Direction-Finding With Help From The Steam Deck
Direction-getting, or fox searching, is a common exercise in ham radio circles exactly where a group of individuals armed with radios endeavor to find a broadcasting resource. Besides remaining a hobby for amateurs, it’s also a vital device in the belt of regulators who are making an attempt to track down violators of the air place. There are a lot of ways to figure out the specific spot of a radio transmission, but this one manages to pull it off working with both equally a boat and a Steam Deck, each armed with a software-outlined radio.
This job comes to us from [Aaron] who is very well identified in the novice radio circles for his SDR-targeted Linux distribution referred to as DragonOS which has all the instruments necessary for a high quality SDR working experience, in this circumstance KrakenSDR and DF Aggregator. He’s loaded all the things up on a Steam Deck and remaining that in a secure site on the shore of a lake, whilst he carries next system with the same computer software with him on a boat. With the two units listening for a certain signal, he’s able to rapidly zero in on his buddy on the shore who is broadcasting on the 70 cm band many thanks to the assist of all of these software program offers.
While ham radio isn’t always regarded for being a youthful and exciting action, the arrival of application-outlined radio and other digital modes appear to be shaking factors up in that environment. Undoubtedly dashing all-around a lake on a boat is enjoyable on its have as very well, and a fox hunt like this can be carried out with one thing as small and uncomplicated as a Raspberry Pi as well.
