9GRadio: A Pocket-Sized, All-Mode RTL-SDR App for Android

The RTL-SDR community has a new open-source heavyweight for Android: 9GRadio, developed by Richard (call sign 9G5AR). With a USB-OTG cable and an RTL2832U dongle, your phone turns into a live spectrum analyser and a multi-mode decoder for analog and digital radio traffic.

9GRadio demo GIF showing various screens

9GRadio demo GIF showing various screens

Demodulation Capabilities

On the analog side, 9GRadio supports AM, FM, NFM, WFM, WFM stereo, USB, LSB, CW, CWR, DSB, plus raw IQ output for external analysis.

On the digital side it decodes APRS, several digital-voice protocols (DMR, D-Star, YSF, DPMR, NXDN), and a wide set of aircraft / marine / datalink modes: ADS-B, AIS, ACARS, RDS, plus multilateration.

Highlight: A Protocol-Agnostic Multilateration Stack

9GRadio ships with a full multilateration stack for locating transmitters. As little as two networked 9GRadio receivers are needed to triangulate a transmission — the same idea that powers receiver networks such as ADS-B Exchange / FlightAware, but now living on phones.

What makes it stand out is the author's claim that the stack is protocol-agnostic: any mode that exposes a digital identity — AIS, ACARS, RDS, even digital voice — can be used for geolocation, not just ADS-B.

9GRadio app screenshot (portrait)

9GRadio app screenshot (portrait)

Platform & Availability

  • Platform: Android (RTL-SDR via USB-OTG)
  • License: Open source (public repo)
  • Distribution: APK available only from the GitHub Releases page — not on Google Play

If you run RTL-SDR on Android, this is one of the most capable all-in-one apps to try right now.

Sources