Tagged: ads-b

Decoding ADS-C with a Cheap Aliexpress LNB and SDRplay RSP1B

Thank you to Nagy István for sharing with us his setup for decoding ADS-C with a 180cm prime focus dish, a cheap Aliexpress LNB, an Aliexpress bias tee, and an SDRplay RSP1B.

István receives the ADS-C signal from the Inmarsat 4A-F4 satellite, which he can see from his home in Hungary. 

István also notes the following information about the Chinese LNB:

This LNB original for DVB reception, but it works on Inmarsat reception, 3.6Ghz where ADS-C signals are, without any modification... But sometimes you need correcting frequency because of LNB oscillator drifting. I don't use dielectric plate, I don't have any material for this, at the moment.

Compared to ADS-B, which continuously broadcasts an aircraft’s GPS position and velocity to any ground station or nearby aircraft, ADS-C instead sends position reports via satellite, and is especially used over oceans and remote areas without ADS-B ground receivers.

However, ADS-C is relatively complex for hobbyists to receive due to the need for a large satellite dish and LNB to convert the 3.6 GHz frequency down to a frequency receivable by most SDRs. However, fortunately, as István shows, the LNB can be obtained cheaply these days.

Inmarsat ADS-C decoding with Jaero and Virtual Radar

ADS-C Being Received with an 1.8m dish, cheap Aliexpress LNB and SDRplay RSP1B.
ADS-C Being Received with an 1.8m dish, cheap Aliexpress LNB and SDRplay RSP1B.

Saveitforparts: Tracking US Government Spy Planes over your Neighbourhood

In his latest YouTube video, Gabe from the saveitforparts channel has uploaded an interesting video detailing how he's tracking government spy planes over his neighbourhood using SDRs to monitor ADS-B data, and Orbic hotspots to detect Stingray activity (fake cell tower basestations).

In the video, Gabe highlights how he detects and follows a suspicious aircraft, concluding that it is most likely a DEA surveillance plane. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the ADS-B data is censored on FlightRadar24, something which normally only happens with law enforcement aircraft, as well as private jets. Upon zooming in on the aircraft with a camera, various antennas and cameras are also visible on the belly. Finally, Gabe found that the plane's registration number is linked to a Texas-based shell company with connections to the DEA.

In the video Gabe also tests out the RayHunter custom firmware for Orbic mobile internet to WiFi hotspot devices. This custom firmware turns these devices into Stingray detectors. A Stingray is a fake cellular base station that is often used by law enforcement to spy on cell phone activity.

Is That Really A Government Spy Plane Over My Neighborhood?

A Video Tutorial on Setting up RTL-SDR ADS-B Reception with Dump1090 and Virtual Radar Server

Thank you to Paul Maine for writing in and letting us know about his YouTube video showing how to set up ADS-B reception with an RTL-SDR, dump1090, and Virtual Radar Server on a Windows machine. ADS-B reception is a common project for RTL-SDR users; however, as Paul notes, most of the video tutorials available on YouTube are outdated.

Paul has also been uploading other videos to his YouTube channel recently, including tutorials on GNU Radio and setting up rtl_433, so check it out if you are interested.

E11 Tracking Airplanes using RTLSDR with Virtual Radar and ADS-B

TechMinds: Building a Portable ADS-B Aircraft Tracker and VHF Airband Radio Receiver

Over on the TechMinds YouTube channel, Matt has uploaded a video demonstrating a portable ADS-B aircraft tracker with VHF airband radio reception as well. The build consists of a 7-inch screen, Raspberry Pi 4 and two RTL-SDR dongles.

In the video, Matt shows what hardware is required, how it's all put together, and how to install the OS and software and set it up. The software Matt uses for displaying aircraft is tar1090, a comprehensive web interface for ADS-B data. For receiving AM VHF airband communications, he uses an HTML5-based RTL-SDR receiver that can run directly in the Chromium browser and connect to a local RTL-SDR through the web interface.

Your Very Own Aircraft Tracker With VHF Airband Radio - RTL-SDR & PiADSB

A Tutorial on Setting up a XHSI Cockpit Display with Live Data from an RTL-SDR Receiving ADS-B

Back in 2017, we first posted about using a program called RTL1090-XHSI which is used to display a simulated aircraft cockpit using live data acquired directly from an RTL-SDR receiving ADS-B flight data from nearby aircraft. The ADS-B signal provides not only position and heading data but also information about altitude and speed, which is then used to simulate the cockpit display.

Recently Al wrote in and wanted to share with us a step-by-step tutorial that he has created that shows how to set this up. The guide shows how to download, install and use all the software programs required.

XHSI Cockpit Display with Live ADS-B Data Received by an RTL-SDR
XHSI Cockpit Display with Live ADS-B Data Received by an RTL-SDR

Setting up the Cheapest FlightAware ADS-B Feeder with RTL-SDR and Raspberry Pi 2W

Over on his YouTube channel, TAKEAPART has recently uploaded a new video showing how to set up a cheap ADS-B FlightAware feeder using an RTL-SDR Blog dongle, and a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. The Raspberry Pi 2W is a US$15 computer that is capable of running the PiAware ADS-B feeding software which uploads ADS-B data to the FlightAware.com flight tracking service. If you are a contributor to this service, you can get a Premium FlightAware subscription for free.

In the video, TAKEAPART shows how to install the PiAware software on the Pi 2W, and how to configure the PiAware settings. Finally, he shows it in action, receiving flight data with a homemade 1/4 wave ground plane antenna.

Cheapest ADS-B feeder RTL-SDR and Raspberry Pi Zero 2W (PiAware/FlightAware)

Setting up an ADS-B Radar in a Vehicle Android Head Unit

Over on YouTube channel 'TAKEAPART' has uploaded a short video showing how he tracks aircraft via an RTL-SDR Blog V3 dongle and his car's Android head unit. The head unit is capable of running the ADS-B Radar App available on the Google Play store.

Once the app is installed, it's a simple matter of plugging in the RTL-SDR Blog V3 unit and running the app to start tracking aircraft.

How to ADS-B Radar in the CAR - Tracking Planes...

A Video on Radar-TUI: A Terminal User Interface Based ADS-B Display

Back in 2022 we first posted about adsb_deku and radar-tui, a TUI (terminal user interface) for displaying ADS-B aircraft locations with an RTL-SDR receiver. A terminal user interface means that no desktop GUI is required, instead, the map and aircraft are drawn in the terminal window using just text characters.

adsb_deku and radar-tui are based on the open-source ratatui library. Recently, Orhun, one of the maintainers of ratatui wrote in and wanted to share a YouTube video he created demonstrating radar-tui in action. In the video, Orhun explains the RTL-SDR, shows how to set up radar-tui, and shows a demo of it in action.

If you're interested in this type of application, another similar terminal based ADS-B UI is coole-radar which we also posted about previosuly in 2019.

RADAR-TUI: View planes around you from the terminal! (Terminal Tool of the Week #1)