Terms & Conditions

1. What Kestrel Listen is

Kestrel Listen is a community-operated radio monitoring network. Every sensor node is independently owned and operated by the person who set it up ("you", "operator"); Madrock Advisory operates the shared relay, portal, and public console that aggregates and publishes what the network hears, but does not own or control your hardware.

By registering a node, creating an operator account, or otherwise accessing the operator-facing parts of Kestrel Listen, you will be asked to agree to these terms once finalised. Browsing the public console does not require agreement -- see §8.

2. Your responsibilities as an operator

1. You own your hardware and your compliance. You are responsible for ensuring your equipment, antenna installation, and any transmission you make comply with all applicable law and, for Amateur Radio transmission, the licence conditions of the licence you hold. Kestrel Listen's platform validation is a safety net, not a substitute for your own knowledge of your licence conditions.
2. Honest self-description. Information you provide at registration must be accurate -- this is a trust-based network, reviewed by a human at approval time.
3. Transmit safety. If your node is TX-capable and you have been granted transmit access, you are solely responsible for every transmission made through your session. Every transmission is logged for your own licence-compliance record-keeping and platform audit.
4. No unlawful use. Never transmit on or interfere with aviation, maritime distress, or emergency-services frequencies, or use the network to intercept communications you're not lawfully entitled to receive.
5. No abuse of shared/pooled resources. If you use another operator's sensor via a pool request or grant, operate within its scope and respect the owner's right to withdraw access at any time.

3. What data we collect and how it's used

Operator sovereignty. Every feed your node produces is published only to destinations you have opted in to, per feed. The default for anything you haven't explicitly enabled is no publication, no sharing, no retention beyond what's needed to operate the network. Review and change your choices any time via your node's management page.

Data you've consented to publish appears on the public console and may be visible to anyone without a login, indefinitely. Do not enable publication for anything you wouldn't want publicly visible. Your account details (email, callsign, credentials) are used only to operate your account and are not sold or shared outside the aggregators you explicitly opt in to.

4. Availability and no warranty

Kestrel Listen is a community, best-effort service. We do not guarantee continuous availability, or the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any data -- it is sourced from independently-operated volunteer hardware of varying quality and calibration.

Do not use Kestrel Listen data for safety-of-life, navigation, or any purpose where inaccurate or delayed data could cause harm. It is a hobbyist and situational-awareness tool, not an authoritative source for aviation, maritime, or emergency-services decision-making.

5. Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Madrock Advisory and Kestrel Listen's operators are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of the service, your hardware, your transmissions, or reliance on any data published through the network. If you operate a TX-capable node, you carry full responsibility for your own transmissions.

6. Changes to these terms

These terms may change as Kestrel Listen's capabilities grow. Material changes will be dated and communicated to registered operators. Continued use after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

7. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of South Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

Kestrel Listen is a globally-distributed network -- a sensor station, the operator who owns or directs it, and anyone receiving or remotely directing it may each be in different countries. This clause governs interpretation of this agreement only; it does not and cannot excuse anyone from their own jurisdiction's laws. Each of the following persons remains independently responsible for complying with all radio, telecommunications, privacy, and other regulatory obligations that apply to them individually, in their own location: the sensor's physical location, the operator who owns or configures it, and any person who remotely tunes, directs, or transmits through it (see §2).

8. Public (unauthenticated) use

Browsing the public console without an account is offered on an as-is basis under §4/§5 above. Only registration and operator/admin portal access require active agreement per §1.

Questions about these terms? Read how the network works or contact us before registering.