Wireless communication is ubiquitous today with increasing deployments leading to increased interference, increasing conflicts, etc. Monitoring the wireless environment is therefore important for regulators, service providers, Government agencies, enterprises etc. Such monitoring should be flexible both in networks monitored within the wireless environment as well as detecting unauthorized transmitters, allowing dynamic network management, etc. However, such real time spectral/signal analysis in the prior art requires both a wideband direct conversion receiver (DCR), for high performance, wideband, fast, programmable spectral analysis, and a super heterodyne receiver for fast, narrowband, programmable demodulation for signal analysis. According to embodiments of the invention a single receiver design methodology exploiting a single RF circuit to provide superheterodyne and direct conversion receiver functionalities.