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.

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More Information about the NOAA-15 AVHRR Failure

Thank you to Carl Reinmann (aka usradioguy) for submitting his blog post which goes into deeper detail about the NOAA-15 weather satellite imaging failure that we posted about last week. 

In his post Carl discusses in detail the technical aspects of the AVHRR Scan Motor failure, shows plots of the AVHRR motor current increasing, provides multiple examples of corrupt images being recently received and notes the history of previous failures which were eventually resolved.

He also notes that even with the AVHRR failure the other sensors on the satellite will remain functional, however a failure of this instrument would mean the end of the easy to receive APT images at 137 MHz from NOAA-15. We note that there is still the opportunity to receive NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 which are the remaining operational satellites that transmit APT at 137 MHz.

NOAA have now also released an official notice about the failure which reads:

Product Outage/Anomaly: NOAA-15 AVHRR degraded image data issued by NESDIS NSOF
Date/Time Issued: Oct 22, 2022 1947Z

The NOAA-15 AVHRR Scan Motor current began showing signs of instability on Oct 18 at approximately 1800Z, when the current began to gradually rise from about 205 mA to about 250 mA, where it remained until Oct 24. At about 0000Z on Oct 24, the current began rising again throughout the day, peaking at about 302mA on Oct 25. Scan motor temperature began rising about the same time and is currently steady at ~29°C. The instrument is still producing data, but it is highly degraded. This behavior may be a sign of an impending scan motor stall but requires further investigation. Options for recovery are limited.

NOAA-15 Scan Motor Failure
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Harvey Mudd College Learn SDR Course with RTL-SDR, PlutoSDR and GNU Radio on YouTube

Professor Jason from Harvery Mudd College in California has recently uploaded a 23 lesson video series on software defined radio digital signal processing (DSP) concepts that can be learned with an RTL-SDR, PlutoSDR and GNU Radio.

If you're looking for a University level introduction to DSP this looks like a good hand on approach to learning. It covers concepts from a simple FM radio receove in GNU Radio, to doppler radar with PlutoSDR, to digital modulation, pulse shaping, GPS reception and more.

All the GNU Radio flowgraphs are available on their class GitHub as well.

Playlist: Learn SDR with Prof Jason

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The NOAA-15 Weather Satellite may be Failing (Again)

The NOAA APT weather satellites are popular because they fly over most places on earth frequently, and they are easy to receive images directly from with modest hardware such as an RTL-SDR and v-dipole antenna.

Three NOAA APT satellites currently operational include NOAA-15, NOAA-18 and NOAA-19. The satellites are however long past their rated mission age, with NOAA-15 being almost 25 years old now.

Unfortunately NOAA-15 appears to be having trouble with it's image scanning motor at the moment, and it is producing corrupted images. This problem has occurred in the past in 2018 and 2019, before fixing itself, so the hope is that it will fix itself again this time.

NOAA does not appear to have released any information about the outage yet on their General Satellite Messages page.

We also wanted to note the recent news that NOAA will be transitioning NOAA-15, 18 and 19 to a private company for on-orbit operations.

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niliBOX: Software for Managing RTL-SDRs and other Radios Locally and Remotely

niliBOX is a multiplatform software package in beta release that can be used to manage radio devices such as Icom radio scanners and RTL-SDRs remotely or locally. It is the evolution of the older 'PCR Anywhere' software which was specifically designed for controlling Icom Radio scanners.

Over on YouTube user Danny Shortwave And Radio DX has uploaded a video demonstrating the RTL-SDR module being used in niliBOX with his RTL-SDR Blog V3 SDR. He writes:

niliBOX developed a software for various models of computer controlled radios and also for the RTL-SDR software defined radio. I will demonstrate this by running the software while tuning the mediumwave stations. The antenna I'm using is the MLA-30 active loop antenna. This is their first initial release of this software. I will make a series of videos showing this program working. Stay Tuned. This is Version 1.0.0

They currently have Windows 64 Bit. Tested on Windows 7, 10 and 11. They also have Linux version, tested on Ubuntu and Centos 64 Bit. And also a Apple Mac version, tested with MacOS 10.14, 10.15, 11 and 12. They are also coming soon with Android and IOS versions.

Brief Demonstration of new niliBOX software for the RTL-SDR V.3 SDR USB Dongle

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ADS-B Radar Android App Updated with Open Street Maps

Thank you to James Mainwaring for letting us know about the latest update to his "ADS-B Radar (RTL-SDR)" Android App. The update brings an Open Street Map (OSM) display, allowing for aircraft to be directly plotted on the map.

As before the app works with an RTL-SDR directly connected to the Android device, and also has a radar like display.

James also has other apps on the Google Play store for FM Radio, Airband and Ham Radio listening.

ADS-B Radar App for Android
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Internet Archive Seeks Donations of Materials to Build a Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications

In Internet Archive is a non-profit project with the main goal of maintaining a historical archive of the world wide web. Its goal is to preserve human knowledge and culture by creating an Internet library for researchers, historians, and scholars. Readers may be most familiar with their 'wayback machine', that allows users to view websites as they appeared in the past.

As part of this project, the Internet Archive is currently seeking donations of materials including printed medium relating to amateur radio and communications to add to their archives. Their press release and contact details read:

Internet Archive has begun gathering content for the Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC), which will be a massive online library of materials and collections related to amateur radio and early digital communications. The DLARC is funded by a significant grant from the Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), a private foundation, to create a digital library that documents, preserves, and provides open access to the history of this community.

The library will be a free online resource that combines archived digitized print materials, born-digital content, websites, oral histories, personal collections, and other related records and publications. The goals of the DLARC are to document the history of amateur radio and to provide freely available educational resources for researchers, students, and the general public. This innovative project includes:

  • A program to digitize print materials, such as newsletters, journals, books, pamphlets, physical ephemera, and other records from both institutions, groups, and individuals.
  • A digital archiving program to archive, curate, and provide access to “born-digital” materials, such as digital photos, websites, videos, and podcasts.
  • A personal archiving campaign to ensure the preservation and future access of both print and digital archives of notable individuals and stakeholders in the amateur radio community.
  • Conducting oral history interviews with key members of the community. 
  • Preservation of all physical and print collections donated to the Internet Archive.

The DLARC project is looking for partners and contributors with troves of ham radio, amateur radio, and early digital communications related books, magazines, documents, catalogs, manuals, videos, software, personal archives, and other historical records collections, no matter how big or small. In addition to physical material to digitize, we are looking for podcasts, newsletters, video channels, and other digital content that can enrich the DLARC collections. Internet Archive will work directly with groups, publishers, clubs, individuals, and others to ensure the archiving and perpetual access of contributed collections, their physical preservation, their digitization, and their online availability and promotion for use in research, education, and historical documentation. All collections in this digital library will be universally accessible to any user and there will be a customized access and discovery portal with special features for research and educational uses.

We are extremely grateful to ARDC for funding this project and are very excited to work with this community to explore a multi-format digital library that documents and ensures access to the history of a specific, noteworthy community. Anyone with material to contribute to the DLARC library, questions about the project, or interest in similar digital library building projects for other professional communities, please contact:

Kay Savetz, K6KJN
Program Manager, Special Collections
[email protected]
Twitter: @KaySavetz 

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TechMinds: A Look at the TRX DUO Red Pitaya Clone

The Red Pitaya is advertised as an open source electronics laboratory instrument, but as it's essentially a software defined radio with built in computing hardware, custom software can be installed allowing it to function as an HPSDR compatible RX/TX capable SDR.

The TRX DUO is a "Red Pitaya compatible" device that comes at a price significantly lower that the Red Pitaya. Its specifications are comparable to the Red Pitaya SDRlab 122-16 which in the official website goes for 625,00€ / US$622. In comparison the TRX DUO can be found on marketplace sites like Aliexpress for almost half price at US$320.

The TRX-DUO has a tuning range from 10 kHz to 60 MHz, 16-bit ADC and 2-RX and 2-TX channels. It also has a built in ARM Cortex A9 processor, and Xilinx Zynq 7010 FPGA SOC. The built in computing means that decoding software can be run directly on the device if desired.

Matt from the TechMinds YouTube channel has recently tested and reviewed the TRX-DUO in his latest video. His video goes over the specifications, software installation, and a demonstration of it receiving HF signals. He goes on to show how it can be used as an 8-band WSPR monitor, and how you can enable WiFi on it and download various Red Pitaya apps.

Matt also notes that the transmit power of the TRX-DUO is very small at 2.5 mW, but of course an external amplifier can be used to boost this.  However, it is important to note that band filtering would be required for the emissions to be safe to transmit.

TRX DUO APPLICATION BASED HF SDR TRANSCEIVER (RED PIYATA)

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