Download this guide as a PDF: ridfinder-deployment-guide.pdf

Detection range is not a property of the box — it is a property of the site. This guide covers the decisions that move the number: where the node goes, what it mounts to, and how you prove it works before you rely on it. The PDF version of this guide is being finalised; until then this page is the reference.

Siting

• Height beats distance: an antenna at 6 m with line of sight to the approach path outperforms the same unit at 3 m behind a fence line
• Keep 2–3 m of clearance around the antenna; metal walls, mesh fencing and moving vehicles all detune reception
• For RID reception, the antenna wants to see the sky volume where drones fly — for RF-spectrum work, it wants to see the ground paths people actually fly through
• Roof-mounted units need surge protection and a documented bonding point; put it in the survey, not the incident report

Connectivity and power

One Ethernet run (PoE) per node covers data and power in most installations. Wi-Fi works but expect to debug it every time the site’s SSID changes. Battery and solar variants exist for temporary deployments — they trade uptime for setup speed, and the trade is documented per model, not promised universally.

Validation walk-test

No deployment leaves our hands — or yours — without a walk-test: a known drone flown on a planned grid, detection events logged against GPS truth, gaps marked on the coverage map. Ten minutes of flying beats any coverage promise. The checklist version is on the site survey checklist page; if you want us to run or witness it, that is part of a scoped proposal.

Content last reviewed: 2026-09-11. Interface draft v0.9 — locked against firmware 1.0. Questions: contact engineering.