McQ RANGER Unattended Ground Sensor
Hand-emplaced seismic/acoustic/magnetic UGS that classifies people, vehicles, UAS and aircraft and reports over 900 MHz mesh or Iridium satellite.
The McQ RANGER is a compact, low-cost unattended ground sensor (UGS) for persistent surveillance of borders, perimeters and remote infrastructure. Each unit combines seismic, acoustic and magnetic sensing with onboard classification algorithms that detect and classify personnel walking, human speech, ground vehicles, watercraft, low-flying UAS drones and aircraft while suppressing false alarms. Configurable Rural and Urban modes tune the sensor for long-range performance or noisy environments, and the magnetic channel reports direction of travel. Sensors are hand-emplaced or air-dropped, self-locate via a GNSS receiver (GPS, Galileo, GLONASS) and run 30+ days per charge (mission dependent; McQ's product page cites 1-3 months) on an internal battery recharged through a wireless inductive pad, so the sealed enclosure is never opened in the field. Two communications variants are offered: the standard RANGER (RA-1001) reports over McQ's 900 MHz TNet self-forming terrestrial mesh, while RANGER SAT (RA-1103) uses Iridium Short Burst Data satellite messaging to deliver detections from anywhere on earth. AES 128/256-bit encryption is available, and detections feed TAK and other third-party displays or McQ's TacSAD C2 software, where RANGER can cue cameras and radars as the first layer of a virtual perimeter. The IP67 waterproof housing operates from -20 to +65 C and the standard unit weighs just 145 g. In Rural mode the seismic channel classifies people and vehicles and the acoustic channel classifies people and aircraft for long-range performance; in Urban mode the sensor narrows to seismic people detection and acoustic speech detection to hold down false alarms in noisy environments, with sensitivity levels configurable per mission. McQ's published applications span national border areas, oil and gas pipelines, electric distribution networks, parks and recreational areas, government limited-access areas, private property and military / law-enforcement operations. Map-based displays for PC and Android show sensor positions, real-time detection data and command and control. The sensor ships as a complete kit: RA-K1001 for the standard 900 MHz TNet RANGER, RA-K1103 for the Iridium RANGER SAT. McQ Inc. is an ISO 9001:2015-registered company based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA.
Technical specifications.
| Sensing modalities | Seismic, acoustic, magnetic |
| Target classification | Personnel, human speech, ground vehicles, watercraft, UAS, aircraft |
| Rural mode sensing | Seismic: people and vehicles; Acoustic: people and aircraft (long-range performance) |
| Urban mode sensing | Seismic: people; Acoustic: speech (for noisy environments); Magnetic: direction of travel |
| Sensitivity | Sensitivity levels configurable for mission |
| RF communications (standard) | McQ TNet, 902-928 MHz, 1 W transmit, 2 dBi antenna |
| RF communications (SAT) | Iridium Short Burst Data, 1616-1626 MHz, 1.6 W transmit, 2.8 dBic antenna |
| Battery life | 30+ days, mission dependent (inductively recharged internal battery) |
| Recharging | Internal battery recharged with wireless charging pads via inductive charging coil (sealed enclosure never opened) |
| GNSS | GPS, Galileo, GLONASS |
| Encryption | AES 128 or 256 bit (available) |
| Display integration | TAK and other third-party displays; McQ map-based PC and Android displays with real-time detection data and command and control |
| Dimensions (standard) | 72.1 x 51.3 x 33.5 (body) mm |
| Dimensions (SAT) | 80.8 x 90.7 x 34.3 (body) mm |
| Height including antenna connector (standard / SAT) | 44.0 / 38.9 mm |
| Weight (standard / SAT) | 145 / 285 g |
| Operating temperature | -20 to +65 deg C |
| IP rating | IP67 |
| Kit part numbers | RA-K1001 McQ RANGER Sensor Kit; RA-K1103 McQ RANGER SAT Sensor Kit |
| Manufacturer quality system | ISO 9001:2015 registered company |
Available variants.
Use cases.
- ›border security unattended ground sensor
- ›airport and critical infrastructure perimeter intrusion detection
- ›oil and gas pipeline monitoring
- ›counter-UAS early-warning cueing
Replacements & compatible alternatives.
Comparable products from other suppliers. Cross-shop on specs — confirm exact fit and compatibility with the supplier before specifying.






