Mayhem Mobile brings HackRF PortaPack apps to Android and browsers

An Android phone and an RTL-SDR dongle can now make a pocket ham-band receiver with live FT8 decoding. RocketGod, one of the developers behind the Mayhem firmware for the HackRF PortaPack, has released Mayhem Mobile, which brings the Mayhem receiver apps to Android phones and tablets and to web browsers.

The software works with an RTL-SDR, including the RTL-SDR Blog V4, a HackRF, or a PortaPack running in HackRF mode, plugged straight into the phone or tablet. According to the developer, no PC, Zadig or driver installation is needed. It is offered as a native Android APK by direct download, or as a WebUSB web app that also runs plug-and-play on a desktop computer.

The piece most hams will care about is a dedicated ham radio mode. It demodulates SSB, CW, AM and FM, and decodes FT8, PSK31, RTTY and CW live with automatic mode detection. An ADIF logbook is built in, so logged contacts can be exported in the standard format most logging programs and QSL services accept. DMR and P25 decoding are included as well.

Beyond the ham bands, the app carries a full port of rtl_433 covering more than 370 protocols, along with ADS-B, AIS, APRS, pager, ACARS, BLE, RDS and satellite decoders. There is also a wideband sweep waterfall and raw IQ capture.

With a HackRF attached, Mayhem Mobile can transmit as well: FM voice through the phone's microphone with CTCSS tones and repeater offsets, plus RTTY, Morse, APRS, POCSAG, OOK and Flipper .sub replay. Those functions sit behind a safety prompt. Transmitting is only legal where you hold the authority to do it, so licensed hams should keep any on-air use within their own privileges and the amateur bands.

To try it, an RTL-SDR or HackRF and a USB OTG adapter or cable suited to your phone or tablet are the starting point; the APK and the WebUSB version are both available from the developer.