Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
What if I told you that my utility company is already broadcasting my energy usage right through the air, completely unencrypted? What if I could read that data from my couch using a cheap software-defined radio dongle? My name is Zach, and I am the Byte Sized Engineer. In this video, I am going to show you how to use an RTL-SDR to sniff my smart meter's radio signals, decode that data, and track my power consumption without touching a single live wire.
Related Link:
digikey.com/en/maker/projects/reading-a-smart-meter-with-a-software-defined-radio/93909bd7300e44308c7f181679e4f577
Learn more:
Follow readme and install the Home Assistant integration from the github repo github.com/allangood/rtlamr2mqtt
Maker.io - digikey.com/en/maker
DigiKey’s Blog – TheCircuit digikey.com/en/blog
Connect with DigiKey on Facebook facebook.com/digikey.electronics
And follow us on X https://x.com/digikey
Product:
1568-22957-ND
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:53 High level overview
01:44 Checking out my smart meter
02:08 Assembling an SDR
02:59 Open source solutions are awesome!
03:48 Installing the Home Assistant integration
05:32 Reading meter data!
07:02 Comparing two different approaches
What if I told you that my utility company is already broadcasting my energy usage right through the air, completely unencrypted? What if I could read that data from my couch using a cheap software-defined radio dongle? My name is Zach, and I am the Byte Sized Engineer. In this video, I am going to show you how to use an RTL-SDR to sniff my smart meter's radio signals, decode that data, and track my power consumption without touching a single live wire.
Related Link:
digikey.com/en/maker/projects/reading-a-smart-meter-with-a-software-defined-radio/93909bd7300e44308c7f181679e4f577
Learn more:
Follow readme and install the Home Assistant integration from the github repo github.com/allangood/rtlamr2mqtt
Maker.io - digikey.com/en/maker
DigiKey’s Blog – TheCircuit digikey.com/en/blog
Connect with DigiKey on Facebook facebook.com/digikey.electronics
And follow us on X https://x.com/digikey
Product:
1568-22957-ND
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:53 High level overview
01:44 Checking out my smart meter
02:08 Assembling an SDR
02:59 Open source solutions are awesome!
03:48 Installing the Home Assistant integration
05:32 Reading meter data!
07:02 Comparing two different approaches
![Bin Buddy [Maker Update] | Maker.io](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RyRfIybAwIA/mqdefault.jpg "Bin Buddy [Maker Update] | Maker.io
This week on Maker Update: robots that glide, robots that walk, a bouncy bike, and a blade that’s bewitched.
This week on Maker Update: robots that glide, robots that walk, a bouncy bike, and a blade that’s bewitched.
+Show Notes [Maker Update Ep.462]+
=Project of the Week=
I Built a Robot to Organize My Workbench by Engineezy 0:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iarVef8tFiw
=News=
NEW Robotic Olaf Revealed! Inside Disney Imagineering R&D 2:18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoPN02bmzrE
Event Sensors Bring Just the Right Data to Device Makers 3:16
https://spectrum.ieee.org/event-sensors-to-the-edge
=More Projects=
The Magnet Suspension Bike by Colin Furze 4:12
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxs3yNjlzkg
Creating Xalatath, Blade of the Black Empire from World of Warcraft by KamuiCosplay 4:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-2P4Uox9dY
=Tips & Tools=
I Built a Three Ring Cycloidal Drive by Mishin Machine 5:27
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMgny-yDjvs
Tested Teams Favorite Things of 2025! 6:05
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtitKU0CAeisMlQwIK5-lWkIrVAqPXwY
Christmas Gift Ideas for People Who Like to Work! by Essential Craftsman 6:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwTfxh16E80
=DigiKey Spotlight=
MTCH9010 Evaluation Kit - Unboxing 6:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_IKWY9d2KI
Find it on DigiKey:
https://www.digikey.com/short/bv1r9m8b
#makerupdate
Maker Update is a weekly video series covering news, projects, tips, and events that interest the maker and DIY community.
Find more online:
Blog: http://makerprojectlab.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makerprojectlab/")
