Drone video (experimental)
Many FPV drones send their camera picture as analog video on the 5.8 GHz band, with no encryption. With a HackRF on the rig tuned to a drone’s channel, DroneTracker shows what the drone sees, live, in black and white. The rig only listens; it never transmits.
Experimental. The decoding is built and tested on simulated signals, but it has not yet been proven on a real drone.
Digital video links (DJI, Walksnail, HDZero) cannot be shown: they are encrypted or proprietary. Those drones still show up as signals in the RF view’s 5.8 GHz waterfall.
What you need
- A HackRF One plugged into the rig.
- A 5.8 GHz antenna. Most FPV transmitters use circular polarization, so a circularly polarized antenna (right-hand is most common) hears them best.
While it receives drone video, the HackRF does nothing else.
Turning it on
Open Admin → Drone Video.
- Under Receiver, choose the Band and Channel. Each channel shows its frequency.
- Leave Gain on Automatic, or choose a fixed gain if the picture is noisy or keeps dropping.
- Click Save. The rig restarts its receiver; this takes a few seconds.
To turn it off, choose Off as the band and click Save.
Finding the channel
The page tunes one channel at a time. If you don’t know the drone’s channel:
- look for a drone signal in the RF view’s 5.8 GHz waterfall and pick the channel nearest it, or
- try the channels one by one.
Some carriers belong to two bands (for example F8 and R7 are both 5880 MHz); either choice tunes the same frequency.
Watching
Once the receiver runs, a camera named Drone video · channel (for example Drone video · F4 5800 MHz) appears under Picture on the page and in the camera list. Click Watch to open it on the main screen.
The picture is dark grey until a drone transmits on the channel. When the receiver locks on to a signal the drone’s picture appears, in black and white, and it goes back to dark grey when the signal is lost.
If no camera appears
If no Drone video camera appears within a minute of saving, open Admin → Services & Logs, show the log of the SDR forwarder, and look for lines starting with drone video:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SoapySDR is not installed | The rig is missing the HackRF software. Contact DroneTracker support. |
| receiver stopped (is the HackRF plugged in?) | The HackRF is unplugged or in use. Plug it in; the rig tries again by itself. |
| picture found / picture lost | The receiver is working; these mark a drone’s signal coming and going. |
A note on the law
Receiving unencrypted radio signals is generally lawful in the US, but recording and sharing what you receive can raise other questions. Check with your counsel before you rely on it.