KrakenSDR Vehicle Beacon Tracking Experiment

This is an experiment tracking a low power 434 MHz beacon mounted on a vehicle. Antenna is mounted on the roof of the car, and we test a continuous as well as a pulsed signal. In the pulsed test the pulses are 100ms in duration, transmitted every 3s. The KrakenSDR is able to provide a bearing towards the transmitter as it moves around. Better results are obtained when the transmitter has clearer line of sight to the receive antenna, but even without perfect line of sight it tracks the signal with some error. Maximum legal EIRP for low power devices at 434 MHz here is 14dBm, so we use 12dBm (16mW) power and a less than 2dBi antenna. Max distance from receiver in this test is about 5km/3miles, but could probably receive further with good line of sight. Possible use cases for low power beacon tracking: - Cat tracking - Wildlife tracking - Asset tracking - Anti-theft object tracking