the latest Raspberry Pi 4,  compiling software still can only happen as fast as it can happen. This is why Joe Cupano NE2Z chose to make an easy guided menu system to allow you to install only what you want and even give you time estimates for it to install. 

Aside from the default options already selected, you can further customize what else you wish to start with. Once you are done, now its time to hurry up and wait.

What is included in SIGpi?

The current list of included and validated software included in SIGpi can be found at https://github.com/joecupano/SIGpi.    It is worth mentioning that SIGpi was a necessity for a wider project called SIGbox which is covered separately. 

An example during the install script relating to different types of
radiosonde signals which can be decoded using appropriate
hardware, antenna and SIGpi.