Couldn't find the answer online and spent unnecessary hours trying to solve it, so I'll plop the answer here.

Problem

Software like SDR++ can't find any devices
systemctl status sdrplay shows following errors/warnings:

[3943]: sdrplay_apiService: UpdateDevicesL: ERROR: libusb_claim_interface() -6
[3943]: sdrplay_apiService: sdrplay_apiServiceWorkerThread: ERROR: UpdateDevices() failed 1
libusb: warning [libusb_exit] device 1.5 still referenced
libusb: warning [libusb_exit] device 1.1 still referenced
libusb: warning [libusb_exit] application left some devices open

Based on what I found, -6 corresponds to LIBUSB_ERROR_BUSY. The device has been claimed by something else.

Specific problem

I found this blog post on using RSP1 clone without the proprietary software: https://blog.marxy.org/2023/05/using-sdrplay-rsp1-clone-with-cubicsdr.html
It mentions blocklisting some kernel modules which capture the device.
Comparing lsmod | grep msi with known good system (Arch Linux), sure enough, these aren't loaded while in Linux Mint they are:

msi001                 20480  1
msi2500                36864  0
videobuf2_vmalloc      20480  1 msi2500
videobuf2_v4l2         36864  1 msi2500
videodev              352256  3 videobuf2_v4l2,msi001,msi2500
videobuf2_common       81920  4 videobuf2_vmalloc,videobuf2_v4l2,msi2500,videobuf2_memops

Solution

Add the following lines to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf to blacklist these kernel modules:

blacklist msi001
blacklist msi2500

And reboot.

Personal note/rant

I spent so much time... I tried different API versions, so I also had to uninstall the newer ones which with this stupid software can only be done with careful manual removal of files.
I tried different USB ports (just in case), reinstalling SDR++, SoapySDR, installing some other potentially interesting looking libusb related packages, trying to find at least one other person with this issue...

And in the end it's just interfering kernel modules like with RTL-SDR.
Well, if this gets indexed the solution should be easy to find based on the error now.

I've been noticing some interference with Wifi devices around my house, so I started looking for a way to troubleshoot them. I've tried to use a signal scanner on my phone to see if i can pick anything up but it goes away the devices come back online before i can get out to check. After some, admittedly, brief researching, i figured i could make my own signal/frequency scanner with an SDR and leaving it out in the area i believe the interference is effecting, and recording activity. After searching around a bit more, the devices are fairly expensive for the signal range i would need, for what would amount to some troubleshooting.

Which brings me to this post. I'm hoping to not spend a decent chunk of change and this not work so I'm asking to see if anyone here has experience using an SDR (in general) to troubleshoot signals in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz range. If so, would i be able to use the ADALM-PLUTO with the 6GHZ firmware download.

The setup would consist of a Raspbery Pi with PiSDR, and the ADALM on it. Ideally it could record over 48+ hours, at which i could review for interference. To then get the most bang for my buck, I would also like to troubleshoot some Android Auto disconnects that happen at very specific spots on the road, too, which Bluetooth is also in the 2.4GHz range, so this should work for this.

Would this setup work for me?

I am new to sdr. Currently I have an rlt-sdr dongle running rtl_fm piped to ffmpeg. I’d like to switch to something that I can change the frequency without shutting it down and can be run as a daemon on linux, ie no tui or gui. I am having difficulty finding anything currently available.

Is there anything out there or is my only choice to modify rtl_fm to do what I am wanting?

cross-posted from: https://lemux.minnix.dev/post/269699

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