Looking Glass (Wideband Sweep)
Wide spectrum analyser
What it does
SimpleImagine a map that shows every place where radio 'noise' is happening at once, from very low channels all the way up to very high ones. Looking Glass sweeps super-fast across a giant range and draws a bright spot wherever it finds a signal.
It's the best tool for the question 'what's out there?' Press a remote, turn on a gadget, or just watch the band, and you'll see bright bars light up exactly where the signals live — then you can zoom in and listen.
How it works
SimpleThe radio can only look at a small window at a time, so Looking Glass slides that window across the whole range very quickly — peek here, peek there, peek everywhere — and paints what it saw onto one big picture. Bright means a strong signal; dark means empty air.
How to use it, step by step
Simple- Open 'Looking Glass'.
- Pick a start number and an end number for the range to scan.
- Watch bright bars appear where signals are.
- Point at a bright bar to read its frequency.
- Write that frequency down, then open the Audio app to listen to it.
Examples
Sweep 300–450 MHz while pressing a garage or car remote and watch exactly which frequency lights up.
Scan the whole 2.4 GHz band to see Wi-Fi channels and Bluetooth activity as bright zones.
Sweep a wide range, spot a mystery peak, then narrow the span around it to study it closely.
Tips & things to try
- Start wide to find things, then narrow the span for detail — like zooming a map in.
- A signal that blinks in the waterfall is intermittent; widen the time view to catch it.
- Note the frequency of any peak before switching apps — it's the handoff to actually decoding it.