Build Your Own passive Radar + Home security

Build Your Own passive Radar (free software)

A Passive Radar is a cheap, reliable but perfect radar. ( and it will not cost you the price of the army radar : 200 000 dollar )

You can build your own radar using open source software and relatively cheap off the shelf hardware.

What you need :
* Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) (US$700) (usb or ethernet , ethernet is faster : better)
* Gnu radio ' free software)

Related article :
* Homemade Passive Radar System (GNU/Radar)
* Build your radar

At the moment, I am verifying if gnu radar really does passive radar detection : but nevermind : this is at least a radar.

Advantages and disadvantages of passive radar :

Advocates of the technology cite the following advantages:

* Lower procurement cost
* Lower costs of operation and maintenance, due to the lack of transmitter and moving parts
* Covert operation, including no need for frequency allocations
* Physically small and hence easily deployed in places where conventional radars cannot be
* Capabilities against stealth aircraft due to the frequency bands and multistatic geometries employed
* Rapid updates, typically once a second
* Difficulty of jamming
* Resilience to anti-radiation missiles
* impossibility to detect the radar, and impossibility to destroy all radar sources(third-party illuminators).

Opponents of the technology cite the following disadvantages:
* Immaturity
* Reliance on third-party illuminators
* Complexity of deployment
* 2D operation

Build Your Own Home security (free software)

"Ever wanted to know what your kids are doing when you are not at home? Do you want to be notified whenever someone stumbles into your garden? Someone is at your front door, but you are not around: Wouldn't it be great if you could control your home as if you were there?"

LinuxMCE is a free, open source add-on to Kubuntu which is mostly licensed under GPL.

Linux mce is compatible with webcam , and Ip camera ( but you should see the compatibility buying those stuff ).

Linux mce is compatible with many networks : and automation network (X10, insteon )

If you want to control the light or whatever you want in your home : you can do it.

And if you want linux mce to react by itself : it is possible.

For example you need a movement dector : and you say when there is movement : i want to active the light. ( or anything else , all scenario are possible)

Quite easy ( and for free ! )

Take a look a this video ( 2 years old and with the first version of linux mce : now it is even better )

Google Video Link

[edit on 9-12-2009 by psychederic]

[edit on 9-12-2009 by psychederic]

Thanks for sharing, but you need to quote what you copy and paste. I would like to see more Do-it-yourself type threads.