SDR Dongle and Drones

spongella

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
May 12, 2012
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1,236
Central NJ
I heard the FAA has set guidelines for drones, operator must keep the drone in sight, must be at least 5 miles from any airport, has to be below so many hundred of feet, etc. Have not seen one in my area yet, but was wondering - these drones use radio frequencies for controlling the aircraft, plus if they are sending live video, they must be using some frequency. I know the wireless cameras are in the 2.5 GHz band, but not sure what the drones use.Being that they are so high up, makes sense that one should at least be able to see the signal, just like a regular airplane transmitting on the aero band.

Back in the old days there were a number of frequencies set aside by the FCC for radio control hobbyists, one was in the CB Band (think it was Channel 22B which was assigned only for RC) and the other was around 72 megs. Back then, you needed a license just to use these frequencies!

But I imagine the output power of the controller for the drone is very low, especially for the cheaper ones. Well, time to do some data mining and figure out frequencies, etc. Would be nice to "see" drones in the area via radio.

Sponge
 
Would be interesting to know what frequency they use. I am so close to buying me a small drone er I mean quadcopter here. Been flying a regular chopper, ready to get something that can carry a camera pay load.
 
I saw some at Radio Shack today and they are on 2.5 GHz. Don't think any dongle, even the ones with the E4000 tuner go that high. Yes, those with the camera look real interesting. With that one you could check on your antennas and not have to climb up the roof hi hi.
 
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