Fox Hunting With Software-Defined Radio

Fox hunting or finding a direction is a favorite pastime in the ham radio community, where radio operators try to triangulate the position of the radio broadcast. Although in the past it may have required a large amount of expensive equipment, like most ham radio operations, the advent of software-defined radio (SDR) has helped revolutionize this aspect of the hobby as well. [Aaron] shows us how to use SDR to find directions using its custom SDR-based Linux distribution called DragonOS.

We have already mentioned DragonOSbut each iteration seems to add new features. This time it involves the implementation of a software package called DF-Aggregator. The software (from [ckoval7]), along with the rest of DragonOS, is loaded into a set of (usually at least three) Raspberry Pis networks. Network computers can transmit information about the radio waves they receive and direct them to find another capable feature found in that propagation.

[Aaron] there are several videos showing the process of setting up and using it, and all the software is available for a stand-alone experience for something like this. While the future of radio with ham as a hobby remains in doubt, projects like the one that bring classic ham activities into the field of SDT, really go a long way to reviving it.