Kracken SDR (No Raspberry Pi)

[R22Beta]

I received my Kracken SDR this week and trying to make it work. From what I understand, I can run the Kracken SDR without a Raspberry Pi if connected directly to a PC.

There are not any directions to do this that I can find. I am assuming the DOA web interface directions are applicable in this case.

The issue is that when I type in http://<my computer IP address>:8080 it just gives an error "This site can't be reached".

Is this the correct way to use the Kracken without a Raspberry Pi? I didn't think a USB device had an IP address so I am confused how it is supposed to connect this way.

 

[slicerwizard]

Pretty sure you're supposed to run the RDF software in a VM on your PC. IIRC, there's a downloadable image that you can run.

 

[HarbingerSe7en]

I've connected mine via WSL and running the script from the official Github. Works great using 22.04 Ubuntu.

 

[R22Beta]

Albany PD uses this system SW 7 County Interoperable Public Safety Radio Partnership Trunking System, Eugene, Oregon

The vhf freq is still licensed to APD, they may have repeaters still up on that freq unknown tho.

I've connected mine via WSL and running the script from the official Github. Works great using 22.04 Ubuntu.

Thanks, That is actually much more helpful than it might seem. The directions are lacking quite a bit on this and it made it sound like I was just accessing the Kracken through the browser without having to install any app on the host PC.

I have never ran python scripts before so please bear with me

I see on github there is this "kracken_web_interface.py"

krakensdr_doa/_UI/_web_interface at main · krakenrf/krakensdr_doa

Contribute to krakenrf/krakensdr_doa development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I couldn't figure out how to download it, but it looks like I need to download the entire project as a zip file. When I get the zip file there is no .py in the web interface folder. Can you tell me how you get and run the script?

FYI, I did just download python 3.10 and install it.

 

[HarbingerSe7en]

Thanks, That is actually much more helpful than it might seem. The directions are lacking quite a bit on this and it made it sound like I was just accessing the Kracken through the browser without having to install any app on the host PC.

I have never ran python scripts before so please bear with me

I see on github there is this "kracken_web_interface.py"

krakensdr_doa/_UI/_web_interface at main · krakenrf/krakensdr_doa

Contribute to krakenrf/krakensdr_doa development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I couldn't figure out how to download it, but it looks like I need to download the entire project as a zip file. When I get the zip file there is no .py in the web interface folder. Can you tell me how you get and run the script?

FYI, I did just download python 3.10 and install it.

The script will install any and all dependencies for a manual install.

Home

Documentation and Wiki for KrakenSDR. Contribute to krakenrf/krakensdr_docs development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Follow that link and use whichever script applies to your system, most likely the x86_x64 one. I do recommend starting with a system like a RPi if it's your first time using something such as the KrakenSDR, though. It helps keep things simple but also gives you an idea of how it all works.

 

[R22Beta]

The script will install any and all dependencies for a manual install.

Home

Documentation and Wiki for KrakenSDR. Contribute to krakenrf/krakensdr_docs development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Follow that link and use whichever script applies to your system, most likely the x86_x64 one. I do recommend starting with a system like a RPi if it's your first time using something such as the KrakenSDR, though. It helps keep things simple but also gives you an idea of how it all works.

So on that link the first part says the scripts will install "all dependencies and the DOA and PR software packages in krakensdr_doa and krakensdr_pr folders." I do not see those folders anywhere. Are they supposed to be in the zip file I downloaded from github? The only folder that is close to that is the main folder "kraken_doa-main"

The next part says "Start the software with the start scripts in the krakensdr_doa and krakensdr_pr folders." but I am not sure what software I should be starting? So far I have not successfully installed any kraken software.

Again, I have never used python before so I feel like I am probably misunderstanding something that should be pretty obvious to somebody who has used it before.

 

[HarbingerSe7en]

So on that link the first part says the scripts will install "all dependencies and the DOA and PR software packages in krakensdr_doa and krakensdr_pr folders." I do not see those folders anywhere. Are they supposed to be in the zip file I downloaded from github? The only folder that is close to that is the main folder "kraken_doa-main"

The next part says "Start the software with the start scripts in the krakensdr_doa and krakensdr_pr folders." but I am not sure what software I should be starting? So far I have not successfully installed any kraken software.

Again, I have never used python before so I feel like I am probably misunderstanding something that should be pretty obvious to somebody who has used it before.

Which OS are you running?

 

[R22Beta]

I have been trying with both Windows and Mint linux. I'm much more comfortable with Windows than Linux though.

 

[HarbingerSe7en]

Are you using VirtualBox or VMware?

Edit: I should add that the KrakenSDR doesn't natively work in Windows. You will need to use some form of Linux to get it operational, whether it's a baremetal install, a VM, or WSL.

 

[R22Beta]

Are you using VirtualBox or VMware?

Edit: I should add that the KrakenSDR doesn't natively work in Windows. You will need to use some form of Linux to get it operational, whether it's a baremetal install, a VM, or WSL.

Sounds good, I will use my linux machine from now on (it wasn't clear to me that it wouldn't work in windows since I thought it was just accessing the device via a web interface)

If I am using a linux machine will I still have to do the virtual machine? I did install the Virtualbox, but it looked like I would have to split my resources up to run it which seemed kind of inefficient.

 

[HarbingerSe7en]

The server must be run on a Linux machine, whether it's a Pi, other SBC, or PC running Linux. But you are correct in that the server can be accessed from any machine such as Android, iOS, Windows, etc. You won't need a VM if you run the server on a baremetal Linux machine.

 

[royldean]

Assuming you are running this on an x86 linux machine (and this is for Ubuntu, not sure how different mint would be):

open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

This will update your machine with all the latest stuff. If not updated in a while, this could take a long time. Just let it run until it completes.

Then run the following commands:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/krakenrf/krakensdr_docs/main/install_scripts/krakensdr_x86_install_doa_pr.sh

sudo chmod +x krakensdr_x86_install_doa_pr.sh

./krakensdr_x86_install_doa_pr.sh

This will install the KrakenSDR software. This will also take a long time. Once it is complete, I recommend rebooting (you may HAVE to reboot, not sure). After that, just re-open a terminal and enter the following commands:

cd krakensdr_doa

./krakensdr_doa_start.sh

And the server will start. I've found that it takes about a minute before the web server comes online.

 

[cadour]

Hi,
I just acquired a KrakenSDR out of interest for the passive radar project but unfortunately the git folders are no longer there. Anybody have a copy they can zip and provide?

Much appreciated

Thanks

 

[royldean]

FYI, from the Kraken Forums:

This really sucks to say after putting so much effort into it, but for regulatory reasons that have just come to light we’ve had to remove the open source passive radar code that we previously provided.

We’re currently consulting with legal experts to see in what capacity we can re-release it, if at all, but unfortunately it’s not looking good. At the moment because this is all stuff for lawyers and not us technical people to figure out we can’t say much more. Once we have concrete information on what’s happening we’ll put out an official update, but this could take months to figure out.

If we end up in a situation were we can’t legally provide passive radar code anymore we’ll accept returns of the device on any customers who ordered specifically for experimenting with the passive radar code that we advertised.

 

[cadour]

FYI, from the Kraken Forums:

Well that's just great!

 

[dave3825]

FYI, from the Kraken Forums

And from Hackaday,

Open-Source Passive Radar Taken Down For Regulatory Reasons

Open-source technology brings a world that laws and regulations are not quite prepared for. As a result, every now and then, open projects need to work around governmental regulations. In today&#82…

hackaday.com

 

[btt]

FYI, from the Kraken Forums:

Let me guess, this all started because some ***hole sent them an email saying you can't do that. My guess is that it wasn't even someone from a regulatory agency. It was some loser that has nothing better to do. They should have hit delete and kept going until they couldn't anymore.

 

[royldean]

Hmm, reading the ITAR regulations is painful. There are a ton of references to "passive radar", however. Bummer.