tsactl is a command line tool for controlling and interacting with the tinySA spectrum analyzer via its USB serial interface. It allows you to:
- Configure sweep parameters (frequency range, center, span, ...)
- Configure markers and traces
- Save screenshots in PNG format
- Save trace data to CSV (single/multiple traces)
- Trigger menu options (e.g. to enable waterfall view)
- Reset device (DFU mode for basic model)
- Load/save presets
- Execute raw commands (for when the command is not yet implemented by
tsactl) - And more - see the command overview for details
It automatically detects connected tinySA devices and identifies the model (basic or ultra).
All platforms supported by the go.bug.st/serial module should be working: Linux, Windows, macOS.
Note: Tested on Linux, Windows and Raspberry Pi with a tinySA Ultra (firmware tinySA4_v1.4-197-gaa78ccc). If you experience problems with your device, please report a bug.
You can download the latest tsactl binary for your platform from the release page and place it in a directory that's in your PATH.
If no serial port is defined, the tool will iterate over all serial ports and checks if a device responds by issuing the version command.
Based on the version response, the model (basic or ultra) is identified (here tinySA4, meaning ultra):
tinySA4_v1.4-197-gaa78ccc
HW Version:V0.4.5.1
| Command | Alias | Description |
|---|---|---|
tsactl device |
dev |
Reset device, get device id, battery voltage, hardware and firmware version, ... |
tsactl level |
lv |
Change trace unit, reference level, scale, ... |
tsactl marker |
mk |
Enable/disable marker, assign marker to trace, set frequency, ... |
tsactl menu |
Trigger menu by list of ids | |
tsactl preset |
pr |
Load and save presets |
tsactl raw |
Execute raw commands | |
tsactl save |
Save screenshots as PNG, save trace data as CSV | |
tsactl signal |
sig |
Change signal settings like spur removal |
tsactl sweep |
sw |
Show and change sweep settings |
tsactl trace |
tr |
Enable/disable traces, trace calculations |
To view all available flags for a command, run: tsactl command --help
| Flag | Description | Default | Env |
|---|---|---|---|
--device, -D |
Device port (e.g. /dev/ttyACM0 or COM1) | Auto-detect | tsactl_DEVICE |
--baudrate |
Device baud rate | 115200 | tsactl_BAUDRATE |
--debug |
Debug output | False | tsactl_DEBUG |
Frequency arguments can be specified using notations like 1.5Ghz, 1.5g, 250k, 250khz, or in scientific notation such as 1.23e6.
Most flags support relative arguments, e.g. to move the sweep center frequency by 2mhz, you can use --center +2mhz.
Time arguments can be written as 1.2s, 950ms, 750m, 1200us or 950u.
# Sweep between 410.5mhz and 600mhz
$ tsactl sweep --start 410.5mhz --stop 600mhz
# Check current sweep settings
$ tsactl sweep
Status: resumed
Frequency: 410.5 MHz to 600 MHz (450 points)
Center: 505.25 MHz
Span: 189.5 MHz
# Increase/decrease frequency by using relative arguments
$ tsactl sweep --center +2mhz
# Change sweep span
$ tsactl sweep --span 20mhz# Enable second trace and activate max hold
$ tsactl trace 2 --calc maxh
# Enable second marker, assign to trace 2, move to peak frequency and disable delta mode
$ tsactl marker 2 --trace 2 --peak --delta=off# Set marker 2 to frequency 419mhz
$ tsactl marker 2 --freq 419mhz
# Assign marker 2 to trace 2
$ tsactl marker 2 --trace 2
# Enable/disable marker tracking
$ tsactl marker 2 --track
$ tsactl marker 2 --no-track
# Show details about active markers
$ tsactl marker
Active markers:
Marker 1: 419 MHz -89.4 (Index 45)
Marker 2: 495.32 MHz -67.9 (Index 214)# Save current screen as PNG
$ tsactl save --capture
Saved capture to SA_250415_183057.png
# Save trace 1 and 2 as CSV
$ tsactl save --trace 1,2
Saved csv to SA_250415_183132.csv
$ cat SA_250415_183132.csv
point,frequency,value_t1,value_t2
0,400000000,-90.25,-84.78
1,400445434,-89.75,-85.75
...Example screenshot created with tsactl save --capture:
Example trace export created with tsactl save --trace 1,2: example_trace_export.csv
# Enable waterfall view
$ tsactl menu 6 2# Disable spur removal
$ tsactl signal --spur off# Change trace unit
$ tsactl level --unit vpp
# Change reference level
$ tsactl level --ref -40
# Change scale
$ tsactl level --scale 10If a specific command is missing in tsactl, you can execute it with the tsactl raw command:
$ tsactl raw sd_list
SA_250224_235406.bmp 307322
SA_250403_191532.csv 8612
SA_250407_202738.prs 1584
SA_250407_202815.prs 1584
DECT.prs 1584
WIFI.prs 1584
...
# Binary output is supported
$ tsactl raw scanraw 100mhz 120mhz 450 > scanresult.binIf you are familiar with the tinySA serial commands and don't want to use those from tsactl, you can use a simple alias to the raw command:
$ alias tinysa='tsactl raw $@'
$ tinysa sd_list
$ tinysa load 0
$ tinysa sweep 120M 150M
$ tinysa capture > capture.binIf you experience issues with your tinySA model or firmware version, please run tsactl in debug mode:
tsactl <command that makes problems> --flags-that-makes-problems --debugWhen reporting the issue on GitHub, include the debug output if possible - it helps track down the problem. Thanks!
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See the LICENSE file for details.
- The tinySA team for creating a great spectrum analyzer
- Contributors to the Go serial library
- Contributors to the kong cli library