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Remote ID

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Just Call Me Koko edited this page Oct 4, 2026 · 3 revisions

Remote ID

Release status: Remote ID detection is available in nightly firmware built after October 3, 2026 and is planned for v1.18.0. It is not included in v1.17.0.

Marauder can passively receive ASTM/OpenDroneID broadcasts from nearby aircraft and Remote ID modules. It does not transmit Remote ID data or query a network service.

Supported Transports

  • Wi-Fi Beacon
  • Wi-Fi NAN / Wi-Fi Aware
  • Bluetooth LE service data
  • BLE 5 extended advertisements on supported NimBLE 2 targets

The scanner prioritizes Wi-Fi NAN channel 6 and, on dual-band ESP32-C5 hardware, channel 149. It also visits other supported Wi-Fi channels to discover Beacon transmitters. Focused tracking revisits the selected device's last observed Wi-Fi channel.

Older ESP32, ESP32-S2, and ESP32-S3 targets cannot receive 5 GHz broadcasts. Marauder v8 and Marauder Mini v3 use ESP32-C5 and can scan both 2.4 and 5 GHz.

Global Detector

Open Wi-Fi > Sniffers > Remote ID Scan to collect all detected Remote ID devices.

Each device row shows:

  • RSSI
  • Observed transport (WB for Wi-Fi Beacon, WN for Wi-Fi NAN, BL for legacy BLE, and BE for BLE extended advertisements)
  • UAS ID, or transmitter MAC when no UAS ID has been decoded

Records from multiple transports and rotating transmitter MAC addresses are reconciled by UAS ID when possible. A device is marked stale after 30 seconds without an update and normally expires after 120 seconds.

PSRAM builds retain up to 24 devices. Builds without PSRAM retain up to 12 devices. Stale records expire automatically, and the oldest retained record may be replaced when the list is full.

Large Displays

Displays measuring at least 320x240 pixels use a split layout:

  • The upper section lists detected devices.
  • The lower section plots relative positions on a north-up, automatically scaling grid.
  • Green marks Marauder's GPS position, cyan marks aircraft, and magenta marks reported operator locations.
  • Up to ten recent aircraft positions are shown as a red route tail.
  • A hollow marker at the edge of the grid indicates a reported position beyond the current scale.
  • The R scale label uses meters below 1,000 m and switches to kilometers at 1 km and above.

The grid is a relative-position display, not a street or terrain map. It requires a valid Marauder GPS fix. Smaller screens, including Marauder Mini v3, use a compact list-only layout.

Focused Tracking

After collecting devices, open Remote ID Devices and select an entry. The target screen follows that identity and displays available fields including:

  • UAS ID, operator ID, and Self ID description
  • Transport, RSSI, packet count/rate, last Wi-Fi channel, age, and lost/reacquired status
  • Aircraft latitude, longitude, geometric altitude, height, speed, and heading
  • Operator latitude and longitude
  • Authentication type and page progress when present
  • Range and bearing from Marauder when GPS is available

Not every transmitter supplies every field. Missing data remains omitted rather than estimated.

SD and Serial Logging

When Settings > Save PCAP is enabled on a target with an SD card, each scan creates:

  • A remoteid CSV log containing identity, transport mask, channel, signal and packet statistics, lost/reacquired state, aircraft position and motion, operator position, and authentication metadata.
  • /remoteid_N.gpx, containing a separate GPX track for every device that reports aircraft positions. A point is written only when that device supplies a new location, at no more than one point per second. The GPX file is finalized when the scan exits normally.

Decoded observations are also printed to serial with an RID, prefix. The serial startup message reports the GPX filename when GPX logging starts.

Command Line

remoteid scan
remoteid list
remoteid track <index>
remoteid clear
  • scan starts global collection.
  • list prints the current device table and indexes.
  • track <index> starts focused tracking for a listed device.
  • clear removes the current device table.

Use stopscan or the hardware's normal scan-exit control to stop collection and return to the menu.

Current Limitations

  • Remote ID is passive situational-awareness data. Marauder does not authenticate the transmitter's identity or guarantee the accuracy of reported coordinates.
  • Field and transport support will continue to be qualified against additional real aircraft, Remote ID modules, and captured frames.
  • Detection range depends on transmitter power, band, antenna, interference, obstructions, channel dwell time, and receiver placement.
  • Authentication metadata is displayed and logged, but Marauder does not validate Remote ID authentication signatures.
  • BLE 5 extended-advertisement reception depends on target support. The ESP32-C5 implementation is build-qualified but has not yet been validated with a dedicated physical BLE 5 transmitter test.

Implementation and qualification details are recorded in the completed Remote ID tracker.

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