Blog Posts

Using Software Defined Radios (SDRs)

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February 20, 2024

12:12 pm

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Technology

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Listening to communications, downloading weather data from satellites, capturing data from airplanes, SDRs are powerful SIGINT (SIG)nals INT(elligence) devices that are surprisingly cheap and useful. For a great introduction and facts on budget SDRs look at this article. We’re going straight into it.

Basic Tools/ Materials

SDR- For this article I’m using the RTL SDR, which can be found on Amazon, AliExpress, or Ebay. Get the V3 version as the newest V4 doesn’t have 100% compatibility at this time.

Antenna- Any antenna within the signal range of 500 kHz – 1766 MHz will work fine. To see how it works its great if you have a toy, radio antenna, anything that works within the SDR & experimental object you’re using’s frequency range. Ensure the antenna connection type is SMA male. The RTL SDR has an SMA female connector type. For more information concerning antennas, refer to my article 

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[Update: 13Jan25] 3D Printing 101/102

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September 16, 2023

11:01 pm

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3D Printing, Technology

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3D printing is a not-so-new technology that has applications for day to day hobbies, industry, and surprisingly aerospace. I’m not going to try and sell 3D printing to you as that’s why there are other websites that do that. Let’s get into the meat and potatoes.

3D Printing 101

Getting Into 3D Printing

Very easy, occasionally mind melting when you feel that nothing is going your way, but as long as your a tinkerer and know how to use Google you'll be all good. I will be updating this article as time permits so it serves as a one stop shop for all your needs. Saves time and frustration as I've learned first hand since some videos and tutorials leave out key data points that would otherwise save you from tearing out your hair. Below is a list of upgrades that will enhance your 3D printing experience. Do you need to drop $700 now? No. But keep the chart in mind when you decide to do incremental upgrades, because as you gain more experience and start tinkering, you'll inevitably want to make some changes to your printer. And I know first hand.

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Signal Relay System

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February 22, 2022

7:24 am

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Arduino Programming

Inspired by my previous article of having an automated home defense system, I thought of going larger than just having a communication system based on protecting a house and communicating the goings on. What if instead I had a wireless comms system that didn’t require a contract, had a decent range, and could be used to route signals to different people depending on their location and relation to the sender/ receiver and to the network? The point is not to compete with previously established networks as this is not a commercial product, but more of an experiment to test my ingenuity & ability to create a comms network from scratch & no formal background. So let’s begin!

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Project Castle Guardian

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March 27, 2021

2:32 pm

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Arduino Programming, Discussions, Technology

I finally have enough technical skill and time to create one of my most advanced projects. This project will consist of having a self-arming home monitoring system complete with an alarm and a satellite communication network. The Satcomm (satellite communication) unit will alert me via email if Castle Guardian is armed, disarmed, detects an individual & from where, as well as track their movements around the house. It will also have night vision IP cameras installed which upon activation will give me a bird’s eye view of the house complete with servos to adjust the angle. I intend on this system being nearly autonomous with the only activities requiring human input is the arming and disarming of the system.

I also intend to integrate Castle Guardian with my AARCS (Automated Animal Residency Control System) Unit, which has already been installed, but needs an upgrade. AARCS+ is the upgraded system complete with radio control, allowing each unit to communicate with Satcomm in cases such as the enclosure gets too hot/cold or if the humidity exceeds bounds. It’ll also allow me to monitor each AARCS+ enclosure at a glance anywhere around the world. This by far will be my most complicated project, & I’m ready to make it.

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Arduino Controlled Boat

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October 3, 2020

10:56 pm

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Arduino Programming, Discussions

Project ROWAN, or the R(emotely) O(perated) W(aterborne) A(rduino) N(avigator) is a remote controlled boat I’m planning to make for river/ocean navigation. Its a design I’ve seen other programmers build on Youtube & would like to make my own boat with the added function of being able to work remotely. The system itself is very complicated for me, but I’ll do my best to break down the subsystems so that its easy to understand while also not tripping myself up in the process.

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