Hey all. Has anyone tried converting the piaware setup to also detecting drone? If so, do you have a guide on how to set one up?
I assume you’re asking about quadcopters and such, used by hobbyists and photographers, rather than large military drones?
In the US: Hobby/ photo drones use a system called Remote ID which has many similarities to ADS-B, but runs on 2.4GHz at a much lower broadcast power, and has much shorter range. Also, drones under 250 grams are exempt, and compliance is very poor even with the larger drones.
Good news: Your phone has a 2.4GHz antenna. If you have an Android phone, apps like Drone Scanner or Air Sentinel can detect nearby drones with Remote ID, but the range is very limited. There are also purpose-built handheld devices that can provide stronger reception, but they get expensive ($1000+).
Looks like some hobbyists have made DIY solutions with old wifi routers and Pi’s, but I haven’t found evidence of anything nearly as well-developed as what exists for ADS-B.