#1 Improv, #2 Worldview Timeline, #3 Camera Map, #4 Morse, #5 AIS Watch, article Finding pilots without emitting RF -- Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) RF flashlight from space, on X Watch Agadez grow (be built), then handed back, to now. Northern Niger. Keep on eye on it!

#1 Improv#2 Worldview Timeline#3 Camera Map#4 Morse#5 AIS WatchArticle Finding pilots without emitting RF -- Combat Search a...On X Watch Agadez grow (be built), then handed back, to now. N...
Marshall Frith

Projects

Field Instructables You Can Actually Follow

Static how-tos for ATAK workflows, COTS gear, script helpers, and benign hardware outlines — inspired by DARPA Improv spirit.

Updated Sep 10, 2026A few minutes in the browserATAKFieldCOTSWorking

Improv is a catalog of short instructables for people who build with what they can buy and what already runs on a phone.

Open the portal. Filter by ATAK, COTS, script, hardware, or field. Each page is materials, steps, tips, and a slot for short clips later. You can submit an instructable — it sits In Review until Marshall approves it.

Inspired by DARPA Improv — the COTS / rapid how-tos spirit, not a clone of that threat program. Idea credit: Dr. John Main (DARPA TTO deputy director; former Improv program manager).

Spelling lock: ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit).

What is in v0

Seven starter cards: ATAK-CIV quickstart, Meshtastic → ATAK outline, a CoT heartbeat script skeleton, two payload-release hardware outlines (hobby / civilian only), a BLE weather-station tip for ATAK, and a small NMEA window slicer.

Outlines are models, not magic. Verify against official docs (for example tak.gov) before you rely on them in the field.

Contributors

You can submit an instructable. Every submission sits In Review until Marshall approves it — nothing is published automatically. Rejected write-ups stay off the catalog. A display name and a reply address are optional; the address is stored so a reply can reach you and is never shown on the public site.

Also on this site

Looking for the code?

It is not published. These are personal builds, and what is here is the write-up rather than the repository.

The browser version is here, running the same work on your own machine: try it.

If you want to read the source or run the full desktop tool, ask. Say what you are doing with it and I will usually send it over.

Ask for the code

A blue furry token monster eating tokens spilled from a Mac Studio

Tips appreciated to feed the token monster of Grok / Claude / Cursor

Tip on Venmo

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