Radio ham Giuseppe “IT9YBG” Grasso has discovered a brand new use for an outdated Android TV set-top field, changing its working system and turning it right into a network-connected base station for radio reception.

“[I have been] putting in Armbian 20.10 Bullseye (with Linux 5.9.0) on an outdated A95X Android TV Field,” Grasso explains of the venture. “The whole lot went effectively. Afterwards I put in OpenwebRx Plus with [an] RTL-SDR V.3 dongle.”

The Nexbox A95X set-top field was initially launched as a approach to run Android-based apps on a related TV, and options the Amlogic S805 system-on-chip. As time has gone on, although, the software program — a customized model of Android 4.4, constructed atop the Linux 3.10.33 kernel — has misplaced assist for the most recent variations of many streaming apps, leaving the {hardware} adrift.

Somewhat than seeing it go to landfill, Grasso changed the inventory Android working system on his A95X with Armbian — a personalized model of Debian Linux constructed for Arm-based single-board computer systems. As soon as upgraded, the gadget turned a general-purpose Linux field — and a number for an RTL-SDR software-defined radio dongle, offering entry over the community by means of OpenwebRX Plus.

“Now my SDR receiver is on-line, so I changed my Raspberry Pi 3,” Grasso explains, with the dongle attaching to one of many field’s USB ports initially designed for exterior storage or USB flash drives. “The efficiency of this Amlogic S805 is outstanding, I used to be very shocked.”

Extra particulars on the venture, together with hyperlinks to guides on changing the OS by yourself A95X set-top field, can be found on Grasso’s weblog.