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welle-io

DAB and DAB+ digital radio receiver with a modern interface

What it does

Receives DAB and DAB+ broadcasting from an SDR: scans a band for ensembles, lists the services in each, decodes the audio, and shows the slideshow images and text the stations send alongside it. It also has a diagnostic view with constellation and impulse response, which is unusual in a consumer-facing receiver.

Why you would want it

DAB is a real digital broadcasting system carrying dozens of stations in one multiplex, and a cheap dongle receives it. The diagnostic view is the part worth having beyond listening: seeing the OFDM constellation open and close as you move the antenna teaches more about digital broadcasting than reading about it.

Before it will work

An SDR covering Band III, around 174 to 240 MHz, which every RTL-SDR does, and a suitable antenna. DAB coverage is regional -- much of Europe and Australia, very little of North America -- so check there is a multiplex where you are before concluding the software is broken.

How it installs

  • apt: welle.io
  • The Debian package is named welle.io, with a dot. This manifest is welle-io because manifest names are lowercase slugs and a dot is not one -- the schema enforces that. The apt name inside the block is the real one and is what reaches the archive.

Known problems

An empty scan usually means no DAB service in range rather than a fault, and the program cannot tell you which. DAB+ uses the HE-AAC codec and stations that use plain DAB use MP2; both are handled, but a station using an unusual configuration may list and not play. CPU load is modest but the display is Qt Quick and wants working graphics acceleration.

Keeping it current

  • probe: apt policy
  • strategy: apt_upgrade

Where to get help with the software itself

GitHub issues linked from the site.

Source: catalog/packages/welle-io.yaml