# uniden-r8-ble: reconstructing the Uniden R8 radar detector's BLE telemetry > Decodes the undocumented Bluetooth Low Energy output of a Uniden R8 radar detector into a receive-only collector for a Raspberry Pi, with live telemetry, alert start/update/end events, SQLite history and optional MQTT and Home Assistant publishing. The author worked the protocol out from the wire on a real detector, building on earlier R8w findings from AegisX86/UnidenR8wlink, and grades every claim in PROTOCOL.md by its evidence: measured on this R8, seen on another model, decompiled from an app but untested, or inference. Unknown fields are carried through raw rather than given invented meanings. - Type: Case study - Targets: Protocol - Category: Independent reconstruction cases - Relationship: Independent reconstruction project - Sources reviewed: 2026-10-27 - Added to the catalog: 2026-11-03 - Original resource: - Primary source: - Catalog page: - Record JSON: - Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/uniden-r8-ble-telemetry-case/index.md) ## Requirements & limits - Reviewed at the main-branch head of 2026-09-09 (package version 0.1.0). README reports 1 Hz telemetry decoded without errors on a moving vehicle and one real Ka-band alert captured on the R8, while PROTOCOL.md still grades active-alert fields as inherited from R8w captures; it also states that the live stream carries no position, and that settings blocks remain undecoded. - Requires the user's own Uniden R8 and a Linux host with BlueZ, documented on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with an optional systemd service, gpsd-connected GNSS receiver, PiSugar battery and MQTT broker. No vendor app, firmware or captures are committed; README says raw captures are kept in a git-ignored local store, and Bluetooth addresses and coordinates are redacted before publication. - Python 3.11+, with bleak as the optional BLE extra and paho-mqtt for publishing. README says the installed package sends no application commands to the detector and that an AST audit, run by selftest and in CI, checks this; commands used for the coordinate experiments were sent from separate scripts at the owner's instruction, as SAFETY.md records. - CI runs ruff and pytest on Python 3.11–3.13 plus a selftest job; README badges 754 tests, which need no hardware, broker, gpsd or network. README notes that MQTT and the dashboard have not met real hardware. - MIT license. README states the project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Uniden and is diagnostic software, not a substitute for the detector's own display or warnings. HANDOFF.md is written for a person or an agent taking over the project. ## Primary sources 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. ## More in Protocols - [opendash: reconstructing the Scanmatik SM3 J2534 adapter protocol](https://awesomerea.org/resources/opendash-scanmatik-sm3-protocol-case/index.md) · Case study - [OWL: an open Apple Wireless Direct Link implementation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/owl-awdl-open-implementation-case/index.md) · Case study - [QuestPad: a USB gamepad from the Quest Touch radio protocol](https://awesomerea.org/resources/questpad-case/index.md) · Case study - [Stadiacast: reconstructing the Stadia Controller's Wi-Fi service](https://awesomerea.org/resources/stadiacast-case/index.md) · Case study - [os-xgs-npu: reconstructing Sophos XGS coprocessor interfaces](https://awesomerea.org/resources/os-xgs-npu-case/index.md) · Case study - [LibreMP: an Epson EasyMP screen caster from packet-capture research](https://awesomerea.org/resources/libremp-easymp-case/index.md) · Case study ## About this entry The description was reviewed against primary sources. Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.