Welcome DJI Spark Pilot!
Jump in and join our free Spark community today!
Sign up

Onboard SDR for Communicating with ATC

Good idea?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, I'm too scared to talk to ATC

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, It'll never work!

    Votes: 2 100.0%

  • Total voters
    2

Tenchi_my

New Member
Join
May 31, 2018
Messages
2
Age
35
I have this notion that the FAA doesn't truly want to regulate drones to the point that the just don't have to deal with them anymore. I think their problem is that this is new to them and they just don't really know HOW to deal with them, and are willing to accept any valuable input that would help them develop reasonable regulation. The fact that people have sucessfully filed for part 107 waivers adds validity to this idea.

That being said, I feel like one of the biggest problems facing drone pilots is their inability to communicate with ATC when flying in or around controlled airspace. I've drawn some squiggly lines in MS paint to help illustrate my idea for something that might help alleviate this issue. If the FAA wants us to think like manned aircraft pilots, which can be assumed from the items on the part 107 test, why shouldn't we be able to communicate the same as them?

Below is my idea illustrated poorly. In essence, the drone would have an onboard SDR to transmit and receive on the VHF Aviation band. SDRs are quite small these days, and you're only looking at about 5-10 watts of spontaneous power needed for transmission. When not transmitting, the power consumption would be almost negligible. The SDR could then be linked to the controller via WiFi, where a pilot could have a handheld speaker/mic combo with an LCD and controls to tune the SDR and talk to ATC as necessary.

There are of course a lot of variables here. This isn't even considering how one would design and mount an appropriate antenna on the drone for VHF operation, but I don't see that as a major factor. Some of the larger drones could easily carry COTS aviation antennas that already exist, but I'm sure a more streamlined, drone specific add-on or manufacturer integration would be the better option.

Thoughts?
 
There is some talk that this may become necessary at some point, especially for commercial drones which may operate in controlled airspace.

In the DIY long range FPV community, there have been UHF transponders available for a while, which can transmit location or other details while in flight. These are not official though.

I think the one big point that is missed is that drones should not be operated in controlled airspace, and generally shouldn't be flown into the same paths as general aviation. Keep it under 400ft in almost any area and you should never interfere with general aviation. Of course, exceptions exist (helicopters on approach, paramotors) but those are the exception. Generally, there is no need for a recreational pilot to fly in the same space as general aviation, ever.

Professional/commercial RPAS operators should be willing to navigate the regulatory hurdles to earn money safely.
 
I agree with you completely. I'm not expecting a recreational pilot to have to deal with this at all. I'm strictly speaking of being a licensed sUAS pilot flying commercially under part 107.

I know this is the spark forum, but I do intend on getting licensed and flying commercially for my employer to do radio tower inspections. I'm taking the test next week, wish me luck.

This is more or less just a thought experiment that came up as I was researching the regulations that even a licensed commercial sUAS pilot is subject to at this point in time. It seems to me that there are ways to make flying in areas that are currently restricted safer and more streamlined. This is just an idea that I thought was worth looking into in that regard.

You can buy handheld aviation radios now that would essentially do the same thing, however you're dealing with a lot more objects on ground level that would degrade your signal to the tower. Putting it on the drone would make it a lot more effective.
 
  • Like
Reactions: suprPHREAK
First off, good luck with the test!

Second, it's a great thought! As the skies get more crowded with drones doing jobs that GA currently do, there will be more and more need for systems that facilitate safe sharing of the airspace.

There has been discussion about drones needing TCAS or similar. DJI' Aeroscope tech could be used in other ways to communicate position to towers and aircraft as well. It will be quite interesting what happens in the future!
 
Folks, understand a few things.

FAR Part 101.41 operations are basically granted because of section 336 of Public Law 112-95. IMO as it sits it is poorly written and needs improvement. If you take this FAR into consideration along with the original text of section 336 as well as the FAA's original policy letter on sUAV regulation and enforcement, the bottom line is you need to keep your hobby drones out of controlled airspace, and this would include Class E above 700' and 1200' respectively and around active Class E airports. The FAA is not going to accommodate a hobby (no matter how hard organizations like the AMA lobby congress) if there's a perceived threat of the airline flying public being endangered by hobby drones.

Stay out of controlled airspace unless authorized. LAANC will take care of most of the issues for 107 operators.
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
14,593
Messages
118,799
Members
17,987
Latest member
csdisme