Any "turnkey" device out there to transmit/receive through RF?
 

Hi!

I'd like to do some experiments sending/receiving information through RF. Is there any device out there that I could just plug into a computer with linux (a laptop, a raspberry pi... or rather, a couple, so that I can test communication both ways) through an USB port and that I could start using right away?

Thanks in advance.

I think HackRF has that capability but you will find that a transmitter is both a lot more expensive and a lot more tangled in law than a receiver. I've a very cheap SDR I use to listen to local ATC and to ADS-B receivers and it's worth a try to see how things look.
Edit: The antennas required (different ones per group of frequencies) are also something to consider. They range from about a foot to many feet in length and have both horizontal and vertical polarisation.

Not enough information provided as to what you actually want to accomplish. Technically, wifi is rf but you can buy wireless serial ports or xbee devices. I can post some plug and play stuff later

I want to experiment getting two nodes to send/receive data as in a mesh. Not exactly what I want but close enough:

Three people with their computers and one of these "imaginary" devices each should be able to broadcast very simple text messages at close range (a few meters away, say, up to 20 mts for starters) . Say they start a custom built application (that I will develop) and they write messages on the console, they should be sent through the transmitter and received by the other two parties (with the same device... if possible, but could consider using a separate one if it's actually impossible to do both things with the same device) using this same application (let's disregard interference from two people trying to transmit at the same time for the time being)... much like an "in the open" chat room where basically anybody with the right tools and settings should be able to jump into. In my mind (with my veeeery limited knowledge of radio) that shouldn't be that difficult to pull off but I'm sure that I will get an earful right about _now_ about radio transmitters/receivers.

Thanks for all the info you could provide.

PS I'm reading about rtl-sdr to see if I can get what I need from it.

My knowledge of xbee is limited but here is some hardware information. Although, may not be important in your country using a SDR as a transmitter you will need to use an unlicensed frequency as well as be aware that you could possibly interfere with commercial services since there is typically no filtering on the output.

https://www.adafruit.com/categories/29

AFAIK (and this is a veeeery litle K in this case), there are frequency bands that are reserved for experimenting (at low-power outputs). Anyway, let me read from that link. Thank you very much.

YARD stick one? Certainly looks interesting.

https://greatscottgadgets.com/yardstickone/