Turn a $25 RTL-SDR dongle into a multi-protocol radio intelligence feed — pulling AIS vessel tracks, ADS-B/TIS-B aircraft, APRS positions, IoT sensor telemetry, and drone Remote ID directly into ATAK and DuckDB.
Software-Defined Radio (SDR) replaces traditional analog radio hardware with a low-cost USB receiver and digital signal processing in software. An RTL-SDR dongle — originally a cheap TV tuner — can receive signals across 25–1750 MHz, covering maritime, aviation, weather, IoT, and drone frequency bands. Combined with open-source decoders running on a laptop or Raspberry Pi, one dongle can simultaneously feed multiple ATAK data streams over the local network.
A single operator with a $25 RTL-SDR dongle, a laptop, and the Tactical AI DuckDB plugin can see every ship within VHF range, every transponder-equipped aircraft overhead, APRS positions from field teams on simplex radio, sensor readings from IoT deployments, and any drone broadcasting Remote ID — all as live ATAK markers, no external data subscription required.
Automatic Identification System (AIS) is the international maritime standard for vessel tracking. AIS transmits on VHF channels 87B and 88B (161.975 / 162.025 MHz). Any vessel over 300 gross tons internationally — or 65 feet in US waters — is required to carry AIS. Combined with RTL-SDR and an open-source decoder such as AIS-catcher or rtl-ais, the plugin receives decoded NMEA AIVDM sentences over UDP and plots vessels on the ATAK map in real time.
| AIS Message Type | Vessel Class | Data Extracted |
|---|---|---|
| Type 1, 2, 3 | Class A (commercial) | MMSI, lat/lon, SOG, COG, heading, nav status |
| Type 18 | Class B (recreational) | MMSI, lat/lon, SOG, COG |
| Type 5 | Class A static | Vessel name, call sign, destination, dimensions |
| Type 21 | Aids to Navigation | AtoN name, lat/lon, type |
Port security and coast guard teams use the SDR AIS feed to monitor vessel traffic without relying on a commercial AIS subscription. When integrated with the Vessel Tracking Service, the plugin maintains a full movement history for each MMSI in DuckDB, enabling after-action analysis of vessel behavior and anomaly detection for vessels going dark.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) is the FAA-mandated transponder system for aircraft. Aircraft broadcast position, altitude, velocity, and identity on 1090 MHz every second. TIS-B (Traffic Information Service–Broadcast) redistributes non-ADS-B radar targets on 978 MHz (UAT). The SDR receiver decodes both feeds and plots all aircraft as ATAK markers via the Aircraft Watch Service.
| Protocol | Frequency | Decoder | ATAK Transport |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADS-B 1090ES | 1090 MHz | dump1090 / readsb | TCP SBS-1 (port 30003) |
| TIS-B / UAT 978 | 978 MHz | dump978 | UDP JSON (port 30979) |
Forward operating teams with no access to a ground-based radar feed use RTL-SDR ADS-B to build their own local air picture inside ATAK. Aircraft overhead are shown as moving markers with callsign and altitude labels, giving teams situational awareness of aviation activity without a dedicated radar system.
Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) operates on 144.390 MHz (North America) and carries position reports, weather data, and short messages from amateur radio operators, emergency response volunteers, and field teams. APRS is widely used by CERT, ARES/RACES, and SAR teams. The plugin connects to a local TNC or Direwolf software modem via TCP (APRS-IS format) to receive decoded APRS frames and plot them as ATAK CoT markers.
SAR coordinators running a net on 144.390 MHz can see all APRS-equipped field teams as live ATAK markers without requiring cellular connectivity or a commercial tracking subscription. Direwolf decodes the audio from a handheld radio connected to a laptop, and the plugin picks up the APRS positions over TCP — a completely self-contained field-deployable setup.
rtl_433 is an open-source decoder that can decode over 1,100 different RF protocols from weather stations, power meters, soil moisture sensors, animal trackers, tire pressure monitors, and other unlicensed ISM-band devices (315/433/868/915 MHz). The plugin receives rtl_433 JSON output over UDP and logs every decoded packet to DuckDB. Sensor readings that include GPS coordinates are additionally plotted as ATAK markers.
| Sensor Category | Example Devices | Data Fields |
|---|---|---|
| Weather Stations | Acurite, La Crosse, Oregon Scientific | Temperature, humidity, wind, rain |
| Soil / Environmental | Soil moisture probes, CO2 sensors | Moisture %, temperature, gas ppm |
| Asset Trackers | GPS-equipped RF trackers | Lat/lon, battery, motion state |
| Utility Meters | Smart meters (ERT protocol) | Consumption readings, meter ID |
| Animal Tags | Wildlife tracking collars | Tag ID, signal strength |
Emergency managers deploying distributed weather stations across a wildfire perimeter use the IoT feed to aggregate all sensor readings into DuckDB. Temperature, humidity, and wind speed from dozens of $30 consumer weather stations are queried in real time to build a fire behavior model, without any cloud connectivity or commercial IoT platform.
FAA Remote ID is now mandatory for most drones flying in the US. Compliant drones broadcast a Bluetooth 5 (or Wi-Fi NAN) beacon containing the drone's ID, operator location, and flight telemetry. Using a Bluetooth-capable device and an OpenDroneID receiver (or a Wi-Fi SDR), the plugin decodes Remote ID broadcasts and displays every nearby drone as an ATAK marker with operator location and live position.
| Remote ID Field | Message Block | Use in ATAK |
|---|---|---|
| UAS ID / Serial | Basic ID | Marker callsign / label |
| Drone Lat/Lon/Alt | Location/Vector | Live ATAK marker position |
| Operator Lat/Lon | Location/Vector | Separate operator marker |
| Speed / Track | Location/Vector | Velocity vector overlay |
| Timestamp | Location/Vector | DuckDB track history |
Security teams monitoring a venue or critical infrastructure deploy a Remote ID receiver on the perimeter. Every drone within Bluetooth range that is broadcasting Remote ID appears on the ATAK map with its serial number, current position, and the location of the pilot — giving responders actionable intelligence on unauthorized drone activity without active RF jamming or complex counter-UAS hardware.
| Protocol | Default Port | Transport | External Decoder | ATAK Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIS (Maritime) | 10110 | UDP | AIS-catcher / rtl-ais | Vessel Tracking |
| ADS-B 1090 MHz | 30003 | TCP SBS-1 | dump1090 / readsb | Aircraft Watch |
| TIS-B / UAT 978 | 30979 | UDP JSON | dump978 | Aircraft Watch |
| APRS | 14580 | TCP APRS-IS | Direwolf TNC | CoT Messaging |
| IoT / rtl_433 | 1433 | UDP JSON | rtl_433 | DuckDB + CoT |
| Drone Remote ID | 4560 | UDP JSON | OpenDroneID receiver | CoT Messaging |