Perfecting jamming signals against RC systems: An experimental case study on FHSS with GFSK

Abstract

<p>Cheap off-the-self drones and other radio control (RC) equipment are readily available for customers and are becoming increasingly popular, thus also increasing the adversary or illegal activities with the RC devices. Generic RC systems can be used, e.g., in multicopter drones or roadside bombs. This raises a demand for defense and security authorities to restrict the use of RC receivers by blocking their usage. This paper studies what is the most effective waveform for jamming a typical off-the-shelf RC receiver. As a case study, the targeted system is FlySky Automatic Frequency Hopping Digital System (AFHDS), which utilizes Gaussian frequency-shift keying (GFSK) control signal with frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS). The frame error rate (FER) of the receiver is measured with varying jamming power levels. The successful identification of the most efficient waveform enables the jamming of the RC receiver with the least amount of power or at the longest distance possible.</p>