Category: KrakenSDR

KrakenSDR Field Reports and Software Updates

We've recently published an update about KrakenSDR field reports and software updates to our KrakenSDR CrowdSupply page. We are cross posting here as well. This update provides some demonstrations of the KrakenSDR that users have uploaded, and provides some updates on some new software that we have been working on.

Also as we'll note shortly in a separate post, we wanted to highlight that our website for direct sales of KrakenSDR and antenna sets is now live at our KrakenSDR shop. Please note that we only have a limited number of KrakenSDRs that we can sell directly, and once they run out, all other sales must go through CrowdSupply.

Field Reports

User YouTube Demonstrations

Frugal Radio

In this video Frugal Radio unboxes and tests his KrakenSDR and Krakentenna's on a vehicle. He is able to come to the location of two unknown transmitters within minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCU0prz5As4

KrakenSDR - WOW! Amazing Direction Finding Tests : Part 2

F4IPO Demo

In this video F4IPO demonstrates his ability to use a KrakenSDR and Krakentennas to locate a TETRA transmitter within 5 minutes.

KrakenSDR : recherche d'un émetteur TETRA

DragonOS Kraken Pro Cloud Mapper Demo

In this video Aaron, creator of DragonOS demonstrates two networked KrakenSDR devices being used with DF-Aggregator and an alpha version of our Kraken Pro Cloud Mapping software (introduced further below). One KrakenSDR is fixed, and another is on a moving boat. He is able to track a beacon on land.

DragonOS Focal Direction Finding w/ KrakenSDR + Boat (Steam Deck, GS66, DF-Aggregator, Kraken Dash)

F1MIJ Demo

In these videos F1MIJ provides multiple screen recordings of the KrakenSDR Android App in action during a drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7C5_DJkM_k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiJIhRzG2Os

KrakenSDR sur la fréquence du relais de Valenciennes ( Vidéo N°2 )

Manuel Lausmann Unboxing Video

In this video Manuel Lausmann unboxes the KrakenSDR.

Ein Kraken aus Texas

Matt Blaze Twitter Thread

In this Twitter thread Matt Blaze @mattblaze describes his experience with the KrakenSDR and shows that he was able to determine the location of a 103.5 MHz transmitter. Matt notes that apart from some hardware limitations, his experience with the KrakenSDR is even better than with his extremely expensive high end R&S DDF007.

@cemaxecuter Twitter Demos

Aaron (whom we mentioned earlier) has also been heavily posting on Twitter showing how he's been successful at getting his KrakenSDR running on a SteamDeck, a new type of handheld gaming device from Valve.

He also briefly demonstrates the KrakenSDR being used as five independent receivers in SDRAngel.

Website Release

We also wanted to note that we now have our website live at www.krakenrf.com. This is mostly a marketing and general overview website. All the technical documentation and guides will remain on the GitHub Wiki.

KrakenSDR Forum

We have also now released our KrakenSDR forum at https://forum.krakenrf.com. If you have general questions, or support inquires please post there rather than through email so everyone can learn. If there are specific software bugs, please continue to post those as GitHub issues.

Kraken Cloud Pro Alpha Release

We are now releasing an early alpha version of our online 'Kraken Cloud Pro' service. We want to note that this software is still in ALPHA status. That means that all the intended features are not yet implemented, and that it may have multiple bugs. We also do not guarantee any uptime for this service at this time.

Kraken Pro Cloud is our online cloud mapping solution for KrakenSDR devices. It allows you to upload KrakenSDR direction finding data onto our central server, so that you can combine bearing data from multiple geographically distributed KrakenSDR devices. With the right geography of the receivers and transmitter, this allows you to instantly determine the location of a transmitter without needing to take multiple readings with a vehicle.

Documentation on the use of Kraken Pro Cloud is available on our Wiki at this page.

You can also do offline analysis of log files collected from the Android App or recorded via the Web GUI.

Kraken Pro Cloud Timelapse Demo

As part of the testing of the service we recorded a timelapse of a KrakenSDR station tracking a weather balloon.

The above is a video of a simple timelapse demo of the system tracking a weather balloon from a single station. Because it's only a single station, the red estimation dot can be ignored. The yellow dot indicates the actual GPS location of the weather balloon. Once the weather improves we'll be setting up a distributed two-station test.

One interesting thing to note is how the KrakenSDR tracks the balloon accurately, until the elevation angle between the antenna and balloon goes above 45 degrees which happens when the balloon rises higher and comes too close to the station. At this angle the antenna array can no longer track the balloon correctly. Once the balloon falls to a lower altitude and the elevation from the antenna is less than 45 degrees accurate tracking resumes.

In the near future we will be uploading more demonstrations like this with multiple stations set up.

Quick Demo of our KrakenSDR Network Mapping Direction Finding Software (Alpha)

The KrakenSDR is our 5-channel coherent radio based on RTL-SDRs, and it can be used for applications like radio direction finding and passive radar. We successfully crowd funded the device on Crowd Supply back in November 2021.

Over the past year we've been working on a networked mapping system for KrakenSDRs that will allow distributed units to contribute radio direction finding bearing data to a central server. This allows for multiple fixed KrakenSDR sites to combine live bearings, allowing for near instantaneous localization of transmission sources.

We are close to releasing an alpha version of this software for KrakenSDR and KerberosSDR customers to test, and will have news about signups within the next few weeks. For now it will be restricted to three networked units per user.

In the future we plan to add (reasonably priced) advanced features like support for more units, history rewind, multi-channel layering, remote KrakenSDR management, object tracking, ID differentiation, and recording and playback of mp3 sound bites based on tracked location. 

Below is a simple timelapse demo of the system tracking a weather balloon from a single station. Because it's only a single station, the red estimation dot can be ignored. The yellow dot indicates the actual GPS location of the weather balloon. Once the weather improves we'll be setting up a distributed two-station test.

One interesting thing to note is how the KrakenSDR tracks the balloon accurately, until the elevation angle between the antenna and balloon goes above 45 degrees which happens when the balloon rises higher and comes too close to the station. At this angle the antenna array can no longer track the balloon correctly. Once the balloon falls to a lower altitude and the elevation from the antenna is less than 45 degrees accurate tracking resumes.

Frugal Radio KrakenSDR Part 2: Vehicle Direction Finding Tests

Over on the Frugal Radio YouTube channel Rob has uploaded part two of his two part series on the KrakenSDR. The KrakenSDR is our 5-channel coherent radio based on RTL-SDRs, and it can be used for applications like radio direction finding and passive radar. We successfully crowd funded the device on Crowd Supply.  

In the first video Rob unboxed the KrakenSDR and set up the software. In this second video he takes the KrakenSDR out on a drive and is able to successfully locate the transmission sources of two unknown transmitters. 

In the first part of the video Rob shows how he sets up his vehicle roof antennas and how he routes his cabling into the vehicle and KrakenSDR. He then shows his drivers view as he locates the site of a DMR trunked network user which ends up to be a factory plant. In his second test Rob locates a P25 transmitter site. In both tests Rob notes how he was impressed at how quickly a location was able to be determined, taking only a few minutes each time.

KrakenSDR - WOW! Amazing Direction Finding Tests : Part 2

KrakenSDR Locates a TETRA Transmitter

Over on YouTube F4IPO has posted a video of him using a KrakenSDR and the KrakenSDR Android mapping app to quickly locate the source of a TETRA transmission at 427 MHz in France.

The KrakenSDR is our 5-channel coherent radio based on RTL-SDRs, and it can be used for applications like radio direction finding and passive radar. We successfully crowd funded the device on Crowd Supply.  

In the video F4IPO shows a dash cam recording of his vehicle alongside a screen recording of his Android phone screen. He makes use of the auto-navigation feature which navigates him right to the radio transmit tower. He notes that the entire process to locate the transmitter only took about 5 minutes. At the end of the video he shows the antenna setup on his roof.

KrakenSDR : recherche d'un émetteur TETRA

Running KrakenSDR on the Steam Deck

DragonOS creator Aaron has recently put out a few Tweets showing that he has been successful at getting his KrakenSDR to run on a Steam Deck. The Steam Deck is a handheld gaming device made by Valve, the creators of several famous PC games and the Steam game store. It is essentially a powerful handheld computer with screen and good battery life, so it makes an excellent mobile SDR computing platform too.

Aaron notes that the output power of the Steam Desk isn't enough to power the KrakenSDR itself, but after adding an external battery pack it works well.

Frugal Radio KrakenSDR Part 1 – Unboxing, Antennas and Initial Setup

Over on the Frugal Radio YouTube channel Rob has uploaded part one of his two part series on the KrakenSDR. The KrakenSDR is our 5-channel coherent radio based on RTL-SDRs, and it can be used for applications like radio direction finding and passive radar. We successfully crowd funded the device on Crowd Supply.  

In the video Rob unboxes his KrakenSDR, and explains how he will use it for radio direction finding. He shows his setup including the other required parts, like the Pi 4, and power supply, and then goes on to show the software installation process which involves burning an SD card and downloading an Android app. Next he sets up his antenna array by printing the antenna spacer and using the Excel antenna array calculator sheet.

Rob notes that Part 2 is coming in one to two weeks and will show him using the KrakenSDR in his vehicle to locate the source of a transmission.

KrakenSDR Unboxing / Prep & Setup device & antennas : Part 1

KrakenSDR now Shipped to the Majority of Crowd Supply Backers

If you weren't aware of it, KrakenSDR is our RTL-SDR spinoff project and is a 5-channel coherent RTL-SDR that we have successfully crowdfunded for over on Crowd Supply. KrakenSDR is the successor to our previous 4-channel coherent product called the KerberosSDR. With a radio like KrakenSDR that is capable of coherence between channels, interesting applications like direction finding and passive radar become possible. You can also use it as five independent RTL-SDRs should you chose to.

We wanted to note that all units preordered through the Crowd Supply crowd funding campaign are now at the Crowd Supply / Mouser warehouse, and the majority have already been shipped out to customers!

The KrakenSDR with 5x Krakentenna's
The KrakenSDR with 5x Krakentenna's for Radio Direction Finding

Additional units for new purchasers are in a mixture of production and freighting and will be available for fulfillment as soon as we can. We are constrained by supply and production time, so if you're interested in a KrakenSDR, please get your order in so that you have an earlier place in the queue.

KrakenSDR Production
KrakenSDR Boxes

Other Recent KrakenSDR Updates

Wiki Manual: Our Wiki manual and guide is up at https://github.com/krakenrf/krakensdr_docs/wiki. It covers topics from what you need to get started, radio direction finding theory and background, antenna array setup, KrakenSDR Web-GUI software guide, Android App guide and a Passive Radar guide. 

GNU Radio: We have recently released a beta version of a KrakenSDR GNU Radio block and examples at https://github.com/krakenrf/gr-krakensdr

GNU Radio KrakenSDR DOA Flowgraph

Install Scripts, VirtualBox Images, Docker: For general vehicle based direction finding, which is the most popular application, we recommend using our premade Raspberry Pi 4 image for easy almost plug and play setup. But to ease installation on other computing devices (especially as the Pi 4 stock is non-existent at the moment due to the supply chain crisis) we've now created an automatic Linux install script and a Virtual Box image which can be run on Windows or Linux host machines. Third parties have also released a Docker container. See this page on our Wiki for more information.

Customer Feedback: We've also had some great customer feedback so far with one user submitting examples of his success in locating transmitters like a 162 MHz NOAA weather station, and various fox hunt beacons. 

KrakenSDR Direction Finding with Android App

Arrow Antennas: For fixed site direction finding installs, Arrow Antennas is now shipping their 5-element dipole antenna array.

If you're interested in the latest KrakenSDR updates, please follow us on the Crowd Supply mailing list, and keep an eye out for our official krakenrf.com website releasing soon.

SI-SDR-UG Recorded Livestream: Corey Explains DF-Aggregator for KrakenSDR and KerberosSDR

The South Indian SDR User Group (SI-SDR-UG) have recently held their fourth live stream conference. This conference included some interesting talks such as:

  • "Introduction to GNU Radio Series, Part 2" by Neel Pandeya
  • "Silice, a Language for Hardcoding Algorithms into FPGA Hardware" by Dr.Sylvain Lefebvre
  • "RF Geo-Location for Everyone" by Corey Koval
  • "Overview of Wireless Channels, Part 1" by Aditya Arun Kumar

In particular we were interested in Corey's talk which starts at 1:27:40 and talks about DF-Aggregator, an open source mapping program he's written for KerberosSDR, KrakenSDR and any other radio direction finding hardware that can be adapted to the software. In the talk Corey explains what DF-Aggregator is and how the clustering algorithm works.

South Indian SDR User Group (SI-SDR-UG) Live Stream Event-4