SDR scanner · RTL-SDR, HackRF, Airspy, SDRplay, Fobos · Mac & Windows

Scans whole bands. Stops only for real radio.

Waterfall and pseudo-spectrum of MultiScan SDR: airband, 2 m and 70 cm side by side, named channels marked

MultiScan SDR sweeps several bands side by side in seconds and opens up to ten channels with audio at the same time. Its pseudo-spectrum filters carriers, noise humps, impulses and the receiver's own spurs – one threshold works for every band.

Download for Mac Download for Windows User guide 💬 Discord Version 0.3.21 · updated 12 Nov 2026 · free · full access with Support
VFO card in MultiScan SDR with audio waterfall, CTCSS tone and live transcript
A VFO in the app: audio waterfall, frequency with modulation, CTCSS tone, name from the database – and the transcript with the search words “RCH” and “mayday” in red.
MultiScan SDR on the Mac: three bands side by side in the pseudo-spectrum, an active VFO with audio waterfall

Features

Everything a wideband scanner needs

Choose your bands, press start – MultiScan SDR does the rest: it finds activity, tunes in, records and keeps a log. Everything runs locally on your computer.

Scan

Pseudo-spectrum

Every channel shows how far it rises above the local noise – not raw power.

  • One threshold for every band
  • Carriers, QRM humps and impulses filtered
  • Confirmation by a second look
  • AFC or absolute tuning
View

Several bands side by side

Airband, 2 m and 70 cm next to each other – every band equally wide.

  • Waterfall with clock and time marks (key M)
  • Zoom with wheel or pinch, Shift + drag to move
  • Known frequencies labelled without overlap
  • Click: VFO on the frequency · double click: to the centre
  • Right-click menu: lockout, temp. lockout, tune, centre, copy
  • Drag over a range: lock out the whole range
Listen

Up to 10 VFOs

Each transmission gets its own channel card with audio waterfall (free version: 2 VFOs).

  • AM, NFM, WFM, CTCSS display
  • Stereo placement by frequency
  • Pause, mute, skip, save as channel
  • Squelch time, auto-skip, voice-only (VAD)
Data

Band plans and frequency database

Current band plans for 8 countries and your own frequency list.

  • DE (to 5 GHz), NL, AT, CH, FR, ES, UK, PL
  • Own band plans, import and export
  • SDR# frequencies.xml and CSV
  • Groups/tags, scan by tags
Lockout

Lockouts and own interference

Permanent, temporary – and automatically found spurs of your receiver.

  • Red, orange and blue in the spectrum
  • Antenna off: scan for own interference
  • Mark several with Shift + drag
  • Switch own interference on/off
Record

Recording, logs, speech to text

Nothing gets lost: audio, log and transcript per transmission.

  • WAV per activation, CSV log per day
  • Logs with search, filter and playback
  • Speech to text per VFO (Whisper, local)
  • Search words like “RCH” blink red and are logged
  • Profiles, backup, light/dark, 3 languages
Decoder

Aircraft, ships and sensors

Decoder mode: the receiver sits on one frequency and fills a table – the latest reception on top (full version).

  • ADS-B 1090 MHz: callsign, airline, type, photo, altitude, position
  • AIS 161.975 / 162.025 MHz: name, flag, type, course, destination
  • 433 MHz: thermometers with temperature curve, remotes
  • First / last reception, CSV export
Decoder

Decoders in every VFO

While scanning, the VFOs decode as well – shown in the channel card and kept in the log.

  • CTCSS, DCS and DTMF in the VFO and in the log
  • ACARS in the airband
  • Packet radio AX.25 / APRS (1200 Bd)
  • All messages with time and frequency
Web control

Operate and listen in a browser

Phone, tablet or a second computer in the home network becomes the remote control – nothing to install (full version).

  • Start/stop, scanner or decoder mode
  • Tap the spectrum to tune or lock out
  • Listen in: stereo mix of all VFOs
  • VFOs, ranges, decoder tables and logs – protected by an access key

The core

Why a pseudo-spectrum?

A normal spectrum shows power. Noise rises and falls across a band, carriers stand still, a switching power supply paints a hump – a fixed threshold is always wrong somewhere. The pseudo-spectrum normalises the noise floor to 0 dB for every frequency and only lets through what looks like a transmission.

  • Carriers filteredUnmodulated steady carriers don't open a VFO – a transmission opens as soon as modulation appears.
  • Noise humps become floorAnything much wider than a channel (power supplies, LED drivers) is counted as noise.
  • Impulses rejectedShort wideband spikes that lift many channels at once are ignored.
  • Own spurs locked outSpurs that move with the tuning are learned; fixed ones are found once with the antenna removed.
  • One thresholdThe same value in dB works for airband, 2 m, 70 cm and every other band.
Why a pseudo-spectrum?
Pseudo-spectrum of three bands with waterfall: the red line is the threshold, the coloured strip at the bottom the band.

Decoder · full version

Aircraft, ships and sensors – one row each

Choose a decoder mode and the receiver jumps to the right frequency: 1090 MHz for ADS-B, between the two AIS channels, or 433.92 MHz. Every aircraft, ship and sensor gets its own row – the latest reception on top.

  • ADS-B 1090 MHzCallsign, airline, type, registration and photo, altitude, speed, track, squawk, distance from your station.
  • AIS 161.975 / 162.025 MHzBoth channels at once: name, MMSI and flag, ship type, course and speed, destination.
  • 433 MHz sensorsThermometers and weather stations with temperature curve, remotes and door bells across the whole band.
  • In every VFOCTCSS, DCS, DTMF, ACARS and packet radio (APRS) decode while scanning – in the channel card and in the log.
  • Map, log and exportOpenStreetMap with tracks and distance rings, every contact in the logs, CSV export, kept for 14 days.
ADS-B: one row per aircraft, the latest reception on top.
ADS-B: one row per aircraft, the latest reception on top.
Map: positions and tracks around your own station.
Map: positions and tracks around your own station.
AIS: ships with flag, type and destination.
AIS: ships with flag, type and destination.
433 MHz: sensors with values and temperature curve.
433 MHz: sensors with values and temperature curve.

Web control · full version

Operate and listen in on your phone

Switch on web control and scan the QR code – the browser on your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or a second computer becomes the remote control. Nothing to install, everything stays in your home network.

  • QR code and addressWeb port and audio stream in the left menu; the address carries an access key.
  • Listen inStereo mix of all audible VFOs with its own volume in the browser, about 0.4 s delay.
  • Spectrum and VFOsTap the spectrum to tune or lock out; pause, lockout, mute and skip in every channel card.
  • Decoder and logsAircraft, ships, sensors and messages – the matching table opens by itself when a decoder is chosen.
  • ProtectedOnly with the access key; a new key locks out old links. Meant for the home network.
iPad: spectrum, active VFOs, recently heard.
iPad: spectrum, active VFOs, recently heard.
iPhone: the scanner on the go.
iPhone: the scanner on the go.
iPhone: ADS-B aircraft table.
iPhone: ADS-B aircraft table.
In the app: switch on, port, audio, QR code.
In the app: switch on, port, audio, QR code.

MultiScan SDR PROComing soon

Several sticks at once – and a classifier that tells you what you hear

Several SDR sticks at the same time – each with its own task, listener hand-over, own windows – and a signal classifier that tells you what is sent on a frequency.

More about PRO →

User guide

Every setting explained

The guide starts with a short overview and then explains every area of the program – with screenshots, the values you can set and tips.

Deutsch

Anleitung

Vollständige Anleitung auf Deutsch.

Read onlinePDF
English

User guide

Complete guide in English.

Read onlinePDF
Français

Guide d’utilisation

Guide complet en français.

Read onlinePDF

Download

Free – full access with Support

The free version already offers almost the full feature set and runs without a time limit (scanner, pseudo-spectrum, band plans, lockouts, logs, up to 2 VFOs). You get full access – up to 10 VFOs, frequency database, recording, decoders, web control and speech to text – with a support payment for its development: you decide what the software is worth to you. The drivers for RTL-SDR, HackRF and Airspy are included; for SDRplay install the free SDRplay API.

MultiScan SDR

macOS 11 or later · Apple silicon
Version
0.3.21
File
DMG · 30 MB
Receivers
RTL-SDR, HackRF, Airspy, SDRplay, Fobos
Free
Download for Mac

Version 0.3.21 · updated 12 Nov 2026 · full access with Support

On the first start macOS reports that the app could not be checked: System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ “Open Anyway”.

MultiScan SDR

Windows 10/11 · 64-bit
Version
0.3.21
File
ZIP · 31 MB
Driver
WinUSB via Zadig
Free
Download for Windows

Version 0.3.21 · unzip and start MultiScan.exe · full access with Support

Switch the receiver's USB driver once to WinUSB with Zadig (zadig.akeo.ie). Speech to text needs the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable (x64).