The Drones

[bobbywalter]

yeah. desensitization.


not good. people never pay attention.

 

[Blmpkn]

There's enough computer nerds here... How come there hasn't been talk about DIYing some jammers from crap readily available on Amazon? Most drones operate on 2.4 or 5ghz frequencies.. some use GPS.. I'd assume that one's this large and fancy probably use GPS but I'm an imbecile when it comes to computer crap so

 

[superj]

thats what we need. someone to put instructions online for jamming that stuff.

and then the MPs would show up at my house because i am in the fly zone where only military and approved flights can go because of how close i live to the navy base. i would probably be jamming something else too


pros are free blue angles shows, cons are base traffic since i am .75 from the main gate.

 

[Brain75]

It's almost impossible to get your hands on pre-built high power 2.4 or 5.2 stuff, the FCC's rules on how much power output means everyone builds low power stuff... I'm not even talking a finished product, the raw transmitter is hard to get your hands on, you would pretty much have to build it yourself from scratch.

 

[Bill]

After reading through this thread I can just see the possibility that someone will make a really bad, "What did you do today" post that will go something like:

"Welp...I went to jail because yesterday I heard some buzzing out back and saw several bright lights and got to thinkin' it was those drones. So, I got the rifle, laser cannon, and the gps jammer out of the closet. First, I tried blind the thing with the laser cannon, but it fired right back at me. Then I took a shot at one with the rifle and it descended into the darkness someplace. Then I got the laser jammer out and watched two of em fly into each other. About twenty minutes later the wife asked me who the people in the black cars with dark tinted windows were doing. Then came the military trucks, then suddenly three flash bang things came through the window along with a smoke bomb. It turned that the first drone was a military helicopter that I shot down and the gps jammer caused two airliners to collide. I think I really messed up so bad this time that the Feds aren't going ever let me out. All I wanted to do is defend my Ford Ranger from the government...."

 

[JoshT]

I want some. Don't care if I ever shoot it, I just want to say that I've got DU shotgun shells at home. No rifle/pistol rounds, shotgun ammo only please.

Actually, I'm thinking thats a pretty light load considering the material. DU is dense, 1 3/8 oz of it isn't a lot. I'm thinking there's going to be a lot of empty space and not very much shot. Compared to same sized steel shot load they're going to have around 1/3-1/2 of the number of pellets. Don't seem like it would have a good shot density for hitting a the intended type of target. (I know the stuff was probably an old April Fools joke and I'm over analyzing it.)

After reading through this thread I can just see the possibility that someone will make a really bad, "What did you do today" post that will go something like:

"Welp...I went to jail because yesterday I heard some buzzing out back and saw several bright lights and got to thinkin' it was those drones. So, I got the rifle, laser cannon, and the gps jammer out of the closet. First, I tried blind the thing with the laser cannon, but it fired right back at me. Then I took a shot at one with the rifle and it descended into the darkness someplace. Then I got the laser jammer out and watched two of em fly into each other. About twenty minutes later the wife asked me who the people in the black cars with dark tinted windows were doing. Then came the military trucks, then suddenly three flash bang things came through the window along with a smoke bomb. It turned that the first drone was a military helicopter that I shot down and the gps jammer caused two airliners to collide. I think I really messed up so bad this time that the Feds aren't going ever let me out. All I wanted to do is defend my Ford Ranger from the government...."

Damn it, I was saving that plan for New Years Eve celebration. Now it doesn't sound like such a good idea.

 

[sgtsandman]

thats what we need. someone to put instructions online for jamming that stuff.

and then the MPs would show up at my house because i am in the fly zone where only military and approved flights can go because of how close i live to the navy base. i would probably be jamming something else too


pros are free blue angles shows, cons are base traffic since i am .75 from the main gate.

Most of the stuff reported in NJ is along flight corridors. So, jammers would be interfering with more than the drones. Plus, if they are government drones, they probably aren't using commercial frequencies.

Being that they have navigation lights, and they have them on, they have to be of US origin. I doubt foreign countries would give two $#!ts about proper navigation lighting. In any case, one way or another, you are messing with the government and if they triangulate when you are jamming from, will paying you a visit with papers and a court date at minimum.

 

[pjtoledo]

time for a story, and a true one at that.

back in the early 80's I was a field service tech working for a company that monitored pre-internet computer communications.
we had equipment placed in data centers of large corporations, got me into some interesting places.
the tech in I think Dallas gets a call, something wrong come in ASAP.
What's wrong? don't know, get here NOW!

the guy walks in and is immediately slapped in handcuffs by the FBI/Secret Service, don't remember which.
they were very serious with this guy, not the least bit happy.

back in the 80's large scale integration circuit boards were still in the early stages, not a lot of "other concerns" were sorted out yet.
turns out the president was going to be in town soon and when the Feds were doing their security sweep stuff
they had an issue with a signal jamming one of their frequencies and tracked it down to not only the equipment this guy
was responsible for but even the specific circuit board that was doing the errant broadcasting.
remember, this is in Dallas and the JFK assassination was still fresh in their minds.

right about the same time the factory in Florida was getting visited too, specifically the engineering/development guys.
after some time it was determined the emissions were purely coincidental and the tech was released.
the feds then left, with the offending circuit board.

there is nothing new about tracking & identifying unknown transmissions, the Feds have been doing it for decades.

my time in the Army, mid 70's, was spent in large comm centers that monitored radio teletype and other signals world wide.
remember, that was pre-internet times.

moral of the story, if there is something strange flying around, it is being monitored

 

[Jim Oaks]

 

[pjtoledo]

thats what we need. someone to put instructions online for jamming that stuff.

and then the MPs would show up at my house because i am in the fly zone where only military and approved flights can go because of how close i live to the navy base. i would probably be jamming something else too


pros are free blue angles shows, cons are base traffic since i am .75 from the main gate.

get an old car with really crappy plug wires, leave one hanging.
for best results throw in some pure copper plugs, none of that resistor stuff.

 

[Bill]

the specific circuit board that was doing the errant broadcasting

moral of the story, if there is something strange flying around, it is being monitored

It's called and unintentional or incidental radiator. FCC Part 15 is one of the sections these devices fall under. You have probably seen the Part 15 device stickers on gadgets:

(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

It means a device must not cause interference to a licensed radio operator and the user of the device has no real legal remedies if they receive interference from a licensed source. This is assuming the licensee is using good engineering practices. In practice it works like this. If a ham radio signal overloads their neighbor's television receiver which is a Part 15 device, they must accept the intereference. However, if an oscillator in the television is radiating and causing interference to the ham radio operator, or any other licensed radio service, the person who owns the TV must resolve the interference. The TV is experiencing problems because the receiver wasn't designed properly. In the case of computer equipment, the same thing applies. There are ways to reduce or eliminate unwanted EMI from the circuit boards. A licensed transmitter can cause out of band interference. If that is the cause the licensee must resolve it. Most of the time the neighbors complaining about ham radio or CB interference simply have a device that wasn't designed to reject those signals.

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.ecfr.gov

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.ecfr.gov

 

[Bill]

The military probably doesn't care. The people in the Pentagon are probably laughing at everyone getting all worked up about it.

 

[2011Supercab]

Mystery Solved

Found on another site

 

[Snoranger]

 

[Jim Oaks]

One theory is that there's radioactive material missing in New Jersey and these drones are being used to search for it. That may be the most likely reason, but I don't know why the government doesn't just say so.