Kraken Radio Direction Finding Unit Setup Tutorial and Demo

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  • Опубликовано: 21 ноя 2024
  • Quick tutorial and demo of the Kraken Phase coherent RTL-SDR setup.
    Github pages mentioned in the video with raspberry pi image and more information:
    github.com/kra...

Комментарии • 74

  • @bentheguru4986
    @bentheguru4986 8 месяцев назад +42

    Finally, a tool to find the CB radio jammers

    • @javabeanz8549
      @javabeanz8549 8 месяцев назад +5

      We did that years ago for fun. If it's an AM signal, see if you can find a TRC-427, looks like they are pretty cheap on eBay. RF Gain on these is an RF Attenuator circuit. Mount a magnet mount antenna as far back on your vehicle as possible, to make it more directional. I have hunted down a walkie talkie hidden in a hedge with this exact setup. And I have also been able to get a correct direction on a 300 watt linear at less than 1000 feet. $50 or $500, your choice. If you only need it for CB, the $50 sounds better to me.

    • @bentheguru4986
      @bentheguru4986 8 месяцев назад

      @@javabeanz8549 Yeah, ours are 477MHz FM but same ideas.

    • @davidvanhorn498
      @davidvanhorn498 8 месяцев назад

      @@javabeanz8549You don't need an AM RX to hunt an am TX

    • @davidvanhorn498
      @davidvanhorn498 3 месяца назад

      @@javabeanz8549 The Kraken isn't a psudodoppler, and doesn't need an external reciever. The radius of the antenna array might be an issue though.

  • @npsit1
    @npsit1 8 месяцев назад +4

    DF is interesting. I used it while in the military. Usually it was close.

  • @BestSpatula
    @BestSpatula 8 месяцев назад +3

    Terrific presentation and demonstration of this device! I'd heard of the Kerberos SDR, this appears to be a much improved version.

  • @ThomasHart59
    @ThomasHart59 8 месяцев назад +5

    Beats the old days riding around on a bike! 🙂 Plus, there's a lot more ground-plane / mounting surface available. 😁

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  8 месяцев назад +4

      Still not as fun as bicycle mobile 😁

    • @ericgulseth74
      @ericgulseth74 8 месяцев назад

      Would love to see some bike mobile videos

  • @Wolf359HeavyIndustries
    @Wolf359HeavyIndustries 8 месяцев назад +2

    Very nice demo. A few of us back at SARA have been talking about them since they were first introduced. They are looking like a pretty mature product now. My current plan, with a Kraken or just using signal strength DF with an RTL, is to build some cheap and tiny 434MHz tracking beacons that activate when a cord is pulled. A coworker has had some trouble with Christmas decoration thieves. - bs

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  8 месяцев назад +1

      LoRa trackers might be easier, 900MHz trackers such as the sensecap t1000

    • @Wolf359HeavyIndustries
      @Wolf359HeavyIndustries 8 месяцев назад

      @@SkylerF Those look pretty cool, and I do intend to get into LoRa (Let's see if Meshtastic goes anywhere), but I am looking for a super compact solution, like within a heat shrink tube, to be sewn or stapled unnoticed into a seam in an inflatable Frosty the Snowman, etc. The only component I am missing is a ATtiny or somth that keys an id number along with a 45 second or so dash.

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 2 месяца назад

      Why don't you just put an apple air tag on it? Far simpler.

    • @Wolf359HeavyIndustries
      @Wolf359HeavyIndustries 2 месяца назад

      @@stargazer7644 Good question. An AirTag could work for tracking stolen items. From a consumer perspective they would be simpler to operate However, they are much more complicated than a simple tracking beacon. They rely on a participating apple device to be within their Bluetooth range and ultimately rely on cell carrier networks, the internet, and proprietary devices and software. You can absolutely do that if you want, but my project idea is in the spirit of DIY, Amateur Radio, and possibly using the KrakenRDF unit for locating it, which is what this video is about.

  • @rustledjammies8769
    @rustledjammies8769 6 месяцев назад

    I wish I had this a decade ago when business radio use was a lot of popular that now where I live!

  • @jim532
    @jim532 8 месяцев назад +1

    Will the kraken work in a fixed configuration to get a directional bearing or do you have to be moving? It would be nice if you could put multiple units at fixed locations

  • @frankthetank3342
    @frankthetank3342 6 месяцев назад

    I used mine on a 2m fox hunt this evening. Im running low prowfile 4" antennas and it wasnt ideal. Wanted antennas that would stay put 24/7. Might use telescopic 1/4 antennas next week. Until I can make a sheetmetal platform to permanently affix the elements (although, this limits my frequency options a bit). Maybe I'll make uhf and vhf layouts, which I could move to, without too much hassle.

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 2 месяца назад +1

      Just use 1/4 wave mag mount whips. I use small black ones. Hard to see.

    • @frankthetank3342
      @frankthetank3342 2 месяца назад

      @@stargazer7644 ended up using strong NMO magnet mounts with adapters to 1/8" steel whip material. I need to paint the elements black, tomorrow (bare metal will rust). Rather than exotic (expensive) steel, found Lowes has decent strength steel rod for cheap price.

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 2 месяца назад +1

      @@frankthetank3342 TIG Welding rod is also a good alternative. It comes in a variety of materials.

  • @thed8229
    @thed8229 8 месяцев назад

    Dang buddy, didn't know you had a YT channel going. I got to see AB2SG's Kraken setup on a RFI hunt a week ago. Badass, I want! Good vid on the unit. K0ATV

  • @Robert-cd5zr
    @Robert-cd5zr 8 месяцев назад +1

    Can you put it on a paramotor trike?

  • @bryanst.martin7134
    @bryanst.martin7134 8 месяцев назад +3

    The Ford Pickup owners are beside themselves. Aluminum bodies...

    • @ericgulseth74
      @ericgulseth74 8 месяцев назад

      Yes. Nice not having the body rust out, but now I need to drill holes....

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 2 месяца назад

      We knew this when we bought them. But they're hardly the first vehicles with aluminum body panels - I had a car in 1978 that you couldn't put a mag mount on.

  • @DV7Dave
    @DV7Dave 5 месяцев назад

    Very cool! I don't know a whole lot about radios. But could this setup be used to direction find a specific LoRa signal on 915Mhz for example? Or would it pick up all traffic on 915Mhz rather than just the signal I'm looking for?

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  5 месяцев назад

      Probably tricky for ism 915, lots of random signals there and can’t really lock down on the one you want , the kraken can’t decode by protocol

  • @kjchaifisch
    @kjchaifisch 8 месяцев назад

    Very neat video, but one question, wouldn't a single directional antenna be more effective than using an array of omnidirectional antennas? Like, directional antennas are already very good at direction finding so is the Kraken just showing that direction finding can be done with an omnidirectional antenna?

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  8 месяцев назад +2

      With a directional antenna you would have to manually get outside of the car and aim the antenna by spinning it 360° to find the peak signal strength. Completely doable and usually what I used to do but just takes a lot of time manually getting bearing lines every time you stop the car. Plus most directional antennas have side lobes so you might get a signal even if you aren’t pointed right at the source.

    • @kjchaifisch
      @kjchaifisch 8 месяцев назад

      @@SkylerFWell right... but with an omnidirectional you could be picking up that cell tower, or the other one down the street. A directional antenna would be subject to a lot less noise, and really, you only need 3 or more points for triangulation. Rather than driving in a circle letting the system figure out where something is until it actually figures it out.

    • @davidvanhorn498
      @davidvanhorn498 3 месяца назад

      @@kjchaifisch Been there and done that with various flavors of directional antennas. Actually a cardiod antenna worked best, aiming for the LEAST signal rather than the most. It has a single very narrow notch. But as SkylerF said it's kind of a PITA especially if raining, cold, or no good place to park.

  • @freedom1307821
    @freedom1307821 3 месяца назад

    Hi. Nice video. I am looking for version 1.322. They don't have it any more in github. Do you have this image?

    • @RobBob555
      @RobBob555 26 дней назад

      That's because GitHub ( Shithub) sucks 🤬

  • @Chrisflyss
    @Chrisflyss 8 месяцев назад

    @skylerf have you tried it out with the antennas extended? Mine works very well that way.

  • @Michael-iw3ek
    @Michael-iw3ek 8 месяцев назад +2

    Is that similar to what they used to find Pablo Escobar?

  • @ST31N42
    @ST31N42 8 месяцев назад

    Very cool, well done

  • @roberttraylor1392
    @roberttraylor1392 8 месяцев назад

    awesome video enjoyed it

  • @craftsman123456
    @craftsman123456 8 месяцев назад

    Interesting i did not think they were being sold currently.

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  8 месяцев назад +2

      Yes you can get them on Mouser or Crowdsupply

  • @onlineuser4506
    @onlineuser4506 8 месяцев назад +4

    I was thinking about getting something like this and mounting it to a large drone. For research purposes of course😅

  • @augurkur
    @augurkur 8 месяцев назад +1

    Most important reason to get the antenna kit: The antennas must be _precisely_ identical down to the atom, give or take, in order to use this for direction finding.

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 2 месяца назад +1

      It isn't quite that critical. The accuracy of the bearings isn't all that precise, so while you do want the antennas and feedlines to be a close to identical as possible, a few fractions of a wavelength isn't going to make it unusable.

  • @BVN-TEXAS
    @BVN-TEXAS 8 месяцев назад

    Release the Kraken,,, that what your roof says when your going 85 on the highway and the antennas start to pop off. 😂

  • @SteveM45
    @SteveM45 8 месяцев назад

    Very interesting, but is this allowed? A car with many antennas . I have an idea: put a skiebox on top off the car.😅

    • @felixyasnopolski8571
      @felixyasnopolski8571 8 месяцев назад +3

      it is. you can receive as much as you want

    • @mikesradiorepair
      @mikesradiorepair 8 месяцев назад

      Have a antenna farm on the roof of my 1 ton van. HF screwdriver, 6 meters, 2 meters, 1.25 meters, 70cm, 33cm, 23cm, GMRS, CB and occasionally install the 5 antennas for a Kraken when I need to do direction finding. If you want to see a real antenna farm look at Andrea K2EV's mobile Rover station. ruclips.net/video/A1-p3ZKl9NQ/видео.htmlfeature=shared

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 2 месяца назад

      Why would it not be allowed?

  • @davidvanhorn498
    @davidvanhorn498 8 месяцев назад

    Hey there! KC6ETE in broomfield

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  8 месяцев назад

      👋

    • @davidvanhorn498
      @davidvanhorn498 3 месяца назад

      @@SkylerF I'd like to meet you IRL now that I have my system operational. What hunts do you have coming up?

  • @drewlarson65
    @drewlarson65 8 месяцев назад +8

    All that fiddling to get them 'precise' and you didn't even flatten the template...

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  8 месяцев назад +7

      Hey I was filming with the other hand lol

    • @thed8229
      @thed8229 8 месяцев назад

      And no torque wrench on the SMA's! 😂😂😂 Thank you for making the vid.

  • @kevinboog9576
    @kevinboog9576 8 месяцев назад

    Skyler. I'm I n Denver as well and would like to talk to you about some interference tracking. I monitor colcon and gmrs 600 repeater.. kfoipd WRMG656 . Hopefully you reach out.😊

  • @SolarGeneral
    @SolarGeneral 8 месяцев назад +1

    So what’s the purpose of this?

  • @trixter192
    @trixter192 8 месяцев назад

    You say the number "five" five times in the first minute.

  • @benefactionhindrance
    @benefactionhindrance 8 месяцев назад +1

    How’s this useful to anybody? Do you unlock a trophy for finding 100 towers?

    • @ch716
      @ch716 8 месяцев назад +6

      Transmitter direction finding is very useful for hunting down interference. If you’re not a ham, it may not seem too useful.

    • @SkylerF
      @SkylerF  8 месяцев назад +8

      Finding jammers and illegal transmissions also

    • @ericgulseth74
      @ericgulseth74 8 месяцев назад +4

      Sounds like someone running an illegal simplex VHF repeater would ask...😂

    • @benefactionhindrance
      @benefactionhindrance 8 месяцев назад

      @@ch716 ok, you locate the interference. Then what?

    • @benefactionhindrance
      @benefactionhindrance 8 месяцев назад

      @@SkylerF I mean sure, then what? You’re going to knock at their door and ask them to quit it?

  • @raysoucie489
    @raysoucie489 8 месяцев назад

    KE0DNQ...... 73

  • @kevinboog9576
    @kevinboog9576 8 месяцев назад

    Skyler. I'm I n Denver as well and would like to talk to you about some interference tracking. I monitor colcon and gmrs 600 repeater.. kfoipd WRMG656 . Hopefully you reach out.😊