@Wynn
Sorry if that was a dumb question. There’s a lot I’m not fully up to speed on.
@Fin
I’m part of the US ham radio community, and I know many hams who can build advanced RF equipment. I’d like to get volunteers to help build jammers to send to Ukraine. Does anyone know where to find plans for this?
I’m more of an organizer, but I want to help.
@Asa
I’m an EMT planning to help on the frontlines. From what I’ve heard, this is a big need right now. I think we could definitely get ham radio and RF engineers to start producing low-cost, high-quality jammers. Let’s team up on this!
@Asa
Thanks for the offer, but the radio war changes fast. By the time you build a jammer for one frequency, we’ve already moved to another. We could really use help with portable FPV and Mavic drone detectors, though. What do you think about that?
@Cruz
And remember, jamming can also affect your own gear, so your pilots might not be able to fly.
This has been super interesting, thanks for all the info!
Here’s some info I found:
Detection and Identification
- Radar systems: Use radar to detect drones, track them, and provide early warnings.
- RF detection: Track the control signals between drones and their operators.
- EO/IR sensors: Use cameras for visual confirmation, especially at night.
- Acoustic sensors: Identify drones by the sound of their propellers and motors.
Neutralization
- Electronic warfare:
- RF jamming: Disrupt the communication between drones and operators.
- GPS spoofing: Send fake GPS signals to confuse the drone.
- Kinetic measures:
- Anti-drone guns: Use guns or nets to disable drones.
- Surface-to-air missiles: Expensive but good for larger drones.
- Directed energy weapons:
- Lasers: Use lasers to damage drones’ electronics or optics.
- Physical barriers: Use nets or wires to block drones.
Mitigation
- Hardened infrastructure: Reinforce key buildings to limit damage from drones.
- Operational security: Keep critical operations hidden from drone surveillance.
- Counter-intelligence: Find and disrupt enemy drone operators.
The problem with using jammers is that they have to emit a lot of power, making them an easy target for weapons that lock onto RF sources.
Jammer-homing explosive drones are also pretty cheap to make.
Jamming 2.4GHz affects a lot of things, not just drones. Point-to-point communication, WiFi, and even your own drones could be affected. People will definitely notice if their WiFi suddenly goes out!
Jamming isn’t as easy as it seems. Drones are designed to work in crowded environments with interference from WiFi, Bluetooth, and other signals.
To jam a drone, your signal has to overpower the one from the drone’s controller, but that gets weaker the farther away the drone is. If the drone is launched from 2 km away, you’ll have a hard time jamming it unless you have jammers everywhere.