Using ATAK for Urban Operations

Most ATAK conversations revolve around off-road use way out in the wilderness, but there are a lot of plug-ins and tools for urban use, and a lot of ways that you can use off-the-shelf stuff to start learning the platform.
You can get all these files and pluging from the Play Store or tak.gov, and check out these channels for more detailed instructions:
@S2Underground
@thetaksyndicate6234
And start collecting your maps!

[@S2Underground]

Appreciate the mention, thanks! Looks like a neat TOC-in-a-briefcase setup 👍👍

[@WR3ND]

You, this guy, and The Tech Prepper... Cheers.

[@urkince26]

I feel like you're a lot of KZbinrs favorite KZbinr at this point

[@martinbowman1993]

Great to see they mentioned one of the best channels on KZbin

[@Hankyeable]

S2 and T-rex Labs? Well, seatbelts on :)

[@ButtBanginTranny]

Ahhh the fear monger herself….S1 waste of time

[@masongodat5695]

S2 UNDERGROUND MENTIONED!!! LETS GO!!!

[@HarryBudkins]

I believe S2 underground also has a decent application video.

[@RAMZAVFX]

Beat me to it

[@nerdindaherd5907]

Yes! Great channel. Big fan of every TRex channel. This family is a bunch of patriots!🇺🇸🫡

[@bthemedia]

Mentioned at 20:50

[@DPolk98]

Thank you for sticking to your promise to elaborate on ATAK usage, it’s so helpful to have an authoritative voice for beginners (me lol) to follow

[@T.REXLabs]

Authoritative is a bit strong, but hopefully we can get some folks started!

[@jakep5121]

Well a voice that sounds like Norm Mcdonald anyways 🙄

[@thetaksyndicate6234]

Thanks for the shout out T.RexLabs!

[@digitalmasterstx]

Purchased android tablet with no cell and no gps. Adding gps to meshtastic radio. Anyone know how to get ATAK to pull gps from mesh radio?

[@thetaksyndicate6234]

@@digitalmasterstx good question. My answer is get a different tablet. Why make this harder than it needs to be.

[@bulkmulch]

"Water's rising. Time to start collecting your maps." Genius. The whole setup and delivery. A very welcome reminder that I (all of us, really) need to not only be learning, but engaging and practicing. Thank you

[@McJiver]

Do you know what water he is talking about though...?

[@kc8omg]

I literally said to my screen "Of course you'd take the old one, there's 50 gold sovereigns in there!" 😆

[@chadhahn6113]

I was at a pawnshop and they had some of those. I was surprised at how small they were, slightly larger than a nickel.

[@jwcross6110]

S2 reference? Ugga bugga, one of us!! One of us!!

[@miletello1]

😂

[@nonactive3654]

S2 Underground name drop?! Based.

[@hughlamont3696]

Just flooded in houston. We used atak so me, wife and kids could all align at school and work and figure out how to get home. Super helpful piece of software, and we learned about it from you guys.

[@ImperiumLibertas]

You should do a write up about your experience and setup. What went well and what could be improved upon.

[@turdfurgisin5843]

BIG SHOUTOUT TO S2UNDERGROUND!!!

[@bringer-of-change]

Youve not only successfully sold me on ATAK, But also every devuce you've shown here. I still worry about the devices traceablility, but the utility of this is far greater than i ever thought any civilian would have access to.

[@RAMZAVFX]

Perfect timing, right as i get back into using meshtastic. Good refresher from s2's old vid

[@lees.7114]

Any idea on how to get meshtastic to run with the new versions of atak? I can find older versions of atak anymore if you could point in a good direction.

[@canoma2]

@@lees.7114 kzbin.info/www/bejne/houynJSfiNZ-l68

[@waylonk2453]

What a host of information you provide in this video! I've got a lot to research and practice. The ATAK plugin for garmin watches blew my mind.

[@Br1ckInTh3W4LL]

Using ATAK for disaster response and printing out paper maps for other team members reminds me of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.

[@rickwebb1919]

A good all be it DIY solution for camera are the ESP-Cam boards, a 3d printed enclosure along with an 18650 and you have some small and quick to deploy camera.

[@ThePatriotParadox]

The SD card thing is amazing especially when Internet is out or unwanted.... To ba able to assemble a group of friends to help move furniture during a storm can all be planned out and gone over by each individual before meeting to save that leather sofa

[@AmRock83]

I'll give you a scenario to work with. Squad size team of people dispersed in an urban area with requisite equipment and training. One gets a call that a CHOP/CHAZ style zone has been setup and a relative is stranded inside, but precise location is unknown. The team has comms that can get them to a staging area. They arrive on site with the gear they need to run covert or overt unsupported extraction using items available on the civilian market (including vehicles). They need to determine location of the stranded person and extract them.

[@RenegadeADV]

When you're walking through a building and see a map of the building, don't take a photo of it, use your camera's scan function. It produces a much better quality copy.

[@TheMulk777]

I am not the techiest person, and I love the idea of implementing some of these things. I consume all S2 Underground content too. These surface level videos that give an idea of all that can be done are great, but I want to see how each component is configured!

[@gorilla_with_jetpack4102]

A thing to be aware of, "Flipper Zero"-esque devices can witness the area network you are operating. I'd recommend a multiple-kill switch device so you can shut down your network if austere conditions arise. Not sure how this would really be achieved, but it should probably be considered.

[@Jessersadler]

Meshtastic networks are encrypted. not sure that would be an issue

[@gorilla_with_jetpack4102]

@@Jessersadler Great point! I just want to bring some visibility to the foundation of how these communications work in the first place. If you emit a signal, it can be detected. I have no idea how to circumvent this reality, but I think that it's a huge piece of the communication stack. If recipients can receive your message, everyone else can look in your direction. I believe that there could be some ways to hide the communication, but I'm just some bozo on the Internet. Our combined thoughts and experiences will probably solve this, and I think S2 should start a cooking channel. S2 Ribeye Steak Recipe.

[@Jessersadler]

@@gorilla_with_jetpack4102 kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5XUd2yQrbydo6csi=uGD__SQ3gsqpbjgD He explains it in this video

[@MXarcx]

@@Jessersadler The setup shown doesn't seem to use Meshtastic at all. Probably because of the voice coms requirement.

[@grapeape780]

I had an ATAK operation this morning, getting to the bathroom! 😎

[@adamhall7227]

much more content like this please!

[@Quoteddaily]

So mind boggling to see my hometown on the KZbins. Also, nanerpuddinfestvle is GOATed

[@doc9662]

Isaac, I have been watching every t rex labs video, and I have to say, I love how u tell us what's possible but you don't spell out HOW to do it. It frustrates me but I love it because it makes me think and explore

[@Eraukon_]

Trying to get my friends onboard with this technology. It needs to be practiced and drilled as much as the sexy cool-guy gun stuff.

[@Okiey]

I'll be honest I just found this channel but if all your content is as instructive as this video I'll be here a lot!

[@lamardsol]

perfect, just what i was looking for

[@oldschoolhomesteadfarm2683]

Always a exciting experience watching your videos

[@halledwardb]

Nah, I'm thinking using Terraform to throw up a FreeTak server on AWS when needed. I like the secret Anytone radio. Sneeky. :)

[@ThePatriotParadox]

The water definitely is rising, thanks

[@Riptide1884]

I really need some off line ip cameras that don't need the cloud. Likely I am not the only one watching your stuff. Let us know if you find anything worthwhile!

[@Slimmerman223]

Love the vids you’re putting out Isaac.

[@JohannesNielsen]

You had to go and mention Banana Pudding. My next mission is to make you the best ever Banana pudding

[@mtdmoody]

Great video. Practical application and what to learn helps me know where to start!

[@Ahmaurnamu]

Sweet mother of mercy! 😮

[@enregistreur]

Very inspiring, thanks!

[@ridingwithrooster4762]

Great video

[@kc8omg]

Also recommend checking out Microhard radios if you haven't already. Great long range high bandwidth IP radios, multi channel MIMO, some with meshing, some with LTE capabilities. They make some that are very small and lightweight and good on battery usage, used them on 12ft wingspan VTOL drones. Similar capabilities to some of the Silvus embedded radios, but more affordable price point.

[@kamikazeparamedic]

Which model would you recommend looking into?

[@jasonpratt7850]

Problem with those radios is you need internet (IP) or cell tower (LTE)

[@kc8omg]

@@jasonpratt7850 Depends on the model, they have some that are just LTE, but they have others that use their proprietary 2.4GHz direct meshing IP over radio, 10, 20, and 40 MHz channels at up to around 200Mbps depending on conditions, no cell tires needed. Some models do both radio and LTE simultaneously.

[@kc8omg]

@@kamikazeparamedic We were using the radios from their pMLTE series that do both their "Digital Data Link" radio and LTE, we had the pMDDL2450 on the drone side, I forget the specific model on the ground station side but it was a more "desktop" box type radio. Their digital link acts just like a "wire" on a local network between the radios and any attached computers, even if there's no LTE service.

[@stihl888]

LOVING these TAK videos, please keep them coming! WOuld be great to do one on UAS Tools with a Thermal Drone integration...

[@z2894]

Great video, well produced, and thought provoking. I love T.RexLabs!

[@matthewliebe3071]

Thanks for the work you put into this. And S2 I have been watching and building ATAK with Lora over in my neck of the woods. I couldn’t have done this with you both. I have referenced you now 3 year old ATAK video to many people.

[@philippkeil5358]

Yessssss! Been waiting for this one!! 😍

[@user-bc6eg7kc7e]

Good shit guys. Thank you for the content!

[@user-mw6mf8dg1e]

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 sending love, good morning

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

Ah yes! John Cleese for the win! So classic. 🎉 New mission uploaded: Persuade S2U-A to ditch the silly balaclava and step into the light. 😅

[@BEAUTIFULASAROCK]

Best channel in the entire world

[@WR3ND]

The irony being how ubiquitous wireless earbuds have become. You should get a dreadlock mullet and pink foam rubber sneakers to complete the look though.

[@tophattommy2]

Now, if only there were up to date "How To" videos! Concept is great if you can make it work!

[@tophattommy2]

Please note that the TAK Syndicate (AJ) has some GREAT videos. He seems to be one of 3 or 4 that are making up to date videos! There is more required than they can do alone though.

[@Th4tGuyLondon]

Love it!

[@sypher4912]

Good video!

[@KermitFrazierdotcom]

The IBPF... sounds so spooklike

[@Phych0path]

I was waiting for this one

[@Bond.JamesBond00]

Indeed Christmas comes twice a year. Love the Atak shoutout gents keep up the good work!

[@goombakiwi]

Another Bond reference. 😂

[@Bond.JamesBond00]

@@goombakiwi too bad it's as real as the affordability.

[@StephenShreds]

We have a group on the Greyman network as well!

[@TheFlea1987]

Would like to incorporate this into the group of guys that I hunt with. We do pushes and this would come in handy to find where people are and to communicate better. We use radios but not everyone has one, but everyone has a cell phone.

[@HAROATH]

thanks again

[@VulfenMP]

I cant be the only one... but the briefcase was in "From Russia With Love".

[@josephleinhauser6130]

Isaac, have you seen the revamped beartooth? Looks like they have taken it a completely different direction and would be a really good team Manet radio that doesn’t require you to solder your own board and 3d print housings

[@rkmyersuk]

The bond case was from the movie ‘From Russia with Love’, not Dr. No 😁

[@philippkeil5358]

Will there be more regarding ATAK? And / or the briefcase? Keep up the awesome work!

[@Anthony_Harper]

I have not tried it but old cellphones can be used as wifi cameras. Most people have old ones laying around. New cheap ones can be bought at Walmart for low cost. So if you find one that works well and you find that you need extras, Walmart is close by. They are flat for storage.

[@joeoliveira9745]

Awesome information. Still seems like sorcery

[@MichaelBurko]

I wish the full-featured ATAK were available on iOS so that it could be used in groups with different platforms. Most of my folks have iOS devices.

[@isaacbotkintrex]

I'm afraid it will never happen, because so many of the permissions that ATAK needs are not available on the iOS devices.

[@chrissewell1608]

James Bond drives through national monuments! GPS "Continue straight for 3.5 miles!" 😂

[@greggullett1272]

Sounds like there could be a several day class just about ATAK

[@MrBarstow]

Let's go S2!!!

[@TempleOfLore]

Super Noob. Trying to learn. If SHTF and me and my group is using ATAK how easily accesible is it for the OP to track us. Govt, insurgent, local enforcement etc or the app maker to give the information out just like some safe companies due for red flag laws.

[@Strain_Studios]

It all depends on what you’re using, like he said, go with a tablet or something that doesn’t have LTE. As for apps, just don’t use any kind of real personal data when downloading it would be my guess😂 I’m a noob as well.

[@Ballad_of_Bebop]

They can see what you do in ATAK. It's good for disaster planning and keeping tabs on everyone but if you're doing things that wouldn't be appreciated by the bugmen then you should probably find alternatives or just leave certain important details off ATAK

[@michaelhoang5294]

Love the ATAK content! Now I'm kicking myself for throwing out my Android phones

[@bourbon_disciple]

RTSP firmware on Wyze cam will facilitate LAN connection which might allow it to integrate directly into ATAK.

[@caleblohrer3932]

I want a training and field problem class. Figuring it out on your own before getting it to non-technical buddies is hard.

[@dorogundam]

Can you give us a list/link of all the stuff shown off in the video?

[@isaacbotkintrex]

Well, I don't much like the Wyze cameras that I was using, and pretty much any USB battery packs will work, and I'm trying to find a better Wi-Fi router solution... So I would say that this is more of a proof of concept or a working prototype than a final finished project that people should emulate.

[@TacticalCWAT]

You need to look at this in conjunction with beartooth radios

[@awsomedude9111]

When you find out your alarm clock radio is listening, then your 2004 car radio, then your phone on airplane mode, you realize the best way is to have old tech that has an off switch.

[@awsomedude9111]

Why, because they can turn off your car and keep your phone on when it’s turned off. Your phone never turns off

[@toddpearson8858]

Faraday bag

[@ihn]

For future bags add to the TAK server please a bridge into Meshtastic, that would give a real off grid setup. I am working on a similar solution, the idea is to have WLAN for the close surroundings, and LoRa Meshtastic for the ones that are more far away or people that are distributed in a building or underground.

[@PacketFPV]

That’s integrated on the newest version I believe.

[@chrisdc1689]

Isaac can you do a video on the Beartooth system?

[@RenThraysk]

Have you seen the "HAMPR: Human Attached Mesh Portable Radio"? Google doc explaining how to connect a phone, powerbank and Ubiquiti Rocket M5 together. It's a bit janky with the number of USB adaptors and a PoE injector. Would be nice to have a single box with power in, usb-c out to phone for networking to radio & power, and PoE socket for radio.

[@mbz7417]

Poor man's mpu5

[@RenThraysk]

@@mbz7417 Yeah

[@anarchobacon]

I've done a fair bit of work with those. The amount of cables and adapters creates durability and physical reliability issues. I was reasonably happy with network performance, but actually integrating the things with personal load bearing equipment is miserable. I did build one prototype that used a Mikrotik mini wireless AP for EUD access to the mesh, but there were reliability/consistency issues as well as added power consumption.

[@RenThraysk]

@@anarchobacon Yeah, a single box with 3 ports, power in, PoE and USB-C for EUD would be less janky.

[@miroslavmajer5155]

20:05 I see what you did there :) And it's true!, He lives! :)

[@Mercury_EG]

Im looking at bringing ATAK into some ops in my LE org. I ran it while i was an 02 in the Marines and can see the application for what i do now with the ATAK Civ version

[@molonlabe8126]

Awesome

[@bare-footjo35]

The navigation plugin probably is running some version of the A* (A star) algorithm. Essentially, you break a map down into a grid, call certain squares passible (roads) and other squares impassable. You have a starting square and a goal square. Im going to simplify here, but you look at any adjacent square that is passable and give it a a score 'g' representing how far you had to travel to get there. Since this is the first move, you give it a 1 (next is 2, and after that 3, and so on). Then you give it an 'h' score, which is an educated guess as to how far your new square is from the target. You then get an 'f' score where f=g+h. Once you have the f score for every passible square next to your position, you pick the one with the minimum value as the next point in your path. Repeat untill you hit a dead end or reach your goal. If you hit a dead end, go back to a previous point and use the next smallest 'f' scoring square instead. It may add road speed and slowdown points (stop lights, signs, and stuff) as weights in the calculation, but that isn't strictly necessary. It would be interesting if it also took topology data as additional weight.

[@thetaksyndicate6234]

its literally roads off of osm.

[@VK6AB-]

Its only as good as the antenna and network, particularly the db.........this is really important. A lot of low power/antenna combinations struggle in an urban environment. You have to build a net.

[@VegasMadMikey]

Great info! How do I find local TAK groups in my area??

[@martinbowman1993]

This reminds me of the rubber bandits video called my dad's best friend

[@TheMulk777]

Thumbs up x 10!

[@newtoncain]

bravo

[@BlackDogOriginal]

Starts around 3:40

[@ThePatriotParadox]

How do we know to choose a table that doesn't transmit like a cell phone? As long as it doesn't have a signal reader (which would auto connect?)

[@averageusercommenter199]

How do you deal with the limited life cycle of all the "non replaceable" internal rechargeable batteries for all your devices?

[@jmyles8013]

If you all could make a video specificly on VNS and how to make it work, I know I personally would greatly appreciate it. That thing has been a bear to deal with. To broaden the scope of the video, downloading offline map, DTED, etc data, would be very nice.

[@thetaksyndicate6234]

I have a VNS video for ya. See the link to the channel in the comments

[@boydizepha8]

@thetaksyndicate has a video on VNS

[@romoboy64]

If the tablet has Bluetooth, which just about every device does now, then it is still sharing your location. As devices constantly communicate with other devices nearby. This happens whether Bluetooth is turned on or off.

[@thetaksyndicate6234]

If your bluetooth radio is turned off its off. You are not sending any RF signature over bluetooth on a samsung device that is for sure.

[@romoboy64]

@thetaksyndicate6234 This is not true. It is called Bluetooth Mesh Networking and allows inter-device connectivity via radio only. The technology uses Bluetooth Low Energy and is on all the time. You cannot turn it off. Any nearby device with the same technology will always be communicating the location of other nearby devices, creating a constant tracked environment. Essentially, it puts sensors everywhere.

[@romoboy64]

@thetaksyndicate6234 Bluetooth classic is what would allow you to search or be searched by another bluetooth classic device (ex. head phones). BLE was mainly introduced in mass during covid as a form of contact tracing. And if your phone is running on an OS that has this tech enabled, then it runs at all times. There is no disabling BLE, unless you root the device to a different OS allowing you to disable.

[@thetaksyndicate6234]

Like I said I use samsung sorry should have been more clear, settings/location/location services/Bluetooth scanning ---you can turn that off.

[@romoboy64]

@thetaksyndicate6234 you're talking about bluetooth classic. This is in regards to bluetooth mesh networks. You don't turn that off, because you cant. Samsung uses the same technology. You're only bet to not, is a pre- 2020 phone that has not been updated

[@KeliGrubb]

Amcrest and reolink both have some local ip cameras I believe. I see people use them a lot with home assistant. Might be a better choice than the wyze cams.

[@AgencyNighthawk]

Definitely can be, but Wyze's Outdoor cams are really good and the integrated battery runs for several weeks/months depending on how often you're streaming data

[@ShamChowder00]

Is there a parts list for what's in the briefcase?

[@AustoBruh]

Are you going to be making content on more affordable meshtastic networks?

[@Tyborg425]

When do we learn to walk in and hack any camera, or create a bubble of encryption on all of our devices from ATAK

[@digitalmasterstx]

Excellent. Purchased android tablet with no cell and no gps. Adding gps to meshtastic radio. Anyone know how to get ATAK to pull gps from mesh radio?

[@abafproductions]

Hey Isaac, love everything you do. Have you considered playing around with mp3 players. Walkman actually stills makes products one if them being effectively an ipod touch. There are othere Android based mp3 players that are similar. Just putting it out there

[@meme01230]

Looking forward to more on mikrotek and portable wifi

[@awparrish]

What kind of phone setup and Garmin watch are you using?

[@PitThePitPL]

First link to the other YT channel is not working 😢