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ATAK Plugin: Hammer on Windows Pc

Developed By: TAK Product Center

License: Free

Rating: 3,2/5 - 80 votes

Last Updated: April 21, 2024

Download on Windows PC

Compatible with Windows 10/11 PC & Laptop

App Details

Version 1.2
Size 971.4 KB
Release Date September 23, 24
Category Maps & Navigation Apps

App Permissions:
Allows an application to record audio. [see more (3)]

Description from Developer:
ATTENTION: Due to App Bundles policy, this app is no longer being updated & will be depreciated as soon as the new app is posted. A link will be provided on this page to the ne... [read more]

App preview ([see all 5 screenshots]  /  [view video])

App preview

About this app

On this page you can download ATAK Plugin: Hammer and install on Windows PC. ATAK Plugin: Hammer is free Maps & Navigation app, developed by TAK Product Center. Latest version of ATAK Plugin: Hammer is 1.2, was released on 2024-09-23 (updated on 2024-04-21). Estimated number of the downloads is more than 10,000. Overall rating of ATAK Plugin: Hammer is 3,2. Generally most of the top apps on Android Store have rating of 4+. This app had been rated by 80 users, 30 users had rated it 5*, 35 users had rated it 1*.

How to install ATAK Plugin: Hammer on Windows?

Instruction on how to install ATAK Plugin: Hammer on Windows 10 Windows 11 PC & Laptop

In this post, I am going to show you how to install ATAK Plugin: Hammer on Windows PC by using Android App Player such as BlueStacks, LDPlayer, Nox, KOPlayer, ...

Before you start, you will need to download the APK/XAPK installer file, you can find download button on top of this page. Save it to easy-to-find location.

[Note] You can also download older versions of this app on bottom of this page.

Below you will find a detailed step-by-step guide, but I want to give you a fast overview of how it works. All you need is an emulator that will emulate an Android device on your Windows PC and then you can install applications and use it - you see you're playing it on Android, but this runs not on a smartphone or tablet, it runs on a PC.

If this doesn't work on your PC, or you cannot install, comment here and we will help you!

Step By Step Guide To Install ATAK Plugin: Hammer using BlueStacks

  1. Download and Install BlueStacks at: https://www.bluestacks.com. The installation procedure is quite simple. After successful installation, open the Bluestacks emulator. It may take some time to load the Bluestacks app initially. Once it is opened, you should be able to see the Home screen of Bluestacks.
  2. Open the APK/XAPK file: Double-click the APK/XAPK file to launch BlueStacks and install the application. If your APK/XAPK file doesn't automatically open BlueStacks, right-click on it and select Open with... Browse to the BlueStacks. You can also drag-and-drop the APK/XAPK file onto the BlueStacks home screen
  3. Once installed, click "ATAK Plugin: Hammer" icon on the home screen to start using, it'll work like a charm :D

[Note 1] For better performance and compatibility, choose BlueStacks 5 Nougat 64-bit read more

[Note 2] about Bluetooth: At the moment, support for Bluetooth is not available on BlueStacks. Hence, apps that require control of Bluetooth may not work on BlueStacks.

How to install ATAK Plugin: Hammer on Windows PC using NoxPlayer

  1. Download & Install NoxPlayer at: https://www.bignox.com. The installation is easy to carry out.
  2. Drag the APK/XAPK file to the NoxPlayer interface and drop it to install
  3. The installation process will take place quickly. After successful installation, you can find "ATAK Plugin: Hammer" on the home screen of NoxPlayer, just click to open it.

Discussion

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ATTENTION: Due to App Bundles policy, this app is no longer being updated & will be depreciated as soon as the new app is posted. A link will be provided on this page to the new app when available.

This is an ATAK Plugin. To use this extended capability, the ATAK baseline must be installed. Download the ATAK baseline here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atakmap.app.civ

HAMMER is an ATAK plugin that acts as a software modem and allows transmission/receipt of Cursor on Target (CoT) messages over voice communications. This means that two ATAK devices can communicate with each other over any voice-capable radio, e.g., commercial off the shelf walkie talkies. While it is anticipated that this will be extended in the near future, HAMMER currently supports sending and receiving CoT map markers, self-reported locations and chat messages.

HAMMER is open source with user guide available here: https://github.com/raytheonbbn/hammer.

HAMMER supports sending CoT over radio with or without cables (e.g., TRRS) between the Android device and the radio. This can work with just the speaker/microphone of the phone and the radio, though using cables is recommended as it eliminates background noise interference. If used with a cable, it is recommended that one sets the radio to VOX (voice operated transmission) mode, which allows transmission via detection of an audio signal and removes the need for manual button pressing in push-to-talk (PTT) scenarios. No special software is required to use a TRRS cable.

The plugin itself runs on ATAK, supporting ATAK 4.1 and 4.2 (either CIV or MIL). When installed, HAMMER runs in the background listening for incoming modulated audio frequencies. This background operation feature can be toggled off in the settings menu.

The plugin integrates directly with the ATAK map, allowing the user to transmit CoT items directly from the radial menu of the main view, or via the plugin’s tool window. See section 1 for details.

Main screen options:
1. View CoT Markers
2. Chat Messages
3. Settings

Section 1: View CoT Markers
The user has two methods of sending CoT marker messages. The first option is via clicking on a CoT marker on the map and selecting the hammer icon from the radial menu. The second option is via the CoT Markers view within the HAMMER tool, where the user can view all CoT markers on the map, including name and type. The user clicks on one of the CoT markers from the list to transmit.

To send your location, click on the “Send Self Location” button in this view.

Section 2: Chat Messages
In the chat view, the user has the option to chat with all users or specify which callsign they would like to chat with. Selecting a callsign will open that specific chat session, respectfully.

Section 3: Settings
The settings view allows the user to toggle the receiving operation on or off, and to toggle if full or abbreviated CoT messages should be sent.

Disabling receive will turn off the ability for CoT messages to be received via HAMMER and prevent it from operating in the background.

Abbreviating CoT allows for sending more concise messages, sacrificing data size for accuracy. This may be useful in some wireless setup environments with heavy background noise.

Section 4: Known Limitations
• The current implementation adds the HAMMER icon to the radial menu of all map markers by overwriting the entries. This means that all markers currently receive the same set of options in the radial menu, even if core-ATAK or a plugin would have otherwise given them a custom set. This is anticipated to be remedied shortly.
• Particularly when used without cables, the system may need some tuning to experience consistently reliable transmissions. The tuning is simply a matter of adjust volume and/or microphone sensitivity of the Android device and may require some testing to identify the levels that are best suited for your particular devices and background noise level.
Allows an application to record audio.
Allows an application to write to external storage.
Allows an application to read from external storage.