Beacon for a cat: so that no one gets lost. Homemade search beacons for models Radio beacon for search
Fast delivery: sending goods from warehouses in Russia
Rockwell B7+ is a new modification of the famous Rockwell B7 beacon from 1Slon, it has some additional functions that were not present in the previous version.
It is an analogue radio beacon for searching for missing aircraft, ground vehicles, animals, etc. at a distance of up to several kilometers*. Analog versus digital beacons do not require the purchase of special search devices , an ordinary portable radio station (walkie-talkie) will do, which many people already have in their household or can borrow from a friend for a day of flights. Connected to the beacon GPS receiver you can observe the position of the beacon on the screen of your smartphone or tablet.
What are search devices used for? Any aircraft model can fall or make an emergency landing. Low batteries, signal loss, electronic or mechanical failure, pilot error, etc. It could be a simple copter, paraglider, glider, trainer plane, which you unsuccessfully landed in tall grass or a wheat field and cannot find. Or maybe an expensive FPV model or a professional multi-rotor flying platform that ended up on the ground tens of kilometers from the pilot.
To work with the beacon, LPD, PMR, FRS, GMRS standards are suitable, having 69, 8, 15 or 22 channels, such as: Kenwood, Motorola, Midland, Voxtel, HYT, ICOM, YAESU, BaoFeng UV-5R, UV -B6, BF-888S, TG-UV2, Wouxun KG-UVD1P, etc. Before purchasing, be sure to check the frequency range of your future radio station. CB standard radio stations with 40 (60, 80, 160 or more) channels are strictly UNSUITABLE.
To search, the beacon broadcasts groups of 5 sound tones with gradually decreasing power (and different tones). The most powerful (first) tone can be heard at a distance of more than 5 kilometers. The weakest is at a distance of 20-50 meters. The more different tones you hear in the speaker of the walkie-talkie, the closer the beacon is to you. At the same time, you can use the signal strength indicator (RSSI), if your radio has one.
Nearby (when all successive sound tones are heard), the “Callback” function will help you find the beacon with an accuracy of 30-40 cm. How does it work? When you hear successive different tones from the speaker, without waiting for the tones to finish, press the transmit button on the radio and hold it for 3-4 seconds. In response, the desired beacon will broadcast sound signals, thus telling you how well it hears the radio. The fewer signals in the beacon's response, the closer the beacon.
Lighthouse position on the map. To show the position of the beacon on the map, use an iPhone or Android gadget. Launch the program and bring your smartphone to the speaker of the radio at the moment when the beacon transmits its coordinates, altitude, speed - you will see where the beacon is located. Owners of Android phones can broadcast the location (and flight track) of the beacon to a map on the Internet (via the service http://tracker.habhub.org/) for joint observation or search. For more details, see the chapter “Setting up programs on a smartphone” full instructions, available at the link below. If you don’t have a smartphone, the beacon will transmit coordinates in Morse code, which can be received by ear. To obtain coordinates, you need an external GPS receiver (including one included in the autopilot or OSD), to which the beacon is connected
Fast start
1) Power Supply: The beacon can be connected to a 5 or 6 volt RC receiver or BEC power supply (+ to pin 3, - to pin 4 of the beacon), or you can use a LiPo or LiFe battery (+ to pin 1, - to pin 2 beacon), and you can also connect them simultaneously (then the battery will start working only when the main power is turned off).
2) Setting up: the purchased beacon must be configured to your radio station. To do this, turn on the radio and set it to a channel or frequency that is free from other users. Press and hold the button on the beacon, apply power to the beacon without releasing the button. Wait until the LED on the beacon lights up (not to be confused with blinking!), then at a distance of 20-40 cm from the beacon, press the transmit button on the radio station and do not release until the LED goes out. (This procedure is needed only once; subsequently the beacon remembers the configured channel). When you release the transmit button on the radio, you will hear an iridescent tone in the speaker indicating successful setup. You can now release the beacon button.
3) Operation: the beacon remembers the frequency (channel) of your radio station and starts working. Now it transmits search tones every 10 seconds (the LED lights up for 2 seconds and then there are 1 to 3 short flashes indicating the battery status), GPS coordinates (if connected) every 45 seconds (while the LED flashes quickly for 15 seconds). In this mode it will work for as long as desired,
Repeater. The "Repeater" function will help you quickly find a lost beacon over a very large area (tens or even hundreds of square kilometers) using another similar beacon mounted on a model aircraft or UAV. Just enable the "Repeater" function in the settings, attach the beacon to the drone and launch it. Now, when the repeater beacon hears the signal from any other Rockwell B7+ beacon, it will transmit it to your radio station (and you will see it on the smartphone map). You will hear your repeater beacon up to 10-15 km in the air, and it will be able to hear the lost beacon from a distance of up to 3-4 km.
The fundamental differences from analogues from other manufacturers are mechanical strength, reliability, impact resistance and moisture resistance, as well as remote control beacon from a free channel of the RC receiver.
* Range of several millimeters - with direct visibility between the antennas. The maximum range of a possible search is extremely strongly influenced by the following local conditions: the height of the beacon above the ground, the terrain, the level of radio interference, soil moisture, height and density of vegetation
Characteristics:
Frequency range 430-470 MHz
- Frequency setting step - 250 Hz.
- Radiation power from 100 mW to 0.1 mW
- Modulation type - narrowband FM
- Information transmission options - RTTY, Morse code, tone parcels of varying power.
- Supply voltage from 2.5 to 6 volts
- Current consumption - up to 130 mA per pulse.
- Average current consumption - 1 mA (depending on operating modes)
- Operating temperature range -20 +45 degrees.
- Dimensions 17*23*5 mm
- Weight 1.4 grams
Dimensions and weight are given without taking into account connectors, antenna and final protective coating.
Search systems allow you to save time and effort when searching for a model, turning the search into an interesting process. You no longer need to worry about the possible loss of the model, just activate search engines and go get the model. Even if someone carries away the fallen model, the search beacon will indicate its location to you.
How do GPS beacons help find stolen cars? Most of the time, such devices are in a sleeping position and practically do not consume battery energy (the charge usually lasts for 1.5-3 years, depending on the chosen model). When devices are in this state, they cannot be “detected” by any device used by hijackers. They turn on once a day in order to determine their location. You can “contact” the GPS beacon by sending an SMS with a command. Having received such a message, the device will be able to send you the necessary data, such as the coordinates of its position, speed and direction of movement, and also, often, a link to a map. All this information makes it much easier to catch the thief and return the car. At the same time, by sending additional commands, you can change the frequency at which the GPS tracker turns on and receive messages once every 10 minutes or once an hour (but remember that if the device turns on too often, it can be detected using a signal detector).
Therefore use GPS beacons together with a good alarm system, it reliably protects your car from thieves. And even if the attacker managed to drive away in your car, you can always track the location of the car and return it. GPS beacon is a search device designed to periodically determine the GPS coordinates of an object’s location.
A GPS/Glonass tracking beacon is installed in a car (or any other movable object) so that it is hidden from prying eyes. The search beacon is usually no larger than a matchbox, so it can be hidden anywhere.
The lighthouse can also operate from on-board network, and autonomously up to 3 years - depending on the model and operating conditions.
MS application TX-9 justified in cases where the main beacons cannot operate on such simple reasons like absence mobile network GSM or deliberate long-term jamming of these signals, or the presence of a stolen car in an area where it is not possible to determine exact satellite coordinates, or if it is a completely enclosed area. The MS TX-9 can operate autonomously, but its range is quite limited. Therefore, you should know that the most effective use of the device is achieved when working with other components of the search system.
The lighthouse is made in the form of a compact block with additional food, which is installed in a secret location. In a quiet state, the unit only acts on reception and does not emit virtually any radio signals, which makes it impossible for scanning equipment to find it. If a request is received from a special device via an encrypted radio channel, TX-9 broadcasts a special secret signal, which is received and decrypted by the search key fob; the distance between the TX-9 and the search key fob is oriented according to the signal strength. It is recommended that every car owner acquire such a device, for his own safety and for complete peace of mind for his vehicle, which every driver values very much.
Search radio beacon operating without the use of GSM communication technology. Can be used as an addition to traditional beacons and bookmarks using GSM networks. Uses its own radio channel, completely protected from jammers or jammers.
Application TX-9 justified in cases where standard GPS/GSM beacons cannot work for objective reasons, for example: complete absence of signals cellular network GSM or deliberate long-term jamming of these signals, or the presence of a stolen car in a place where it is impossible to determine exact satellite coordinates (closed premises). The beacon can operate independently, but its range is limited. Therefore, it should be understood that the most effective use of TX-9 is achieved when working together with other components of the MS-Poisk system, using existing GPS/GSM security data.
Operating principle
- Search beacon TX-9
The TX-9 is a compact, back-up power unit that is discreetly installed in a vehicle. IN normal condition The unit works only for reception and does not emit any radio signals, which does not allow it to be detected by scanning equipment. If a request is received from a special device (search key fob) via an encrypted radio channel, the TX-9 begins to broadcast a special encoded signal, which receives and decrypts the search key fob. The signal strength determines the distance between the TX-9 and the search key fob. - Search keychain
The search key fob is a transceiver with an LCD display and control buttons. This keychain is included in the set of the Griffin security and anti-theft complex. Any Griffin keychain can be used to work with any TX-9 search beacon.
If it is necessary to search for a stolen car, the TX-9 radio beacon code is entered into the search key fob and a search command is executed, after which a coded radio signal is emitted into the air. If it is possible to receive this signal, the TX-9 begins to emit a response coded radio signal. The search key fob receives this radio signal and displays on the LCD display the distance to the car in conventional units corresponding to the level of the received signal in a specific place and under specific reception conditions. Thus, following the readings of the LCD display of the search key fob, you can determine the location of the wanted car with high accuracy without the use of GPS/GSM technologies. - Working as part of the MS-Search system
In the event of a car theft, the owner can act in two scenarios:- Contact a service company that by special means(a digital multi-channel receiver, more powerful and functional than a standard search key fob) will try to detect the encoded radio signal.
- Contact the owners of the Griffin system (and, accordingly, search key fobs) through a specially created online community and search for a car with their help.
Further steps to find the car using the above scenarios will allow you to detect the location of the car with an accuracy of 10 meters.
It should be understood that the TX-9 search beacon complements, but does not replace, the existing anti-theft complex with GPS/GSM technology, although it can work independently.
Last summer we became interested in FPV flights. We purchased the equipment, installed it on a time-tested 2.5-meter glider, made in-house, and took off. We lifted the glider into the air and after about three minutes, the radio control panel blew smoke. After the smoke from the control panel, we watched for quite a long time on monitor 14 the unhurried flight of the glider with a slight climb. According to OSD (cheap) at an altitude of 570m. and a distance of 1580m. The video from the monitor disappeared completely. In short, this is what happened after this incident.
Last summer we became interested in FPV flights. We purchased the equipment, installed it on a time-tested 2.5-meter glider, made in-house, and took off. They flew away all summer, and in the fall they received a gift. We lifted the glider into the air and after about three minutes, the radio control panel blew smoke. There was an EagleTree Guardian Flight Stabilizer on board, which took over control, plus an incorrectly set Failsafe, 25 percent of thrust on the engine when the signal was lost, and the model's straight flight. In short, after the smoke from the control panel, we watched for quite a long time on monitor 14, the unhurried flight of the glider with a slight climb. According to OSD (cheap) at an altitude of 570m. and a distance of 1580m. The video from the monitor disappeared completely. Two weeks of daily searches yielded nothing. A month and a half later, we received an SMS from a mushroom picker on our phone; our son’s number was written in the battery compartment of the model. Small negotiations about remuneration and a model of the house. According to the Google map, from the take-off point to where the model lay (shown by the mushroom picker) is 20 km. 30 m.
The losses amounted to two batteries, a power 4000mAh 3S 30C, for electronics 1000mAh 2S 20C and a Mobius camera with a 32 GB flash drive, plus 1500 rubles. mushroom picker The model itself turned out to be completely intact.
After losing the model and unsuccessful searches, we decided to purchase GPS tracker or a radio beacon, but with our economy you can’t accelerate much, and you need to buy a camera, a battery again, and it’s advisable to order something else from the Middle Kingdom. And then one fine day I came to visit a friend in a car repair shop, a box caught my eye, and in it there were old car alarms. I began to ask him uncomfortable questions, about signal transmitters, about the range of their operation. In a word, I had a heart-to-heart talk with him, he is aware of my hobby, after the conversation he chose from the box what he might need, the rest he put into a bag with the words “try it, maybe it will work out.” 
At home, after sorting through this pile of spare parts, I found out that I have at my disposal 3 working receivers, 2 working transmitters and 3 receiver-transmitters, these are the units that are installed in the car. And a bunch of different key fobs, which, by the way, can also be used as a receiver or as a transmitter.
After comparing the carrier frequency, there were three transceivers, one receiver, two key fobs with a transmit-receive function and three key fobs, transmitters. 
At first I just wanted to assemble a regular tweeter with a turn-on delay on some kind of timer. I even made it for testing on an ancient 555LA3 microcircuit (I just caught my eye), but my son suggested trying to make a beacon on a microcontroller. He is studying to be a programmer at the institute and has already mastered the C language a little, and such practice will not hurt him. In short, this is what came out of it. 
For the beacon we used a block from the Sheriff alarm system, the one that is mounted on the windshield and was specially developed in the Sprint-Layout-6.0-RUS-Portable program printed circuit board for the controller (although we are now correcting the errors along the way). We decided to cram everything into the original case, for aesthetics, and more for durability. The body is made of fairly strong plastic. The beacon is controlled by an ATMEGA 8A microcontroller. True, I don’t yet have a small battery to fit in the case, but this can be fixed with time.
The functions of the beacon include:
Control and indication of battery charging. Charging occurs regardless of whether the T-shirt is turned on or not, and is controlled by a separate LTC4056-4.2v chip.
Turning the power on and off using the button initially present on the transmitter-receiver unit. At the same time, protection has been made against accidental switching on or off when the button is pressed incorrectly. Without knowing how to do this, you cannot turn it on or off. Also, due to the supposedly small capacity of the battery used (to fit inside the case), when the beacon is turned off, the atmega is also completely de-energized.
Indication of the on state. Short LED flashes.
Battery status indication. When turned on, it gives a certain sound signal corresponding to the battery voltage.
Three operating modes, switchable from the transmitter/receiver in the hands.
1 Standby mode. The beacon is waiting for a signal from the transmitter. Once every 30 seconds, transmits the battery status via the telemetry channel (can be displayed on the OSD audio channel)
2 Long-distance search mode. Turns on the transmitter and broadcasts a signal about the battery status. Using it, using a directional antenna, the direction to the beacon can be easily determined.
3 Near search mode. The sound mode turns on and displays the same battery status. The beacon can be heard 30-50 meters away, depending on conditions.
The receiver with a directional antenna was made on the basis of the A.P.S. alarm unit. A piece of copper wire, an old cassette player (they pulled out the pre-amplifier from there), Chinese speakers from a computer (the transformer burned out once), and a breadboard for Atmega8 (my son made it for a course paper) 
The functions of the receiver are to listen to the broadcast and transmit a certain signal when one of three buttons is pressed. By the way, the same Atmega8 is installed inside.
In the future it will be built into the receiver.
1 battery charge, while I’m using an external one, I want to install LiIo from my phone in the future.
2 Battery status indication is required.
3 We are thinking about what can be done to indicate the strength of the received signal, but so far nothing good is happening (the air is too polluted).
And the most interesting thing is that my son is now trying to add firmware so that the beacon will receive GPS coordinates from the OSD and transmit them on the air, or transmit the last coordinates it received if the connection with the GPS suddenly breaks. And it’s natural to display them on the receiver, either on the screen or on a digital display. As an option, we are considering using the HC-05 Bluetooth module on the phone screen.
In short, now we have a working beacon on our hands.
After testing it became clear. The beacon lying on the ground (snow) turns on from 600-700 meters, this is in a cottage village, through all the houses and iron fences (you can’t get into the field yet). The antenna was in the hands at waist level. You can hear it in the receiver at 2 kilometers, we just didn’t go further, there’s no point, because the switching on occurs at a shorter distance. Probably the transmitter in the beacon turned out to be more powerful. At a distance of 100 -150 meters it is difficult to determine the direction of the signal. We need to think about something and add a mode with reduced transmitter power to more easily determine the direction to the lighthouse at a distance of 100 -200 meters.
I didn’t take any photos during production and didn’t intend to write an article. We decided to write after the test. All photos were taken after the beacon was manufactured and tested.
Maybe someone will find this idea useful. All the signaling units that I have at my disposal operate on 5 volts, and they produce a digital signal that is not suitable for listening to headphones. I had to look for an analog one on the board and pass it through a pre-amplifier, and then through an amplifier from the speakers for the computer. For broadcasting, it is enough to input a digital signal from a generator with an amplitude of 4-4.5 volts.
One block (transmitter) began to transmit analog (music) on the air.
Keys, phone, backpack, glasses case, wallet, business card holder - there are many small things in our lives that make life easier and get lost at the most inopportune times. How many times, when getting ready for work in the morning, have you rushed hysterically around the house, trying to remember where you threw your car keys the day before? Have you ever come home in the evening, poured a cup of hot tea and sat down in a chair in anticipation of a calm, relaxing TV viewing... and couldn’t find the TV remote control. Not to mention the cats, dogs, and, to be honest, small, curious children who are always trying to escape. This will never happen again. In our store you can find various models of search key fobs (beacons, tags), buy miniature devices and make life easier for yourself and your loved ones.
With the help of tiny beacons, the user is able to track the location of objects in real time. For a search key fob, radio beacon, or tag, the price is determined depending on the functionality. Search devices differ in operating frequency ranges, reading device power, reading errors or omissions, signal range, number of codes, type and power source, design and execution. When purchasing, activate the promotional code and receive discounts on the search key fob and radio beacon.
The characteristics recommended for search key fobs, tags, and radio beacons are based on radio frequency and acoustomagnetic identification technology, providing a high probability of tag identification. The review posted on our website for each search key fob and radio beacon examines in detail the capabilities of the devices.
Search key fobs and radio beacons are sold in the form of a set consisting of a receiving and reading device and a radio tag or radio stickers synchronized with mobile device. Thanks to convenient ways fixation, the tag can be attached to almost any surface. Home search engines have widest range applications - in industry, warehouses, medicine, libraries, for tracking pets, luggage, localizing a wide variety of objects online. Read the descriptions of search key fobs, radio beacons, and customer reviews before making your final choice.
A module is integrated into the search tag, key fob, radio beacon wireless communication. Most often, manufacturers integrate an energy-saving Bluetooth module into the sticker Bluetooth standard Low Energy version 4.0. The radio beacon interfaces with the mobile gadget and is detected through the application interface.
In the search kit application settings, you can set critical range values. As soon as the reading device moves away from the object to which the tag is attached beyond the programmed limits or range of the Bluetooth signal, a warning alert is sent to the owner’s phone. This function You can disable it and leave only manual search initiation. In this case, to find the lost item, the user needs to enter the application and click the “Search” button.
If the tag is within the “visibility” of the receiver, the application displays information about the location of the lost one. The program can implement audio prompts for detecting a tag, which work on the principle of increasing or decreasing the volume of the signal depending on the approach to the radio beacon. Visual indicators operate on a similar principle; they become brighter and fuller if the user moves towards the mark and, conversely, fade and become smaller if the seeker moves away from the target. Most of all, this technology is reminiscent of the children's game of “hot and cold.” Our website presents budget models of search key fobs and radio beacons, which can be purchased in various versions and configurations.
The most affordable models of search kits operate on replaceable, non-rechargeable batteries that provide several months of operation for search key fobs and radio beacons. In the application settings, you can identify from one to several dozen tags. Some models of search kits carry out two-way interactive data exchange between the tag and the receiver, the ability to save the last known coordinates on the map. Even more advanced search beacons can be used to search third-party smartphones, even without the knowledge of their owners. The principle of operation is based on the activation of an alarm signal when the tag is removed from the reception area. In this case, the signal from the lost tag is picked up by any device on which a proprietary application is installed that happens to be in sight. The coordinates of the beacon are sent to the Internet, and from there they are forwarded to the owner of the tag. The price for such search key fobs and radio beacons is higher than for other search systems, but the level of security of such kits is higher.
Modern search stickers have the advantages inherent in industrial search beacons, but at the same time they have a price accessible to the average consumer. Latest models search kits offer systems in which the location of the tag is determined using cellular communication. For such a sticker, the distance from the receiver is not a priority - the tag will be detected in any place where there is a signal from a cell tower.
Search key fobs and radio beacons with built-in GPS module will undoubtedly be appreciated by pet owners. This tracker can be attached to a bicycle, backpack, scooter and other valuable items. Car owners will appreciate radio beacons that operate via a GSM network and support the GPRS protocol. Our store sells search key fobs and multifunctional radio beacons that combine the capabilities of a search sticker, charger, and flash drives.